Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by bonafini

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Buy album United States
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I admit I'm certainly not the indicated person for an unbiased criticism of The Smiths. They played a very important role in my life not only in cementing my incipient musical taste in my early teens but also in serving as a friend in times of severe harshness. Well, the same old story.

They are not the kind of friend that will hug you gently and reassert your narcisism, though, they are much better a friend than that. Morrissey's bittersweet sarcasm doesn't leave anyone unimpaired -- not even and most importantly himself -- and, by the sound of the intricately painstaking, overtly passionate and dreadfully catching guitar of Johnny Marr, the extravagant crooner delivers heads one after the other on victorian silver trays.

These tiny, glossy bits of musical humanness are most vividly and cleverly performed in this collection of songs that is perfect for every single second of its lenght.
[First added to this chart: 08/20/2016]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,987
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 1046 votes)  85 (1,046 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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'Sonic Youth' is the perfect name for them. Not only because it's cool as fuck, but because it fits perfectly their music's spirit: they know what youth sounds like. Sometimes it's furious and full of energy, sometimes it's painful and difficult and sometimes it's just too real. The kind of thing that makes you have that feeling of something in your chest wanting to come out but not being able to. You feel angry, revolted, but also adventurous and willful to live. [First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,561
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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It's not a mere coincidence Talking Head's masterpiece was brought to life in the year of 1980. Remain in Light is the album that opened and founded the '80s. And it not only settled the grounds for what would be developed in the neon decade (what would be of Prince without this shit?) but managed to be the best record ever made in terms of funky dancy '80s-y music. [First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,535
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (87/100 - 2298 votes)  87 (2,298 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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I've been carefully bringing this thing up in my charts for a long time now, but now is the time to admit: this is the shit. Each time I listen to it I love it more and more and I've come to the conclusion that this is me in album form. Marxist-leninist post-punk hardcore funky semi-philosophical half ironic half deadly serious music speaks for me from the first of my curls to the tip of my toe. [First added to this chart: 07/24/2014]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,752
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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This album is an open wound. Its songs are not played, they are bled. A big part of why this is so astonishng is not really on a compositional level — though one mustn't fail to mention that the lyrical imagery and melodical-atmospheric bass lines are absolutely remarkable —, but in the ardent vocal and guitar performances of Dean Wareham. He dramatically reshapes punk's instrumental untidiness and what was for the overflowing of raw power and energy comes as the overflowing of sentiment. This transformation is a musical and ethical statement:

"Why's everybody actin funny?
Why's everybody look so strange?
Why's everybody look so nasty/pretty?
What do I want with all these things?"

It comes as if saying: maybe it's not just them, maybe we also don't know how to heal this wound.
[First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,040
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 04/19/2015]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,211
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,231
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 1924 votes)  85 (1,924 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
241
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,577
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 05/22/2014]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,153
Rank in 1984:
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 14 14%
1981 13 13%
1982 13 13%
1983 11 11%
1984 15 15%
1985 6 6%
1986 5 5%
1987 8 8%
1988 9 9%
1989 6 6%
Artist Albums %


Hüsker Dü 1 1%
Pylon 1 1%
The Lines 1 1%
Vzyadoq Moe 1 1%
Swans 1 1%
Marvin Gaye 1 1%
The The 1 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 36 36%
United Kingdom 36 36%
Brazil 18 18%
Mixed Nationality 4 4%
Cuba 2 2%
Germany 1 1%
Iceland 1 1%
Show all
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 2 from 42nd to 40th
Purple Rain
by Prince And The Revolution
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 40th to 41st
Violeta De Outono
by Violeta De Outono
Faller Down 1 from 41st to 42nd
Gyrate
by Pylon
Faller Down 1 from 43rd to 44th
Here Comes Everybody
by The Wake
Leavers
Leaver Circense
by Egberto Gismonti
TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s MrFrogger1980s decade chart2015
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ssteve1980s decade chart2023
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980sOFarrio1980s decade chart2023
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s flyingcitrus1980s decade chart2018Unknown
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s Mattdup2791980s decade chart2020
Top 99 Music Albums of the 1980s CellarDoor1980s decade chart2012
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980sWeepingguitarman1980s decade chart2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s StefanR101980s decade chart2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980sTidus19971980s decade chart2019
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s unwound1980s decade chart2012

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TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s bonafini2010s decade chart2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s bonafini2000s decade chart2020
Top 95 Music Albums of the 1990s bonafini1990s decade chart2023
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s bonafini1980s decade chart2022
bonafini has created 4 other 1980s decade charts - click here to explore them all.

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89/100 (from 3 votes)
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11/28/2020 00:30 Purplepash   1,69088/100
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04/05/2018 16:47 ribeiro85   10491/100
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02/21/2014 23:53 strada95   5996/100
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From 02/21/2014 23:53 | #103946
Opa, beleza de chart!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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