1984: The Year I Learned How to Masturbate

Interesting. As I was skimming I thought they were just regurgitating the same old shit, but then at the end they hit on the more insightful:

The indie rock scene found hardcore favorites Hüsker Dü release not one but two of their best albums, “Zen Arcade” and “New Day Rising.” The Replacements showed the first signs of being seriously great with “Let it Be” and the Bangles and R.E.M. offered two releases that were arguably their strongest of the 1980s, “All Over the Place” and “Reckoning.”

Nice. And bonus:

The year even ended on a high note with the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by the all-star group Band Aid.