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.
There are 5 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 20 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 12/13/2017]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,563
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/03/2024]
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[First added to this chart: 07/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,543
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 07/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,882
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/15/2018]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,009
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 03/03/2020]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,709
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 07/24/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,567
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 12/15/2018]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,021
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/15/2018]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,396
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/13/2017]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,165
Rank in 1989:
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 | 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% | |
| Depeche Mode | 3 | 3% | |
| Pixies | 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 23rd Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears |
| Up 3 from 13th to 10th Disintegration by The Cure |
| Up 2 from 19th to 17th Diamanda Galás by Diamanda Galás |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 15 from 10th to 25th Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 by The Traveling Wilburys |
| Down 1 from 25th to 26th Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads |
| Down 1 from 26th to 27th English 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 14 Music Albums of the 2020s | Rhyner | 2020s decade chart | 2024 | |
| 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 1990s | Rhyner | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Rhyner | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
Rhyner has created 4 other 1980s decade charts - click here to explore them all.
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 | 351 | 86/100 |
| ! | 04/12/2023 07:02 | Johnnyo | 2,557 | 80/100 |
| ! | 04/11/2023 20:26 |  MadhattanJack | 260 | 85/100 |
| ! | 04/11/2023 09:00 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 |
| ! | 08/15/2022 13:35 |  Ledgin72 | 35 | 87/100 |
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.
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
Showing all 5 comments |
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From Johnnyo 04/12/2023 07:02 | #295964
Nice chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Moondance 04/11/2023 09:00 | #295934
Solid 80's chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Ledgin72 08/15/2022 13:36 | #288502
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!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
RoundTheBend 12/08/2020 02:29 | #262246
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.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
buzzdainer 09/08/2020 22:51 | #257926
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!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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