Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by AAL2014

The 1980’s, for me, aren’t nearly as remarkable in their highs nor deeply consistent as either of the decades surrounding it.

Don’t get me wrong, 80’s music is excellent and so much of it is simply so much fun. Maybe also the first period in which music and culture were one and same, at least more so than ever with the advancements in technology, distribution, and uh… oh yeah, music videos.

On the other hand, those same elements had their not so favorable affects. On the technological front, many studios and producers switched their boards and gear entirely at the beginning of the decade and as a result albums don’t sound anywhere as good to me as they did just a couple years prior. Music sales began moving toward CD (ultimately still my preferred method of listening), but early runs of copies failed to deliver the highest rate of fidelity. Music videos, as well the introduction of MTV, is an essay unto itself.

Regardless of outside factors, I LOVE and have a deep respect for so many of the records you’ll find here and the top quarter or so of this list are some of my favorite pieces of music. However, I would probably be able to say that for the top 50 of the 1990’s and nearly the top 75 of the 1970’s.

But focusing on the positives overall, there is a lot of great music here and almost easily the best decade for heavy metal. I apologize not for having every Iron Maiden release here. They’re probably my band of the decade.

Enjoy.

• Chart updated: 06/23/2025 04:45
• (Created: 06/09/2016 05:36).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist

1. (=)

Master Of Puppets 

 Metallica

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

1,287 charts

Rank Score:

12,553

Rank in 1986:

2

Rank in 1980s:

12

Overall Rank:

94

Average Rating:

 83 (1,841 votes)

Comments:

119

2. (=)

Purple Rain 
Soundtrack

 Prince And The Revolution

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

1,446 charts

Rank Score:

15,856

Rank in 1984:

1

Rank in 1980s:

9

Overall Rank:

72

Average Rating:

 83 (1,671 votes)

Comments:

132

3. (=)

Powerslave 

 Iron Maiden

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

481 charts

Rank Score:

3,964

Rank in 1984:

11

Rank in 1980s:

61

Overall Rank:

425

Average Rating:

 81 (731 votes)

Comments:

41

4. (=)

Moving Pictures 

 Rush

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

1,018 charts

Rank Score:

8,800

Rank in 1981:

1

Rank in 1980s:

21

Overall Rank:

165

Average Rating:

 83 (1,299 votes)

Comments:

86

5. (=)

Permanent Waves 

 Rush

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

461 charts

Rank Score:

3,023

Rank in 1980:

8

Rank in 1980s:

86

Overall Rank:

565

Average Rating:

 80 (629 votes)

Comments:

33

6. (=)

So 

 Peter Gabriel

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

825 charts

Rank Score:

7,154

Rank in 1986:

4

Rank in 1980s:

28

Overall Rank:

222

Average Rating:

 80 (942 votes)

Comments:

63

7. (=)

Disintegration 

 The Cure

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 05/09/2020]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,846 charts

Rank Score:

26,178

Rank in 1989:

2

Rank in 1980s:

4

Overall Rank:

30

Average Rating:

 86 (2,069 votes)

Comments:

152

8. (=)

Hounds Of Love 

 Kate Bush

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 05/09/2020]

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

1,418 charts

Rank Score:

18,037

Rank in 1985:

1

Rank in 1980s:

7

Overall Rank:

53

Average Rating:

 85 (1,419 votes)

Comments:

104

9. (=)

Closer 

 Joy Division

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 07/10/2022]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

1,519 charts

Rank Score:

14,836

Rank in 1980:

2

Rank in 1980s:

11

Overall Rank:

81

Average Rating:

 85 (1,929 votes)

Comments:

126

10. (=)

Remain In Light 

 Talking Heads

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 05/09/2020]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

2,041 charts

Rank Score:

27,524

Rank in 1980:

1

Rank in 1980s:

3

Overall Rank:

26

Average Rating:

 87 (2,305 votes)

Comments:

196

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• ...
• 9
• 10
• next »
• Goto Page: 

Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition

Country	Albums	%
	50	50%
	36	36%
	4	4%
	4	4%
	3	3%
	1	1%
	1	1%
Show all

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	TheHolyKiwi	1980s decade chart	2017
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Jamie	1980s decade chart	2023
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	StefanR10	1980s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	saltysurprise	1980s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Kettwig	1980s decade chart	2019
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	pdapperens	1980s decade chart	2014
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Siromynian	1980s decade chart	2026
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	djnizzi	1980s decade chart	2021
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	TheNowhereGuy	1980s decade chart	2020
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	dougcummings	1980s decade chart	2025

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similarity to your chart(s)

Other decade charts by AAL2014

AAL2014 has shared 6 more 1980s decade charts with the community. Browse them all here.

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s	AAL2014	2020s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s	AAL2014	2010s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s	AAL2014	2000s decade chart	2026

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings

Showing all 2 ratings for this chart.

Sort by

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100  !	03/14/2024 09:32	Purplepash	1,716	88/100
95/100  !	09/19/2020 10:50	MasterOfPuppets	174	91/100

• Related links:
• Top charts

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments

Your feedback for Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s

Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!