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 9,700 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	459	123,426	Closer (60th) by Joy Division
1981	499	64,835	Moving Pictures (153rd) by Rush
1982	484	84,035	Thriller (64th) by Michael Jackson
1983	443	72,561	Murmur (141st) by R.E.M.
1984	487	106,156	Purple Rain (115th) by Prince & The Revolution
1985	457	79,479	Rain Dogs (100th) by Tom Waits
1986	517	120,626	The Queen Is Dead (23rd) by The Smiths
1987	548	124,550	The Joshua Tree (31st) by U2
1988	583	110,734	Daydream Nation (49th) by Sonic Youth
1989	637	152,855	Doolittle (21st) by Pixies
Total	5,114	1,039,257

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:	224 charts
Rank in 1988:	3	Rank Score:	7,005
Rank in 1980s	21	Overall Rank:	179
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22.

Legend

Bob Marley And The Wailers

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	174 charts
Rank in 1984:	2	Rank Score:	6,996
Rank in 1980s	22	Overall Rank:	181
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23.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	226 charts
Rank in 1984:	3	Rank Score:	6,985
Rank in 1980s	23	Overall Rank:	182
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24.

Let It Be

The Replacements

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	199 charts
Rank in 1984:	4	Rank Score:	6,433
Rank in 1980s	24	Overall Rank:	198
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25.

Ride The Lightning

Metallica

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	172 charts
Rank in 1984:	5	Rank Score:	6,128
Rank in 1980s	25	Overall Rank:	206
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26.

The Smiths

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	216 charts
Rank in 1984:	6	Rank Score:	6,107
Rank in 1980s	26	Overall Rank:	207
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27.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	205 charts
Rank in 1985:	3	Rank Score:	5,926
Rank in 1980s	27	Overall Rank:	213
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28.

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:	1983	Appears in:	209 charts
Rank in 1983:	2	Rank Score:	5,655
Rank in 1980s	28	Overall Rank:	217
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29.

Spirit Of Eden

Talk Talk

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	163 charts
Rank in 1988:	4	Rank Score:	5,516
Rank in 1980s	29	Overall Rank:	226
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30.

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

Year of Release:	1982	Appears in:	144 charts
Rank in 1982:	2	Rank Score:	5,263
Rank in 1980s	30	Overall Rank:	238
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Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	106	11%
1981	119	12%
1982	96	10%
1983	99	10%
1984	98	10%
1985	87	9%
1986	101	10%
1987	90	9%
1988	103	10%
1989	101	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	%

	414	41%
	410	41%
	38	4%
	29	3%
	14	1%
	14	1%
	13	1%
Show all

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