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
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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	123,279	Closer (59th) by Joy Division
1981	492	64,256	Moving Pictures (152nd) by Rush
1982	478	83,982	Thriller (63rd) by Michael Jackson
1983	434	71,774	Murmur (137th) by R.E.M.
1984	482	105,539	Purple Rain (114th) by Prince & The Revolution
1985	445	78,278	Rain Dogs (103rd) by Tom Waits
1986	505	118,633	The Queen Is Dead (24th) by The Smiths
1987	536	124,036	The Joshua Tree (30th) by U2
1988	571	109,520	Daydream Nation (48th) by Sonic Youth
1989	624	150,994	Doolittle (21st) by Pixies
Total	5,019	1,030,292

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

191.

Watermark

Enya

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	32 charts
Rank in 1988:	21	Rank Score:	917
Rank in 1980s	191	Overall Rank:	1,144
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192.

Tango In The Night

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	43 charts
Rank in 1987:	25	Rank Score:	904
Rank in 1980s	192	Overall Rank:	1,160
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193.

Invisible Touch

Genesis

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	47 charts
Rank in 1986:	17	Rank Score:	900
Rank in 1980s	193	Overall Rank:	1,164
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194.

Darklands

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	47 charts
Rank in 1987:	26	Rank Score:	898
Rank in 1980s	194	Overall Rank:	1,169
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195.

Escape

Journey

Year of Release:	1981	Appears in:	45 charts
Rank in 1981:	17	Rank Score:	883
Rank in 1980s	195	Overall Rank:	1,174
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196.

Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim

Pixies

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	18 charts
Rank in 1988:	22	Rank Score:	881
Rank in 1980s	196	Overall Rank:	1,178
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197.

From Her To Eternity

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	45 charts
Rank in 1984:	20	Rank Score:	879
Rank in 1980s	197	Overall Rank:	1,182
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198.

Searching for the Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

Year of Release:	1980	Appears in:	39 charts
Rank in 1980:	27	Rank Score:	872
Rank in 1980s	198	Overall Rank:	1,193
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199.

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	47 charts
Rank in 1988:	23	Rank Score:	871
Rank in 1980s	199	Overall Rank:	1,194
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200.

Gaucho

Steely Dan

Year of Release:	1980	Appears in:	38 charts
Rank in 1980:	28	Rank Score:	871
Rank in 1980s	200	Overall Rank:	1,195
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Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	107	11%
1981	120	12%
1982	99	10%
1983	98	10%
1984	98	10%
1985	85	9%
1986	99	10%
1987	90	9%
1988	103	10%
1989	101	10%

Band	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Prince	8	1%
Tom Waits	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Eurythmics	7	1%
Rush	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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