This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.
| List of years in music (Table) |
|---|
| … 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 – 1988 – 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 … |
| Related time period or subjects |
| … 1985 •
1986 • 1987 – 1988 – 1989 • 1990 • 1991 … … 1950s • 1960s • 1970s – 1980s – 1990s • 2000s • 2010s … … 19th century – 20th century – 21st century … |
| Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Science more |
| Contents: | Top • January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December |
|---|
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | L.A. Guns | L.A. Guns | - |
| B'Sides Themselves | Marillion | B-sides compilation | |
| 15 | History of a Time to Come | Sabbat | - |
| 18 | Blow Up Your Video | AC/DC | Australia |
| 19 | So Far, So Good... So What! | Megadeth | - |
| 25 | Shove It | The Cross | - |
| 26 | Skyscraper | David Lee Roth | - |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ain't Misbehavin' | UFO | mini-album |
| 2 | Lita | Lita Ford | - |
| 16 | Starfish | The Church | - |
| Nada como el sol | Sting | EP | |
| 23 | Goin' Off | Biz Markie | - |
| 29 | The Frenz Experiment | The Fall | - |
| Now and Zen | Robert Plant | - | |
| ? | Falling Up | Kevin Ayers | - |
| I'm Your Man | Leonard Cohen | - | |
| Live+1 | Frehley's Comet | Live EP +1 studio track | |
| If You Can't Lick 'Em...Lick 'Em | Ted Nugent | - | |
| Hard Machine | Stacey Q | - |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Past Masters, Volume One | The Beatles | Compilation |
| Past Masters, Volume Two | The Beatles | Compilation | |
| 13 | Don't Blow Your Top | KMFDM | - |
| 14 | Viva Hate | Morrissey | UK |
| From Langley Park to Memphis | Prefab Sprout | - | |
| 16 | Green Thoughts | The Smithereens | - |
| 21 | Surfer Rosa | Pixies | UK |
| 23 | No Exit | Fates Warning | - |
| Up Your Alley | Joan Jett and the Blackhearts | - | |
| Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm | Joni Mitchell | - | |
| 28 | Out of the Silent Planet | King's X | - |
| Odyssey | Yngwie Malmsteen | - | |
| 29 | Simple Pleasures | Bobby McFerrin | - |
| ? | On Target | Fastway | - |
| The Pictorial Jackson Review | Felt | - | |
| Kingdom Come | Kingdom Come | - | |
| Heart Attack | Krokus | - |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Now That's What I Call Music 11 (UK series) | Various Artists | Compilation |
| 3 | Heart of Gold | Sofia Rotaru | - |
| Naked | Talking Heads | - | |
| 5 | Tracy Chapman | Tracy Chapman | - |
| Conscious Party | Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers | - | |
| 11 | Hairway to Steven | Butthole Surfers | - |
| Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | Iron Maiden | - | |
| 12 | Lap of Luxury | Cheap Trick | - |
| Even Worse | "Weird Al" Yankovic | - | |
| This Note's for You | Neil Young and the Bluenotes | - | |
| 13 | Diamond Sun | Glass Tiger | - |
| 18 | Crossroads | Eric Clapton | Box Set |
| The Innocents | Erasure | - | |
| Savage Amusement | Scorpions | - | |
| 21 | Hang Time | Soul Asylum | - |
| 26 | Racing after Midnight | Honeymoon Suite | - |
| Shadowland | k.d. lang | - | |
| Guitar | Frank Zappa | Live | |
| 27 | Operation: Mindcrime | Queensrÿche | - |
| ? | In Effect Mode | Al B. Sure! | - |
| In Heat | Black 'N Blue | - | |
| Ainsi Soit Je... | Mylène Farmer | - | |
| Over the Edge | Hurricane | - | |
| Barbed Wire Kisses | The Jesus and Mary Chain | Compilation | |
| Life's Too Good | The Sugarcubes | - |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Provision | Scritti Politti | - | ||||
| 13 | Forever Your Girl | Paula Abdul | - | ||||
| Survive | Nuclear Assault | - | |||||
| 18 | Ain't Complaining | Status Quo | - | 19 | Outrider | Jimmy Page | - |
| 20 | Don't Be Cruel | Bobby Brown | - | ||||
| Chicago 19 | Chicago | - | |||||
| Reg Strikes Back | Elton John | - | |||||
| Irish Heartbeat | Van Morrison & The Chieftains | - | |||||
| Confessions of a Pop Group | The Style Council | - | |||||
| Roll with It | Steve Winwood | - | |||||
| 21 | Long Live the Kane | Big Daddy Kane | - | ||||
| 22 | Heavy Nova | Robert Palmer | - | ||||
| 27 | 20 Years of Jethro Tull | Jethro Tull | Box Set | ||||
| Outside the Gate | Killing Joke | - | |||||
| Riders Radio Theater | Riders in the Sky | - | |||||
| 28 | Lead Me On | Amy Grant | - | ||||
| It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back | Public Enemy | - | |||||
| In God We Trust | Stryper | - | |||||
| ? | Tighten Up, Vol. 88 | Big Audio Dynamite | - | ||||
| Coming Back Hard Again | The Fat Boys | - | |||||
| The House of Love | The House of Love | - | |||||
| Y Kant Tori Read | Y Kant Tori Read | featuring Tori Amos | |||||
| Dream of Life | Patti Smith | - |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Kylie | Kylie Minogue | - |
| 5 | Long Cold Winter | Cinderella | - |
| Temple of Low Men | Crowded House | - | |
| South of Heaven | Slayer | - | |
| 11 | Substance | Joy Division | Compilation |
| Wings of Heaven | Magnum | - | |
| UB40 | UB40 | - | |
| 18 | Time Odyssey | Vinnie Moore | - |
| 23 | Now That's What I Call Music 12 (UK series) | Various Artists | Compilation |
| 25 | View from the House | Kim Carnes | - |
| Follow the Leader | Eric B & Rakim | - | |
| ? | Wide Awake in Dreamland | Pat Benatar | - |
| Imaginos | Blue Öyster Cult | - | |
| Nobody's Perfect | Deep Purple | Live | |
| Britny Fox | Britny Fox | - | |
| Let It Roll | Little Feat | - | |
| Cocktail Soundtrack | Various Artists | Soundtrack |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Harry Connick, Jr. | - |
| Shaday | Ofra Haza | - | |
| Reach for the Sky | Ratt | - | |
| 8 | Green | R.E.M. | - |
| 14 | All or Nothing | Milli Vanilli | Debut, Europe |
| 15 | American Dream | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | - |
| Greatest Hits | Fleetwood Mac | Greatest Hits | |
| Greatest Hits | Journey | Greatest Hits | |
| 16 | Beast from the East | Dokken | Live |
| Smashes, Thrashes & Hits | Kiss | Greatest Hits Remixed +2 new tracks | |
| Kings of Metal | Manowar | - | |
| Goodbye Girl | Miyuki Nakajima | - | |
| 21 | Hold an Old Friend's Hand | Tiffany | - |
| 22 | Delicate Sound of Thunder | Pink Floyd | Live |
| Beaches soundtrack | Bette Midler | Soundtrack | |
| 23 | Ancient Dreams | Candlemass | - |
| 28 | Hold Me in Your Arms | Rick Astley | UK |
| 29 | G N' R Lies | Guns N' Roses | - |
| ? | Gems | Aerosmith | Greatest Hits |
| Bummed | Happy Mondays | - | |
| The Living Years | Mike + The Mechanics | - | |
| Isn't Anything | My Bloody Valentine | Debut |
| Day | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Almost Acoustic | Jerry Garcia | Live |
| 3 | Now That's What I Call Music XIII (UK series) | Various Artists | Compilation |
| 7 | The Trinity Session | Cowboy Junkies | RCA Re-release |
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1988.
| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Collins | A Groovy Kind of Love | 1988 | UK 1 - Sep 1988, US BB 1 - Sep 1988, Holland 1 - Sep 1988, Switzerland 1 - Oct 1988, Poland 1 - Sep 1988, Éire 1 - Sep 1988, Norway 2 - Sep 1988, Italy 2 of 1988, Germany 3 - Jan 1989, Sweden 4 - Sep 1988, Austria 6 - Nov 1988, South Africa 11 of 1989, Australia 23 of 1988, US BB 26 of 1988, US CashBox 29 of 1988, POP 65 of 1988, Germany 103 of the 1980s, RYM 193 of 1988 | |
| 2 | Bobby McFerrin | Don't Worry Be Happy | 1988 | US BB 1 - Aug 1988, Austria 1 - Nov 1988, Germany 1 - Jan 1989, Australia 1 for 7 weeks May 1989, Grammy in 1988, UK 2 - Sep 1988, Holland 2 - Oct 1988, Switzerland 2 - Oct 1988, Norway 5 - Oct 1988, South Africa 5 of 1989, Sweden 13 - Oct 1988, Poland 13 - Sep 1988, POP 13 of 1988, Germany 23 of the 1980s, US CashBox 28 of 1988, Scrobulate 92 of happy, RYM 94 of 1988, Italy 97 of 1989, RIAA 301 | |
| 3 | Belinda Carlisle | Heaven is a Place On Earth | 1988 | UK 1 - Dec 1987, US BB 1 - Oct 1987, Sweden 1 - Jan 1988, Switzerland 1 - Jan 1988, Norway 1 - Jan 1988, New Zealand 1 for 4 weeks Feb 1988, Germany 4 - Jan 1988, South Africa 4 of 1988, Holland 7 - Jan 1988, Austria 10 - Mar 1988, Australia 10 of 1988, Poland 15 - Nov 1987, US BB 17 of 1987, Italy 31 of 1988, RYM 53 of 1987, POP 72 of 1987, Germany 344 of the 1980s | |
| 4 | U2 | Desire | 1988 | UK 1 - Oct 1988, Poland 1 - Oct 1988, Éire 1 - Sep 1988, New Zealand 1 for 5 weeks Oct 1988, Australia 1 for 3 weeks Apr 1989, Holland 2 - Sep 1988, US BB 3 - Oct 1988, KROQ 4 of 1988, Norway 5 - Oct 1988, Switzerland 9 - Oct 1988, Italy 10 of 1988, Germany 11 - Oct 1988, Sweden 12 - Oct 1988, Austria 23 - Nov 1988, RYM 65 of 1988, Acclaimed 2038 | |
| 5 | Enya | Orinoco Flow | 1988 | UK 1 - Oct 1988, Holland 1 - Nov 1988, Switzerland 1 - Nov 1988, Éire 1 - Oct 1988, Scrobulate 1 of new age, Poland 2 - Dec 1988, Germany 2 - Jan 1989, Sweden 3 - Nov 1988, Norway 5 - Nov 1988, Austria 8 - Dec 1988, France 9 - Oct 1988, RYM 18 of 1988, US BB 24 - Mar 1989, POP 34 of 1989, Germany 242 of the 1980s |
The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in the U.S. of 1988.
| Position | Song Title | Artist | Highest Position | weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faith | George Michael | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Need You Tonight | INXS | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Got My Mind Set On You | George Harrison | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Never Gonna Give You Up | Rick Astley | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Sweet Child O' Mine | Guns N' Roses | 1 | 2 |
This list is taken from Acclaimedmusic.net.[2]
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