Best Albums of the 1980s

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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	2,115	193,905	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,154	120,199	Moving Pictures (153rd)by Rush
1982	2,129	148,335	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,126	135,606	Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
1984	2,129	170,993	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,131	143,730	Hounds Of Love (57th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,254	170,893	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,455	162,678	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,544	151,997	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,563	197,481	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,600	1,595,817

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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221.

The Lion And The Cobra

Sinéad O'Connor

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

195 charts

Rank Score:

1,246

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

221

Overall Rank:

1,392

Average Rating:

78 (189 votes)

Comments:

222.

Pump

Aerosmith

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

260 charts

Rank Score:

1,244

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

222

Overall Rank:

1,395

Average Rating:

73 (394 votes)

Comments:

223.

Substance
Compilation

Joy Division

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

206 charts

Rank Score:

1,244

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

223

Overall Rank:

1,397

Average Rating:

82 (368 votes)

Comments:

224.

Head Over Heels

Cocteau Twins

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

214 charts

Rank Score:

1,240

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

224

Overall Rank:

1,401

Average Rating:

77 (255 votes)

Comments:

225.

Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

197 charts

Rank Score:

1,237

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

225

Overall Rank:

1,403

Average Rating:

78 (219 votes)

Comments:

226.

Bug

Dinosaur Jr.

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

273 charts

Rank Score:

1,237

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

226

Overall Rank:

1,404

Average Rating:

78 (282 votes)

Comments:

227.

Oh Mercy

Bob Dylan

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

245 charts

Rank Score:

1,226

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

227

Overall Rank:

1,416

Average Rating:

75 (371 votes)

Comments:

228.

Clutching At Straws

Marillion

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

136 charts

Rank Score:

1,201

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

228

Overall Rank:

1,441

Average Rating:

79 (171 votes)

Comments:

229.

Your Funeral... My Trial

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

194 charts

Rank Score:

1,184

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

229

Overall Rank:

1,461

Average Rating:

77 (215 votes)

Comments:

230.

Movement

New Order

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

220 charts

Rank Score:

1,180

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

230

Overall Rank:

1,470

Average Rating:

76 (288 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 23 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	96	10%
1987	87	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	97	10%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	417	42%
	385	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	966	97%
Yes	34	3%

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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