Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by 
Tamthebam 
Not my most favourite decade but once I started compiling this chart I began to realise that it wasn't that bad! I went through some bad times during this time so that may have influenced my choices, I loved Linda Ronstadt's album "What's New" and this made me investigate the original torch singers who first sang the songs on this great albun of covers. RnB/Soul music was what I was listening to most at this time. I enjoy all types of music except heavy metal. I did not include any compilation albums that are already included in my year charts.
- Chart updated: 03/17/2024 10:45
- (Created: 08/24/2013 15:21).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 12 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 17 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
Rickie Lee Jones 3rd studio album is one of her best. Gravity, It Must Be Love and Runaround are all brilliant songs , the final tracks are a mini suite - Rorschachs/Theme For The Pope - The Unsigned Painting/The Weird Beast and is a haunting end to the album.
[First added to this chart: 10/24/2013]
2
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 10/24/2013]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Timeless is the best way to describe this album in fact it was ahead of its time when released. The obvious influence of African rhythms and vocals brought a new sound to most well at least to me. I know world music existed but it took Paul Simon, a prominent musician, to bring it to peoples attention with this album & Rhythm of the Saints. The best tracks on this album are Under African Skies, Homeless, Graceland & You Can Call Me Al. The Boy in The Bubble is also worth a listen.
[First added to this chart: 08/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,836
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The best album released in 1980 was appropriately by Bowie the most prolific artist of the 70's. The first 6 tracks are brilliant and then the album tails off, Kingdom Come is the low point and It's No Game Pt.2 is not a patch on Pt.1. Overall though it is a great album and would be the end of Bowie's run of diverse and relevant albums until Outside in 1995.
[First added to this chart: 08/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,944
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 10/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,330
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
A great double album full of brilliant songs. Maybe not his best but it is right up there. Sign O The Times, Girlfriend & I Could Never Take .......Man are the best songs followed by Hot Thing, Slow Love & Adore. The album is full of many different styles and that is a good thing. I love albums that make you explore other forms of music.
[First added to this chart: 08/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,276
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
A great double album from Sting contains some of his best songs Englishman In New York, Fragile, a good cover of Little Wing and 3 songs about how the heart rules over the head Lazarus... Straight To My... and Be Still my Beating.... They Dance Alone & We'll Be Together deserve a mention also. Overall the album has a worldly feel to it.
[First added to this chart: 08/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,464
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
18. (=)
Safe Mode: On Certain images on this site may contain adult content and are flagged as 'unsafe'. BestEverAlbums.com does not display these images by default, but you may choose to show or hide these images from your profile page. If you choose to hide these images, you'll see an image with a warning message instead of the actual image. If you choose to show them, you'll see these images no differently than regular (safe) images.
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Prince at his best, Alphabet Street, Glam Slam, Lovesexy, When 2 R in Love, I Wish U Heaven & Positivity make this a great Prince album and one of his better offerings. It runs smoothly from beginning to end.
[First added to this chart: 10/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
593
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
443
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,988
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 2 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1980 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1981 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1982 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1983 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1984 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1985 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1986 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1987 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1988 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1989 | 11 | 11% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Smiths | 6 | 6% | |
| Linda Ronstadt | 5 | 5% | |
| Kate Bush | 4 | 4% | |
| Prince | 4 | 4% | |
| Eurythmics | 4 | 4% | |
| Joan Armatrading | 3 | 3% | |
| Prince And The Revolution | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 9 from 76th to 67th Break Out by Pointer Sisters |
| Up 8 from 74th to 66th Poetic Champions Compose by Van Morrison |
| Up 2 from 55th to 53rd Rain Dogs by Tom Waits |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 14 from 62nd to 76th Breakin' Away by Al Jarreau |
| Down 1 from 51st to 52nd Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman |
| Down 1 from 53rd to 54th Trio by Dolly Parton / Linda Ronstadt / Emmylou Harris |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by mnorris75 (2013)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by MARTINBORS (2022)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by seanie542 (2016)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by
Julelios (2019) - Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by nf0603 (2013)
- Top 97 Music Albums of the 1980s by davidhuret (2020)
- Best Albums of the 1980s by Slant Magazine (2012)
- My Overall Chart 401- 500 (1953-2020) by Tamthebam (2023)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by
eclab (2023) - Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by Brandonjtg (2021)
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall 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.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Other decade charts by Tamthebam
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s by Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s by
Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s by
Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by
Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by
Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1950s by
Tamthebam (2024)Top 70 Music Albums of the 1940s by
Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings
91/100 (from 17 votes)
where:
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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 17 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 06/28/2021 21:09 |  Larcx13 | | 86/100 |
| 100/100 | 12/19/2020 19:18 |  jnfbn | | 96/100 |
| 100/100 | 12/11/2020 02:44 | Lgk21 | | 95/100 |
| 95/100 | 12/10/2020 17:42 |  seb7 | | 91/100 |
| 90/100 | 12/10/2020 09:37 |  Purplepash | | 88/100 |
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 is rated in the top 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.5/100, a mean average of 93.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.5.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a favourite
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 12 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
100/100
From jnfbn 12/19/2020 19:22
jnfbn 12/19/2020 19:22
Great chart! Don't agree with general dislike of the 80s, i think it's as good as the 90s, and this chart greatly shows one of the reasons why!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Lgk21 12/11/2020 02:44
Love seeing Pirates at number 1. Such an unbelievable album.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From seb7 12/10/2020 17:42
seb7 12/10/2020 17:42
super cool 80s-aficionado list. Rapture is a very cool album
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Purplepash 12/10/2020 09:42
Purplepash 12/10/2020 09:42
I have total respect for your very different taste in '80s music to mine, yet we still manage to share 19 albums in common atm - admittedly all from only 8 artists :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From WillyMac 06/12/2020 16:40
Very interesting chart. It exposes how few women and black artists I have on my 80s chart by comparison. I think I will start exploring with your Joan Armatrading album from 1980. I only know her from her hits in the 70s. Thanks.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
911Turbo 04/22/2020 01:01
911Turbo 04/22/2020 01:01
i love your chart: original ( i have never seen rickie lee rated so high),
honest (my observations indicate people listen to a top 20 album and it instantly is on their list),
unique ( leans towards female singers- nothing wrong with that. most lists are male oriented),
surprising ( i also love "rattle and hum" and think it is very unrated. nice to see you enjoy it).
definitely worth writing about- dynamite top 3 picks.
#1 rickie lee #2 linda ronstadt #3 anita baker ( who would have known?).
im not a prince fan like you are- im really shocked to see prince and the revolution in the 90s!
different from what i normally listen to, yet we have some similarities- graceland, rattle and hum, tunnel of love ( this is such an amazing album),REM, john lennon (incredible album). not a lot but some!!
one more thing: i wish you would have written a comment for every album. it gives the album a nice personal touch.
Because of this, im going to give Diana Ross, rickie lee and ronstadt a spin.
thankyou for sharing the list with us.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From pctrooper 02/27/2020 13:45
Also, thanks for introducing me to Rickie Lee Jones through your charts. Very good!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From pctrooper 02/27/2020 13:33
I don't really like 80's much but this chart is sweet. Just needs some Genesis albums :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From 
bobbyb5 02/04/2017 22:32
bobbyb5 02/04/2017 22:32
Shouting Stage and Living My Life. Nice move!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
CharlieBarley 01/04/2017 20:25
CharlieBarley 01/04/2017 20:25
You have a lot of the big hitters from the 80s yet also enough of your own picks to make it a unique chart. 32 albums in common with mine. The 80s were a difficult time for me too. I went from childhood to adolescence then. The first half was largely bliss the 2nd half of the 80s was pants. I still can't listen to half of the music from the year 1987, save the Joshua Tree, Sign O' The Times and Whitney H. But I have to remember there were more good times than bad times. Overall a great chart. Good work Tam!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.