Dreamtime by The Cult! Spiritwalker, Horse Nation, the works. Follows the tribal post-punk of Southern Death Cult, precedes the mainstream rock of Love. Like a herd of bison geing driven over a cliff to their doom.

I'm not a big goth fan, but "Floodland" by Sisters Of Mercy is surely one of the best albums of the eighties, goth or otherwise. 'This Corrosion' is just EPIC!
I'm betting The Cure are going to get the #1 spot in this poll, probably "Disintergration" or "Pornography"; but I have to vote for SOM because they don't just play into the goth stereotypes, they send them up by going so overboard. I mean, what kind of sel-respecting oh-so-humourless goth would even think of collaborating with Jim Steinman. Genius!
However, for this poll, are we talking 'classic' eighties goth, or can we vote for 'goth-related' indie, synthpop or industrial bands? Cause if we can, then I've got to go with:
5- Siousxie & The Banshees- Juju
4- Depeche Mode- Violator
3- Sisters Of Mercy- Floodland
2- Nine Inch Nails- The Downward Spiral

and number one:

1- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- ANYTHING
...I guess "Tender Prey" is the most 'gothy', but "Let Love In" best embodies everything goth is and could be.

The flour-coated Fields of the Nephilim's "Dawnrazor" deserves a place on the list. As does:
Love & Rocket's "Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven" The Rose of Avalanche's "In Rock"
Cocteau Twins "Treasure"
Curve's "Doppelganger"

it has to be first and last and always by the sisters of mercy just for the title track and some kind of stranger . its probably the first goth crossover album . closely followed by juju by siouxsie and the banshees for the all to apt for these times monitor

"Phantasmagoria" by The Damned. A sequence of real or imaginary images like that seen in a dream. Bloody hell! This is the band that brought us "Smash it up!"

1. Do you believe in the Westworld? by Theatre of Hate
2. Pagan Lovesong by The Virgin Prunes.
3. Kooler than Jesus by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
4. Pariah by Danielle Dax
5. Holes by Specimen
6. Premature Burial by Siouxsie and the Banshees
7. Temple of Love by Sisters of Mercy
8. Anything by The Damned
9. Wilderness by Joy Division
10. Siamese Twins by The Cure
11. Back To Nature by Fad Gadget
12. It's Called A Heart by Depeche Mode
13. Primitive Painters by Felt
14. In Fear of Fear by Bauhaus
15. Persephone by Cocteau Twins
16. Armageddon Days Are Here Again by The The
17. Hammer Horror by Kate Bush
18. Exterminating Angel by The Creatures
19. Reward by The Teardrop Explodes
20. Jolene by Strawberry Switchblade
21. Party Time by .45 Grave
22. Now I'm Feeling Zombified by Alien Sex Fiend
23. The Human Beings by Adam and the Ants
24. Monkeys by Echo and the Bunnymen

I could go on forever. All of these songs and artists can be arguesd as goth is more a label created and bestowed on by music critics as opposed to an actual musical genre. Most of these artists would never limit themselves by calling themselves goth sogood luck!

For Madmen Only - UK Decay ... A corruscating miasma of pogo-able goth!

Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse by Skinny Puppy

Their most recent album (Mythmaker) is ... unimpressive, but the rest, especially this one, is a trip.
It doesn't sound pretty - there's no catchy chorus or plaintive storytelling - it's distorted, unbalanced, confused, startled, and likely to be dismissed as utter crap by all but the most patient listeners. But there's something in there that is truly elegant.

You know those dreams that make no sense, where everything is cold and alien and out of proportion, where the familiar is somehow different and terrifying? The feeling of 'Mind' is something like that - it has at its core an unseen hand that tugs at the strings of morbid curiousity... 'alive, yet unaware'

Diamanda Galas-Plague Mask
Dead Can Dance-Garden of arcane delights.
Bauhaus-79-83
Scraping foetus of the Wheel-Nail
Sisters of mercy-first and last and always
TKK-confessions of a knife
skinny puppy-mind the perpetual intercourse
so many more...I could go on for years.

most of the bands listed are not even goth.
the cure - pornography
faith & disintegration were also great

Goth is not a good type of music as it does not normally sing about happy subjects which is mostly needed as something that makes you smile sells loads and i know alternative rock does hit some issues that you can't smile about but at least they make a good song about it.

I seem to recall UK Decay, being the first review in which the term goth was used. I would recommend "For Madmen Only"
Banshees Juju is often mentioned as inventing goth, but I think Theatre of Hate, early Killing joke, were just as influential, certainly better than Mission & Sisters of Mercy tosh.

Never really got my head around Alien Sex Fiend
or the rest of the first wave stuff. Lots of great tracks but very few albums the got me going. This is the unashamedly populist choice (while excluding The Cure):

5. FOTN - Dawnrazor: Eschewing flowers for flour this album encompasses all the glory and nonsense of the second wave of Goth, from the tortured Laura II to the haunting yet utterly silly Vet for the insane: "The flowers in your kitchen, they weep for you". Hysterical and beautiful in equal measures.

4. Bauhaus - In the flat field: Spoiled only by the absence of Bela Lugosi´s dead but improved by the extra tracks on the re-release, Dark Entries is the one way ticket down to hell and Stigmata Martyr and the cover of Rosegarden, funeral of sores are the long walk back.

3. Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always:
Shortly before the black bishop took the white pawn with extreme prejudice they made a smashing album together. Some kind of stranger is a manifesto for casual sex and narcotic abuse while Nine While Nine has to be one of the greatest "end of an affair" tracks from any genre.

2. FOTN - The Nephilim: Jangly guitars, a crunching rythym section and ghostly keyboard washes while all the time Carl Mcoy chews razorblades and gravel and calls the demons down on our heads. Transcends silliness by virtue of its commitment (just).

1. Sisters of mercy - Floodland: All together now; "hey now, hey now, now...". Should be nr.1 for This Corrosion alone but when you throw Dominion/Mother Russia, 1959 and Driven Like the Snow into the mix you get the ultimate pop-goth masterpiece. Mainstream as you like and Eldritch doesn't give a toss.

Honorable mention to Siouxsie: Didn't get the ball rolling but set the template (both sonically and visually) with Join Hands and JuJu. Wonderful.

1. Some Girls Wander by Mistake - The Sisters of Mercy
Not a studio album, but a compilation of early singles and EPs. From "Alice" to "Body Electric" to "Temple of Love" you can't be without this one. As NME said in its review when the compilation was released "several rungs higher up the evolutionary ladder than anything else you'll find in these pages".

2. The Nephilim - Fields of the Nephilim
The thundering sounds of the Neph still make you sit up and listen after all these years. From the emotion of "The Watchman" to the power of "Moonchild", through the yearning of "Love under will" and the majesty of "Last exit for the Lost" Carl's vocals never falter and the band proves what an awesome talent they were

3. In the Flat Field - Bauhaus. Effortlessly painting eerie tableaux with every track, a Bauhaus album is a must.

4. Telemetry of a Fallen Angel - Cruxshadows. The Cruxshadows are taking Goth into the 21st Century. With classic tracks like "Monsters" and "Marilyn my Bitterness" if you want goth you need this album

5. ...If I die, I die - Virgin Prunes. One of the most original bands you will ever come across. Worth it for "Baby Turns Blue" alone. Dripping with talent and proving Goth can have a sense of humour (however dark)