Top 26 Music Albums of 1981
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 12/07/2025 20:15
- (Created: 04/12/2012 17:07).
- Chart size: 26 albums.
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Produced by Jimmy Iovine and Tom Petty. After having spent years with Fleetwood Mac being limited to about three songs per album, Stevie Nicks exploded with material for her first solo album. Criminally overlooked and underheard, this is Nicks at her best. "Edge Of Seventeen" was huge, and her duets with Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around")and Don Henley ("Leather And Lace")made her even bigger. But Bella Donna, as a whole, still gets little love. It deserves to be heard, and loved. A really great album.
[First added to this chart: 01/02/2013]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
703
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/17/2013]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,077
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 11/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
839
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1981 – BACKSTREET
Produced By JIMMY IOVINE & TOM PETTY
1. The Waiting
2. A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)
3. Nightwatchman
4. Something Big
5. King’s Road
6. Letting You Go
7. A Thing About You
8. Insider
9. The Criminal Kind
10. You Can Still Change Your Mind
Hard Promises is the fourth album by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and the last to be played in full by the entire original lineup. Like many of Petty’s albums, it’s often overlooked and passed over by critics, despite the hits and great tracks included. This was the album that included a pair of guest vocals by Stevie Nicks, and the last to feature Ron Blair on bass for twenty years. Hard Promises is the follow up to the hugely successful Damn The Torpedoes, and is ultimately worthy of that distinction. It was also the subject of a price war between Petty and MCA Records, who wanted to raise the price of the album without consent. A lot going on here, but don’t forget that this is also a pretty terrific album. One of the best from the Heartbreakers.
The album opens with a pair of great hits. “The Waiting” and “A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)” are worth having the album for alone. But you also get the burner “A Thing About You”, and two of the band’s concert favorites, “Nightwatchman” and “Kings Road”. And then there’s Stevie. Jimmy Iovine was also producing her solo debut Bella Donna, and hooked her up with Petty for a song that ended up being three. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” ended up on her album, but Hard Promises got the beautiful duet “Insider”, one of Petty’s very best ballads. This album doesn’t get the love it deserves. Petty & The Heartbreakers were at the top of their game here, and this is actually one of their better records. Don’t sleep on Hard Promises…it’s better than you might remember it to be. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Produced By JIMMY IOVINE & TOM PETTY
1. The Waiting
2. A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)
3. Nightwatchman
4. Something Big
5. King’s Road
6. Letting You Go
7. A Thing About You
8. Insider
9. The Criminal Kind
10. You Can Still Change Your Mind
Hard Promises is the fourth album by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and the last to be played in full by the entire original lineup. Like many of Petty’s albums, it’s often overlooked and passed over by critics, despite the hits and great tracks included. This was the album that included a pair of guest vocals by Stevie Nicks, and the last to feature Ron Blair on bass for twenty years. Hard Promises is the follow up to the hugely successful Damn The Torpedoes, and is ultimately worthy of that distinction. It was also the subject of a price war between Petty and MCA Records, who wanted to raise the price of the album without consent. A lot going on here, but don’t forget that this is also a pretty terrific album. One of the best from the Heartbreakers.
The album opens with a pair of great hits. “The Waiting” and “A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)” are worth having the album for alone. But you also get the burner “A Thing About You”, and two of the band’s concert favorites, “Nightwatchman” and “Kings Road”. And then there’s Stevie. Jimmy Iovine was also producing her solo debut Bella Donna, and hooked her up with Petty for a song that ended up being three. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” ended up on her album, but Hard Promises got the beautiful duet “Insider”, one of Petty’s very best ballads. This album doesn’t get the love it deserves. Petty & The Heartbreakers were at the top of their game here, and this is actually one of their better records. Don’t sleep on Hard Promises…it’s better than you might remember it to be. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
449
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1981-ATCO
Produced By ROBERT JOHN "MUTT" LANGE
1. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
2. Put The Finger On You
3. Let's Give It Up
4. Inject The Venom
5. Snowballed
6. Evil Walks
7. C.O.D.
8. Breaking The Rules
9. Night Of The Long Knives
10. Spellbound
The second album of the Brain Johnson era, and the followup to their huge Back In Black album, For Those About To Rock may be the most underrated album by AC/DC. With expectations high for them to make Back In Black 2, they almost pulled it off. The title track is huge, but there are plenty of gems here as well. "Inject The Venom", "Put The Finger On You", and "Evil Walks" could have all been hits, and every song could have worked on Back In Black. AC/DC sounds almost the same on every record. but the key is consistency. And they pull that off here. For Those About To Rock is a great time, and belongs right next to its predecessor. Not quite Back In Black 2, but they almost pulled it off.
The title track was used, along with several other songs, for the soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive. Producer Lange went on, of course, to become Mrs. Shania Twain. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Produced By ROBERT JOHN "MUTT" LANGE
1. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
2. Put The Finger On You
3. Let's Give It Up
4. Inject The Venom
5. Snowballed
6. Evil Walks
7. C.O.D.
8. Breaking The Rules
9. Night Of The Long Knives
10. Spellbound
The second album of the Brain Johnson era, and the followup to their huge Back In Black album, For Those About To Rock may be the most underrated album by AC/DC. With expectations high for them to make Back In Black 2, they almost pulled it off. The title track is huge, but there are plenty of gems here as well. "Inject The Venom", "Put The Finger On You", and "Evil Walks" could have all been hits, and every song could have worked on Back In Black. AC/DC sounds almost the same on every record. but the key is consistency. And they pull that off here. For Those About To Rock is a great time, and belongs right next to its predecessor. Not quite Back In Black 2, but they almost pulled it off.
The title track was used, along with several other songs, for the soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive. Producer Lange went on, of course, to become Mrs. Shania Twain. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
632
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 04/14/2012]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
521
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
626
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/21/2014]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,750
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1981-ARISTA
Produced By DAN HEALY, BETTY CANTOR-JACKSON & JERRY GARCIA
1. Samson And Delilah
2. Friend Of The Devil
3. New Minglewood Blues
4. Deal
5. Candyman
6. Little Red Rooster
7. Loser
8. Passenger
9. Feel Like A Stranger
10. Franklin’s Tower
11. Rhythm Devils
12. Fire On The Mountain
13. Greatest Story Ever Told
14. Brokedown Palace
Recorded live at various shows in San Francisco and New York City in 1980, Dead Set is the companion album to Reckoning, an acoustic (and slightly better) live album released the same year from the same shows. The intent was to release both as a double live album, but the idea was scrapped because of the length of some of the electric tracks. The two separate albums did not fare well, and particularly Dead Set sounds mostly uninspired and lacks coherency.
The song list is fine, but the problem is that the band sounds tired and nothing ever really takes off. “Friend Of The Devil”, for example, runs seven plus minutes…not because of jamming, but because they play the song excruciatingly slow. Tracks like “Franklin’s Tower” are good performances, but the sound is just not right. There are so many good live packages from this band: Dead Set is just a waste of time. Look for better live sets: it won’t take long for you to be rewarded. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2012]
Produced By DAN HEALY, BETTY CANTOR-JACKSON & JERRY GARCIA
1. Samson And Delilah
2. Friend Of The Devil
3. New Minglewood Blues
4. Deal
5. Candyman
6. Little Red Rooster
7. Loser
8. Passenger
9. Feel Like A Stranger
10. Franklin’s Tower
11. Rhythm Devils
12. Fire On The Mountain
13. Greatest Story Ever Told
14. Brokedown Palace
Recorded live at various shows in San Francisco and New York City in 1980, Dead Set is the companion album to Reckoning, an acoustic (and slightly better) live album released the same year from the same shows. The intent was to release both as a double live album, but the idea was scrapped because of the length of some of the electric tracks. The two separate albums did not fare well, and particularly Dead Set sounds mostly uninspired and lacks coherency.
The song list is fine, but the problem is that the band sounds tired and nothing ever really takes off. “Friend Of The Devil”, for example, runs seven plus minutes…not because of jamming, but because they play the song excruciatingly slow. Tracks like “Franklin’s Tower” are good performances, but the sound is just not right. There are so many good live packages from this band: Dead Set is just a waste of time. Look for better live sets: it won’t take long for you to be rewarded. [First added to this chart: 04/22/2012]
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[First added to this chart: 02/22/2023]
Total albums: 26. Page 1 of 3
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Top 26 Music Albums of 1981 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| George Benson | 1 | 4% | |
| Agent Orange | 1 | 4% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 1 | 4% | |
| Rush | 1 | 4% | |
| The Babys | 1 | 4% | |
| Stevie Nicks | 1 | 4% | |
| Donnie Iris | 1 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
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| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/24/2022 06:17 |  pedro1976 | 107 | 85/100 |
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