Best Albums of the 1980s : Best Ever Albums

Best Albums of the 1980s

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Listed below are the greatest albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 9,600 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

View by decade:	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s
View by year:	1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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	452	123,062	Closer (61st) by Joy Division
1981	492	64,451	Moving Pictures (151st) by Rush
1982	478	83,773	Thriller (63rd) by Michael Jackson
1983	434	71,392	Murmur (136th) by R.E.M.
1984	479	105,125	Purple Rain (114th) by Prince & The Revolution
1985	444	78,121	Rain Dogs (102nd) by Tom Waits
1986	504	118,509	The Queen Is Dead (24th) by The Smiths
1987	534	123,740	The Joshua Tree (30th) by U2
1988	569	109,388	Daydream Nation (48th) by Sonic Youth
1989	620	150,642	Doolittle (21st) by Pixies
Total	5,006	1,028,203

The best bands of the 1980s were The Smiths, Pixies, U2, The Stone Roses, Metallica, The Cure, Sonic Youth, Guns N' Roses, Talking Heads and Michael Jackson.

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Rank

Album

Band

181.

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

Simple Minds

Year of Release:	1982	Appears in:	35 charts
Rank in 1982:	17	Rank Score:	972
Rank in 1980s	181	Overall Rank:	1,087
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182.

13 Songs

Fugazi

Year of Release:	1989	Appears in:	41 charts
Rank in 1989:	18	Rank Score:	971
Rank in 1980s	182	Overall Rank:	1,091
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183.

Fables Of The Reconstruction

R.E.M.

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	57 charts
Rank in 1985:	15	Rank Score:	970
Rank in 1980s	183	Overall Rank:	1,093
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184.

Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

Megadeth

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	42 charts
Rank in 1986:	16	Rank Score:	966
Rank in 1980s	184	Overall Rank:	1,094
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185.

I'm Your Man

Leonard Cohen

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	55 charts
Rank in 1988:	20	Rank Score:	951
Rank in 1980s	185	Overall Rank:	1,103
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186.

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	32 charts
Rank in 1985:	16	Rank Score:	942
Rank in 1980s	186	Overall Rank:	1,113
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187.

Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys

Year of Release:	1980	Appears in:	47 charts
Rank in 1980:	26	Rank Score:	938
Rank in 1980s	187	Overall Rank:	1,116
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188.

The Lion And The Cobra

Sinéad O'Connor

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	35 charts
Rank in 1987:	23	Rank Score:	933
Rank in 1980s	188	Overall Rank:	1,122
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189.

Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun

Dead Can Dance

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	35 charts
Rank in 1987:	24	Rank Score:	929
Rank in 1980s	189	Overall Rank:	1,125
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190.

Peter Gabriel IV

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:	1982	Appears in:	39 charts
Rank in 1982:	18	Rank Score:	926
Rank in 1980s	190	Overall Rank:	1,130
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Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	107	11%
1981	120	12%
1982	100	10%
1983	98	10%
1984	98	10%
1985	85	9%
1986	99	10%
1987	90	9%
1988	103	10%
1989	100	10%

Band	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Prince	8	1%
U2	7	1%
Eurythmics	7	1%
Talking Heads	7	1%
Tom Waits	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	410	41%
	409	41%
	39	4%
	30	3%
	15	2%
	14	1%
	14	1%
Show all

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