Collins closed out the '80s with the chart-topping ...But Seriously, which spawned four mega-hit singles and also mirrored its title in a turn toward more pensive, socially conscious fare, such as "Another Day in Paradise" and "That's Just the Way It Is." The set also contains Collins's finest batch of lost-love songs ("Do You Remember," "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," "I Wish It Would Rain Down") since his first two albums, meaning, likely as not, that art was served at the expense of yet another relationship. Collins is aided on the album by some of his famous friends, including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Stephen Bishop, and David Crosby.

--Daniel Durchholz