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: 5 hours ago).
"Billy Joel adds a little more rock to his usual brand of pop, relying much less on piano than previous albums. As a pop/rock answer to the punk rock of the time ("it's still rock and roll to me"!), it's a solid album, with a very good first half which falls apart a bit in the 2nd." Reply
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paladisiac | 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:
Rank Score:
1,238
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"After several listening, I find this still their best after all, and Into the Labyrinth and Aion come second among all their works, but this record is unparalleled in terms of atmosphere on the score arrangement. The only things I don't like about it are the utter separation into 4 tracks by Bren..." [+] Reply
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ilovelctr | 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:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,206
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Pump, is Aerosmith's best album. It's a vibrant, confident, and energetic classic. The whole band is on the top of their game here, especially Steven Tyler who is singing better than ever. From the opening duo of, young lust/F.I.N.E., the album never lets up, it's a one after the other, in your f..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,205
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Needs to be in the top 1000. Best noise rock here" Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,202
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"After years of listening to it while playing games or studying. I listened to it while blindfolding, with headphones and doing nothing at all." Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,186
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Have you ever heard an album that is nearly a "Greatest Hits" in its own? Well, THIS is one of those very few albums that have to be honoured that way. In fact this album has an impressive record: 6 singles made the top 15 in the US, a record only equalled with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. How c..." [+] Reply
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ponkine | 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:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,168
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Another step up from the debut by what was to become the world's greatest heavy metal band. Does not contain any track as strong as Running Free from the previous outing, but the general quality has improved. Best tracks: Wrathchild and Killers. A couple more months of songwriting and a new singe..." [+] Reply
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Bork | 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:
Rank Score:
1,164
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I really like this a lot for its darkness. However I can understand why more ppl prefer Treasure and Heaven or Las Vegas, me myself included. I can't really tell which one of the three I love more. It just depends on the everyday mood I'm in. Treasure is more like a dark and gloomy dream with hop..." [+] Reply
- ilovelctr | 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:
Rank Score:
1,161
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Albums like Ray Of Light and Like A Prayer are artistically superior, but just for no frills pure pop, this is Madonna at the top of her game" Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,155
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Underrated and overshadowed by You're Living All Over Me, but in reality it's just as good as it." Reply
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Pegasus | 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,149
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 23 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 | |||
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