Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by 
Norman Bates 
90-100/100 records only. Work in progress.
- Chart updated: 04/06/2025 05:45
- (Created: 12/05/2011 04:08).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1981 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 16 | 16% | |
| 1983 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1985 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1986 | 5 | 5% | |
| 1987 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1989 | 6 | 6% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Wipers | 1 | 1% | |
| James Brown | 1 | 1% | |
| A Certain Ratio | 1 | 1% | |
| Daniel Johnston | 1 | 1% | |
| Pierre Favre Ensemble | 1 | 1% | |
| Mary Margaret O'Hara | 1 | 1% | |
| Manuel Göttsching | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
45 | 45% | |
 |
32 | 32% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
| |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 47 from 85th to 38th Beat Happening by Beat Happening |
| Up 44 from 91st to 47th Fear And Whiskey by Mekons |
| Up 43 from 89th to 46th Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 55 from 45th to 100th Double Nickels On The Dime by Minutemen |
| Down 45 from 42nd to 87th Closer by Joy Division |
| Down 45 from 50th to 95th The Only Fun In Town by Josef K |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  SuedeSwede | 1980s decade chart | 2015 | |
| Top 100 Albums of the 1980s | Pitchfork | 1980s decade chart | 2002 | |
| Pitchfork: The 100 Best Albums Of The 1980s (2002) | WayneMC | Custom chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  Hanshiro | 1980s decade chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | dwils0891 | 1980s decade chart | 2012 | |
| Top 99 Music Albums of the 1980s |  CellarDoor | 1980s decade chart | 2012 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | badger | 1980s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | sonicdiscourse | 1980s decade chart | 2016 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  ssteve | 1980s decade chart | 2023 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  covecove | 1980s decade chart | 2021 |  |
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Other decade charts by Norman Bates
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | Norman Bates | 2010s decade chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Norman Bates | 2000s decade chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | Norman Bates | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Norman Bates | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
Norman Bates 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.
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 26 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/20/2025 17:32 | Johnnyo | 2,551 | 80/100 |
| ! | 10/23/2019 11:12 | LankyLen | 45 | 85/100 |
| ! | 10/07/2018 10:19 |  phantom1305 | 291 | 92/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2016 22:19 | luis721 | 173 | 93/100 |
| ! | 12/05/2015 23:41 |  Applerill | 974 | 75/100 |
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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.5/100, a mean average of 90.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.3.
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
Showing all 6 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
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Very good chart.
Great chart! Not your typical 80s list, but not ignoring the classics either
rogue 02/04/2015 00:23 | #133900
There's a lot of feels here. Awesomely eclectic and I'm unaware of a startling number of these bands. Will definitely look into!
Amazing chart man. Love to see Feelies, Gun Club, Arthur Russell, Minutemen, Meat Puppets and other artists I love in a single chart.
HoldenM 02/03/2015 09:02 | #133824
Eeeeeexcellent.
Secondsoul 08/08/2014 13:10 | #119025
Great 80's list. Love it!
Great picks here!
EPMD - nuff said
Yeah, this is a great chart, full of interesting choices, avoiding some of the some obvious selections. A great take on the decade.
pa 08/06/2014 08:51 | #118838
I love to see so many Smiths'picks!
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