Best Albums of the 1980s

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171.

Holy Diver 

 Dio

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"An excellent metal album which I have gotten into more with repeated listens. 'Holy Diver' and 'Don't Talk to Strangers' are awesome metal tracks, in fact the latter is one of my all time favourite metal tracks. A very underrated metal classic."  Reply

- Junomoogmello | 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:

1983

Appears in:

289 charts

Rank Score:

1,574

Rank in 1983:

17

Rank in 1980s:

171

Overall Rank:

1,101

Average Rating:

 77 (357 votes)

Comments:

23

172.

Black Sea 

 XTC

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"I'm not quite sure how this is only rated as XTC's 6th best album on BEA. Perhaps people are listening to the CD reissue which for some strange reason added the bonus tracks Smokeless Zone, Don't Lose Your Temper & The Somnombulist right in the middle of the original track listing instead of tagg...""I'm not quite sure how this is only rated as XTC's 6th best album on BEA. Perhaps people are listening to the CD reissue which for some strange reason added the bonus tracks Smokeless Zone, Don't Lose Your Temper & The Somnombulist right in the middle of the original track listing instead of tagging them onto the end. Respectable Street is a classic with a timeless English subject matter. Other great tracks follow including Generals & Majors, Love at first sight, Towers of London, the brilliant Burning with Optimism's Flame and the catchy pop of Sgt Rock. "  [+]  Reply

- LittleM1971 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (12 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:

1980

Appears in:

224 charts

Rank Score:

1,574

Rank in 1980:

28

Rank in 1980s:

172

Overall Rank:

1,102

Average Rating:

 78 (241 votes)

Comments:

8

173.

Parade 
Soundtrack

 Prince And The Revolution

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"I listen to this one on vinyl all the time since my uncle gave me an original copy along with Purple Rain. The sum is greater than it's parts for sure as it has a loose concept going on based on the horrible movie Prince directed (The one talent he didn't exactly shine in, though a decent actor)....""I listen to this one on vinyl all the time since my uncle gave me an original copy along with Purple Rain. The sum is greater than it's parts for sure as it has a loose concept going on based on the horrible movie Prince directed (The one talent he didn't exactly shine in, though a decent actor). Some of the songs sound a bit too similar and are either way too short, or go on too long. But I still have to say that Mountains & Sometimes it Snows In April are among his greatest musical achievements. Sometimes In Snows In April carries a deeper emotional weight for me, and I'm sure for others, concerning Prince died in April, and the song is about the concept character, Tracy, dying. I find myself skipping much of the album to get to those songs, along with Kiss. It's not because the rest of the songs are bad by any means, but those three are so classic they kind of overshadow everything else. This, along with Around The World In A day are his trippiest albums; but there is still plenty of funk and pop to go around."  [+]  Reply

- CJMishellsan | 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:

1986

Appears in:

322 charts

Rank Score:

1,564

Rank in 1986:

14

Rank in 1980s:

173

Overall Rank:

1,104

Average Rating:

 77 (398 votes)

Comments:

28

174.

Never For Ever 

 Kate Bush

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"This is definitely my favorite Kate Bush album, so I was surprised to find it so low. The words “too effiminate” for a moment made me lose all faith in humankind; will there ever be a day where feminine will not mean childish or dumb or... you know the drill. And the dislikes are nice, but I see ...""This is definitely my favorite Kate Bush album, so I was surprised to find it so low. The words “too effiminate” for a moment made me lose all faith in humankind; will there ever be a day where feminine will not mean childish or dumb or... you know the drill. And the dislikes are nice, but I see everyone saying the same thing with their ratings and charts. But still, I don’t really get why this one is so low; it’s certainly not more feminine than her last two albums. The reason for the albums that followed to be liked by people on this site seems clear, since people here seem to have an indie fetish, and Kate apparently became more and more independent in the course of the ‘80s. I feel like this album is a bit in the middle of that process, which is why I like it so much: the production isn’t as sparse as on the following two albums and the vocals aren’t as clean as on the preceding two albums. This is Kate Bush at her weirdest and at her Kate Bush-est."  [+]  Reply

- Boltzmann | 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:

1980

Appears in:

278 charts

Rank Score:

1,554

Rank in 1980:

29

Rank in 1980s:

174

Overall Rank:

1,117

Average Rating:

 79 (392 votes)

Comments:

18

175.

The Ascension 

 Glenn Branca

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"Fascinating and spellbinding instrumental music. I haven't listened to a lot of Swans, but I can hear their origins in the pounding drone-grooves that these compositions frequently settle into. All in all, this is a powerful listen, but I honestly can't see myself returning to it. Edit: I returne...""Fascinating and spellbinding instrumental music. I haven't listened to a lot of Swans, but I can hear their origins in the pounding drone-grooves that these compositions frequently settle into. All in all, this is a powerful listen, but I honestly can't see myself returning to it. Edit: I returned to it"  [+]  Reply

- kieranthewalrus | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 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:

1981

Appears in:

218 charts

Rank Score:

1,545

Rank in 1981:

15

Rank in 1980s:

175

Overall Rank:

1,123

Average Rating:

 79 (214 votes)

Comments:

14

176.

Eliminator 

 ZZ Top

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"ZZ Top acending to the top of their carreer with a mix between blues and rock. This album contains the top hits "Sharp Dressed Man", "Gimme All Your Lovin" and "Legs". 9 good songs from 11 tracks provide a good listening experience. (album rating: 68,64 %)"  Reply

- nocturnaldelight | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 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:

1983

Appears in:

352 charts

Rank Score:

1,540

Rank in 1983:

18

Rank in 1980s:

176

Overall Rank:

1,125

Average Rating:

 76 (381 votes)

Comments:

26

177.

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Floating Into The Night 

 Julee Cruise

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"The sadness and beauty in every song is so seducing and dreamy. This speaks to me in a deep level. I feel like this is somehow the soundtrack that's always playing inside my mind and I only found out now that I actually heard this album."  Reply

- patriciatoledo | 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:

1989

Appears in:

207 charts

Rank Score:

1,524

Rank in 1989:

15

Rank in 1980s:

177

Overall Rank:

1,138

Average Rating:

 79 (197 votes)

Comments:

15

178.

The Sensual World 

 Kate Bush

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"If 1985's Hounds Of Love saw Bush channel her adolescent high spirits for the last time, The Sensual World served as a coming of age. Having turned 30, she delivered her most rounded mature album to date. She acknowledged her irish heritage, taking inspiration both from the Celtic instrumentation...""If 1985's Hounds Of Love saw Bush channel her adolescent high spirits for the last time, The Sensual World served as a coming of age. Having turned 30, she delivered her most rounded mature album to date. She acknowledged her irish heritage, taking inspiration both from the Celtic instrumentation, and, at least in the case of the title track, from James Joyce's most sensual of characters, Molly Bloom. There is a broader folk influence too, which is partly down to Bush's brother Paddy, a fan of ethnic music. It is he who introduced her to The Trio Bulgarka, traditional Bulgarian singers who appear throughout the album. Michael Nyman arranges strings on "Reaching Out"; Nigel Kennedy appears on "The Fog" and "Heads We're Dancing"; Dave Gilmour plays on "Love And Anger" and "Rocket's Tail". Even her father, credited as Dr. Bush, contributes spoken word dialog to "The Fog", a song nominally about a parent teaching their child to swim -symbolism that is not hard to decipher. (An aditional track, "Walk Straight Down The Middle", featured on the cd). Although champions of her teenage spectral keening might have wished she had remained forever young, Kate breaks new ground, welcoming an era where global influences are paired with computerized proficiency. There is a distinct quality of womanly sexuality to The Sensual World too, as well as an attempt to address outside of her Kentish back yard. Whereas once she sounded as if she was happiest playing organ in the barn behind her parents' house, here she sings as a fully accomplished recording artist ready for international success. "Growing up for most people is just trying to stop escaping... But I'm not sure if people ever grow up properly." Kate Bush, 1989"  [+]  Reply

- serpico | 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:

1989

Appears in:

340 charts

Rank Score:

1,521

Rank in 1989:

16

Rank in 1980s:

178

Overall Rank:

1,139

Average Rating:

 78 (448 votes)

Comments:

21

179.

Script For A Jester's Tear 

 Marillion

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"If the 1970-1975 Genesis lineup would have remained intact and evolved, this is what they would have sounded like in 1983. Vocalist Fish is an original, however one cannot help but recall Peter Gabriel. Too bad 70s prog-rock did not sustain full momentum into the 1980s. This might have been one o...""If the 1970-1975 Genesis lineup would have remained intact and evolved, this is what they would have sounded like in 1983. Vocalist Fish is an original, however one cannot help but recall Peter Gabriel. Too bad 70s prog-rock did not sustain full momentum into the 1980s. This might have been one of many quality 80s prog-rock albums instead of one of a few."  [+]  Reply

- nas062080 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 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:

1983

Appears in:

226 charts

Rank Score:

1,514

Rank in 1983:

19

Rank in 1980s:

179

Overall Rank:

1,142

Average Rating:

 76 (261 votes)

Comments:

11

180.

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels 

 Dexys Midnight Runners

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"Fantastic album! A mixture of Punk, Jazz, & Soul. You wouldn't think that would work, but it seriously does."  Reply

- Hayden | 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:

1980

Appears in:

240 charts

Rank Score:

1,506

Rank in 1980:

30

Rank in 1980s:

180

Overall Rank:

1,148

Average Rating:

 75 (281 votes)

Comments:

18

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 18 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

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

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	966	97%
Yes	35	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	980	98%
Yes	21	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	12	1%