Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by 
Purplepash 
My favourite decade of music is 86-95 so the last half of this decade dominates this chart
- Chart updated: 3 days ago
- (Created: 06/05/2017 01:10).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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"I was trying so hard to please myself,
I was turning into somebody else.
I was trying so hard to be myself
I was turning into somebody else."
This is one of those records that I just don't get how everyone doesn't see it's greatness. It is powerful and passionate, with fantastic emotive vocals and interesting post punky but accessible music. The songs are all constructed so well and the album flows like a story. Speaking of which there is a story being told here on both a personal and a political level, and if you get the chance to see the music videos that were made for every song on this album, in order, it all becomes so clear. It is a mixed media masterpiece. (music, video, short movies, long film). Great lyrics throughout.
10/10 songs: Seriously the first six songs are all perfect. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
I was turning into somebody else.
I was trying so hard to be myself
I was turning into somebody else."
This is one of those records that I just don't get how everyone doesn't see it's greatness. It is powerful and passionate, with fantastic emotive vocals and interesting post punky but accessible music. The songs are all constructed so well and the album flows like a story. Speaking of which there is a story being told here on both a personal and a political level, and if you get the chance to see the music videos that were made for every song on this album, in order, it all becomes so clear. It is a mixed media masterpiece. (music, video, short movies, long film). Great lyrics throughout.
10/10 songs: Seriously the first six songs are all perfect. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
931
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
6
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"Last night I dreamt
That somebody loved me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm"
Oh the feelings I get from these lines, and from the music, the whole song. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loves Me is one of my favourite songs. Nearly all of The Smiths albums have been my favourite of theirs at some stage...they are all that good...but with the passing of time this is now the one I seem enjoy the most. Although I loved it from first listening when my mate bought it the day it came out.
Favourite songs: As well as Last Night... I love the emotional music, and the sadness of the lyrics, of Death of a Disco Dancer. Girlfriend In A Coma, is a brilliantly dark but bubbly pop song. I love the scathing attack on the music industry machinations in Paint A Vulgar Picture. A Rush and a Push... and Stop Me... are just such fun songs to listen and singalong to. And finishing with the moving I Won't Share You it's an album full of favourite songs. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
That somebody loved me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm"
Oh the feelings I get from these lines, and from the music, the whole song. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loves Me is one of my favourite songs. Nearly all of The Smiths albums have been my favourite of theirs at some stage...they are all that good...but with the passing of time this is now the one I seem enjoy the most. Although I loved it from first listening when my mate bought it the day it came out.
Favourite songs: As well as Last Night... I love the emotional music, and the sadness of the lyrics, of Death of a Disco Dancer. Girlfriend In A Coma, is a brilliantly dark but bubbly pop song. I love the scathing attack on the music industry machinations in Paint A Vulgar Picture. A Rush and a Push... and Stop Me... are just such fun songs to listen and singalong to. And finishing with the moving I Won't Share You it's an album full of favourite songs. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,377
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"And when I'm lying in my
"And when I'm lying in my bed
I think about life
and I think about death
and neither one particularly appeals to me"
The Smiths were probably my first serious obsession, and one of, if not the most, influential band in the early days of my musical journey. I still listen to them regularly and doubt I'll ever stop.
10/10 songs: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, Barbarism Begins At Home, The Headmaster Ritual, Rusholme Ruffians. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
"And when I'm lying in my bed
I think about life
and I think about death
and neither one particularly appeals to me"
The Smiths were probably my first serious obsession, and one of, if not the most, influential band in the early days of my musical journey. I still listen to them regularly and doubt I'll ever stop.
10/10 songs: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, Barbarism Begins At Home, The Headmaster Ritual, Rusholme Ruffians. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,863
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"t's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
Over, over, over, over
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind"
The above lines are my favourite lyrics by anyone ever. They have had a lifelong impact on me. From an album full of great lyrics. I sing along to the whole album...every song.
10/10 songs: I Know It's Over, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, The Queen Is Dead, Bigmouth Strikes Again, & The Boy With The Thorn In His Side. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
Over, over, over, over
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind"
The above lines are my favourite lyrics by anyone ever. They have had a lifelong impact on me. From an album full of great lyrics. I sing along to the whole album...every song.
10/10 songs: I Know It's Over, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, The Queen Is Dead, Bigmouth Strikes Again, & The Boy With The Thorn In His Side. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,166
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"Well, come on and let it happen to you
You gotta open up your mind and let everything come through"
Not their lyrics but they sum up the album. Two covers on this seven song album but both of them are arguably better than the originals. One of my most listened to albums of the late 80s that I still lose myself in every time.
10/10 songs: O.D. Catastrophe, Little Doll, Losing Touch With My Mind [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
You gotta open up your mind and let everything come through"
Not their lyrics but they sum up the album. Two covers on this seven song album but both of them are arguably better than the originals. One of my most listened to albums of the late 80s that I still lose myself in every time.
10/10 songs: O.D. Catastrophe, Little Doll, Losing Touch With My Mind [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
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"Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I don't know"
I was a teenager in the 80s listening to alternative music so it sort of goes without saying how impactful on me, and how influential this album was. To this day I still try to get my mind to rule my body. The power of positive thinking.
10/10 songs: Still Ill, Reel Around The Fountain, Hand In Glove, What Difference Does It Make? [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Or does the mind rule the body?
I don't know"
I was a teenager in the 80s listening to alternative music so it sort of goes without saying how impactful on me, and how influential this album was. To this day I still try to get my mind to rule my body. The power of positive thinking.
10/10 songs: Still Ill, Reel Around The Fountain, Hand In Glove, What Difference Does It Make? [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,646
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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How can an album be so sad yet so much fun at the same time? Great traditional inspired music, meaningful lyrics, and passionate vocals. 30 years I've been loving this album for now and I'm still not sick of it. And The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda, written by a Scot, from the first person viewpoint of an Australian, sung by an Irishman, is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard that has brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions.
10/10 songs: And the Band Played Waltzing Mathilda, The Old Main Drag, Dirty Old Town, and The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
10/10 songs: And the Band Played Waltzing Mathilda, The Old Main Drag, Dirty Old Town, and The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,983
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"I am slowing down
As the years go by
I am sinking
So I trick myself
Like everybody else"
I am not sure what this album would be like hearing it now for the first time but this was one of the first albums I ever owned. I am sure I got it after hearing In Between Days but before Close To Me. I had the cassette with the lyrics and I learnt every word to every song.
10/10 songs: Close To Me, A Night Like This, Screw [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
As the years go by
I am sinking
So I trick myself
Like everybody else"
I am not sure what this album would be like hearing it now for the first time but this was one of the first albums I ever owned. I am sure I got it after hearing In Between Days but before Close To Me. I had the cassette with the lyrics and I learnt every word to every song.
10/10 songs: Close To Me, A Night Like This, Screw [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,670
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,891
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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"You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own"
Like a fun drunk night. You have party songs (Fiesta, Turkish Song of the Damned), singalongs (Fairytale of New York, Medley), dancing jigs (metropolis), stories (Bottle of Smoke, Sit Down By The Fire), a time to be serious (Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six) nostalgia (Thousands are Sailing) and the end of the night (If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God) which starts the album. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own"
Like a fun drunk night. You have party songs (Fiesta, Turkish Song of the Damned), singalongs (Fairytale of New York, Medley), dancing jigs (metropolis), stories (Bottle of Smoke, Sit Down By The Fire), a time to be serious (Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six) nostalgia (Thousands are Sailing) and the end of the night (If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God) which starts the album. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,739
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1980 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1981 | 5 | 5% | |
| 1982 | 3 | 3% | |
| 1983 | 6 | 6% | |
| 1984 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1985 | 6 | 6% | |
| 1986 | 17 | 17% | |
| 1987 | 15 | 15% | |
| 1988 | 19 | 19% | |
| 1989 | 10 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Smiths | 8 | 8% | |
| The Cure | 4 | 4% | |
| Pixies | 4 | 4% | |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 3% | |
| Dead Kennedys | 3 | 3% | |
| The Birthday Party | 3 | 3% | |
| Spacemen 3 | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 100th to 99th Happy Nightmare Baby by Opal |
| Up 1 from 99th to 98th Butthole Surfers by Butthole Surfers |
| Up 1 from 98th to 97th Skylarking by XTC |
| New entries |
|---|
 Locust Abortion Technicianby Butthole Surfers |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Substance 1987by New Order |
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Purplepash (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings
87/100 (from 11 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.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 11 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 85/100  | 12/14/2020 17:52 | TheKing | | 90/100 |
| 100/100 | 11/25/2020 17:53 |  desh79 | | 93/100 |
| 90/100 | 02/27/2020 08:24 |  Tamthebam | | 85/100 |
| 70/100 | 12/03/2019 20:38 | leniad | | 85/100 |
| 80/100 | 03/24/2019 08:14 |  mickilennial | | 77/100 |
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 17% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.3/100, a mean average of 88.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.3.
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