Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by 
NowhereMan 
Receptive to all recommendations. Chart remains a work in progress.
- Chart updated: 11/10/2025 18:45
- (Created: 07/03/2014 11:16).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 2 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 8 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show non soundtrack albums. (Remove this filter)
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[First added to this chart: 07/11/2014]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,397
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 10/29/2017]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,363
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 03/20/2021]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,097
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/03/2021]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
445
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/11/2014]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,978
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 11/14/2017]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,036
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/11/2014]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
23,023
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/11/2014]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/11/2014]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,864
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/21/2020]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,861
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 99. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 17 | 17% | |
| 1981 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1982 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1984 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1985 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1986 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1988 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 11 | 11% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Smiths | 8 | 8% | |
| R.E.M. | 6 | 6% | |
| Paul McCartney | 5 | 5% | |
| AC/DC | 4 | 4% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 4 | 4% | |
| The Cure | 4 | 4% | |
| Electric Light Orchestra | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
46 | 46% | |
| |
37 | 37% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 40 from 85th to 45thGreen by R.E.M. |
| Up 22 from 42nd to 20thLifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M. |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 2 from 45th to 47thCloser by Joy Division |
| Down 1 from 20th to 21stMcCartney II by Paul McCartney |
| Down 1 from 21st to 22ndThe River by Bruce Springsteen |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  JR | 1980s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | TheNowhereGuy | 1980s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | pdapperens | 1980s decade chart | 2014 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  dmercado | 1980s decade chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | leniad | 1980s decade chart | 2023 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  Mattdup279 | 1980s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Kettwig | 1980s decade chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Madrocker | 1980s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  StefanR10 | 1980s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | weston | 1980s decade chart | 2024 |  |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similarity to your chart(s)
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Other decade charts by NowhereMan
NowhereMan has shared 6 more 1980s decade charts with the community. Browse them all here.| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 32 Music Albums of the 2020s | NowhereMan | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | NowhereMan | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | NowhereMan | 2000s decade chart | 2026 | |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s 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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 8 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 12/19/2020 00:11 | stangetzaway | 173 | 89/100 |
| ! | 12/18/2020 23:00 | DJENNY | 4,365 | 100/100 |
| ! | 02/28/2020 03:00 |  Tamthebam | 651 | 85/100 |
| ! | 11/27/2018 12:12 |  Leonard | 341 | 88/100 |
| ! | 03/05/2018 13:17 |  bobbyb5 | 725 | 90/100 |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
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From bobbyb5 03/05/2018 13:17 | #210154
bobbyb5 03/05/2018 13:17 | #210154
Very ELO-y!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Mother Nature's Son 07/26/2014 11:16 | #117873
Mother Nature's Son 07/26/2014 11:16 | #117873
To be honest, it's thanks to you and your chart that I got into "Time" and ELO to begin with. Hadn't really heard of them before actually. So thanks for showing me one of the greatest albums and bands of all time! ;)
Hope you'll fill this chart with more great stuff!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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