Best Albums of the 1980s

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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	2,138	193,524	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,177	120,276	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,140	147,953	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,153	135,295	Murmur (144th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,157	170,523	Purple Rain (80th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,168	144,151	Hounds Of Love (56th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,285	169,668	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,493	162,084	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,573	151,502	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,606	197,527	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,890	1,592,504

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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471.

No Control

Bad Religion

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

109 charts

Rank Score:

491

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

471

Overall Rank:

3,060

Average Rating:

77 (116 votes)

Comments:

472.

Drama

Yes

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

127 charts

Rank Score:

491

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

472

Overall Rank:

3,062

Average Rating:

75 (174 votes)

Comments:

473.

McCartney II

Paul McCartney

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

113 charts

Rank Score:

489

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

473

Overall Rank:

3,069

Average Rating:

70 (189 votes)

Comments:

474.

Vivid

Living Colour

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

132 charts

Rank Score:

487

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

474

Overall Rank:

3,076

Average Rating:

74 (153 votes)

Comments:

475.

True Colours

Split Enz

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

87 charts

Rank Score:

487

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

475

Overall Rank:

3,078

Average Rating:

74 (104 votes)

Comments:

476.

The Blues Brothers: Music From The Soundtrack
Soundtrack

The Blues Brothers

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

92 charts

Rank Score:

485

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

476

Overall Rank:

3,089

Average Rating:

76 (136 votes)

Comments:

477.

The Good Earth

The Feelies

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

83 charts

Rank Score:

484

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

477

Overall Rank:

3,094

Average Rating:

77 (89 votes)

Comments:

478.

Signing Off

UB40

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

94 charts

Rank Score:

484

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

478

Overall Rank:

3,096

Average Rating:

73 (119 votes)

Comments:

479.

Mind Bomb

The The

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

98 charts

Rank Score:

484

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

479

Overall Rank:

3,098

Average Rating:

74 (117 votes)

Comments:

480.

A Pagan Place

The Waterboys

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

89 charts

Rank Score:

483

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

480

Overall Rank:

3,101

Average Rating:

75 (101 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 48 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	94	9%
1987	86	9%
1988	92	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	415	42%
	386	39%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	968	97%
Yes	32	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	987	99%
Yes	13	1%

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

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