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	453	123,476	Closer (61st) by Joy Division
1981	492	64,389	Moving Pictures (152nd) by Rush
1982	480	83,920	Thriller (63rd) by Michael Jackson
1983	435	71,921	Murmur (137th) by R.E.M.
1984	482	105,623	Purple Rain (114th) by Prince & The Revolution
1985	446	78,492	Rain Dogs (103rd) by Tom Waits
1986	508	119,224	The Queen Is Dead (24th) by The Smiths
1987	539	124,281	The Joshua Tree (30th) by U2
1988	573	109,710	Daydream Nation (48th) by Sonic Youth
1989	628	151,294	Doolittle (21st) by Pixies
Total	5,036	1,032,331

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

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Rank

Album

Band

21.

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	214 charts
Rank in 1988:	3	Rank Score:	6,990
Rank in 1980s	21	Overall Rank:	178
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22.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	221 charts
Rank in 1984:	2	Rank Score:	6,953
Rank in 1980s	22	Overall Rank:	180
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23.

Legend

Bob Marley And The Wailers

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	168 charts
Rank in 1984:	3	Rank Score:	6,867
Rank in 1980s	23	Overall Rank:	184
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24.

Let It Be

The Replacements

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	198 charts
Rank in 1984:	4	Rank Score:	6,495
Rank in 1980s	24	Overall Rank:	194
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25.

Ride The Lightning

Metallica

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	171 charts
Rank in 1984:	5	Rank Score:	6,098
Rank in 1980s	25	Overall Rank:	207
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26.

The Smiths

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	212 charts
Rank in 1984:	6	Rank Score:	5,987
Rank in 1980s	26	Overall Rank:	209
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27.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	202 charts
Rank in 1985:	3	Rank Score:	5,944
Rank in 1980s	27	Overall Rank:	211
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28.

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:	1983	Appears in:	203 charts
Rank in 1983:	2	Rank Score:	5,360
Rank in 1980s	28	Overall Rank:	228
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29.

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

Year of Release:	1982	Appears in:	141 charts
Rank in 1982:	2	Rank Score:	5,237
Rank in 1980s	29	Overall Rank:	234
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30.

Sign 'o' the Times

Prince

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	177 charts
Rank in 1987:	3	Rank Score:	5,187
Rank in 1980s	30	Overall Rank:	237
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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	99	10%
1985	84	8%
1986	101	10%
1987	90	9%
1988	103	10%
1989	99	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%
Eurythmics	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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