Disintegration

"Disintegration" is The Cure's masterpiece, simply put. Anybody that says this isn't The Cure's best work is lying to themselves. This is just everything they've ever been good at amplified to previously unseen levels of quality, the perfect meeting of the light and darkness that made up the two contrasting halves of their discography. Any moment of dreaminess, or of light, that's present throughout this album, is always surrounded by a deep and impenetrable darkness. This record also features by far the best lyricism of any Cure record, from the haunting tales of drug abuse on the title track and "Homesick", to the eerie love of "Plainsong", "Pictures of You", and, obviously, "Lovesong", to the haunting descriptions of rape masked under a childlike guise of innocence on "Lullaby". At every turn, this album has incredible lyricism that not only fits in with but adds to the impeccable atmosphere and darkness of this record. Robert Smith was no longer appealing to the mainstream and he wasn't just being dark for the sake of it. He used this album as a means of warning the youth who would obviously listen to it of the dangers that come from letting depression fester and eat away at you, of how it can grow greater and stronger than you could ever imagine, and eventually overtake you, if you allow it to. It's a cautionary message, hidden within of one of the best albums of the '80s, and possibly of all time, and it's a message that still shines through to this day.

"Hopelessly fighting the devil futility
Feeling the monster climb deeper inside of me
Feeling him gnawing my heart away hungrily
I'll never lose this pain
Never dream of you again"