Best Albums of 1980

Listed below are the best albums of 1980 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 2 hours ago).
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1980 year summaryThe best artists of 1980 were Talking Heads, Joy Division, AC/DC, David Bowie, Dead Kennedys, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, The Cure, Rush and Pretenders.
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"Released in 1980, 'Underwater Moonlight' is an album that has stood the test of time remarkably well and still sounds fresh and inventive. Reminscent of the work of Television and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, the band manage to straddle the early new-wave of the former and the psychedlic whimsy of..."  [+]  Reply
- hairymarx1 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,486
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Comments:
"Was not expecting this. Much more jagged and abrasive than I thought it would be. Very good though, it brings back much of the aggression about punk that post punk had left behind."  Reply
- babyBlueSedan | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,388
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"I love how beautiful this album is. John was showing this tender side (great powerful melodies), and Yoko was at her best. Everybody loves to bring Yoko's songs down, but to be honest, I think she did great in this album. The weakest songs of the album for me is "Dear yoko" and is sang by John an..."  [+]  Reply
- Hellaboi | 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,355
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Comments:
"Bob Marley and The Wailers save one of their best for last. Coming In From The Cold, Real Situation, Work, Pimpers Paradise, Could You Be Loved & Redemption song are my favs here."  Reply
- Brandon8 | 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,339
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"For about two years in the early 80s the only two albums I listened to were "Private Parts" by Robert Ashley and this album "Colossal Youth" by Young Marble Giants. Alison's voice was so sublimely melancoly and her pristine voice was the perfect musical vehicle for Stuart's dark existential lyric..."  [+]  Reply
- GavinB | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,285
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Comments:
"Billy Joel adds a little more rock to his usual brand of pop, relying much less on piano than previous albums. As a pop/rock answer to the punk rock of the time ("it's still rock and roll to me"!), it's a solid album, with a very good first half which falls apart a bit in the 2nd."  Reply
- paladisiac | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,238
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"Heartattack and vine, is half, a dirty rock album, and half, beautiful piano ballads. Waits growls and hollers on the opening title track, a great bluesy cut. Waits also goes for that gritty rock sound on the excellent, downtown, the percussion heavy, til' the money runs out, and the penultimate ..."  [+]  Reply
- garycottier | 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,054
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Average Rating:
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
978
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39.
Boys Don't Cry 
Compilation
"I like this album better than Three Imaginary Boys. The added tracks really do the album good. And some lesser tracks are dropped. I don't regard this as a compilation.."  Reply
- wooolf | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
891
Rank in 1980:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
843
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 4 of 100

Best Albums of 1980 composition

Best Albums of the 1990s
1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. Nevermind by Nirvana
3. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
4. The Bends by Radiohead
5. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
6. Automatic For The People by R.E.M.
7. Ten by Pearl Jam
8. Grace by Jeff Buckley
9. Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins
10. (What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
11. In Utero by Nirvana
12. Dummy by Portishead
13. Illmatic by Nas
14. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós
15. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
16. Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer
17. Homogenic by Björk
18. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
19. Violator by Depeche Mode
20. Spiderland by Slint