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: 3 hours ago).
"Much better than Ultramega OK. More of an appetizer than a must listen." Reply
- 
choppychop532 | 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.
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
433
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The lush Cocteau Twins sound had yet to mature. This one's reedy and forgettable." Reply
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
432
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The first cassette tape that I bought myself and still one of my favorites. It takes me back to carefree times of youth. I actually like many of the album tracks as much as the hits, which is what I guess makes a classic album." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
428
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Its been 30 years, time to listen to the music and not the image. Boy George and Culture Club were ultimately a rather short lived phenomenon, but that 18 months or so that they ruled the airwaves was a strong one and this album represents them at the peak of their powers, before overexposure and..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
426
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Criminally underrated. At the time it was released it was bombarded with negative reviews because of it's string and horn parts. Listening to this now, I can't picture this album without them. It's gorgeous in it's execution and is probably The Church's masterpiece!" Reply
"Includes the only song I know that mentions home of the inbreds - Montrose. Lovely album." Reply
- 
lancashirearab | 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.
"Holding is a justifiable classic and is the song that got this band famous. But its on tracks such as Picture book that shows Hucknall's talent - the man can flat out sing." Reply
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
425
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!
"Mix about two parts stadium-era Simple Minds with one part Big Chair-era Tears for Fears and you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect here. Singer and main songwriter Gustavo Cerati even sounds like the perfect cross between Jim Kerr and Roland Orzabal. It doesn't get much more '1986' than t..." [+] Reply
"The skeletal beats on show here were a genre being birthed – not actually at the point of genesis, but becoming a style in its own right, and one to be contended with. And there’s no doubting the ground-breaking nature of this record, pioneering rap in popular culture. The only problem is that it..." [+] Reply
- 
IanFrance | 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:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
420
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 53 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 100 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 88 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 98 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 95 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Depeche Mode | 8 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| R.E.M. | 7 | 1% | |
| Talking Heads | 7 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
414 | 41% | |
 |
392 | 39% | |
 |
41 | 4% | |
 |
27 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Best Artists of the 1990s | |
|---|---|
| 1. Radiohead | |
| 2. Nirvana | |
| 3. The Smashing Pumpkins | |
| 4. Neutral Milk Hotel | |
| 5. Oasis | |
| 6. R.E.M. | |
| 7. Pearl Jam | |
| 8. My Bloody Valentine | |
| 9. Nick Cave | |
| 10. Björk | |
| 11. Richard David James | |
| 12. Weezer | |
| 13. Pavement | |
| 14. Portishead | |
| 15. Jeff Buckley | |
| 16. Blur | |
| 17. Elliott Smith | |
| 18. Nas | |
| 19. Massive Attack | |
| 20. Red Hot Chili Peppers |
