We’re not claiming that all post-1985 boomboxes sucked. This Signal offered shortwave and knob-styled audio controls–Jay’s cat seems to like it.

Paul’s faithful stereo in 1988 thru the 1990s, this Aiwa replaced a hefty ’82 Sharp that would’ve appeared in the earlier era. There’s some sentimental attachment to this boombox. It offered auto-reverse, eq, and fair FM reception. While the stereo has moved on, the original Newmark & Lewis receipt (a defunct electronics retail chain) is still here!

Spotted in a Manhattan outdoor thrift sale, this slim Sony has logic controls and an unusual off-white color. This one’s cool!

DAK offered this in 1986–a Unitech with unusual cassette placement and 5 band eq. We won’t say anything about the fire, you can make your own assessment.

Single cassette boombox (a rebranded Sanyo) available at Sears in ’85 and ’86. Yawn..

This portable’s unusual for a variety of reasons: it’s manufactured by Citizen (a very obscure name in ghettoblasters) and it features an black and white LCD television. To the casual viewer, this left square appears to be a second cassette deck but it’s a TV!  Spotted in an NYC flea market.

A 1985 Sharp ad displaying their latest and greatest boomboxes–a far cry from the hefty models sold two years earlier. Obviously, their goal was to make available a boombox for each and every walk of life.

From the 1985 martial arts film The Last Dragon, some urban youths trade stories around a ghetto blaster. Was this you in 1985?