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).
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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.
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"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
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,140
Rank in 1984:
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,137
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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
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"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
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"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
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"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
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"“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:
1,108
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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:
1,105
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"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:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 24 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

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