Top 35 Music Albums of 1983
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 10/25/2025 16:15
- (Created: 04/12/2012 16:57).
- Chart size: 35 albums.
There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 4 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Produced by Mark Van Hecke. The Violent Femmes were discovered playing outside of a venue by Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott in 1981. They've gone on to record many albums and have levels of success, but nothing has ever matched the magic of their debut album. When they were on, they made acoustic punk a reality, and never better than on "Blister In The Sun", "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Add It Up". Their legacy rests mostly on this exceptional classic album that made the music of the 80's much more bearable.
[First added to this chart: 02/19/2015]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,055
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1983-IRS
Produced By MITCH EASTER & DON DIXON
1. Radio Free Europe
2. Pilgrimage
3. Laughing
4. Talk About The Passion
5. Moral Kiosk
6. Perfect Circle
7. Catapult
8. Sitting Still
9. 9-9
10. Shaking Through
11. We Walk
12. West Of The Fields
In a way that was not as loud, shocking, or outwardly visible, Murmer, the first album from R.E.M., did to classic rock what Nirvana's Nevermind did to 80's metal. This is the birth of what would become a whole branch of alternative rock. Leading the way was "Radio Free Europe", which had been released as a single two years earlier. Murmer is full of songs and sounds that were unheard of in 1983. Peter Buck's guitar work (no solos allowed) was fresh and new, and Michael Stipe's lyrics were strange and cryptic...when they could be understood. All together, Murmer was a unique album, and although it sold almost nothing, it would go on to become a classic. And for good reason. This is a great album.
R.E.M. would have to wait until 1986 to have any kind of mainstream success, but by that time, their sound was starting to take hold. They broke up in 2011, but what they were in the beginning shouldn't be forgotten. Murmer is simply a fantastic album. [First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Produced By MITCH EASTER & DON DIXON
1. Radio Free Europe
2. Pilgrimage
3. Laughing
4. Talk About The Passion
5. Moral Kiosk
6. Perfect Circle
7. Catapult
8. Sitting Still
9. 9-9
10. Shaking Through
11. We Walk
12. West Of The Fields
In a way that was not as loud, shocking, or outwardly visible, Murmer, the first album from R.E.M., did to classic rock what Nirvana's Nevermind did to 80's metal. This is the birth of what would become a whole branch of alternative rock. Leading the way was "Radio Free Europe", which had been released as a single two years earlier. Murmer is full of songs and sounds that were unheard of in 1983. Peter Buck's guitar work (no solos allowed) was fresh and new, and Michael Stipe's lyrics were strange and cryptic...when they could be understood. All together, Murmer was a unique album, and although it sold almost nothing, it would go on to become a classic. And for good reason. This is a great album.
R.E.M. would have to wait until 1986 to have any kind of mainstream success, but by that time, their sound was starting to take hold. They broke up in 2011, but what they were in the beginning shouldn't be forgotten. Murmer is simply a fantastic album. [First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,040
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,510
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/13/2014]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,539
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/30/2013]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2024]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1983 – SIRE
Produced By TALKING HEADS
1. Burning Down The House
2. Making Flippy Floppy
3. Girlfriend Is Better
4. Slippery People
5. I Get Wild: Wild Gravity
6. Swamp
7. Moon Rocks
8. Pull Up The Roots
9. This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)
For their fifth album, Talking Heads went at it without producer Brian Eno, with interesting results. Speaking In Tongues turned out to be their breakthrough album, boasting hit singles and fine dance beats throughout. Strangely enough, the cassette version was the one to have…it’s six minutes longer with extended versions of the better songs. The LP and CD versions are shorter, but that’s okay…this is still a pretty fine album. David Byrne is at his quirkiest, Jerry Harrison plays some really funky guitar, and the rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz is as tight as can be. There are also a lot of synthesizers, but to their credit, they don’t crowd the album and the sound is not your typical eighties cheese. Leaving plenty of room for groove.
And groove is what Speaking In Tongues does. The first three songs are glorious, made up of everything that made this a great band. “Burning Down The House” is an irresistible dance hit. “Making Flippy Floppy” is weird and amazing as the title suggests, and “Girlfriend Is Better” is just a fantastic song. But that’s not all there is to this. “Swamp” is all quirky goodness, and “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” is one of their very finest songs. But there’s a significant drop after that…the other four songs, while upbeat and danceable, are also pretty forgettable. Their previous album, Remain In Light, was a tough act to follow, and they did a pretty good job of that. The live Stop Making Sense was next, and things started to slowly unravel…Talking Heads were done five years later. This is one of their better albums. Quirky, imperfect, and glorious. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2024]
Produced By TALKING HEADS
1. Burning Down The House
2. Making Flippy Floppy
3. Girlfriend Is Better
4. Slippery People
5. I Get Wild: Wild Gravity
6. Swamp
7. Moon Rocks
8. Pull Up The Roots
9. This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)
For their fifth album, Talking Heads went at it without producer Brian Eno, with interesting results. Speaking In Tongues turned out to be their breakthrough album, boasting hit singles and fine dance beats throughout. Strangely enough, the cassette version was the one to have…it’s six minutes longer with extended versions of the better songs. The LP and CD versions are shorter, but that’s okay…this is still a pretty fine album. David Byrne is at his quirkiest, Jerry Harrison plays some really funky guitar, and the rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz is as tight as can be. There are also a lot of synthesizers, but to their credit, they don’t crowd the album and the sound is not your typical eighties cheese. Leaving plenty of room for groove.
And groove is what Speaking In Tongues does. The first three songs are glorious, made up of everything that made this a great band. “Burning Down The House” is an irresistible dance hit. “Making Flippy Floppy” is weird and amazing as the title suggests, and “Girlfriend Is Better” is just a fantastic song. But that’s not all there is to this. “Swamp” is all quirky goodness, and “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” is one of their very finest songs. But there’s a significant drop after that…the other four songs, while upbeat and danceable, are also pretty forgettable. Their previous album, Remain In Light, was a tough act to follow, and they did a pretty good job of that. The live Stop Making Sense was next, and things started to slowly unravel…Talking Heads were done five years later. This is one of their better albums. Quirky, imperfect, and glorious. [First added to this chart: 06/04/2024]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,011
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/14/2012]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
908
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/14/2012]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Total albums: 35. Page 1 of 4
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| 38 Special | 1 | 3% | |
| Huey Lewis & The News | 1 | 3% | |
| New Order | 1 | 3% | |
| Talking Heads | 1 | 3% | |
| Cyndi Lauper | 1 | 3% | |
| Eurythmics | 1 | 3% | |
| Aztec Camera | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 28th to 27th Madness by Madness |
| Up 1 from 27th to 26th The Crossing by Big Country |
| Up 1 from 26th to 25th Balls To The Wall by Accept |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 5 from 23rd to 28th Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order |
Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 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!
Romanelli has created 71 other 1983 year charts - click here to explore them all.
Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 4 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/01/2019 00:07 | DJENNY | 4,365 | 100/100 |
| ! | 02/23/2014 23:32 | PauloPaz | 1,759 | 89/100 |
| ! | 01/05/2013 22:57 | guigs13 | 237 | 88/100 |
| ! | 11/03/2012 03:25 | strawberryfields | 273 | 95/100 |
Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 favourites
Top 35 Music Albums of 1983 comments
Showing all 1 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 guigs13 01/05/2013 22:57 | #60250
Really nice chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Your feedback for Top 35 Music Albums of 1983
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.
| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Nirvana | |
| 10. Neil Young | |
| 11. The Velvet Underground | |
| 12. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 13. Miles Davis | |
| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. R.E.M. | |
| 17. Kanye West | |
| 18. Pixies | |
| 19. Bruce Springsteen | |
| 20. Jimi Hendrix |
