Best Albums of the 1980s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 3 hours ago).
"recorded undersea off the coast of cape cod the sky hinted of snow we wore sweaters and knit hats we built a fire on the beach to keep warm and roasted twinkies we passed some Nyquil around and swapped stories about our dorms Dean told a story about seeing Neil Young in concert then we packed up ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,000
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"First album I ever bought new as a kid. I love Billy Joel--and I noticed this is sort of lower on the "best" list than I would put it, but I suspect that has something to do with the reviewers' ages. I was 10 when I bought this album. I was familiar with Billy Joel from radio airplay and the sing..." [+] Reply
- 
earbudgloryhole | 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:
997
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I think it's a slight improvement over Misplaced Childhood, but by this point it was clear that the band was taking a far more "adult-oriented" and less proggy direction. The direction's certainly not a bad thing, but I think the band lost some of its energy and power along the way. The first two..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
985
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"in 1991, my music tastes were pretty bland and top-40. i had a friend whose musical horizons were considerably broader, and he told me i should check out a band called Cocteau Twins. so i went into a record store and looked through the CT section, but i didn't know which release do try. i asked o..." [+] Reply
- 
philbutrin | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 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:
980
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This is where the depeche mode legend was borne. Out of piano, samplers and keyboards, this synthpop band took root writing songs with personal themes like signature tunes "people are people", "master and servant" and "blasphemous rumors"." Reply
- 
paladisiac | 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:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
978
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Mesmerizing but the counterpoint stuff gets a bit overwhelming after a while... I feel it needs a bit of dynamic added to it by having some ambient tracks or something. Facades was kind of that, but a little late in the album. It's a very similar feel throughout the album. Rubric was impressive b..." [+] Reply
- 
RoundTheBend | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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:
Rank Score:
969
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"As with Heaven Up Here, the 2nd side is by far superior to the 1st." Reply
- 
johnner | 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
968
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Joe Jackson's magnum opus, a tight set of songs. My favorite LP of his (and usually the consensus pick for his best album by most). Really dig the Latin-esque flavors he throws in, like on 'Target' and 'Cancer'. And of course, the one-two punch of 'Steppin Out' to 'Breaking Us In Two' is killer. ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
963
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Transparent Radiation is absolutely stunning!!! It's like floating down a lazy river while the most beautiful of sunsets is hanging in the sky." Reply
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
961
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Janet packed up and recorded in minneapolis with jimmy jam & terry lewis to finally step outside of brother jacko's shadow with fine beats and cool choreography in her videos. Six of the 9 tracks were radio hits speaking to both the appeal of janet and her ability to establish her own "nasty" ide..." [+] Reply
- paladisiac | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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:
Rank Score:
954
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 27 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 121 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 95 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 101 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 88 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 89 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 92 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Depeche Mode | 7 | 1% | |
| R.E.M. | 7 | 1% | |
| Talking Heads | 7 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
412 | 41% | |
 |
392 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
19 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
