Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 1 hour ago
- (Created: 12/04/2011 20:38).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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[First added to this chart: 08/21/2013]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,576
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Produced by Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Bruce Springsteen & Steve Van Zandt. So Bruce made a pop album. And it was made at a time when pop had really bad keyboards. And "Dancing In The Dark" just would not shut up. Still, the man can write the shit out of a song, and perform it twice as well. Underneath the gloss of this album lies more of Springsteen's heart and soul, and underneath songs like "Born In The USA" lies truth, beauty, honesty, and love. I hate that I love this album, but I do.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,857
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Produced by Jimmy Iovine and Tom Petty. After having spent years with Fleetwood Mac being limited to about three songs per album, Stevie Nicks exploded with material for her first solo album. Criminally overlooked and underheard, this is Nicks at her best. "Edge Of Seventeen" was huge, and her duets with Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") and Don Henley ("Leather And Lace") made her even bigger. But Bella Donna, as a whole, still gets little love. It deserves to be heard, and loved. A really great album.
[First added to this chart: 06/01/2013]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
703
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Produced by Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty & Mike Campbell. Tom Petty gets written off by a lot of people for being overly simple and one dimensional. But, as he shows on his first solo album, first impressions can be deceiving. Petty's material is not as simple as it sounds...and even if it were, there's nothing wrong with something that sounds as great as this. Jeff Lynne shows why he's one of the best producers in the business, and the songs are all excellent, even if they do sound simple at first listen.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,315
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1986-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By PAUL SIMON
1. The Boy In The Bubble
2. Graceland
3. I Know What I Know
4. Gumboots
5. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
6. You Can Call Me Al
7. Under African Skies
8. Homeless
9. Crazy Love Vol. II
10. That Was Your Mother
11. All Around The World or The Myth Of Fingerprints
By 1985, Paul Simon was considered done. It had been 10 years since Still Crazy After All These Years, and his last 2 albums, the soundtrack to his disastrous film One Trick Pony and Hearts And Bones, had gone nowhere. In 1986, he came from nowhere with his masterpiece, Graceland. Refreshed by African music, Simon puts forth his best overall collection of songs. Using mostly African musicians, the album has a completely different feel from anything that was mainstream at the time, and shows that he really was at his best when working with exotic rhythms ("El Condor Pasa" from the Simon & Garfunkel days is evidence that he excelled with this). Every track is stunning work and shows the true genius of Simon. One of the very best albums of the 1980's.
Not without controversy. The last track features Los Lobos, who have claimed for years that they wrote the song and that Simon stole it from them. Simon says that there was nothing said to him by anyone until the album was a hit, and then they suddenly wanted credit. No lawsuit that I know of has ever been filed. Oh, well. It's still a damn fine album. [First added to this chart: 12/06/2011]
Produced By PAUL SIMON
1. The Boy In The Bubble
2. Graceland
3. I Know What I Know
4. Gumboots
5. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
6. You Can Call Me Al
7. Under African Skies
8. Homeless
9. Crazy Love Vol. II
10. That Was Your Mother
11. All Around The World or The Myth Of Fingerprints
By 1985, Paul Simon was considered done. It had been 10 years since Still Crazy After All These Years, and his last 2 albums, the soundtrack to his disastrous film One Trick Pony and Hearts And Bones, had gone nowhere. In 1986, he came from nowhere with his masterpiece, Graceland. Refreshed by African music, Simon puts forth his best overall collection of songs. Using mostly African musicians, the album has a completely different feel from anything that was mainstream at the time, and shows that he really was at his best when working with exotic rhythms ("El Condor Pasa" from the Simon & Garfunkel days is evidence that he excelled with this). Every track is stunning work and shows the true genius of Simon. One of the very best albums of the 1980's.
Not without controversy. The last track features Los Lobos, who have claimed for years that they wrote the song and that Simon stole it from them. Simon says that there was nothing said to him by anyone until the album was a hit, and then they suddenly wanted credit. No lawsuit that I know of has ever been filed. Oh, well. It's still a damn fine album. [First added to this chart: 12/06/2011]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,774
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1988 – GEFFEN
Produced By PAT MORAN
1. What I Am
2. Little Miss S.
3. Air Of December
4. The Wheel
5. Love Like We Do
6. Circle
7. Beat The Time
8. She
9. Nothing
10. Now
11. Keep Coming Back
12. I Do
If Edie Brickell had never allowed herself to be talked onto that stage with the band New Bohemians in 1985, there would have been no “What I Am”, no Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, and Paul Simon would have had to marry someone else. But Edie did get on that stage, and the rest is history. This one hit wonder of a band and an album may be the loopiest of the bunch, with its most curious of lyrics (“what I am is what I am you what you are or what?”) and Brickell’s dizzy spinning hippie chick persona. In 1988, this song was all over the radio, all over MTV, and the band was forgotten as quickly as it fell off the charts. This is actually a pretty good debut album, and although there was nothing as quaint and catchy as “What I Am” on the album (or the rest of their short career), there is a nice and quite listenable record that is in no way unpleasant. They were good…they were unfortunately never great.
But, yeah…for a moment, there was hope for this band. There were some fine tracks here. “Circle” could have been a hit, and “Little Miss S.” is an odd ode to Edie Sedgwick. There are also a whole lot of pretty good to average tracks, nothing terrible, just nothing outside of a small few that will actually jump out at you. So, for a one hit wonder, it’s better than average, better than respectable, and actually very good. They did make another album. Ghost Of A Dog was just as good, except it had no hits, thus no sales. Brickell then ran off with Simon, ending the band (except for a 2006 reunion album that absolutely no one ever listened to) and cementing their status forever. They were probably better than you remembered them, and Brickell’s wispy character is always enchanting. “I’m not afraid of too many things / I know what I know if you know what I mean”…. [First added to this chart: 10/22/2019]
Produced By PAT MORAN
1. What I Am
2. Little Miss S.
3. Air Of December
4. The Wheel
5. Love Like We Do
6. Circle
7. Beat The Time
8. She
9. Nothing
10. Now
11. Keep Coming Back
12. I Do
If Edie Brickell had never allowed herself to be talked onto that stage with the band New Bohemians in 1985, there would have been no “What I Am”, no Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, and Paul Simon would have had to marry someone else. But Edie did get on that stage, and the rest is history. This one hit wonder of a band and an album may be the loopiest of the bunch, with its most curious of lyrics (“what I am is what I am you what you are or what?”) and Brickell’s dizzy spinning hippie chick persona. In 1988, this song was all over the radio, all over MTV, and the band was forgotten as quickly as it fell off the charts. This is actually a pretty good debut album, and although there was nothing as quaint and catchy as “What I Am” on the album (or the rest of their short career), there is a nice and quite listenable record that is in no way unpleasant. They were good…they were unfortunately never great.
But, yeah…for a moment, there was hope for this band. There were some fine tracks here. “Circle” could have been a hit, and “Little Miss S.” is an odd ode to Edie Sedgwick. There are also a whole lot of pretty good to average tracks, nothing terrible, just nothing outside of a small few that will actually jump out at you. So, for a one hit wonder, it’s better than average, better than respectable, and actually very good. They did make another album. Ghost Of A Dog was just as good, except it had no hits, thus no sales. Brickell then ran off with Simon, ending the band (except for a 2006 reunion album that absolutely no one ever listened to) and cementing their status forever. They were probably better than you remembered them, and Brickell’s wispy character is always enchanting. “I’m not afraid of too many things / I know what I know if you know what I mean”…. [First added to this chart: 10/22/2019]
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1980-CAPITOL
Produced By BOB SEGER, PUNCH ANDREWS & THE MUSCLE SHOALS RHYTHM SECTION
1. The Horizontal Bop
2. You’ll Accompany Me
3. Her Strut
4. No Man’s Land
5. Long Twin Silver Line
6. Against The Wind
7. Good For Me
8. Betty Lou’s Getting’ Out Tonight
9. Fire Lake
10. Shinin’ Brightly
When Bob Seger broke into the mainstream in 1976 with Live Bullet and Night Moves, America had its next rock and roll hero. Four years later, Seger’s career was showing definite signs of strain, overwork, and an over reliance on the formula that made him a star. Against The Wind is Seger’s only number one album, and it boasts an impressive four hit singles. It also marks the beginning of Seger’s decline into the ordinary. Not that this is a bad album by any means…it’s not. But it’s a very safe album from a guy who should have been expanding his sound, not collapsing into it. Turns out that with Against The Wind, Seger showed us all that he really was a one trick pony, and that everything he would do would be pretty interchangeable. He also showed us that he when it come to that one trick, he is very, very good at performing it.
Simply put, Against The Wind is an extension of the album Strangers In Town (from 1978), which is an extension of Night Moves from 1976. Any of the songs from any of these albums could be switched around with pretty much the same results, as if Seger had stopped writing years before and was just releasing old material. Each album has its merits, and with Against The Wind, he actually does rely more on ballads than at any time in his career. “Against The Wind”, “You’ll Accompany Me” and “Fire Lake” match the rolling piano balladry of “Night Moves”, “Mainstreet”, and “Still The Same”. The rockers, particularly “Horizontal Bop” and “Her Strut”, would fit well on either of the two previous albums. There’s enough filler here to keep the album from rising too far above average, and there’s one true clunker. “Long Twin Silver Line” may be the worst song in Seger’s catalog. If you’re a fan, this album will fit in just fine. Just don’t expect anything you’d never heard from Seger before. [First added to this chart: 05/02/2021]
Produced By BOB SEGER, PUNCH ANDREWS & THE MUSCLE SHOALS RHYTHM SECTION
1. The Horizontal Bop
2. You’ll Accompany Me
3. Her Strut
4. No Man’s Land
5. Long Twin Silver Line
6. Against The Wind
7. Good For Me
8. Betty Lou’s Getting’ Out Tonight
9. Fire Lake
10. Shinin’ Brightly
When Bob Seger broke into the mainstream in 1976 with Live Bullet and Night Moves, America had its next rock and roll hero. Four years later, Seger’s career was showing definite signs of strain, overwork, and an over reliance on the formula that made him a star. Against The Wind is Seger’s only number one album, and it boasts an impressive four hit singles. It also marks the beginning of Seger’s decline into the ordinary. Not that this is a bad album by any means…it’s not. But it’s a very safe album from a guy who should have been expanding his sound, not collapsing into it. Turns out that with Against The Wind, Seger showed us all that he really was a one trick pony, and that everything he would do would be pretty interchangeable. He also showed us that he when it come to that one trick, he is very, very good at performing it.
Simply put, Against The Wind is an extension of the album Strangers In Town (from 1978), which is an extension of Night Moves from 1976. Any of the songs from any of these albums could be switched around with pretty much the same results, as if Seger had stopped writing years before and was just releasing old material. Each album has its merits, and with Against The Wind, he actually does rely more on ballads than at any time in his career. “Against The Wind”, “You’ll Accompany Me” and “Fire Lake” match the rolling piano balladry of “Night Moves”, “Mainstreet”, and “Still The Same”. The rockers, particularly “Horizontal Bop” and “Her Strut”, would fit well on either of the two previous albums. There’s enough filler here to keep the album from rising too far above average, and there’s one true clunker. “Long Twin Silver Line” may be the worst song in Seger’s catalog. If you’re a fan, this album will fit in just fine. Just don’t expect anything you’d never heard from Seger before. [First added to this chart: 05/02/2021]
13. (12) 1
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1989-RCA
Produced By TONY BERG
1. No Myth
2. Half Harvest
3. This & That
4. Brave New World
5. Innocent One
6. Disney's A Snow Cone/Bedlam Boys
7. Invisible
8. Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun
9. Big House
10. Battle Room
11. Evenfall
Yep. This is, indeed Sean Penn's little brother. And yes, the magic dust that seemed to bless the Penn children did not skip Michael. March is a strong debut album that came from nowhere to give us one of the more pleasant hit singles of 1989, the jangly acoustic "No Myth". What if I WAS Romeo in black jeans? But this wasn't just a one hit and a bunch of filler. March is actually a really good record.
The first 4 tracks are as strong a beginning of an album as you'll find. Catchy, melodic, and not a speck of cheese anywhere near it. "Brave New World" might be the catchiest song of the 80's that isn't buried in aquanet or new wave. And "Half Harvest", "This & That", and the awesome "Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun" are all just as good. (The last one, "Cupid", was actually partially recorded for my album...I almost covered it.)
March is not perfect...but it is really good. Definitely worth more than a spin, because this one does grow on you. [First added to this chart: 12/13/2011]
Produced By TONY BERG
1. No Myth
2. Half Harvest
3. This & That
4. Brave New World
5. Innocent One
6. Disney's A Snow Cone/Bedlam Boys
7. Invisible
8. Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun
9. Big House
10. Battle Room
11. Evenfall
Yep. This is, indeed Sean Penn's little brother. And yes, the magic dust that seemed to bless the Penn children did not skip Michael. March is a strong debut album that came from nowhere to give us one of the more pleasant hit singles of 1989, the jangly acoustic "No Myth". What if I WAS Romeo in black jeans? But this wasn't just a one hit and a bunch of filler. March is actually a really good record.
The first 4 tracks are as strong a beginning of an album as you'll find. Catchy, melodic, and not a speck of cheese anywhere near it. "Brave New World" might be the catchiest song of the 80's that isn't buried in aquanet or new wave. And "Half Harvest", "This & That", and the awesome "Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun" are all just as good. (The last one, "Cupid", was actually partially recorded for my album...I almost covered it.)
March is not perfect...but it is really good. Definitely worth more than a spin, because this one does grow on you. [First added to this chart: 12/13/2011]
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Produced by Tony Brown & Lyle Lovett. His second album is still his best. What an enormous talent this guy is, and on Pontiac he let it all out. He's not quite country, and he's not quite folk, and he's really nowhere in between. Tracks like "If I Had A Boat", "L.A. County", and "She's Hot To Go" are beautiful, amazing pieces of work. This album has a lot of love in it, and it shows in every track. Underrated for sure, Lyle Lovett's gifts are all here on one album. Truly beautiful.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
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1988-ELEKTRA
Produced By DAVID KERSHENBAUM
1. Talkin’ Bout A Revolution
2. Fast Car
3. Across The Lines
4. Behind The Wall
5. Baby Can I Hold You
6. Mountains O’ Things
7. She’s Got Her Ticket
8. Why?
9. For My Lover
10. If Not Now…
11. For You
Out of the wasteland of dying classic rock, hair metal, dance pop and synthesizer driven music of the 1980’s came this Tufts University protest singer and her acoustic guitar. Turned down by numerous producers because she wasn’t any of the above, Tracy Chapman was finally hooked up with David Kershenbaum, who was brave enough to let her be who she was in a musical landscape that did not support what she was doing at all. The result is one of the most striking debut albums ever made, and a shining beacon during one of music’s most dismal times. Tracy Chapman had something to say, and she said it well. Compared frequently and accurately to Joan Armatrading, Chapman’s debut album is a thing of beauty. Even though it does contain a couple of clunkers, as a whole it’s nearly perfect. The song that made the world take notice of Chapman was “Fast Car”, a beautifully told story of a life struggle within the boundaries of poverty and alcoholism. “Fast Car” was the unlikeliest of huge hits, and still stands as one of the best songs of the decade.
“Talkin’ Bout A Revolution” is a protest anthem that would have been perfect in the late 1960’s. “For My Lover” may be her most beautiful song, while “Behind The Wall” is a brave a cappella picture of inner city life. Also of note are “She’s Got Her Ticket”, which brings reggae into the mix, and “Across The Lines”. The album is almost as good as, and draws comparisons to, Armatrading’s self titled debut album. Her career has continued on, with not surprisingly less success (after all, this isn’t the kind of stuff that consistently sells a lot of units), and she’s never quite matched the magic of her debut, but this album should still be a must have. It’s so much more than just “Fast Car”, which is all that it’s remembered for today. It’s proof that, once in a while, beautiful music can come from nowhere. She’s more of an artist than a hitmaker, and more of a storyteller than a star. It’s hard too not appreciate Chapman for any of that. [First added to this chart: 04/28/2014]
Produced By DAVID KERSHENBAUM
1. Talkin’ Bout A Revolution
2. Fast Car
3. Across The Lines
4. Behind The Wall
5. Baby Can I Hold You
6. Mountains O’ Things
7. She’s Got Her Ticket
8. Why?
9. For My Lover
10. If Not Now…
11. For You
Out of the wasteland of dying classic rock, hair metal, dance pop and synthesizer driven music of the 1980’s came this Tufts University protest singer and her acoustic guitar. Turned down by numerous producers because she wasn’t any of the above, Tracy Chapman was finally hooked up with David Kershenbaum, who was brave enough to let her be who she was in a musical landscape that did not support what she was doing at all. The result is one of the most striking debut albums ever made, and a shining beacon during one of music’s most dismal times. Tracy Chapman had something to say, and she said it well. Compared frequently and accurately to Joan Armatrading, Chapman’s debut album is a thing of beauty. Even though it does contain a couple of clunkers, as a whole it’s nearly perfect. The song that made the world take notice of Chapman was “Fast Car”, a beautifully told story of a life struggle within the boundaries of poverty and alcoholism. “Fast Car” was the unlikeliest of huge hits, and still stands as one of the best songs of the decade.
“Talkin’ Bout A Revolution” is a protest anthem that would have been perfect in the late 1960’s. “For My Lover” may be her most beautiful song, while “Behind The Wall” is a brave a cappella picture of inner city life. Also of note are “She’s Got Her Ticket”, which brings reggae into the mix, and “Across The Lines”. The album is almost as good as, and draws comparisons to, Armatrading’s self titled debut album. Her career has continued on, with not surprisingly less success (after all, this isn’t the kind of stuff that consistently sells a lot of units), and she’s never quite matched the magic of her debut, but this album should still be a must have. It’s so much more than just “Fast Car”, which is all that it’s remembered for today. It’s proof that, once in a while, beautiful music can come from nowhere. She’s more of an artist than a hitmaker, and more of a storyteller than a star. It’s hard too not appreciate Chapman for any of that. [First added to this chart: 04/28/2014]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,965
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 63. Page 1 of 7
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1981 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1982 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1984 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1985 | 5 | 5% | |
| 1986 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1987 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1988 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1989 | 13 | 13% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| R.E.M. | 3 | 3% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 3 | 3% | |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 3% | |
| X (US) | 3 | 3% | |
| U2 | 3 | 3% | |
| The Cure | 2 | 2% | |
| The Jesus And Mary Chain | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 4 from 14th to 10th Against The Wind by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 10th to 11th Back In Black by AC/DC |
| Down 1 from 11th to 12th Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits |
| Down 1 from 12th to 13th March by Michael Penn |
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Other decade charts by Romanelli
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Romanelli 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.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 29 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 02/06/2025 15:30 | BorderFreeAndrew | 102 | 81/100 |
| ! | 01/31/2025 14:12 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,104 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/23/2022 16:11 |  IlMala | 178 | 95/100 |
| ! | 10/22/2020 01:13 | leniad | 673 | 85/100 |
| ! | 09/05/2020 14:13 | MasterOfPuppets | 174 | 91/100 |
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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).
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This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 83.9/100, a mean average of 81.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 13.4.
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From BorderFreeAndrew 02/06/2025 15:33 | #307441
Nice to see Adam Ant's "Friend or Foe" so high (a seriously underrated album), along with several other forgotten classics that tend to be ignored when most people make an 80's chart.
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From leniad 10/22/2020 01:13 | #259555
Respect
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From 0129114 06/24/2020 03:52 | #254351
some solid picks m8.
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From 
Liedzeit 11/24/2018 10:49 | #225586
Liedzeit 11/24/2018 10:49 | #225586
It is nice to see an 80s chart as chart of the day for a change. And what a pathetic decade it was if even someone like you who obviously knows a lot of stuff cannot come up with better records than these. TW are okay but as no. 1? The first decent LP enters at place 23, in my opinion.
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From 
ForegroundNoise 11/24/2018 09:24 | #225581
ForegroundNoise 11/24/2018 09:24 | #225581
Really like your notes!!
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From 
buzzdainer 07/16/2016 15:13 | #171403
buzzdainer 07/16/2016 15:13 | #171403
I love your take on the eighties! I really appreciate your #1 pick, as supergroups tend to be written off as inferior to the works of their individual members--an assumption that the Traveling Wilburys blew out of the water. Full Moon Fever, Disintegration, Doolittle, and The River are all great albums, too. Also really nice to see Blue Earth in your top ten, as I've been a huge fan of the Jayhawks for many years and love that album. Excellent work overall, especially on your notes!
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From BraddlesHendo 12/01/2014 14:31 | #128418
Great albums I guess some I wouldn't play so much. We have quite a few similar choices
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From 
tgarritsen 01/13/2014 15:59 | #100555
tgarritsen 01/13/2014 15:59 | #100555
Interesting number one pick.
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From guigs13 01/10/2013 01:33 | #60879
Nice chart!
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From davidhuret 12/11/2012 09:04 | #57461
Good choice at #1.
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Your feedback for Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
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