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	2,117	193,872	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,157	120,090	Moving Pictures (154th)by Rush
1982	2,129	148,263	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,128	135,479	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,133	170,891	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,136	143,955	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,260	170,449	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,462	162,511	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,552	152,001	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,566	197,241	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,640	1,594,752

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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141.

Deceit

This Heat

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

245 charts

Rank Score:

1,958

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

141

Overall Rank:

917

Average Rating:

79 (243 votes)

Comments:

142.

Rattlesnakes

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

233 charts

Rank Score:

1,952

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

142

Overall Rank:

918

Average Rating:

77 (214 votes)

Comments:

143.

Soul Mining

The The

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

271 charts

Rank Score:

1,917

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

143

Overall Rank:

936

Average Rating:

77 (306 votes)

Comments:

144.

Youth Of America

Wipers

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

246 charts

Rank Score:

1,914

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

144

Overall Rank:

938

Average Rating:

81 (227 votes)

Comments:

145.

This Nation's Saving Grace

The Fall

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

360 charts

Rank Score:

1,892

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

145

Overall Rank:

952

Average Rating:

78 (432 votes)

Comments:

146.

Peter Gabriel IV

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

273 charts

Rank Score:

1,886

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

146

Overall Rank:

953

Average Rating:

79 (347 votes)

Comments:

147.

Fire Of Love

The Gun Club

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

255 charts

Rank Score:

1,883

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

147

Overall Rank:

956

Average Rating:

77 (296 votes)

Comments:

148.

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

261 charts

Rank Score:

1,876

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

148

Overall Rank:

962

Average Rating:

79 (256 votes)

Comments:

149.

Sound Affects

The Jam

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

287 charts

Rank Score:

1,862

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

149

Overall Rank:

967

Average Rating:

79 (374 votes)

Comments:

150.

Pyromania

Def Leppard

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

301 charts

Rank Score:

1,838

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

150

Overall Rank:

975

Average Rating:

73 (432 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 15 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	116	12%
1981	121	12%
1982	111	11%
1983	97	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	80	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	88	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	97	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%
Talking Heads	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	418	42%
	385	39%
	39	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	965	97%
Yes	35	4%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

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

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

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