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	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 (49th) 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

41.

Swordfishtrombones

Tom Waits

Year of Release:	1983	Appears in:	135 charts
Rank in 1983:	5	Rank Score:	3,630
Rank in 1980s	41	Overall Rank:	323
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42.

Hatful Of Hollow

The Smiths

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	106 charts
Rank in 1984:	7	Rank Score:	3,548
Rank in 1980s	42	Overall Rank:	328
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43.

The Unforgettable Fire

Year of Release:	1984	Appears in:	149 charts
Rank in 1984:	8	Rank Score:	3,510
Rank in 1980s	43	Overall Rank:	331
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44.

Bad

Michael Jackson

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	123 charts
Rank in 1987:	5	Rank Score:	3,481
Rank in 1980s	44	Overall Rank:	332
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45.

The Dreaming

Kate Bush

Year of Release:	1982	Appears in:	109 charts
Rank in 1982:	4	Rank Score:	3,467
Rank in 1980s	45	Overall Rank:	334
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46.

Document

R.E.M.

Year of Release:	1987	Appears in:	159 charts
Rank in 1987:	6	Rank Score:	3,338
Rank in 1980s	46	Overall Rank:	347
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47.

Lifes Rich Pageant

R.E.M.

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	111 charts
Rank in 1986:	5	Rank Score:	3,311
Rank in 1980s	47	Overall Rank:	350
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48.

Reign In Blood

Slayer

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	87 charts
Rank in 1986:	6	Rank Score:	3,305
Rank in 1980s	48	Overall Rank:	352
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49.

Licensed To Ill

Beastie Boys

Year of Release:	1986	Appears in:	134 charts
Rank in 1986:	7	Rank Score:	3,302
Rank in 1980s	49	Overall Rank:	354
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50.

Bleach

Nirvana

Year of Release:	1989	Appears in:	137 charts
Rank in 1989:	5	Rank Score:	3,265
Rank in 1980s	50	Overall Rank:	359
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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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