Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 by Junomoogmello 
This chart is under construction. Albums will only be added as I re-listen to them so that commentary is spontaneous. Only music which I own on vinyl, CD or tape will be included.
- Chart updated: 03/18/2025 11:45
- (Created: 07/23/2020 09:44).
- Chart size: 19 albums.
There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 1 vote). 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.
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from United Kingdom. (Remove this filter)
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
This comment will now outdate my comments about Heaven and Hell and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath whereby I stated that they were my top Sabbath albums. Without a doubt, this for me is top of the tree. The vocal delivery by RJD coupled with the overall musicianship which includes the best guitar work and drumming I have heard on any of the other Black Sabbath albums seals my decision. Every track is class, some with a real sinister atmosphere like 'Sign of the Southern Cross' and 'Falling off the Edge of the World'. There are equally, the really heavy workouts like the title track and 'Voodoo'. The sleeve art lets the album down a bit, had that been more scarey it may have encouraged more people to buy it when it was first released. It has taken me ages to track down a decent copy on vinyl but was most definitely well worth the wait!
[First added to this chart: 03/21/2021]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
786
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
15
Buy album
- #Sponsored
I don't really know why, but I really love this album cover. It is as intriguing as the story behind the concept album itself. It tells the story of Hiroo Onada, an Intelligence Officer in the Japanese Imperial Army who held out for circa 30 years in the Philippines, not realising World War II ended in 1944. He was actually relieved of his duties in 1974 by his Commanding Officer! I know this album isn't regarded with the same respect as Mirage, Snow Goose et al but because of my love of the cover design, I happily forked out £15.00 for a near mint copy on vinyl last week. Despite a lot of fairly scathing reviews, I have to say that I wasn't at all disappointed, excellent album in my opinion.
[First added to this chart: 05/09/2023]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
There is a lot of drum machine on this album giving quite a unique sound to most of his other work. The album does have quite an eighties instrumentation feel about which I do like. Air Conditioned Nightmare is a personal favourite.
[First added to this chart: 03/20/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Come and Get It' was one of the first singles I ever bought, from memory it had the same cover, I think I may have it somewhere. Quite a bluesy feel to this album with some great tracks, 'Don't Break My Heart Again' being a personal favourite. Not that heavy compared to some of their later work.
[First added to this chart: 08/02/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
A real mixed bag of reviews on this album. This is clearly a Marmite album, loved by many, hated by others. Generally I like it. 'Worried About You' and 'Tops' are personal favourites. I see a lot of comparisons to Some Girls. Bit like comparing a good curry to a roast, I like both for different reasons.
[First added to this chart: 08/05/2022]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,827
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
I used to have a single off this album, it had similar artwork to the cover of the album and I did like the single although lost, sold or gave it away at some point. I don't recall the name of the single, years later I bought the CD version of the album but it isn't the same as owning a vinyl copy. I will continue to keep my eye out and live in the hope that it may be re-issued. I think the album has a toe or two in the progressive pool which I like.
[First added to this chart: 03/26/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Classic NWOBHM album, just picked up the re-release on spatter vinyl. I would love to have seen these guys in their heyday, the closest I got was the single version of Wheels of Steel (which I seem to have lost or sold over time) and salivating over the patch on my best mates, older brothers, denim jacket. Yes, bloody sad really! But a cracking metal album this be.
[First added to this chart: 07/03/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
I am one of those rare individuals who can enjoy Foxtrot and Abacab in equal measure, probably because a huge part of my vinyl collection is prog and an equally sizeable measure is eighties electro pop. This is a good album and it is progressive in that it is not hanging on to the seventies but embracing the new decade.
[First added to this chart: 02/24/2024]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
781
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
An interesting early eighties electro pop concept album which was more ahead of its time than many may think. 'Play to Win' and 'Soul Warfare' are personal favourites. Personally, I would put 'The Luxury Gap' in first place and 'How Men Are' in second place, mainly because I find the tracks on those two albums more melodic.
[First added to this chart: 08/07/2021]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
296
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
I prefer the first volume to this one but having said that, this is still a reasonable compilation culled from their early albums. This album has a much harder and less progressive edge than the original 'Best Of' which, once two and three were releseased became volume one I suppose. BJH seem to get overlooked in progressive artist reviews and are more associated with 'orchestral rock' yet they could get some pretty decent textures from the Mellotron which certainly fitted with the orchestral approach.
[First added to this chart: 03/26/2022]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 10. Page 1 of 1
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| Rush | 1 | 5% | |
| Spirit | 1 | 5% | |
| Black Sabbath | 1 | 5% | |
| Genesis | 1 | 5% | |
| Men At Work | 1 | 5% | |
| The Monkees | 1 | 5% | |
| Blue Öyster Cult | 1 | 5% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
 Up 1 from 20th to 19thShut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar by Frank Zappa |
| Up 1 from 19th to 18th The Best Of Volume 3 by Barclay James Harvest |
| Up 1 from 18th to 17th Penthouse And Pavement by Heaven 17 |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Best Of The Monkeesby The Monkees |
Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 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 year charts by Junomoogmello
(from the 1980s)| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 15 Music Albums of 1989 | Junomoogmello | 1989 year chart | 2024 | |
| Top 10 Music Albums of 1988 | Junomoogmello | 1988 year chart | 2024 | |
| Top 22 Music Albums of 1987 | Junomoogmello | 1987 year chart | 2024 | |
| Top 17 Music Albums of 1986 | Junomoogmello | 1986 year chart | 2022 | |
| Top 21 Music Albums of 1985 | Junomoogmello | 1985 year chart | 2023 | |
| Top 24 Music Albums of 1984 | Junomoogmello | 1984 year chart | 2023 | |
| Top 21 Music Albums of 1983 | Junomoogmello | 1983 year chart | 2024 | |
| Top 15 Music Albums of 1982 | Junomoogmello | 1982 year chart | 2023 | |
| Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 | Junomoogmello | 1981 year chart | 2025 | |
| Top 28 Music Albums of 1980 | Junomoogmello | 1980 year chart | 2024 | |
Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 ratings
87/100 (from 1 vote)
where:
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 1 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 100/100  | 06/06/2024 23:32 | mrmcrook | | 92/100 |
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 favourites
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a favourite
Top 19 Music Albums of 1981 comments
Showing all 1 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
100/100
From mrmcrook 06/06/2024 23:34
Informative notes with a personal touch are always appreciated. Can give good insight to albums I'm yet to discover
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 19 Music Albums of 1981
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.