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Reagan isn’t president, Top Gun isn’t the biggest movie of the year, and mullets have somehow lost their appeal. But after releasing new albums last week, ‘80s icons Madonna and Lionel Richie have managed to reclaim spots at the top of the Billboard charts. It’s a feat that’s inspired us to look back at the last time the now-aging pop stars had a Top 5 album at the same time – a quarter of a century ago, in 1986. Rolling Stone contributing editor Rob Sheffield joins us to look back at an “underrated” year in music.

Taylor Swift called her second album Fearless, and with good reason: the 21-year-old singer seems to be on an unbreakable winning streak. Fearless was the top-selling album of 2009 and snared the Grammy for Album of the Year; Swift followed those successes last year with a blockbuster tour and a chart-topping third album, Speak Now. But not everyone’s got Taylor Fever.

This was the year when a band from Montreal topped the charts, American Idol went indie, and Lady Gaga and Beyonce had their very own Thelma and Louise moment. Los Angeles Times chief pop music critic Ann Powers and Rolling Stone contributing editor Rob Sheffield join us with their lists of 2010’s best rock and pop music.

Soundcheck talked with jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins last week about his memorable (and uncredited) performance on the Rolling Stones song “Waiting on a Friend.” But the sax blows hot and cold in pop music. For every “Walk on the Wild Side,” there’s a “You Belong to the City” lurking around the corner.

Rob Sheffield came on The Leonard Lopate Show to discuss his favorite books, music and more!

Music journalist Rob Sheffield discusses coming of age in the 1980s, the years of MTV and John Hughes movies, the era of big dreams and bigger shoulder pads. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut is his memoir of stumbling into adulthood.

Eminem is newly sober, but his first album in 5-years features raps about pill-popping, rape, abuse, family problems and Lindsay and Britney. In another Soundcheck Smackdown we debate the relevance of Eminem and the brutal fantasies he describes in detail on the album. Guests include author and journalist Touré and ...