I flitted away all weekend in Brussels drinking beer and visiting museums and historic sites… okay, mostly drinking beer… hey, there’s really good beer in Belgium… and now I’m off again to head back to my current home base in China, but I’ll spend the next week stopping off in Harbin and Beijing, so I don’t expect to be doing much in the way of posting. Which is really not unlike last week. Ah well, we all take vacations, right?
Well, there’s a lot of vacationing going on in the Mandopop world at the moment as well. The B’in Music crew sans Ding Dang (who is maybe just back home for the holidays?) play the big lantern festival concert in Kaohsiung tonight.
Meh, not so exciting. But today I stumbled upon something I find really interesting: the top twenty Mandopop albums (from Taiwan and Hong Kong) in the last twenty years… according to one critic, anyway, but still an interesting read (part two is here). I’m always joking with my friends and family that one day I’m going to put my history Ph.D. to good use and write the definitive history of Mandopop… it doesn’t *quite* fit in with my current research agenda, but someday. In the meantime, I’m a bit of a sucker for articles like this, which then make me want to go track down all the albums. 
Without further ado, the most influential albums of the last twenty years, 1989-2009, in chronological order, with paraphrased notes half from the article, half from other sources:
1：Blacklist Studio 黑名單工作室, Songs of Madness〈抓狂歌〉- 1989
They voiced the true feelings of many people in Taiwan, Taiwanese rock, with a heavy dose of the taste of alcohol and smoke.
2：Lim Giong 林強, Marching Forward〈向前走〉- 1990
Mayday fans will remember the title track of this album from the reunion concert in 2003; in the beginning, he was at the heart of the Taiwanese folk-pop-rock genre.
3：Sarah Chen 陳淑樺, Talk to You, Listen to You〈跟你說，聽你說〉- 1990
First album to go platinum in Taiwan, and contains classics that pretty much the whole island of Taiwan can sing (including “Dream to Awakening (夢醒時分)”).
4：Delphine Chin 娃娃金智娟, Heavy Rain〈大雨〉- 1991
Once a part of a group, she went solo and met Jonathan Lee of Rock Records, who wrote the title track of this album for her.
5：Stella 張清芳, Light〈光芒〉- 1992
All of her albums sold so well it is hard to pick the most important, but this one really established her, and everyone learned the songs contained on this album.
6：Jacky Cheung 張學友, Kiss Goodbye《吻別》- 1993
An absolute classic, one of the best-selling albums of all time, and Jacky’s successful introduction into Mandopop (from Cantopop). Though I may never forgive Danish easy-listening band Michael Learns to Rock (MLTR) for their English version of the title track (“Take Me to Your Heart”), which was the absolute bane of my existence when living in China in late 2004 and into 2005.
7：Jeff Chang 張信哲, Vexed〈心事〉- 1993
Jeff Chang was the first male singer in Taiwan to break free of the “military service curse” – returning to top the charts with this album after his stint with the ROC army. One of the kings of the pop world in the 1990s.
8：Jody Chiang 江蕙, Post-Drinking Desires《酒後的心聲》- 1993
After years with untraditional Taiwanese language labels, she fled for a better opportunity and won the best female signer award at the Golden Melody Awards the first year it was not separated out between Mandarin and Taiwanese singers. This was her follow-up album to that, and apparently everyone over a certain age in Taiwan can sing the infamous “I’m not drunk, I’m not drunk, not drunk (我沒醉我沒醉沒醉).”
9：Shirley Wong (Faye Wong) 王靖雯 (王菲), Sky《天空》- 1994
Every song better than the last, a rarity for mainstream pop. Such is the place of Faye Wong in modern Mandopop that pretty much everything she’s released is important, so it is a bit hard to name a single album.
10：Chang Yu-sheng 張雨生, Karaoke Live. Taipei. Me《卡拉ok 台北 我》- 1994
He turned to writing all his own music after his military service with this album; it might actually be his worst selling, but it has turned into a model album over time.
11：Sandy Lam 林憶蓮, Scars〈傷痕〉- 1995
Another important (and best-selling) collaboration with Jonathan Lee, though Sandy took it one step further and married him (they divorced in 2004).
12：Faye Wong 王菲, Restless〈浮躁〉- 1996
See, I told you it was hard to pick only one. Written by Faye herself, it takes new risks and remains a fan favorite, while proving to be something more true to who she really was than her past efforts.
13：David Tao 陶喆, David Tao〈陶喆〉- 1997
One of the earliest artists to bring western-style R&B to Taiwan. With simple, melodic songs, good beats, and meticulous production done by Tao himself in his house in LA, he was well established as one of the leaders of the trends of R&B and self-production in Taiwan music.
14：Cheer Chen 陳綺貞, Still Lonely〈還是會寂寞〉- 1997
I doubt anyone needs to read a justification for the inclusion of this album, but the folk singer’s second studio release introduces electric guitar to the mix, but maintains her indie cred and simple, straightforward vocals.
15：A-mei (Chang Hui-mei) 張惠妹, Bad Boy – 1997
Another million-plus selling album, A-mei’s powerful voice (combined with producer Chang Yu-sheng’s brilliance) sent her soaring to the top of the music world.
16：Faith Yang 楊乃文, One – 1997
A rare female voice singing rock. Interestingly, back then she was working with producer Will Lin, who would go on to form his own company, then sign and produce for sodagreen.
17：Chang Chen-yue 張震嶽, This Afternoon Is Very Boring〈這個下午很無聊〉- 1997
That gravelly voice on those very direct lyrics. But then, all of his albums are this direct and straightforward, even now; they just add new ideas and innovations.
18：Jin Men-wang and Li Bin-hui 金門王‧李炳輝, Wandering to Tamshui〈流浪到淡水〉- 1997
An incredibly unusual group: both blind, Jin lost his hand as a child on Jinmen, but he learned the guitar and teamed up with the accordion-playing Li nonetheless, for a bright career playing Taiwanese folk.
19：Wu Bai 伍佰, Lonely Tree, Lonely Bird〈樹枝孤鳥〉- 1998
A Golden Melody Award winner for best album, it combined Wu Bai’s personal style with the conventions of Taiwanese rock. A leader in bringing guitar-based rock music into the forefront in Taiwan.
20：Jay Chou 周杰倫, Fantasy〈范特西〉- 2001
Wow, remember when Jay was still really good? Back when he was focused on his music, he was almost untouchable on the pop scene. (Side note: an interesting choice, to make this the only post 2000 album.)
So, who should be added if we work forward into the 2000s? (Maybe: sodagreen; Stanley Huang, MC Hotdog, or Tripoets for rap?) Fun things to think about, anyway.
I’m stunned you did not write “Wow, remember when Cowboy Jay was still really good?”
Has this guy lost his mind? He’s already at 2001! How could “Viva Love” — not to mention “Mayday” — not be included in the top 20 Mandopop albums of the past 20 years?
Wow, pretty accurate list, though I am a little surprised 張震嶽 made it. A lot of those albums take me back to some good ol’ childhood memories. I’ve always wanted to compile my own Top 10 list as well, but I know I will be biased using sentimental reasons. I think Leehom’s “Wei Yi” is pretty underappreciated, though I don’t know if I’d call that his best album…
Please, use your history background to make a list! I’d love hearing your opinion!
Jody Chiang isn’t really MandoPop, but then again, the original article was for Chinese (language) pop. I’ve only heard Jody sing in Taiwanese. I don’t think she does sing in Mandarin…
I agree about the English version of “Wen Bie,” though I’ve only heard Liu Fang’s version. Absolutely horrible, the bane of *everyone’s* existence! The original is a completely different matter. Needless to say, there are several albums on this list I’ve yet to listen to and need to look up.
Oh, yes, Mich, she forgot the “Cowboy.”
Hobielover – I read it as Chinese language artists/albums (sometimes it is the artist more than the particular album) who have contributed to the major trends in modern-day Mandopop. So not the “best” albums, but ones that marked big changes… if that makes sense. Jody Chiang is not the only person on the list who does not perform in Mandarin.
I almost wondered if that wasn’t why they left off so many recent acts as well (i.e Mayday, Leehom) – because these aren’t necessarily the people who created the new forms of music that are so prominent today? Just a theory.
The missing “cowboy” is just an oversight. I’ve been in a lot of time zones this month!