Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by 
flamingyesdept 
- Chart updated: 04/06/2026 22:45
- (Created: 10/24/2015 10:23).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1981 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1982 | 18 | 18% | |
| 1983 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1984 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1986 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1987 | 3 | 3% | |
| 1988 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1989 | 9 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Smiths | 5 | 5% | |
| Prefab Sprout | 4 | 4% | |
| XTC | 4 | 4% | |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 3% | |
| Orange Juice | 3 | 3% | |
| Cocteau Twins | 3 | 3% | |
| Shelleyan Orphan | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
58 | 58% | |
 |
28 | 28% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 9 from 29th to 20thDoolittle by Pixies |
| Up 2 from 18th to 16thThe Stone Roses by The Stone Roses |
| Up 1 from 20th to 19thDisintegration by The Cure |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 3 from 15th to 18thEnglish Settlement by XTC |
| Down 2 from 19th to 21stRain Dogs by Tom Waits |
| Down 1 from 21st to 22ndBlue Bell Knoll by Cocteau Twins |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greatest albums of the 1980s | Ultimate Record Collection (Magazine) | 1980s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Uncut: The 500 Greatest Albums Of The 1980s (1-100) | WayneMC | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| The 500 Greatest Albums Of The 1980s | Uncut | 1980s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Top 99 Music Albums of the 1980s | sebfox | 1980s decade chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | matterhornrider | 1980s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | chriskarman | 1980s decade chart | 2022 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Tidus1997 | 1980s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | juanr1096 | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  StefanR10 | 1980s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  meccalecca | 1980s decade chart | 2024 | |
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.
- Gain access to a Dark Mode theme.
- 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 flamingyesdept
flamingyesdept has shared 6 more decade charts with the community. Browse them all here.| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 98 Music Albums of the 2020s | flamingyesdept | 2020s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | flamingyesdept | 2010s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | flamingyesdept | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
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.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 17 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/02/2025 20:30 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 85/100 | |
| 04/07/2024 13:54 |  Tamthebam | 651 | 85/100 | |
| 04/07/2024 10:13 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 | |
| 05/10/2023 18:31 |  RevolverCB72 | 81 | 83/100 | |
| 04/28/2023 16:16 | Johnnyo | 2,584 | 80/100 |
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 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.1/100, a mean average of 89.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.6.
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
Showing all 1 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
Showing all 5 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
Tamthebam 10/12/2025 12:02 | #311334
Brilliant choices
Excellent chart.
Excellent chart
sophialeviev 06/15/2018 00:25 | #216769
Respect for this chart.
CharlieBarley 12/09/2016 05:36 | #179793
Excellent 80s chart man. 27 albums in common. good work! Good to see Cocteau Twins. I may have to add them to my chart. This Mortal Coil are good too.
Your feedback for Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
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.
| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Neil Young | |
| 10. Nirvana | |
| 11. The Velvet Underground | |
| 12. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 13. Miles Davis | |
| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. R.E.M. | |
| 16. The Beach Boys | |
| 17. Kanye West | |
| 18. Bruce Springsteen | |
| 19. The Cure | |
| 20. Pixies |
