Best Albums of 1981
Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 7 hours ago).
"Moving Pictures was a last hurrah for prog rock, which was falling out of favour by the early 80s. Rush had never, and would never again, achieve the greatness they did on Moving Pictures. Perfectly balancing their hard rock and softer electronic sounds. Featuring some of their best know hits in ..." [+] Reply
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souplipton | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 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:
8,823
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"There's a brilliant hook in every track with the most famous one being the one in "Computer Love" thanks to Coldplay. Ironic how an album aiming for something very futuristic ends up sounding this nostalgic. A compliment, not a complaint!" Reply
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Mother Nature's Son | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 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:
3,440
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I saw Adrian Belew play a bar in Iowa City in...had to be...1981 or 82. So, he had been on Sheik Yerbouti, Remain In Light, this album which everybody seemed to love...and there were maybe 300 people there, and he was playing with a recorded rhythm track so when we got him to do an encore, he jus..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,323
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The only album I'll practice witchcraft to" Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,968
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I really did not see this coming. Of course there is a relationship with "Remain in Light" by TH, but the combined talent of Eno / Byrne makes this album the best and most innovative music of 1981. The processing of samples (tape loops, because digital technology was not yet available) is extraor..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,639
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"WOW, I've always considered by self to be a casual fan of ELO, but never thought that they were amazing, but this was incredible, easily their best album and possibly one of the best albums of the 80s" Reply
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hereforashortime | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 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:
2,356
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Cannot decide between this and Pornography. Both are masterpieces of the darkest and the most "goth" Cure period. Holy Hour against One Hundred Years, All Cats Are Gray against A Strange Day and so on..." Reply
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LedZep | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 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:
2,120
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The sound of depression had been done before. But never like this. This is the sound of a man fighting for his life with everything he's got. With bile. With rage. He doesn't want to die & he's pist as all hell at being sick. At being attacked by his own body, his own mind. He screams out for hel..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,085
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I believe that the relatively low score of 73 for this album reflects the number of purists or 'rockers' - or whatever you want to call them - who want to immediately attack it because it's heavily based on the synthesizer. Or, they know only the hit song and can't appreciate it (see comment rega..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,055
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"One of the most haunting rock albums ever recorded. Absolutely different that the post punk scene was creating at that time. Experimental, beautiful and gives u a lot to think about. Makeshift Swahili must be one of the best rock songs ive ever heared." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,829
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100
Best Albums of 1981 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Various Artists | 15 | 1% | |
| Frank Zappa | 5 | 0% | |
| Simple Minds | 3 | 0% | |
| Gary Numan | 3 | 0% | |
| Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | 3 | 0% | |
| Scientist | 3 | 0% | |
| Tangerine Dream | 3 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
316 | 32% | |
 |
271 | 27% | |
 |
62 | 6% | |
 |
41 | 4% | |
 |
35 | 3% | |
 |
30 | 3% | |
 |
28 | 3% | |
| 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.
