Best Albums of the 1980s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 3 hours ago).
"This is the album where Depeche Mode really started to discover their sound and start to experiment with a darker undertone. While it would be executed better on later releases, this early dive into more harsh and tense sounds makes for fantastic listening as you really can feel the raw nature of..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,648
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I really did not see this coming. Of course there is a relationship with "Remain in Light" by TH, but the combined talent of Eno / Byrne makes this album the best and most innovative music of 1981. The processing of samples (tape loops, because digital technology was not yet available) is extraor..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,639
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This is Sade's best album. It's also probably one of the best R&B albums ever produced. Sade's always been a great vocal expert, but this record is where her vocals are shown at the best angle." Reply
- 
ilovelctr | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,601
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Why they didn't put the full version of perfect kiss on here is beyond me. Every time I hear this album I always wish it wouldn't fade out! What the hell were they thinking cos the full version is one of the best things I've ever heard. It fades just at the point it goes from fantastic to mind bl..." [+] Reply
- 
Graeme2 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,593
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"A buffet of music. Some really good stuff, some strange stuff, some fluff, some stuff that really grows on you. I can understand all the crap this album got back in the day. Realeased today it would be called a masterpiece. And, in many ways, it is." Reply
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,524
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Somehow these metal masters found a way to fuse the synths with the heavy guitar/bass/drum combo and make a unique product that retains it's heavy metallic flavor. This is some of Maiden's most consistent songwriting, Harris' bass lines are as astonishing as ever, Dickinson's vocals continue to s..." [+] Reply
- 
Fischman | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,475
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Yeah full of social commentary and often great lyrics - at his best when he's delivering a story and introducing interesting mis-fit characters. Stand out songs for me are the first three songs plus Last Great American Whale. However there are a couple of songs I don't like - There Is No Time and..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,475
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The sneakiest masterpiece in pop music. Fagen took a huge risk in clashing with the monopoly of analogue recording when he created what would become the very reference album in terms of production and execution. Being the ever early bird to be entirely digitally recorded, Fagen showed the courage..." [+] Reply
- 
calsper | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,429
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I typically don't like to consider compilations as proper albums and avoid putting them in my charts, but for this and Hatful of Hollow, I make an exception. Most of these tracks don't show up on any of the Smiths' studio releases, so might as well rate it as any other album." Reply
- 
Onater | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,387
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"WOW, I've always considered by self to be a casual fan of ELO, but never thought that they were amazing, but this was incredible, easily their best album and possibly one of the best albums of the 80s" Reply
- 
hereforashortime | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,356
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 11 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 96 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 100 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 98 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 96 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Depeche Mode | 8 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| U2 | 7 | 1% | |
| The Fall | 7 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
414 | 41% | |
 |
392 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
27 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
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.
