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).
"Probably A-ha’s best album although Hunting High and Low runs it close. As a follow up to that Album A-ha took a slightly different turn with style. A far heavier and more serious sound compared to their debut, but it worked really well. All songs are decent except Maybe Maybe with Manhattan Skyl..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1986
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Rank Score:
642
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"To me, My War is the story of side 2 of Damaged taken to its final bleak conclusion. Not a pretty picture I'm afraid. A lot harder to route for our protagonist at this point. From a completely musical point of view, Damaged is a far more varied and thus to me more interesting. Quite unique to see..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1984
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Rank Score:
635
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"Very "elstjewsom";) Picked this up on their recommendations. No complaint - another amazing musical experience ; I'd never heard anything like it !" Reply
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CellarDoor | 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.
"Robert Forster has gone on record to say that his favourite Go-Betweens albums from the 1980s were the even numbered ones, so fourth album Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express is one of the good ones by his reckoning. Forster who dominates this record with the singles ‘Head Full Of Steam’ ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1986
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Rank Score:
634
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"Take the hits away and there aint much left to shout about best track here 'Planet Earth'" Reply
Year of Release:
1981
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Rank Score:
632
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"James Thirlwell, better known as Foetus, became a protagonist of both the London and the New York counterculture, and, ultimately, one of the most significant musicians of the decade, wedding the punk aesthetics to theatrical and classical-music ambitions. 'Nail', his masterpiece of reckless nihi..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1985
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Rank Score:
631
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"My vote for the greatest live album in history. The banter is particularly great." Reply
Year of Release:
1982
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Rank Score:
630
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"A love Rickie-Lee, quite similar in tone and style as Joni, but with some nice new sound and vibes to give it some personal touch. A Very refreshing album and it still sounds up to date even being over 40 years old!" Reply
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Jboy56 | 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:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
628
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"Following a relatively fallow creative period for the Captain, the master returned to form with the album 'Shiny Beast'. In my opinion, as great a record as this record is, his follow-up, 'Doc At The Radar Station', is even better. This album is a kind of distillation of 'Trout Mask' for the post..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
627
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"I remember the first time listening to this and thinking it was repetitive and without skill. I frequently go on black/death metal kicks but this is by far the singular most oppressive thing I've ever heard. it's painful to listen to and makes me genuinely sick, makes my muscles ache. I feel like..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
626
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 38 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 122 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 96 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 101 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 88 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 89 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 91 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| U2 | 7 | 1% | |
| The Fall | 7 | 1% | |
| Depeche Mode | 7 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
413 | 41% | |
 |
391 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Neil Young | |
| 10. Nirvana |
