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.
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 2 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 56,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from United States. (Remove this filter)
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,901
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
120
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,238
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 05/09/2020]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,558
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/30/2021]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,666
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 05/09/2020]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,284
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,031
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2023]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
33,067
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/08/2023]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,035
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,411
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/20/2020]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,293
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
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% | |
| Metallica | 4 | 4% | |
| Rush | 4 | 4% | |
| Peter Gabriel | 3 | 3% | |
| U2 | 3 | 3% | |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 2 | 2% | |
| Hüsker Dü | 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 Nassauby Lizzy Mercier Descloux |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Full Moon Feverby Tom Petty |
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 | TheNowhereGuy | 1980s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  djnizzi | 1980s decade chart | 2021 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Siromynian | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Madrocker | 1980s decade chart | 2019 | |
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.
- 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 AAL2014
| 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 | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | AAL2014 | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | AAL2014 | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | AAL2014 | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s | AAL2014 | 1960s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 60 Music Albums of the 1950s | AAL2014 | 1950s decade chart | 2025 | |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings
87/100 (from 2 votes)
where:
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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 2 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 03/14/2024 09:32 |  Purplepash | | 88/100 |
| 95/100 | 09/19/2020 10:50 | MasterOfPuppets | | 91/100 |
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a favourite
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
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!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
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.
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.