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	2,115	193,859	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,155	120,147	Moving Pictures (153rd)by Rush
1982	2,129	148,353	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,128	135,561	Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
1984	2,132	170,911	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,134	143,500	Hounds Of Love (57th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,258	171,215	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,461	162,694	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,544	152,020	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,565	197,466	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,621	1,595,727

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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511.

Hearts And Bones

Paul Simon

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

119 charts

Rank Score:

445

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

511

Overall Rank:

3,315

Average Rating:

72 (140 votes)

Comments:

512.

AutoAmerican

Blondie

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

107 charts

Rank Score:

443

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

512

Overall Rank:

3,325

Average Rating:

74 (151 votes)

Comments:

513.

Boys And Girls

Bryan Ferry

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

97 charts

Rank Score:

443

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

513

Overall Rank:

3,327

Average Rating:

76 (119 votes)

Comments:

514.

Touch

Eurythmics

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

146 charts

Rank Score:

443

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

514

Overall Rank:

3,329

Average Rating:

73 (198 votes)

Comments:

515.

From Gardens Where We Feel Secure

Virginia Astley

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

59 charts

Rank Score:

441

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

515

Overall Rank:

3,339

Average Rating:

76 (46 votes)

Comments:

516.

Altars Of Madness

Morbid Angel

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

84 charts

Rank Score:

440

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

516

Overall Rank:

3,345

Average Rating:

74 (106 votes)

Comments:

517.

Out Of Step

Minor Threat

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

121 charts

Rank Score:

438

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

517

Overall Rank:

3,359

Average Rating:

75 (132 votes)

Comments:

518.

End Of The Century

Ramones

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

115 charts

Rank Score:

437

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

518

Overall Rank:

3,366

Average Rating:

73 (163 votes)

Comments:

519.

Forever Breathes The Lonely Word

Felt

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

93 charts

Rank Score:

437

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

519

Overall Rank:

3,367

Average Rating:

79 (85 votes)

Comments:

520.

Suicidal Tendencies

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

94 charts

Rank Score:

436

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

520

Overall Rank:

3,371

Average Rating:

73 (111 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 52 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	79	8%
1986	96	10%
1987	88	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	97	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
U2	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
The Smiths	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%

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