Best Albums of the 1980s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1980s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1980	2,131	193,901	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,175	120,588	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,139	148,345	Thriller (76th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,149	135,646	Murmur (143rd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,152	170,975	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,167	144,165	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,281	170,109	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,479	162,514	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,567	151,875	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,590	197,530	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,830	1,595,647

The best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.

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211.

Invisible Touch

Genesis

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

254 charts

Rank Score:

1,322

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

211

Overall Rank:

1,326

Average Rating:

69 (427 votes)

Comments:

212.

Uprising

Bob Marley & The Wailers

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

247 charts

Rank Score:

1,318

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

212

Overall Rank:

1,330

Average Rating:

77 (277 votes)

Comments:

213.

Songs About Fucking

Big Black

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

205 charts

Rank Score:

1,316

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

213

Overall Rank:

1,333

Average Rating:

77 (212 votes)

Comments:

214.

Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa

Keith Jarrett / Gidon Kremer; Dennis Russell Davies / Staatsorchester Stuttgart; The 12 Cellists Of The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Saulius Sondeckis / Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra / Alfred Schnittke

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

148 charts

Rank Score:

1,307

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

214

Overall Rank:

1,338

Average Rating:

80 (170 votes)

Comments:

215.

Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks

Brian Eno With Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

192 charts

Rank Score:

1,300

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

215

Overall Rank:

1,342

Average Rating:

80 (238 votes)

Comments:

216.

Atomizer

Big Black

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

182 charts

Rank Score:

1,290

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

216

Overall Rank:

1,350

Average Rating:

76 (191 votes)

Comments:

217.

Fisherman's Blues

The Waterboys

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

216 charts

Rank Score:

1,289

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

217

Overall Rank:

1,351

Average Rating:

79 (216 votes)

Comments:

218.

90125

Yes

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

232 charts

Rank Score:

1,287

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

218

Overall Rank:

1,352

Average Rating:

73 (356 votes)

Comments:

219.

Killers

Iron Maiden

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

253 charts

Rank Score:

1,264

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

219

Overall Rank:

1,376

Average Rating:

77 (448 votes)

Comments:

220.

Substance
Compilation

Joy Division

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

207 charts

Rank Score:

1,259

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

220

Overall Rank:

1,379

Average Rating:

81 (371 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 22 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	93	9%
1987	86	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
U2	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	415	42%
	386	39%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	967	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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