Best Albums of the 1980s

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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	2,117	193,987	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,157	120,060	Moving Pictures (154th)by Rush
1982	2,129	148,193	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,128	135,385	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,133	170,954	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,136	143,896	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,261	170,449	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,462	162,552	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,556	152,034	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,568	197,173	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,647	1,594,684

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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321.

Like A Virgin

Madonna

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

211 charts

Rank Score:

790

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

321

Overall Rank:

2,096

Average Rating:

73 (302 votes)

Comments:

322.

Hallowed Ground

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

135 charts

Rank Score:

780

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

322

Overall Rank:

2,113

Average Rating:

77 (157 votes)

Comments:

323.

October

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

197 charts

Rank Score:

779

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

323

Overall Rank:

2,114

Average Rating:

72 (419 votes)

Comments:

324.

Abacab

Genesis

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

162 charts

Rank Score:

774

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

324

Overall Rank:

2,123

Average Rating:

70 (304 votes)

Comments:

325.

Jeopardy

The Sound

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

126 charts

Rank Score:

774

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

325

Overall Rank:

2,124

Average Rating:

78 (142 votes)

Comments:

326.

Ambient 4: On Land

Brian Eno

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

153 charts

Rank Score:

769

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

326

Overall Rank:

2,137

Average Rating:

78 (198 votes)

Comments:

327.

Rebel Yell

Billy Idol

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

175 charts

Rank Score:

762

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

327

Overall Rank:

2,151

Average Rating:

74 (193 votes)

Comments:

328.

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam And The Ants

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

142 charts

Rank Score:

762

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

328

Overall Rank:

2,152

Average Rating:

71 (194 votes)

Comments:

329.

Born Sandy Devotional

The Triffids

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

125 charts

Rank Score:

759

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

329

Overall Rank:

2,162

Average Rating:

76 (126 votes)

Comments:

330.

A Kind Of Magic

Queen

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

185 charts

Rank Score:

757

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

330

Overall Rank:

2,166

Average Rating:

69 (310 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 33 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	95	10%
1987	88	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 Smiths	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Talking Heads	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	418	42%
	385	39%
	39	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	965	97%
Yes	35	4%

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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Best Albums of the 1990s
1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. Nevermind by Nirvana
3. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
4. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
5. The Bends by Radiohead
6. Automatic For The People by R.E.M.
7. Ten by Pearl Jam
8. Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins
9. Grace by Jeff Buckley
10. In Utero by Nirvana
11. (What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
12. Illmatic by Nas
13. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós
14. Dummy by Portishead
15. Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer
16. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
17. Homogenic by Björk
18. Spiderland by Slint
19. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
20. Achtung Baby by U2