100 Best Albums of the Eighties
by Rolling Stone (1989) 
Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California. These are their best albums of 1980s.
(Official website: https://www.rollingstone.com | Original URL Warning: The address at the original source was valid at the time the chart was added, but may have changed afterwards. )
There are 57 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and 100 Best Albums of the Eighties has an average rating of 68 out of 100 (from 149 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
Log in or create an account to rate this chart, leave comments or join the discussion.
Available from
I know we use the original release date of 1979 on this site, but in the US it wasn't released until January 1980 therefore qualifying for this list by Rolling Stone.
Year of Release:
1979*
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,852
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,130
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,961
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,390
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,310
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,686
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,977
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,642
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,034
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,940
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
100 Best Albums of the Eighties composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1981 | 5 | 5% | |
| 1982 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1983 | 15 | 15% | |
| 1984 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1987 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1988 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1989 | 5 | 5% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Prince | 4 | 4% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 4 | 4% | |
| John Mellencamp | 2 | 2% | |
| R.E.M. | 2 | 2% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 2 | 2% | |
| Elvis Costello | 2 | 2% | |
| U2 | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
100 Best Albums of the Eighties similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of the 1980s | WayneMC | Custom chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  rockbluesfolkjaz | 1980s decade chart | 2022 | |
| Die 100 besten Alben der 1980er Jahre | Popkultur.de | 1980s decade chart | 2022 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Finky | 1980s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Best Albums of the 1980s | Slant Magazine | 1980s decade chart | 2012 | |
| Top 73 Music Albums of the 1980s |  RFNAPLES | 1980s decade chart | 2013 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | hahol | 1980s decade chart | 2017 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | daftpunter | 1980s decade chart | 2012 | |
| Top 93 Music Albums of the 1980s | elton229 | 1980s decade chart | 2012 |  |
100 Best Albums of the Eighties similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Creating an account is quick, easy and FREE!
Join 50,000+ music fans
- Join a community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Influence the overall album rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Unlock Dark Mode and other member features.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- And much more.
Join now It only takes a moment.
Other 1980s decade charts
A total of 25 charts from recognised sources are available for 1980s, with the 3 most prominent highlighted below. Additionally, there are 812 user submitted charts covering this period.
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Albums of the 1980s | Pitchfork | 1980s decade chart | 2002 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s | New Music Express | 1980s decade chart | 1990 | |
| 100 Best Albums of the Eighties | Rolling Stone | 1980s decade chart | 1989 | |
Other charts by Rolling Stone
A total of 45 charts from Rolling Stone are available; the 3 most recent of this type are highlighted below.
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Best Albums of the 2010s | Rolling Stone | 2010s decade chart | 2019 | |
| 100 Best Albums of the 2000s | Rolling Stone | 2000s decade chart | 2011 | |
| 100 Best Albums of the Nineties | Rolling Stone | 1990s decade chart | 2010 | |
100 Best Albums of the Eighties ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 149 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 12/24/2023 09:02 | Junomoogmello | 15 | 87/100 |
| ! | 12/27/2022 15:06 |  Igtonumama | 16 | 89/100 |
| ! | 10/29/2020 16:29 | Tony58 | 39 | 77/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 68.5/100, a mean average of 67.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 67.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 24.6.
Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to leave a rating
100 Best Albums of the Eighties favourites
Showing all 2 members who have added this chart as a favourite
100 Best Albums of the Eighties forum mentions
This chart hasn't been referenced yet on the forums.
100 Best Albums of the Eighties comments
Showing latest 5 comments | Show all 57 comments |
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
From
makerofbuckets TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/07/2015 03:34 | #136296
makerofbuckets TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/07/2015 03:34 | #136296
If Dylan released an album in 2023 of him reciting Fifty Shades of Gray while chad kroeger hummed like a rolling stone in the background the whole time they'd give it a 5/5 and put it in the top 20 of the decade.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6
Log in to reply
From
Cojo7 03/06/2016 01:15 | #161397
Cojo7 03/06/2016 01:15 | #161397
4 Springsteen albums and no Stone Roses or Pixies, shit list from the shittiest music reviewers not named Robert Christgau.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6
Log in to reply
From
Antonio-Pedro TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/26/2013 11:30 | #89257
Antonio-Pedro TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/26/2013 11:30 | #89257
What about daydream nation? Too Low for This chart and London Calling Is Not From the 80's
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5
Log in to reply
From
Graeme2 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/12/2013 22:10 | #97381
Graeme2 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/12/2013 22:10 | #97381
Ha. Rolling stone. Never read it. Never will. Poor to say the least. Is there anyone else in the world who thinks metallicas best 80s album is kill em all? Cmon.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4
Log in to reply
From
SoulKitchen 10/21/2018 19:12 | #222902
Reading through the comments, there are several considerations here:
1. 'Double Fantasy' was released on November 17, 1980, so it is an 80s album.
2. London Calling was released on December, 14, 1979. So, it depends on how technical you want to get.
3. To their detriment, Rolling Stone couldn't give a shit about strength of composition or musicianship when ranking these albums. They've always catered to culture and relevance. So if you're interested in a musical list, then go elsewhere.
4. The exclusion of many well-deserving pop and metal albums on this list is a sham.
5. In the original 1989 article, RS had the audacity to state that there were no real musical revolutions in the 80s. I guess they had no clue about musical revolutions started by Eddie Van Halen, The Clash, or Run DMC. Like every decade in popular music, the 80s was a musical capsule filled with plenty of revolutions.
6. The fact that the original RS article was written in 1989 would lead me to believe that, if given another shot at it, RS would make quite a few changes. As was mentioned earlier, the attempt to bridge 60's hippie and psychadelic rock with 80's pop/new wave/ metal, is blatant.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
Log in to reply
What do you think of this chart? Join the conversation!!
Log in or create an account to rate this chart, leave comments or join the discussion.
