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.

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1. (=)

Master Of Puppets 

 Metallica

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

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

1,271 charts

Rank Score:

12,916

Rank in 1986:

2

Rank in 1980s:

12

Overall Rank:

95

Average Rating:

 83 (1,821 votes)

Comments:

120

2. (=)

Purple Rain 
Soundtrack

 Prince And The Revolution

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

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

1,425 charts

Rank Score:

16,268

Rank in 1984:

1

Rank in 1980s:

9

Overall Rank:

72

Average Rating:

 83 (1,648 votes)

Comments:

130

3. (=)

Powerslave 

 Iron Maiden

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

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

469 charts

Rank Score:

4,058

Rank in 1984:

10

Rank in 1980s:

58

Overall Rank:

428

Average Rating:

 80 (723 votes)

Comments:

41

4. (=)

Moving Pictures 

 Rush

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

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

1,009 charts

Rank Score:

9,235

Rank in 1981:

1

Rank in 1980s:

21

Overall Rank:

164

Average Rating:

 82 (1,292 votes)

Comments:

86

5. (=)

Permanent Waves 

 Rush

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

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

455 charts

Rank Score:

3,095

Rank in 1980:

8

Rank in 1980s:

85

Overall Rank:

566

Average Rating:

 80 (622 votes)

Comments:

32

6. (=)

So 

 Peter Gabriel

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

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

806 charts

Rank Score:

7,179

Rank in 1986:

4

Rank in 1980s:

29

Overall Rank:

227

Average Rating:

 80 (928 votes)

Comments:

61

7. (=)

Disintegration 

 The Cure

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

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,829 charts

Rank Score:

26,789

Rank in 1989:

2

Rank in 1980s:

4

Overall Rank:

30

Average Rating:

 86 (2,042 votes)

Comments:

152

8. (=)

Hounds Of Love 

 Kate Bush

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

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

1,398 charts

Rank Score:

18,451

Rank in 1985:

1

Rank in 1980s:

7

Overall Rank:

54

Average Rating:

 85 (1,396 votes)

Comments:

102

9. (=)

Closer 

 Joy Division

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

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

1,513 charts

Rank Score:

15,679

Rank in 1980:

2

Rank in 1980s:

11

Overall Rank:

78

Average Rating:

 85 (1,912 votes)

Comments:

125

10. (=)

Remain In Light 

 Talking Heads

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

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

2,022 charts

Rank Score:

28,493

Rank in 1980:

1

Rank in 1980s:

3

Overall Rank:

26

Average Rating:

 87 (2,284 votes)

Comments:

196

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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%
1980	10	10%
1981	10	10%
1982	10	10%
1983	10	10%
1984	13	13%
1985	9	9%
1986	9	9%
1987	9	9%
1988	12	12%
1989	8	8%

Artist	Albums	%
Iron Maiden	8	8%
Rush	4	4%
Metallica	4	4%
Peter Gabriel	3	3%
U2	3	3%
Napalm Death	2	2%
Prince	2	2%
Show all

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

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 37th to 38th Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Down 1 from 38th to 39th Holy Diver by Dio
Down 1 from 39th to 40th Peter Gabriel (1982) by Peter Gabriel

New entries
Mambo Nassau by Lizzy Mercier Descloux

Leavers
Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	TheNowhereGuy	1980s decade chart	2020
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	Madrocker	1980s decade chart	2019

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

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	03/14/2024 09:32	Purplepash	1,602	88/100
95/100	09/19/2020 10:50	MasterOfPuppets	174	91/100

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