Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s
by Johnnyo 
The rules; I must own the album + no greatest hits or best ofs. The occasional compilation allowed
- Chart updated: 01/13/2026 14:15
- (Created: 12/06/2011 21:49).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 11 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 19 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,616
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,405
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,351
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Buy album
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[First added to this chart: 05/23/2012]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,388
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22,902
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/06/2012]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,133
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1981 | 1 | 1% | |
| 1982 | 3 | 3% | |
| 1983 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1984 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1985 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1986 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1987 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1988 | 16 | 16% | |
| 1989 | 16 | 16% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Dream Syndicate | 6 | 6% | |
| U2 | 5 | 5% | |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4% | |
| Giant Sand | 4 | 4% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 3 | 3% | |
| The Waterboys | 2 | 2% | |
| The Police | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 22 from 93rd to 71stThe Lost Weekend by Danny & Dusty |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 71st to 72ndMaking Movies by Dire Straits |
| Down 1 from 72nd to 73rdWorld Of Wonders by Bruce Cockburn |
| Down 1 from 73rd to 74thLambent Flame by Black Sun Ensemble |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | JeffN999 | 1980s decade chart | 2022 |  |
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | pdapperens | 1980s decade chart | 2014 |  |
| Die 100 besten Alben der 1980er Jahre | Popkultur.de | 1980s decade chart | 2022 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Ashmark | 1980s decade chart | 2018 | |
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | craab | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  imacgill | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  junodog4 | 1980s decade chart | 2023 | |
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Other decade charts by Johnnyo
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s | Johnnyo | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | Johnnyo | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Johnnyo | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
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 19 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 11/24/2023 08:29 |  DommeDamian | 1,003 | 89/100 |
| ! | 09/12/2023 22:17 |  Larcx13 | 1,138 | 86/100 |
| ! | 08/11/2021 11:48 |  TheDude85 | 43 | 95/100 |
| ! | 04/17/2021 20:22 |  Rhyner | 1,450 | 99/100 |
| ! | 04/01/2020 11:25 |  desh79 | 1,275 | 93/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 87.0/100, a mean average of 87.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.1.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
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From DommeDamian 11/24/2023 08:29 | #300122
DommeDamian 11/24/2023 08:29 | #300122
Cool with Dream Syndicate
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
dihansse 08/12/2019 16:59 | #241096
dihansse 08/12/2019 16:59 | #241096
Great chart, of course especially your number one which is one of the best live albums ever. But also many recs...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 07/21/2019 15:05 | #240080
ForegroundNoise 07/21/2019 15:05 | #240080
Nice chart!! Would be great to see some non-English language stuff creeping in ...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
greatson 07/01/2014 06:34 | #115744
greatson 07/01/2014 06:34 | #115744
Great chart with a lot rare picks I like (Lloyd Cole, Giant Sand, Bruce Cockburn, John Hiatt, Cris Cacavas...maybe more of them should appear in my chart)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From TheRealTruth 11/15/2012 05:03 | #55043
Good diversity, great to see Warren Zevon included. I felt that your #62-65 slots were an afterthought used to cram in the folk chicks.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From ecwashere 10/23/2012 22:50 | #53251
Kings X, Lone Justice, Waits, Young & Zevon! What a fantastic chart. Only minus is R.E.M. I will ignore the R.E.M albums and give you a full score.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
lancashirearab 06/16/2012 09:56 | #44535
lancashirearab 06/16/2012 09:56 | #44535
I never knew the Dream Syndicate had so many albums and I had totally forgotten about Danny & Dusty. Surely you can get up to 100 by adding some Green on Red albums or something by Giant Sand.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From junodog4 04/06/2012 03:27 | #39514
junodog4 04/06/2012 03:27 | #39514
Interesting! Neil Young's Freedom is fantastic.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Norman Bates 01/21/2012 10:54 | #35562
Norman Bates 01/21/2012 10:54 | #35562
I certainly must come back to this chart, very interesting indeed.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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