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	451	122,940	Closer (60th) by Joy Division
1981	490	64,274	Moving Pictures (151st) by Rush
1982	477	83,725	Thriller (63rd) by Michael Jackson
1983	432	71,404	Murmur (136th) by R.E.M.
1984	477	105,019	Purple Rain (115th) by Prince & The Revolution
1985	444	78,161	Rain Dogs (103rd) by Tom Waits
1986	503	118,421	The Queen Is Dead (24th) by The Smiths
1987	534	123,655	The Joshua Tree (30th) by U2
1988	566	109,421	Daydream Nation (48th) by Sonic Youth
1989	620	150,607	Doolittle (21st) by Pixies
Total	4,994	1,027,628

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

31.

Sign 'o' the Times

Prince

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	175 charts
Rank in 1987:	3	Rank Score:	5,175
Rank in 1980s	31	Overall Rank:	238
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32.

Meat is Murder

The Smiths

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	166 charts
Rank in 1985:	4	Rank Score:	5,030
Rank in 1980s	32	Overall Rank:	247
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33.

Psychocandy

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Year of Release:	1985	Appears in:	163 charts
Rank in 1985:	5	Rank Score:	4,704
Rank in 1980s	33	Overall Rank:	259
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34.

Synchronicity

The Police

Year of Release:	1983	Appears in:	190 charts
Rank in 1983:	3	Rank Score:	4,675
Rank in 1980s	34	Overall Rank:	261
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35.

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	172 charts
Rank in 1986:	4	Rank Score:	4,450
Rank in 1980s	35	Overall Rank:	269
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36.

...And Justice For All

Metallica

Year of Release:	1988	Appears in:	129 charts
Rank in 1988:	5	Rank Score:	4,429
Rank in 1980s	36	Overall Rank:	270
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37.

War

Year of Release:	1983	Appears in:	199 charts
Rank in 1983:	4	Rank Score:	4,404
Rank in 1980s	37	Overall Rank:	272
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38.

Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

Dead Kennedys

Year of Release:	1980	Appears in:	145 charts
Rank in 1980:	4	Rank Score:	4,195
Rank in 1980s	38	Overall Rank:	283
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39.

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	141 charts
Rank in 1987:	4	Rank Score:	4,174
Rank in 1980s	39	Overall Rank:	286
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40.

Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:	1982	Appears in:	162 charts
Rank in 1982:	3	Rank Score:	4,172
Rank in 1980s	40	Overall Rank:	287
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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	98	10%
1985	85	9%
1986	99	10%
1987	90	9%
1988	103	10%
1989	101	10%

Band	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Prince	8	1%
Tom Waits	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Rush	7	1%
The Smiths	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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