Pop album that has stood the test of time

@knownothing: I too am fortunate in having seen Rockpile in 1980. Three nights in a row, at The Country Club in Reseda California. Tickets were ten bucks!

I also saw Little Village live, on a sound stage in North Hollywood at an industry-only event. Their performance that night of John Hiatt's "Lipstick Sunset" (found on the Bring The Family album) is hands-down the most transcendental experience I've had via live music. During Cooder's guitar solo in the song I had an out-of-body moment, which I had preciously experienced only once, when first hearing J.S. Bach's Concerto For Four Harpsichords. I haven't been the same since. 

Oops, Little Village, not Villager.

@knownothing: If you like the Little Villager album, make sure to grab a copy of John Hiatt’s Bring The Family album (unless you already have it). John was given carte blanche to use any musicians he wanted on the album, and chose Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. John and those three guys of course comprise Little Village (the recording of that album was the genesis of Little Village), and I consider Bring The Family to be considerably superior to the s/t Little Village album (better songs). The members of LV had one ground rule they all agreed upon: the songs had to be written on the spot as the album was recorded, not ones already written and waiting to be recorded. Not a great way to make an album! Keltner’s a superb musician, but he’s no songwriter.

The lone Rockpile album is fantastic, a great blend of Power Pop and 50’s-style Rock ’n’ Roll. The members of Rockpile also comprise the band heard on a number of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds solo albums, and are also fantastic.

I don’t know Steve, but Andrew Gold’s s/t debut album and it’s follow-up What’s Wrong With This Picture? certainly deserve inclusion. Both contain excellent Power Pop.

Another overlooked guy is Phil Seymour, who did two solo albums after leaving the Dwight Twilley Band after their first two albums.

"Pop" used to mean anything non-Classical, but these days I think of it in terms of short(er) songs with good melodies, hooky sing-along choruses, and the classic verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus structure. Pop was "the" style of music teenagers were listening to in the late-50's/early-60's, but it was in 7" 45 RPM singles format. The British Invasion changed that overnight.

My long-time favorite Pop albums include early Beatles, Emitt Rhodes’ debut, Sincerely by The Dwight Twilley Band, all the Rubinoos albums, Squeeze, The Records, etc.

The mention by @slaw of Moon Martin brought a smile to my face. He was a great songwriter, his albums being an excellent blend of Pop with a hint of 1950’s Rock ’n’ Roll. In 1979 my then-wife started running Moon’s fan club, so I saw him live many times. Once was opening for Rockpile at The Country Club in Reseda, California, a great show.

Another band combining Pop with 50’s R & R are The Flamin’ Groovies, a semi-garage band I love. And I consider The Ramones a Pop group.