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: 03/02/2026 14:45
- (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.
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,590
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,039
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,349
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
[First added to this chart: 05/23/2012]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,376
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
[First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22,527
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 02/06/2012]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,132
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
This is my favourite album by a female artist.
It was her debut album after splitting from Lone Justice (pretty great band in their own right but ultimately a vehicle for Maria to go onto bigger and better things).
First up, I love Maria’s voice. Her voice is so powerful, but crystal clear that is also emotional and a tremendous range. I’ve always liked country rock, and her voice is the epitome of that style.
Throughout her career, she has been praised for her ability to convey deep emotion, with reviewers highlighting her "all-consuming intimacy" and "sensual, soaring" vocal delivery
The album is stunning. Apart from great vocals and musicianship, the songwriting is top draw full of melody and great story telling. Over the years Maria has penned a lot of great songs but this collection is just fantastic. It’s almost like, having left the band she was freed up to totally be herself.
I defy you to hear this and not fall in love with it [First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
It was her debut album after splitting from Lone Justice (pretty great band in their own right but ultimately a vehicle for Maria to go onto bigger and better things).
First up, I love Maria’s voice. Her voice is so powerful, but crystal clear that is also emotional and a tremendous range. I’ve always liked country rock, and her voice is the epitome of that style.
Throughout her career, she has been praised for her ability to convey deep emotion, with reviewers highlighting her "all-consuming intimacy" and "sensual, soaring" vocal delivery
The album is stunning. Apart from great vocals and musicianship, the songwriting is top draw full of melody and great story telling. Over the years Maria has penned a lot of great songs but this collection is just fantastic. It’s almost like, having left the band she was freed up to totally be herself.
I defy you to hear this and not fall in love with it [First added to this chart: 12/26/2011]
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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 | 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% | |
| INXS | 2 | 2% | |
| Lone Justice | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | JeffN999 | 1980s decade chart | 2022 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Kettwig | 1980s decade chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | matterhornrider | 1980s decade chart | 2025 |  |
| 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 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | craab | 1980s decade chart | 2025 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Madrocker | 1980s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s |  imacgill | 1980s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Finky | 1980s decade chart | 2026 | |
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 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 | 1,002 | 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 | 1,452 | 99/100 | |
| 04/01/2020 11:25 |  desh79 | 1,274 | 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.
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s favourites
Showing all 4 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 11 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
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 Johnnyo 08/13/2019 11:14 | #241115
Good to see that there’s another dream syndicate fan out there dihansse. Live at Raji’s is one of the finest live albums of all time.
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 Johnnyo 07/12/2012 16:22 | #46306
Every Dream Syndicate album is a gem. There are actaully a few more including another really tasty live album which might get added @ a later date. Green On Red will soon be added & yes, I have to have @ least a couple of Giant Sands as well. Good call lacashirearab.
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)
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.
