Best Albums of 1982

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1.

Thriller 

 Michael Jackson

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"you know, i've realised how utterly pointless it is arguing the toss over what has value and what doesn't with regard to music.. nothing is intrinsically worthless. before stumbling upon this site i knew of otherwise respectable people who would be genuinely moved by listening to happy-hardcore t...""you know, i've realised how utterly pointless it is arguing the toss over what has value and what doesn't with regard to music.. nothing is intrinsically worthless. before stumbling upon this site i knew of otherwise respectable people who would be genuinely moved by listening to happy-hardcore trance (kanye west on speed essentially). now i'm beginning to accept that others can be equally enthralled by the most existential, formless discord. the point is, 56 million people are right, if they believe they are. similarly, you are too. but being in a minority is certainly not tantamount to some kind of cultural supremacy, conversley isn't being anti-popular part of the same innate human desire to establish yourself individually within a collective? ..of anti-popularist/elitist types that is? and the fact is, in 1983 and everyday since, people have been hitting the studio desparate to make an album this big and none have succeeded. with success on this scale, simply turning up and going head first into the marketing machine is not sufficient. the quality of the songs is undeniable, even if you can only appreciate that from a technical perspective, and that, along with the distinctive stylings of the man himself, is why 56 million people got it."  [+]  Reply

- telefunker | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (9 helpful | 2 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:

1,668 charts

Rank Score:

16,220

Rank in 1982:

1

Rank in 1980s:

8

Overall Rank:

66

Average Rating:

 82 (2,185 votes)

Comments:

162

2.

The Dreaming 

 Kate Bush

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"God, "Pull Out The Pin" has to be one of the best war songs I've ever listened to. The desperate "I LOVE LIFE" battle-cry to the backdrop of helicopter sounds sends chills down my spine."  Reply

- Beef-Wellington | 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:

1982

Appears in:

662 charts

Rank Score:

6,238

Rank in 1982:

2

Rank in 1980s:

32

Overall Rank:

261

Average Rating:

 81 (797 votes)

Comments:

58

3.

The Number Of The Beast 

 Iron Maiden

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"This is a huge album in the genre and it is easy to see why when you listen to it as there is so much to love on here. This is probably the groups most consistent work with every song having some quality on it. The peak of the album is the sensational title track and also the closer Hallowed Be T...""This is a huge album in the genre and it is easy to see why when you listen to it as there is so much to love on here. This is probably the groups most consistent work with every song having some quality on it. The peak of the album is the sensational title track and also the closer Hallowed Be Thy Name which finishes the record in style. The album just feels so cohesive with most songs going into the same sort of themes and all matching in style but being very different in terms of composition which eliminates the repetitive feel you can get on similar releases in this genre. The performances are outstanding with the drums and guitar being some of the best I have heard from the group. Even the weakest song on the album, which is Gangland, has great moments and a brilliant guitar section on there. Overall, this is a must listen album in the genre and is Iron Maiden's strongest musical display. "  [+]  Reply

- Untitled | 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:

1982

Appears in:

740 charts

Rank Score:

6,074

Rank in 1982:

3

Rank in 1980s:

34

Overall Rank:

268

Average Rating:

 81 (1,040 votes)

Comments:

65

4.

Nebraska 

 Bruce Springsteen

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"Bruce Springsteen's record company probably didn't no whether to laugh or cry when he handed them his new album. Nebraska, wasn't exactly commercial material, it was an 11 track album, full of acoustic demo's, that Springsteen had failed to turn into an E street band record. Possibly, Springsteen...""Bruce Springsteen's record company probably didn't no whether to laugh or cry when he handed them his new album. Nebraska, wasn't exactly commercial material, it was an 11 track album, full of acoustic demo's, that Springsteen had failed to turn into an E street band record. Possibly, Springsteen promised Columbia, a more accessible album the next time round. Nebraska is a bleak, monochrome, postcard of an America full of serial killers, down on their luck gamblers, wayward brothers of small town cops, and, every day blue collar guys. It certainly isn't a barrel of laughs, and unlike later acoustic releases, the ghost of Tom Joad, and, devils' n' dust, it's a lot less slick, it's rawness is almost unsettling. The title track was inspired by a real life event, and also by Terence Malick's brilliant movie version, badlands. Atlantic city, is probably the best song on the album, with, Johnny 99, highway patrolman, and, reason to believe, also standouts. It certainly would be interesting to hear the attempted E street band versions, maybe that will be Springsteen's next box set release. Nebraska, is a challenging listen, and I would have thought it would only be enjoyed by boss fans, but i know people who aren't Springsteen fans, but like this album. It's definitely one of his most important records, and has been hugely influential on the lo-fi/alt.country scene. If Springsteen had given his assurances about his next release being more commercial, he certainly didn't let them down. Next for Bruce was, born in the USA, and superstardom. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | 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:

1982

Appears in:

734 charts

Rank Score:

5,740

Rank in 1982:

4

Rank in 1980s:

36

Overall Rank:

284

Average Rating:

 80 (1,007 votes)

Comments:

54

5.

Pornography 

 The Cure

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"I can't disagree more with the review that says this seems dated based on the fact that it sounds hollow and shallow. That was the ENTIRE point. The album has a hollow, dead flat sound throughout. That was the goal. It's symbolic of the emptiness of everything. The drums provide a pattern but no ...""I can't disagree more with the review that says this seems dated based on the fact that it sounds hollow and shallow. That was the ENTIRE point. The album has a hollow, dead flat sound throughout. That was the goal. It's symbolic of the emptiness of everything. The drums provide a pattern but no beat for you to dance to or to give life to the album. That is by design. That's the genius of it... it sound alike what it says. Also find it strange that people are overlooking A Strange Day, which is the best song."  [+]  Reply

- vesander | 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:

719 charts

Rank Score:

5,724

Rank in 1982:

5

Rank in 1980s:

37

Overall Rank:

286

Average Rating:

 80 (1,003 votes)

Comments:

57

6.

1999 

 Prince

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"When people think of Prince's best album, usually people point to either Purple Rain or Sign O' The Times. For me personally, I point to 1999 as his best album. It includes 3 classic hits (1999, Little Red Corvette, Delirious) and it includes hands down the best fusion of rock, funk, R&B, & new w...""When people think of Prince's best album, usually people point to either Purple Rain or Sign O' The Times. For me personally, I point to 1999 as his best album. It includes 3 classic hits (1999, Little Red Corvette, Delirious) and it includes hands down the best fusion of rock, funk, R&B, & new wave. The definite Prince album"  [+]  Reply

- joedec | 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:

1982

Appears in:

586 charts

Rank Score:

3,646

Rank in 1982:

6

Rank in 1980s:

68

Overall Rank:

463

Average Rating:

 79 (745 votes)

Comments:

50

7.

Avalon 

 Roxy Music

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"It took me a bit to get into this sound, but this really grew on me. Even though I didn't love it at first, this is undoubtedly one of the prettiest collection of songs I've ever heard."  Reply

- HoldenM | 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:

1982

Appears in:

502 charts

Rank Score:

3,458

Rank in 1982:

7

Rank in 1980s:

74

Overall Rank:

491

Average Rating:

 79 (652 votes)

Comments:

32

8.

Rio 

 Duran Duran

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"If you haven't watched the Futurama films, do it! They are about 4 times as long as the episodes and are just as funny. Also, you get one of the epicest quotes ever: Zapp: "Meanwhile, we shall sing top hits from the '80s." Kif: "Which '80s, sir?" Zapp: "For me, there are only one '80s." ...starts...""If you haven't watched the Futurama films, do it! They are about 4 times as long as the episodes and are just as funny. Also, you get one of the epicest quotes ever: Zapp: "Meanwhile, we shall sing top hits from the '80s." Kif: "Which '80s, sir?" Zapp: "For me, there are only one '80s." ...starts singing "Hungry Like a Wolf", which brings up a very important point: this album couldn't be more shamelessly the '80s and probably gets the #1 spot on my "Why the '80s were awesome"-list. It's a shiny, synthy, pompous, danceable, syncopated paradise... and above all, it's violently catchy! I don't know how else to describe it other than awesome... awesome to the max!"  [+]  Reply

- Mother Nature's Son | 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:

1982

Appears in:

478 charts

Rank Score:

3,012

Rank in 1982:

8

Rank in 1980s:

86

Overall Rank:

564

Average Rating:

 76 (583 votes)

Comments:

40

9.

Love Over Gold 

 Dire Straits

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"Mark Knopfler goes for the epic on Dire straits fourth album. Love over gold, only consists of five songs, but they are all excellent. Telegraph road, is a stunning opening track, and it's followed by the atmospheric, private investigations. Side gives us the enjoyable, industrial disease, the lo...""Mark Knopfler goes for the epic on Dire straits fourth album. Love over gold, only consists of five songs, but they are all excellent. Telegraph road, is a stunning opening track, and it's followed by the atmospheric, private investigations. Side gives us the enjoyable, industrial disease, the lovely title track, and, it never rains, which always seems to be the forgotten track. Love over gold, is arguably Dire straits' best album. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | 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:

1982

Appears in:

399 charts

Rank Score:

2,766

Rank in 1982:

9

Rank in 1980s:

96

Overall Rank:

611

Average Rating:

 78 (551 votes)

Comments:

36

10.

The Nightfly 

 Donald Fagen

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"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..."" 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, the wit and ever-determined will to produce this stellar pop record. With a legendary personnel including Abraham Laboriel, Larry Carlton, Marcus Miller, Greg Phillinganes and legendary Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, this record is ruthless in its precision and effortless execution. The lyrical themes are sophisticated autobiographical, and drawn from Fagen's fantasies from his time in the late 50's when he was fantasizing about his future days, as described in the booklet of the LP. The liner notes of the record denotes 31 session musicians included in the album, a typical example of Fagen's extreme perfectionist approach to the recording process - this tendency apparently didn't end with Steely Dan's Gaucho in '80 but continued into his debut solo album that truly is fantastic in the daring exploration in perfect sound and sophistication."  [+]  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:

348 charts

Rank Score:

2,429

Rank in 1982:

10

Rank in 1980s:

108

Overall Rank:

710

Average Rating:

 77 (391 votes)

Comments:

22

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 1982 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	22	2%
Ry Cooder	3	0%
The Original Broadway Cast	3	0%
The Beatles	3	0%
XTC	3	0%
The Fall	3	0%
G.B.H.	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	321	32%
	281	28%
	63	6%
	49	5%
	26	3%
	25	2%
	24	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	950	95%
Yes	51	5%

Live?	Albums	%
No	959	96%
Yes	42	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	984	98%
Yes	17	2%