Best Albums of 1981

Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1981 year summaryThe best artists of 1981 were Rush, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Electric Light Orchestra, The Cure, The Human League, Black Flag and This Heat.
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Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
783.
Greatest Hit 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
787.
Kix 
United States Kix
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 79 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Artist Albums %


Various Artists 16 2%
Frank Zappa 5 1%
Scientist 3 0%
Simple Minds 3 0%
Gary Numan 3 0%
Kitarō 3 0%
David Bowie 3 0%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 303 30%
United Kingdom 284 28%
Germany 58 6%
Mixed Nationality 41 4%
Australia 36 4%
France 29 3%
Japan 27 3%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 938 94%
Yes 62 6%
Live? Albums %
No 970 97%
Yes 30 3%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 990 99%
Yes 10 1%
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