Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by Mother Nature's Son

My favourite albums of the 1980s.

• Chart updated: 10/19/2019 17:15
• (Created: 09/01/2013 16:41).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 4 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 9 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

This chart is currently filtered to only show non soundtrack albums. (Remove this filter)

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist
• Date Added

1. (=)

Time 

 Electric Light Orchestra

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

I had not known this beatlesque time travel very long before it gave strong feelings of nostalgia. The fluffy 80s production might sound dated to some ears, but that's what gives this album its charm. Incredible songwriting too. Jeff Lynne is a genius!

Favourite tracks: "Twilight" & "21st Century Man" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

285 charts

Rank Score:

2,433

Rank in 1981:

6

Rank in 1980s:

110

Overall Rank:

718

Average Rating:

 76 (392 votes)

Comments:

38

2. (=)

The Joshua Tree 

 U2

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

The sound of four men who have tried a lot, but still haven't found what they're looking for. They're still on a spiritual journey to find their way and now they've come to a Joshua tree on a desert. The album is known for starting out with three great singles before it gets "boring", but that's not entirely true. It's on the second side that the album really starts to unfold its atmosphere.

Favourite tracks: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "With or Without You" & "Red Hill Mining Town" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

1,856 charts

Rank Score:

18,515

Rank in 1987:

1

Rank in 1980s:

6

Overall Rank:

52

Average Rating:

 83 (2,453 votes)

Comments:

228

3. (=)

Valotte 

 Julian Lennon

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Now this... is inheritance. While the music doesn't equal completely his father's, Julian Lennon's voice, as others have pointed out, is eerily similar to that of his old man. The nasal strained singing is all there, but the music is less bitter. Think a more youthful and vibrant "Imagine" (the album) spiced up with a few 80s trends!

Favourite tracks: "Valotte" & "On the Phone" [First added to this chart: 08/31/2014]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

21 charts

Rank Score:

94

Rank in 1984:

177

Rank in 1980s:

1,721

Overall Rank:

12,239

Average Rating:

 67 (33 votes)

Comments:

1

4. (=)

The Stone Roses 

 The Stone Roses

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Danceable guitar music with angelic vocals. Not the maddest Madchester album out there, but certainly the greatest. It feels great walking around in the city with this album in the ears.

Favourite tracks: "Made of Stone" & "This Is the One" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,018 charts

Rank Score:

23,446

Rank in 1989:

3

Rank in 1980s:

5

Overall Rank:

33

Average Rating:

 86 (2,290 votes)

Comments:

203

5. (=)

A Kind Of Magic 

 Queen

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

A kind of magic, indeed. More so than any other Queen album. It might not be their most deep album, but then again, it has "Who Wants to Live Forever". Just the album I need, one that makes you feel good.

Favourite tracks: "A Kind of Magic" & "Who Wants to Live Forever" [First added to this chart: 09/01/2013]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

192 charts

Rank Score:

760

Rank in 1986:

28

Rank in 1980s:

328

Overall Rank:

2,157

Average Rating:

 69 (325 votes)

Comments:

14

6. (=)

Doolittle 

 Pixies

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

The "Rubber Soul"/"Revolver" of the 80s, just more violent and insane!

Favourite tracks: "Debaser" & "Wave of Mutilation" [First added to this chart: 09/03/2013]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,543 charts

Rank Score:

32,418

Rank in 1989:

1

Rank in 1980s:

2

Overall Rank:

18

Average Rating:

 88 (2,945 votes)

Comments:

293

7. (=)

Graceland 

 Paul Simon

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Paul Simon invites us to his Graceland and reminds us that he's still a musical genius. The songwriting, the musicians and the world influences are amazing! "You Can Call Me Al" gets me fired up every single time!

Favourite tracks: "Graceland" & "You Can Call Me Al" [First added to this chart: 09/17/2013]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

1,132 charts

Rank Score:

10,894

Rank in 1986:

3

Rank in 1980s:

16

Overall Rank:

122

Average Rating:

 81 (1,349 votes)

Comments:

81

8. (=)

Watermark 

 Enya

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

My perception and probably the only thing I know about new age music. It's overly spiritual, but in the best way possible and exceptionally gorgeous. I also have a few childhood memories with Enya's music, but that's a boring story for another time!

Favourite tracks: "Watermark", "On Your Shore" & "Orinoco Flow" [First added to this chart: 09/20/2013]

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

193 charts

Rank Score:

940

Rank in 1988:

29

Rank in 1980s:

278

Overall Rank:

1,788

Average Rating:

 73 (242 votes)

Comments:

12

9. (=)

English Settlement 

 XTC

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Stimulating, but impossible to actually settle down with. An album this crazy and crazily creative and catchy will instead make your senses working overtime!

Favourite tracks: "Senses Working Overtime" & "Snowman" [First added to this chart: 03/31/2015]

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

293 charts

Rank Score:

1,575

Rank in 1982:

16

Rank in 1980s:

171

Overall Rank:

1,109

Average Rating:

 79 (352 votes)

Comments:

15

10. (=)

Structures From Silence 

 Steve Roach

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

Steve Roach has this magic gift of creating music that sounds exactly like how I imagine space: fascinating, frighteningly boundless and in many ways beyond our comprehension. "Structures From Silence" is a little more boiled down to a perceivable box than later Steve Roach albums, in other words, it sounds less like a "live recording" of space. It's more structured and surprisingly tranquil, which is perhaps its strength over more formless Steve Roach albums. I can only recommend it, it really soothes the soul. As a side note, the first couple of times I listened to ”Reflections in Suspension”, I thought the suspenseful, cooing-like melody was the sound of female vocals, but I realize now it's probably just a synth!

Favourite tracks: ”Reflections in Suspension” & ”Structures from Silence” [First added to this chart: 11/04/2017]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

85 charts

Rank Score:

429

Rank in 1984:

57

Rank in 1980s:

521

Overall Rank:

3,440

Average Rating:

 77 (79 votes)

Comments:

0

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• ...
• 9
• 10
• next »
• Goto Page: 

Total albums: 99. Page 1 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	11	11%
1981	7	7%
1982	12	12%
1983	9	9%
1984	11	11%
1985	8	8%
1986	12	12%
1987	12	12%
1988	8	8%
1989	10	10%

Artist	Albums	%
Queen	5	5%
XTC	4	4%
Barbra Streisand	4	4%
Paul McCartney	4	4%
Goombay Dance Band	3	3%
U2	3	3%
Julian Lennon	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	49	49%
	30	30%
	6	6%
	5	5%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 95th to 96th Sun Of Jamaica by Goombay Dance Band
Down 1 from 96th to 97th Notorious by Duran Duran
Down 1 from 97th to 98th Crowded House by Crowded House

New entries
Till I Loved You by Barbra Streisand

Leavers
Duran Duran by Duran Duran

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	StefanR10	1980s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	infinitejester	1980s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Juneof44	1980s decade chart	2016
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Martini	1980s decade chart	2022
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	PeterSmith	1980s decade chart	2022
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	JR	1980s decade chart	2024
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Pastiche	1980s decade chart	2024
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	dmack	1980s decade chart	2016
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	flyingcitrus	1980s decade chart	2018
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	AgainstMeAgainstYou	1980s decade chart	2019

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similarity to your chart(s)

Other decade charts by Mother Nature's Son

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s	Mother Nature's Son	2010s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s	Mother Nature's Son	2000s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s	Mother Nature's Son	1990s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Mother Nature's Son	1980s decade chart	2019
Top 86 Music Albums of the 1970s	Mother Nature's Son	1970s decade chart	2019
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s	Mother Nature's Son	1960s decade chart	2017
Top 12 Music Albums of the 1950s	Mother Nature's Son	1950s decade chart	2016

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 9 ratings for this chart.

Sort ratings

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	12/16/2018 19:45	NSPE	350	77/100
100/100	07/15/2016 19:23	buzzdainer	669	90/100
90/100	07/01/2016 08:33	Leonard	341	88/100
70/100	03/31/2015 18:58	sssvnnn	2,852	83/100
100/100	02/12/2015 06:21	serpico	155	80/100

• Related links:
• Top charts

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments

Showing all 4 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)

Rating:  

100/100

From buzzdainer 07/15/2016 19:27

Outstanding chart! Doolittle, Graceland, and The Stone Roses are all excellent albums that never seem to get old. I had sort of forgotten about Enya's Watermark album until I saw your chart--that's one I'd like to give a fresh listen. Thanks for providing so much fodder for discovery here!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From serpico 02/12/2015 06:24

¡Gran selección de discos! Me encanta ver tantos discos de Queen, la verdad que todos los discos que sacaron en los 80's me parecen buenos. También incluiste a Depeche Mode y Kate Bush, grandes elecciones también.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From JasonZaia 02/10/2015 23:43

Great chart! Very cool to see Queen's 'A Kind of Magic'! - a great album!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From NowhereMan 07/25/2014 21:25

Full marks for top spot.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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!