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	193,911	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,155	120,180	Moving Pictures (153rd)by Rush
1982	2,129	148,413	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,128	135,605	Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
1984	2,131	170,993	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,130	143,495	Hounds Of Love (57th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,256	171,198	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,458	162,742	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,544	152,027	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,563	197,573	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,609	1,596,137

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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601.

Freeze-Frame

The J. Geils Band

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

70 charts

Rank Score:

359

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

601

Overall Rank:

3,998

Average Rating:

70 (102 votes)

Comments:

602.

Through The Looking Glass

高田みどり [Midori Takada]

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

47 charts

Rank Score:

359

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

602

Overall Rank:

3,999

Average Rating:

79 (30 votes)

Comments:

603.

Construction Time Again

Depeche Mode

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

125 charts

Rank Score:

358

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

603

Overall Rank:

4,007

Average Rating:

71 (178 votes)

Comments:

604.

Cupid & Psyche 85

Scritti Politti

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

67 charts

Rank Score:

358

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

604

Overall Rank:

4,012

Average Rating:

70 (99 votes)

Comments:

605.

Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 2

Helloween

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

60 charts

Rank Score:

358

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

605

Overall Rank:

4,013

Average Rating:

74 (101 votes)

Comments:

606.

Rip It Up

Orange Juice

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

79 charts

Rank Score:

357

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

606

Overall Rank:

4,021

Average Rating:

75 (76 votes)

Comments:

607.

Hall Of The Mountain King

Savatage

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

47 charts

Rank Score:

356

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

607

Overall Rank:

4,027

Average Rating:

77 (62 votes)

Comments:

608.

Nada Personal

Soda Stereo

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

45 charts

Rank Score:

354

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

608

Overall Rank:

4,041

Average Rating:

76 (56 votes)

Comments:

609.

Gentlemen Take Polaroids

Japan

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

80 charts

Rank Score:

350

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

609

Overall Rank:

4,076

Average Rating:

75 (111 votes)

Comments:

610.

Automatic

The Jesus And Mary Chain

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

101 charts

Rank Score:

350

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

610

Overall Rank:

4,087

Average Rating:

74 (137 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 61 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%

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

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