Best Albums of the 1980s

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

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	2,134	193,862	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,176	120,565	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,140	148,217	Thriller (76th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,154	135,570	Murmur (144th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,154	170,824	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,167	144,176	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,284	170,063	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,489	162,455	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,567	151,786	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,593	197,509	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,858	1,595,027

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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321.

Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album

Daniel Johnston

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

132 charts

Rank Score:

789

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

321

Overall Rank:

2,094

Average Rating:

73 (164 votes)

Comments:

322.

October

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

200 charts

Rank Score:

785

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

322

Overall Rank:

2,107

Average Rating:

72 (420 votes)

Comments:

323.

Whitesnake

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

144 charts

Rank Score:

782

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

323

Overall Rank:

2,114

Average Rating:

74 (191 votes)

Comments:

324.

Jeopardy

The Sound

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

127 charts

Rank Score:

780

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

324

Overall Rank:

2,120

Average Rating:

77 (144 votes)

Comments:

325.

Hallowed Ground

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

133 charts

Rank Score:

771

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

325

Overall Rank:

2,131

Average Rating:

77 (158 votes)

Comments:

326.

Ambient 4: On Land

Brian Eno

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

154 charts

Rank Score:

766

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

326

Overall Rank:

2,142

Average Rating:

78 (198 votes)

Comments:

327.

Rebel Yell

Billy Idol

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

177 charts

Rank Score:

765

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

327

Overall Rank:

2,144

Average Rating:

74 (194 votes)

Comments:

328.

Music For A New Society

John Cale

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

111 charts

Rank Score:

765

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

328

Overall Rank:

2,148

Average Rating:

77 (108 votes)

Comments:

329.

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam And The Ants

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

145 charts

Rank Score:

762

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

329

Overall Rank:

2,155

Average Rating:

71 (195 votes)

Comments:

330.

Alchemy
Live

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

132 charts

Rank Score:

760

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

330

Overall Rank:

2,162

Average Rating:

75 (219 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 33 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	93	9%
1987	88	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	416	41%
	386	38%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	970	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	991	99%
Yes	12	1%

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