Best Albums of the 1980s

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1980s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1980	2,130	193,984	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,174	120,645	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,139	148,420	Thriller (76th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,148	135,664	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,148	171,013	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,156	143,950	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,278	170,082	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,477	162,399	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,565	151,782	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,590	197,432	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,805	1,595,371

The best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.

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351.

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Love At First Sting

Scorpions

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

145 charts

Rank Score:

697

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

351

Overall Rank:

2,308

Average Rating:

75 (204 votes)

Comments:

352.

Mob Rules

Black Sabbath

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

156 charts

Rank Score:

697

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

352

Overall Rank:

2,311

Average Rating:

75 (248 votes)

Comments:

353.

Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express

The Go-Betweens

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

112 charts

Rank Score:

694

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

353

Overall Rank:

2,317

Average Rating:

75 (109 votes)

Comments:

354.

The Blue Mask

Lou Reed

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

137 charts

Rank Score:

693

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

354

Overall Rank:

2,318

Average Rating:

74 (205 votes)

Comments:

355.

La Voce Del Padrone

Franco Battiato

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

68 charts

Rank Score:

693

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

355

Overall Rank:

2,319

Average Rating:

77 (86 votes)

Comments:

356.

Foreigner

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

170 charts

Rank Score:

692

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

356

Overall Rank:

2,322

Average Rating:

72 (214 votes)

Comments:

357.

Nail

Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

109 charts

Rank Score:

692

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

357

Overall Rank:

2,323

Average Rating:

75 (128 votes)

Comments:

358.

King Of America

The Costello Show Featuring The Attractions And Confederates

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

141 charts

Rank Score:

691

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

358

Overall Rank:

2,326

Average Rating:

77 (169 votes)

Comments:

359.

Bella Donna

Stevie Nicks

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

173 charts

Rank Score:

691

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

359

Overall Rank:

2,327

Average Rating:

76 (193 votes)

Comments:

360.

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby

Terence Trent D'Arby

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

157 charts

Rank Score:

687

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

360

Overall Rank:

2,345

Average Rating:

74 (162 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 36 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	97	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	84	8%
1986	93	9%
1987	87	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	415	41%
	386	38%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	972	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	983	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	993	99%
Yes	12	1%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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