Best Albums of 1980

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21.

Iron Maiden 

 Iron Maiden

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"Brilliant debut album. Great songs right through. Deserves more credit than it gets. Paul Di'Anno's vocals give a different rawness than what was to come when Bruce replaced him, but in no way is he a bad singer. Suited the songs and style very well. A great album."  Reply

- mrmcrook | 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:

345 charts

Rank Score:

1,820

Rank in 1980:

21

Rank in 1980s:

147

Overall Rank:

945

Average Rating:

 78 (541 votes)

Comments:

29

22.

Duke 

 Genesis

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"Until this album Genesis music broadly followed mythological themes, even after Peter Gabriel's departure, A trick of the Tail adhered to this ethos... but this album stands alone in their catalogue (at least to me) in that it marks a sea change in their thinking. Not quite yet the pop driven wor...""Until this album Genesis music broadly followed mythological themes, even after Peter Gabriel's departure, A trick of the Tail adhered to this ethos... but this album stands alone in their catalogue (at least to me) in that it marks a sea change in their thinking. Not quite yet the pop driven work of the albums that followed, although it's 'geneisis' is here, it still contains a hint of the progressive earlier work in the writing and playing, if not necessarily in the instruments used. As here they begin to mix the emerging synthesiser technology with traditional instruments, creating a unique blend of the two, but the synths are used sparsely and just for colour and shading. In fact if Duchess is taken along with Phil Collins solo In the Air Tonight, a strong similarity in method and execution can be felt, and the minimal approach to the use of the technology makes for a striong, timeless, and distinctive sound, perhaps among the finest examples of the use of technology from the time. Duke is a complete work on a unified theme, but this time concerned with the story of the eponymous character and his 'Duchess'... I think you could almost take it as an album version of 'Don't you want Me' by the Human League- The Mogul and the unsypathetic Singer (Could almost serve as a warning to Simon Cowell!)... or is he a stalker who imagines this connection to the singer? the ambiguity allows for both readings i think. Shorter, more punchy songs than much of their earlier work, but retaining the style... but some of the most memorable tunes they've done with great musical phrases, hooks and melodies. Deserves to be regarded as good an album genesis ever produced "  [+]  Reply

- badfaith | 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:

271 charts

Rank Score:

1,811

Rank in 1980:

22

Rank in 1980s:

150

Overall Rank:

951

Average Rating:

 74 (436 votes)

Comments:

28

23.

Blizzard Of Ozz 

 Ozzy Osbourne

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"Great debut album for Ozzy. Great name, great album cover, great music. Apart from the obvious fan favourites, there are some other diamonds on this album. Let's not forget the input of Don Airey either, who sadly gets a mention so small, that you need a magnifying glass to find it on the rear of...""Great debut album for Ozzy. Great name, great album cover, great music. Apart from the obvious fan favourites, there are some other diamonds on this album. Let's not forget the input of Don Airey either, who sadly gets a mention so small, that you need a magnifying glass to find it on the rear of the sleeve."  [+]  Reply

- Junomoogmello | 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:

342 charts

Rank Score:

1,726

Rank in 1980:

23

Rank in 1980s:

157

Overall Rank:

999

Average Rating:

 78 (430 votes)

Comments:

29

24.

British Steel 

 Judas Priest

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"Released in the same year Black Sabbath released Heaven and Hell and Saxon released Wheels of Steel. The metal scene at the time was sizzling with new talent and this album with its iconic timeless cover was timed perfectly. Rob Halford's voice has taken me a while to gravitate to but there is no...""Released in the same year Black Sabbath released Heaven and Hell and Saxon released Wheels of Steel. The metal scene at the time was sizzling with new talent and this album with its iconic timeless cover was timed perfectly. Rob Halford's voice has taken me a while to gravitate to but there is no denying the power that this album delivers. Now that I have the vinyl version I enjoy it much more."  [+]  Reply

- Junomoogmello | 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:

1980

Appears in:

316 charts

Rank Score:

1,627

Rank in 1980:

24

Rank in 1980s:

162

Overall Rank:

1,065

Average Rating:

 78 (394 votes)

Comments:

27

25.

Los Angeles 

 X (US)

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"Best Punk album I ever heard."  Reply

- alelsupreme | 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:

1980

Appears in:

334 charts

Rank Score:

1,620

Rank in 1980:

25

Rank in 1980s:

163

Overall Rank:

1,069

Average Rating:

 77 (352 votes)

Comments:

17

26.

The Game 

 Queen

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"This is a very solid record in terms of music. 10 solid songs, with good melodies, and interesting instrumentation. The problem lies in the lack of stand out material. Everything here is very simple, and in many ways very 50s. Tracks like Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Save Me, Play the Game, ar...""This is a very solid record in terms of music. 10 solid songs, with good melodies, and interesting instrumentation. The problem lies in the lack of stand out material. Everything here is very simple, and in many ways very 50s. Tracks like Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Save Me, Play the Game, are all nice sounding tracks, but they don't really have anywhere exciting to go. Nonetheless, this is a consistently pleasant listen, with 10 good songs, possibly a few great ones in there too. ***Definitely in terms of Queen's older sound, Dragon Attack comes closest with it's awesome bassline and cool middle eight."  [+]  Reply

- clockworkfiction3 | 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:

1980

Appears in:

322 charts

Rank Score:

1,588

Rank in 1980:

26

Rank in 1980s:

167

Overall Rank:

1,090

Average Rating:

 75 (512 votes)

Comments:

30

27.

Zenyatta Mondatta 

 The Police

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"It is all about the music. In this case there are no clever lyrics to distract. For me it works grand, just to sing along and feel good. The Police were a really good band. This is actually my favourite."  Reply

- Ashmark | 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:

1980

Appears in:

359 charts

Rank Score:

1,585

Rank in 1980:

27

Rank in 1980s:

169

Overall Rank:

1,094

Average Rating:

 76 (533 votes)

Comments:

20

28.

Black Sea 

 XTC

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"I'm not quite sure how this is only rated as XTC's 6th best album on BEA. Perhaps people are listening to the CD reissue which for some strange reason added the bonus tracks Smokeless Zone, Don't Lose Your Temper & The Somnombulist right in the middle of the original track listing instead of tagg...""I'm not quite sure how this is only rated as XTC's 6th best album on BEA. Perhaps people are listening to the CD reissue which for some strange reason added the bonus tracks Smokeless Zone, Don't Lose Your Temper & The Somnombulist right in the middle of the original track listing instead of tagging them onto the end. Respectable Street is a classic with a timeless English subject matter. Other great tracks follow including Generals & Majors, Love at first sight, Towers of London, the brilliant Burning with Optimism's Flame and the catchy pop of Sgt Rock. "  [+]  Reply

- LittleM1971 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (12 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:

224 charts

Rank Score:

1,574

Rank in 1980:

28

Rank in 1980s:

172

Overall Rank:

1,102

Average Rating:

 78 (241 votes)

Comments:

8

29.

Never For Ever 

 Kate Bush

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"This is definitely my favorite Kate Bush album, so I was surprised to find it so low. The words “too effiminate” for a moment made me lose all faith in humankind; will there ever be a day where feminine will not mean childish or dumb or... you know the drill. And the dislikes are nice, but I see ...""This is definitely my favorite Kate Bush album, so I was surprised to find it so low. The words “too effiminate” for a moment made me lose all faith in humankind; will there ever be a day where feminine will not mean childish or dumb or... you know the drill. And the dislikes are nice, but I see everyone saying the same thing with their ratings and charts. But still, I don’t really get why this one is so low; it’s certainly not more feminine than her last two albums. The reason for the albums that followed to be liked by people on this site seems clear, since people here seem to have an indie fetish, and Kate apparently became more and more independent in the course of the ‘80s. I feel like this album is a bit in the middle of that process, which is why I like it so much: the production isn’t as sparse as on the following two albums and the vocals aren’t as clean as on the preceding two albums. This is Kate Bush at her weirdest and at her Kate Bush-est."  [+]  Reply

- Boltzmann | 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:

278 charts

Rank Score:

1,554

Rank in 1980:

29

Rank in 1980s:

174

Overall Rank:

1,117

Average Rating:

 79 (392 votes)

Comments:

18

30.

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels 

 Dexys Midnight Runners

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"Fantastic album! A mixture of Punk, Jazz, & Soul. You wouldn't think that would work, but it seriously does."  Reply

- Hayden | 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:

1980

Appears in:

240 charts

Rank Score:

1,506

Rank in 1980:

30

Rank in 1980s:

180

Overall Rank:

1,148

Average Rating:

 75 (281 votes)

Comments:

18

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of 1980 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	24	2%
Cabaret Voltaire	4	0%
Joseph Keilberth / Bayreuth Festival Choir & Orchestra	3	0%
The Rolling Stones	2	0%
Mike Oldfield	2	0%
Hazel O'Connor	2	0%
Whitesnake	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	305	30%
	292	29%
	49	5%
	48	5%
	38	4%
	32	3%
	31	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	57	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	958	96%
Yes	43	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	986	99%
Yes	15	1%