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: 4 hours ago).
Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1980s decade summaryThe best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, The Cure, Pixies, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Collector's summary (top 1,000) Help The maximum rank used by the Collector's Summary is configurable from your profile (top 1,000 is currently selected). Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort Sort by
"After 6 rather disappointing studio albums in the 80's he left Geffen records and returned to Reprise and a great return to form with this album. Great album there are elements of rock, folk, country everything Neil Young is good at."  Reply
- Tamthebam | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
Rank Score:
1,142
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,140
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,137
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"An essential piece of post-disco and art pop. For an album that is essentially a collection of covers, it feels incredibly personal and cohesive, combining excellent variation within its sound with brilliant execution and good structure. Jones cements herself here as one of the most interesting a..."  [+]  Reply
- DeusExMackia | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1,132
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Considered a classic, Songs About Fucking certain contains a half hour of noisy madness. I think I may need a few more listen in the future to understand more of this band since they are a well known act in the noise rock community. But I think this this album is cool to listen if you wanna liste..."  [+]  Reply
- F1Aaron | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1,131
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"If we consider the context in which this album was made it is a miracle to have Learning to Fly, Sorrow, One Slip, Dogs of War and On the Turning Away gathered in "Momentary Lapse". In my opinion they are good songs and reflect a great change in Pink Floyd's way to compose and record new stuff. S..."  [+]  Reply
- PF Sound | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1,124
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"One of the few albums where I like the second half more than the first. Of course, "Lucretia my Reflection" and "This Corrosion," are the hits, but from "Flood II" onward it's all frosty darkwave to match the album art. Recommended for a moonlit winter stroll."  Reply
- LittleONegative | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1,119
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"“I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements - with one voice, two voices. I build with primitive materials - with the triad, with one specific tonality. The three..."  [+]  Reply
- zonrod | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1,107
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
239.
"I was disappointed when this album was first release: it's so electronic! Not heavy at all! Where's the guitar?!? I felt like my favorite band had betrayed me. As the years went by, though, I began to see the great strengths of this album. There is some stellar songwriting, lots of great layering..."  [+]  Reply
- Fischman | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1,104
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Find this album underrated, it's a really good. I must be in the minority here who views this album in a positive way. Favorite tracks are Badman's Song, Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Advice For The Young At Heart, Year Of The Knife, and Famous Last Words"  Reply
- F1Aaron | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
Rank Score:
1,090
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 24 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
3. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
4. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
5. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
6. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
7. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
8. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
9. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
10. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
11. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
12. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
13. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
14. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
15. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
16. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
17. Los 30 mejores discos de la década de 2010 by Esquire España (2023)
18. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
19. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
20. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)