Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by pjerske

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Buy album United States
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Albumrating: 10/10 [First added to this chart: 09/16/2013]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
580
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 10/05/2016]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,284
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 09/12/2013]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
82
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 10/05/2016]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
513
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 05/14/2018]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
201
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 09/13/2013]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
81
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 07/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
72
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 11/25/2019]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
63
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 11/11/2015]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
159
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Albumrating: 9/10 [First added to this chart: 09/12/2013]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 11 11%
1981 12 12%
1982 12 12%
1983 8 8%
1984 11 11%
1985 7 7%
1986 9 9%
1987 10 10%
1988 9 9%
1989 11 11%
Artist Albums %


Prince 3 3%
Jandek 3 3%
Kath Bloom & Loren Mazzacane 3 3%
Lewis 2 2%
Mekons 2 2%
Talk Talk 2 2%
Jon Hassell 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 47 47%
United Kingdom 19 19%
Japan 6 6%
Germany 5 5%
Hungary 4 4%
Canada 3 3%
Mixed Nationality 3 3%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%
Live? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 2 from 16th to 14th
Early Works
by Steve Reich
Climber Up 2 from 15th to 13th
God, Time And Causality
by John Fahey
Climber Up 1 from 13th to 12th
The Mekons Rock 'N' Roll
by Mekons
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 4 from 12th to 16th
Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics
by Jon Hassell & Brian Eno
Faller Down 2 from 9th to 11th
Rum Sodomy & The Lash
by The Pogues
Faller Down 1 from 14th to 15th
Tektra
by Roland Kayn
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980sTidus19971980s decade chart2019
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980smaxjelbart1980s decade chart2020
Top 100 Albums of the 1980sPitchfork1980s decade chart2002United States
Pitchfork: The 100 Best Albums Of The 1980s (2002)WayneMCCustom chart2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s Shepard1980s decade chart2014
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980sdwils08911980s decade chart2012
The 200 Best Albums of the 1980sPitchfork1980s decade chart2018United States
Pitchfork: The 200 Best Albums Of The 1980s (1-100) [2018]WayneMCCustom chart2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s Glitterboiii1980s decade chart2023
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980sjdizzle1234561980s decade chart2025

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings

Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 21 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
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 21 ratings for this chart.

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RatingDate updatedMemberChart ratingsAvg. chart rating
  
70/100
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02/21/2025 16:14 BorderFreeAndrew  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 9881/100
  
95/100
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02/21/2025 11:01 LedZep  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,10384/100
  
80/100
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02/21/2025 09:26 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,10685/100
  
75/100
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10/16/2023 19:51 Johnnyo  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,53980/100
  
80/100
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10/16/2023 08:25 Moondance  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 47685/100

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 5% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.8/100, a mean average of 90.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.2.

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments

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Rating:  
70/100
From 02/21/2025 16:14
Pro - Nicely avoids the obvious choices that usually show up in most 80's charts.
Con - Far too dependent on anti-pop/avant-garde music. I like some of that stuff too, but it would have shown refreshing diversity & levity to see some mainstream pop, rock, or soul mixed in there (beyond the 4 Prince albums).
#307713 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 10/16/2023 19:52
Interesting and very person chart. Enjoyed checking it out
#299509 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/24/2022 04:48
I loved looking over your chart ~ so very different from my own tastes (we only have 3 albums in common). That is the beauty of music and how we connect to it. I appreciate/respect your selections and will check out a few albums/artists that I've missed along my own musical journey.
#289923 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/27/2021 17:47
Die Kreuzen!
#267829 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/26/2018 22:40
so many albums I can't wait to check out
#217333 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/06/2014 18:37
you're doing great dude!
#128859 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/04/2014 14:47
Great Chart!
Very personal picks, a lot hardcore and than... Suzanne Vega, Eno and Madonna in between! Funny funny!
#102212 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/26/2013 07:22
Perfect!!!
#98795 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Your feedback for Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s

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Best Albums of 1951
1. Genius Of Modern Music by Thelonious Monk
2. Masterpieces By Ellington by Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
3. Hank Williams Sings by Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys
4. Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite by Machito
5. Ritual Of The Savage by Les Baxter
6. On Moonlight Bay by Doris Day
7. Les Paul's New Sound, Vol. 2 by Les Paul & Mary Ford
8. Satchmo At Symphony Hall by Louis Armstrong
9. Lover Man by Billie Holiday
10. The New Sounds by Miles Davis
11. Sonatas And Interludes For Prepared Piano By John Cage by Maro Ajemian
12. Judy At The Palace by Judy Garland
13. Encores by Édith Piaf
14. Talking And Drum Solos by Baby Dodds
15. Lullaby Of Broadway by Doris Day
16. 1ère Série: Félix Leclerc Chante Ses Derniers Succès by Félix Leclerc
17. George Gershwin: Porgy And Bess by Lehman Engel / Lawrence Winters / Camilla Williams / Inez Matthews / Warren Coleman / Avon Long
18. The Great Caruso by Mario Lanza
19. Blessed Assurance by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
20. I'll See You In My Dreams by Doris Day
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