Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by 
Rhyner 
work in progress
- Chart updated: 10/29/2025 19:15
- (Created: 03/25/2016 02:14).
- 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 | 6 | 6% | |
| 1981 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1982 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1983 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1985 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1986 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1987 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1988 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1989 | 10 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Smiths | 6 | 6% | |
| R.E.M. | 5 | 5% | |
| The Cure | 5 | 5% | |
| Kate Bush | 4 | 4% | |
| Cocteau Twins | 4 | 4% | |
| Talk Talk | 3 | 3% | |
| New Order | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
55 | 55% | |
| |
31 | 31% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 12 from 35th to 23rdSongs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears |
| Up 3 from 13th to 10thDisintegration by The Cure |
| Up 2 from 19th to 17thDiamanda Galás by Diamanda Galás |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 15 from 10th to 25thTraveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 by The Traveling Wilburys |
| Down 1 from 25th to 26thStop Making Sense by Talking Heads |
| Down 1 from 26th to 27thEnglish Settlement by XTC |
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 | Ashmark | 1980s decade chart | 2018 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  Onater | 1980s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | chriskarman | 1980s decade chart | 2022 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | WilliamFrayer | 1980s decade chart | 2022 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  Mattdup279 | 1980s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Tidus1997 | 1980s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  StefanR10 | 1980s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | DanielU | 1980s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  flyingcitrus | 1980s decade chart | 2018 | |
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Other decade charts by Rhyner
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 17 Music Albums of the 2020s | Rhyner | 2020s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | Rhyner | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Rhyner | 2000s decade chart | 2024 | |
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 20 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/06/2024 16:53 |  Goliath | 350 | 86/100 | |
| 04/12/2023 07:02 | Johnnyo | 2,573 | 80/100 | |
| 04/11/2023 20:26 |  MadhattanJack | 278 | 85/100 | |
| 04/11/2023 09:00 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 | |
| 08/15/2022 13:35 |  Ledgin72 | 34 | 88/100 |
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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.3/100, a mean average of 92.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.6.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
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Nice chart
Solid 80's chart.
Ledgin72 08/15/2022 13:36 | #288502
Love the Wilburys in the Top 10. Any list with a TMBG album gets a thumbs up from me!!
RoundTheBend 12/08/2020 02:29 | #262246
Basically anyone who holds R.E.M. in high regard on their chart has high marks from me for sure.
buzzdainer 09/08/2020 22:51 | #257926
While I respect your caveat that this chart is a work in progress, I congratulate you on your work so far. There are a ton of great albums on here, most notably the likes of Doolittle and Remain in Light. I look forward to using this chart to undercover some more greats from the eighties. Thanks for sharing!
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