Best Albums of the 1980s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 6 hours ago).
"Excellent solo album from former band member Robbie Robertson. Excellent song writing, playing, and production create a fantastic album that takes the listener on a terrific journey. Transports the listener to a tranquil place of robertsons creation. Standout tracks: Broken Arrow, somewhere down ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
518
Rank in 1987:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"A true gem of an album that is very underrated. From the opening bass of Street Fighting Years to the haunting and magical guitar rifts, creative percussions, atmospheric keyboards and orchestral sounds of all the tracks, this is a great listen. It has strong political, human rights and emotional..." [+] Reply
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TerryTezza | 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.
"Book of Brilliant Things, Waterfront and Up on the Catwalk are all excellent tracks but there are some more forgettable tracks on this release compared with New Gold Dream and Once Upon a Time. I still class this one a part of the 80's trilogy of Simple Minds at their most creative." Reply
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
517
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"Bragg paints a wonderfully gloomy and politically desolate picture of 80s Britain, whilst advancing his simple singer-songwriter style excellently. It's an essential piece of political music, that doesn't shy from being brilliantly honest, and delivers itself via the humble charm of Bragg's voice." Reply
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DeusExMackia | 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:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
516
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Comments:
"A criminally underrated album on these charts! I know that Los Angeles is a better album but I’ve always connected better with Wild Gift. Favorites: Adult Books, Once Over Twice, White Girl, We’re Desperate, Universal Corner" Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
516
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"There's not nearly enough love for this, Gedge's finest hour. Less jangly than George Best, less morose than Seamonsters and all the better for it." Reply
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Jimmy Dread | 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.
"This must be one of the most underrated albums of all time. Apart from Bob Marley, I had never been that struck on reggae before I bought this album. 'Signing off' is like nothing else in my collection. There is a lot of saxophone on it, which I've not really heard on other reggae records. The pr..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
510
Rank in 1980:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"An absolute masterpiece of mediterranean? music. An orgy of sounds, instruments, vocals (genoa dialectal)and genius. Fabrizio De André ¡what name! is a fabulous singer-songwriter but here is beyond any label or way at his best. (Also a favorite of Wim Wenders)." Reply
"A stop gap release between, appetite for destruction, and the, use your illusion, albums. It consists of the, like a suicide, e.p, a four track live recording featuring a cover of Aerosmith's, mama kin, Rose Tattoo's, nice boys, and originals, reckless life, and, move to the city. The album also ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
507
Rank in 1988:
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Comments:
"Released between Suffer and Against the Grain, this string of albums, along with Stranger Than Fiction are all Punk Rock CLASSICS. This may not be as consistent as Against the Grain or Suffer but it's not far behind, and contains a lot of Bad Religion staple songs like I Want to Conquer the World..." [+] Reply
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Larcx13 | 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:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
505
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 45 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 96 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 100 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 98 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 96 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Depeche Mode | 8 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| U2 | 7 | 1% | |
| The Fall | 7 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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|||
 |
414 | 41% | |
 |
392 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
27 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
