Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by Mother Nature's Son

My favourite albums of the 1980s.

• Chart updated: 10/19/2019 17:15
• (Created: 09/01/2013 16:41).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 4 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 9 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

Time 

 Electric Light Orchestra

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I had not known this beatlesque time travel very long before it gave strong feelings of nostalgia. The fluffy 80s production might sound dated to some ears, but that's what gives this album its charm. Incredible songwriting too. Jeff Lynne is a genius!

Favourite tracks: "Twilight" & "21st Century Man" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

268 charts

Rank Score:

2,572

Rank in 1981:

6

Rank in 1980s:

106

Overall Rank:

704

Average Rating:

 76 (374 votes)

Comments:

37

2. (=)

The Joshua Tree 

 U2

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The sound of four men who have tried a lot, but still haven't found what they're looking for. They're still on a spiritual journey to find their way and now they've come to a Joshua tree on a desert. The album is known for starting out with three great singles before it gets "boring", but that's not entirely true. It's on the second side that the album really starts to unfold its atmosphere.

Favourite tracks: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "With or Without You" & "Red Hill Mining Town" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

1,814 charts

Rank Score:

19,874

Rank in 1987:

1

Rank in 1980s:

6

Overall Rank:

52

Average Rating:

 83 (2,389 votes)

Comments:

226

3. (=)

Valotte 

 Julian Lennon

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Now this... is inheritance. While the music doesn't equal completely his father's, Julian Lennon's voice, as others have pointed out, is eerily similar to that of his old man. The nasal strained singing is all there, but the music is less bitter. Think a more youthful and vibrant "Imagine" (the album) spiced up with a few 80s trends!

Favourite tracks: "Valotte" & "On the Phone" [First added to this chart: 08/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

20 charts

Rank Score:

110

Rank in 1984:

164

Rank in 1980s:

1,535

Overall Rank:

10,614

Average Rating:

 69 (31 votes)

Comments:

1

4. (=)

The Stone Roses 

 The Stone Roses

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Danceable guitar music with angelic vocals. Not the maddest Madchester album out there, but certainly the greatest. It feels great walking around in the city with this album in the ears.

Favourite tracks: "Made of Stone" & "This Is the One" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,973 charts

Rank Score:

25,862

Rank in 1989:

3

Rank in 1980s:

5

Overall Rank:

34

Average Rating:

 86 (2,226 votes)

Comments:

202

5. (=)

A Kind Of Magic 

 Queen

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A kind of magic, indeed. More so than any other Queen album. It might not be their most deep album, but then again, it has "Who Wants to Live Forever". Just the album I need, one that makes you feel good.

Favourite tracks: "A Kind of Magic" & "Who Wants to Live Forever" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

185 charts

Rank Score:

757

Rank in 1986:

30

Rank in 1980s:

330

Overall Rank:

2,166

Average Rating:

 69 (310 votes)

Comments:

12

6. (=)

Doolittle 

 Pixies

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The "Rubber Soul"/"Revolver" of the 80s, just more violent and insane!

Favourite tracks: "Debaser" & "Wave of Mutilation" [First added to this chart: 09/03/2013]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,492 charts

Rank Score:

37,371

Rank in 1989:

1

Rank in 1980s:

2

Overall Rank:

18

Average Rating:

 88 (2,871 votes)

Comments:

289

7. (=)

Graceland 

 Paul Simon

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Paul Simon invites us to his Graceland and reminds us that he's still a musical genius. The songwriting, the musicians and the world influences are amazing! "You Can Call Me Al" gets me fired up every single time!

Favourite tracks: "Graceland" & "You Can Call Me Al" [First added to this chart: 09/17/2013]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

1,098 charts

Rank Score:

11,811

Rank in 1986:

3

Rank in 1980s:

16

Overall Rank:

125

Average Rating:

 81 (1,313 votes)

Comments:

79

8. (=)

Watermark 

 Enya

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My perception and probably the only thing I know about new age music. It's overly spiritual, but in the best way possible and exceptionally gorgeous. I also have a few childhood memories with Enya's music, but that's a boring story for another time!

Favourite tracks: "Watermark", "On Your Shore" & "Orinoco Flow" [First added to this chart: 09/20/2013]

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

179 charts

Rank Score:

898

Rank in 1988:

29

Rank in 1980s:

290

Overall Rank:

1,862

Average Rating:

 73 (231 votes)

Comments:

11

9. (=)

English Settlement 

 XTC

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Stimulating, but impossible to actually settle down with. An album this crazy and crazily creative and catchy will instead make your senses working overtime!

Favourite tracks: "Senses Working Overtime" & "Snowman" [First added to this chart: 03/31/2015]

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

281 charts

Rank Score:

1,778

Rank in 1982:

15

Rank in 1980s:

154

Overall Rank:

1,005

Average Rating:

 79 (337 votes)

Comments:

14

10. (=)

Structures From Silence 

 Steve Roach

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Steve Roach has this magic gift of creating music that sounds exactly like how I imagine space: fascinating, frighteningly boundless and in many ways beyond our comprehension. "Structures From Silence" is a little more boiled down to a perceivable box than later Steve Roach albums, in other words, it sounds less like a "live recording" of space. It's more structured and surprisingly tranquil, which is perhaps its strength over more formless Steve Roach albums. I can only recommend it, it really soothes the soul. As a side note, the first couple of times I listened to ”Reflections in Suspension”, I thought the suspenseful, cooing-like melody was the sound of female vocals, but I realize now it's probably just a synth!

Favourite tracks: ”Reflections in Suspension” & ”Structures from Silence” [First added to this chart: 11/04/2017]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

79 charts

Rank Score:

406

Rank in 1984:

62

Rank in 1980s:

553

Overall Rank:

3,585

Average Rating:

 77 (75 votes)

Comments:

0

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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%
1980	11	11%
1981	7	7%
1982	12	12%
1983	9	9%
1984	11	11%
1985	8	8%
1986	12	12%
1987	12	12%
1988	8	8%
1989	10	10%

Artist	Albums	%
Queen	5	5%
XTC	4	4%
Barbra Streisand	4	4%
Paul McCartney	4	4%
Goombay Dance Band	3	3%
U2	3	3%
Julian Lennon	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	49	49%
	30	30%
	6	6%
	5	5%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 95th to 96th Sun Of Jamaica by Goombay Dance Band
Down 1 from 96th to 97th Notorious by Duran Duran
Down 1 from 97th to 98th Crowded House by Crowded House

New entries
Till I Loved You by Barbra Streisand

Leavers
Duran Duran by Duran Duran

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 9 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	12/16/2018 19:45	NSPE	354	77/100
100/100	07/15/2016 19:23	buzzdainer	671	90/100
90/100	07/01/2016 08:33	Leonard	319	88/100
70/100	03/31/2015 18:58	sssvnnn	2,824	83/100
100/100	02/12/2015 06:21	serpico	158	80/100

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments

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Rating:  

100/100

From buzzdainer 07/15/2016 19:27

Outstanding chart! Doolittle, Graceland, and The Stone Roses are all excellent albums that never seem to get old. I had sort of forgotten about Enya's Watermark album until I saw your chart--that's one I'd like to give a fresh listen. Thanks for providing so much fodder for discovery here!

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Rating:  

100/100

From serpico 02/12/2015 06:24

¡Gran selección de discos! Me encanta ver tantos discos de Queen, la verdad que todos los discos que sacaron en los 80's me parecen buenos. También incluiste a Depeche Mode y Kate Bush, grandes elecciones también.

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Rating:  

85/100

From JasonZaia 02/10/2015 23:43

Great chart! Very cool to see Queen's 'A Kind of Magic'! - a great album!

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Rating:  

100/100

From NowhereMan 07/25/2014 21:25

Full marks for top spot.

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