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	123,098	Closer (59th) by Joy Division
1981	492	64,294	Moving Pictures (151st) by Rush
1982	478	83,937	Thriller (63rd) by Michael Jackson
1983	434	71,559	Murmur (136th) by R.E.M.
1984	480	105,174	Purple Rain (114th) by Prince & The Revolution
1985	444	78,196	Rain Dogs (103rd) by Tom Waits
1986	505	118,498	The Queen Is Dead (24th) by The Smiths
1987	536	123,796	The Joshua Tree (30th) by U2
1988	571	109,472	Daydream Nation (48th) by Sonic Youth
1989	623	150,884	Doolittle (21st) by Pixies
Total	5,015	1,028,908

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

11.

Back In Black

AC/DC

Year of Release:	1980	Appears in:	407 charts
Rank in 1980:	3	Rank Score:	15,269
Rank in 1980s	11	Overall Rank:	73
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12.

Master Of Puppets

Metallica

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	347 charts
Rank in 1986:	2	Rank Score:	14,738
Rank in 1980s	12	Overall Rank:	74
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13.

Surfer Rosa

Pixies

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	383 charts
Rank in 1988:	2	Rank Score:	14,349
Rank in 1980s	13	Overall Rank:	76
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14.

Rain Dogs

Tom Waits

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	315 charts
Rank in 1985:	1	Rank Score:	11,548
Rank in 1980s	14	Overall Rank:	103
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15.

Purple Rain

Prince & The Revolution

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	292 charts
Rank in 1984:	1	Rank Score:	10,346
Rank in 1980s	15	Overall Rank:	114
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16.

Graceland

Paul Simon

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	287 charts
Rank in 1986:	3	Rank Score:	9,974
Rank in 1980s	16	Overall Rank:	121
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17.

Murmur

R.E.M.

Year of Release:	1983	Appears in:	273 charts
Rank in 1983:	1	Rank Score:	8,679
Rank in 1980s	17	Overall Rank:	136
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18.

Moving Pictures

Rush

Year of Release:	1981	Appears in:	224 charts
Rank in 1981:	1	Rank Score:	7,979
Rank in 1980s	18	Overall Rank:	151
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19.

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	229 charts
Rank in 1985:	2	Rank Score:	7,808
Rank in 1980s	19	Overall Rank:	154
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20.

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

Year of Release:	1989	Appears in:	228 charts
Rank in 1989:	4	Rank Score:	7,413
Rank in 1980s	20	Overall Rank:	168
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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%
Talking Heads	7	1%
Tom Waits	7	1%
R.E.M.	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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