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: 2 hours ago).
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1980s decade summaryThe best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, The Cure, Pixies, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.
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"A great early death metal album. The production quality is pretty low, and this is easily one of the least technical albums Death released, but it is still great. If you are interested in getting into old school death metal, this is a good starting point. My favorite track is probably born dead."  Reply
- Ben4 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1988
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Rank Score:
418
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"Much more straight forward pop structures but it still works. Would I Lie to You, There Must Be An Angel (Playing with My Heart), Sisters are Doing it For Themselves are among their best and classic work. The rest of the album brings much to the table as well."  Reply
- Brandon8 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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
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Rank Score:
416
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"Great CD. Getting Ry Cooder to play along was genius. Hard to single out songs 'cuz the whole record is strong. But I think "Memphis" and "Lipstick" are faves."  Reply
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1987
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Rank Score:
416
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""I can’t even begin to explain what this album means to me… It was the first record where I truly found myself… Or, at least, figured out what it is I do. And it has shaped me as an artist from that year forward." --Lucinda Williams, American Songwriter Magazine It's amusing that after years of l..."  [+]  Reply
- henrygreen0203 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1988
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Rank Score:
412
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"I think this album is the most underrated and not appreciated of Nick Cave. It is not only an attempt to play blues music. All songs have that much space and quietness to succumb the ominous violence. And even the Dylan cover of Wanted Man breathes heavenly under the impression of The Birthday Pa..."  [+]  Reply
- cronadigallina | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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
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Rank Score:
409
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536.
Year of Release:
1989
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Rank Score:
409
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Year of Release:
1983
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Rank Score:
406
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
406
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
406
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"A precurser to Hex from 1980, track for track it more or less equals anything in the Fall's cannon, except for the inevitable token out-there experimental track of WMC Blob 59 which doesn't really serve much purpose. There's wonderful wordplay in English Scheme and New Face In Hell, tales of Hitl..."  [+]  Reply
- TheSmiths82-87 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
405
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 54 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Recognised  Year Charts (2025)
1. Top 40 Albums of 2025 by Decibel (2025)
2. Albums of the Year 2025 by Loud And Quiet (2025)
3. Albums of the year 2025 by Crack Magazine (2025)
4. Best Albums of 2025 by Double J (2025)
5. Albums of the year 2025 by No Ripcord (2025)
6. Albums of the year 2025 by Rough Trade (2025)
7. Albums of the Year 2025 by Les Inrocks (2025)
8. Albums of the year 2025 by The Line Of Best Fit (2025)
9. The 20 best albums of 2025 by Independent (2025)
10. 50 Best Albums of 2025 by The Alternative (2025)
11. Albums of the year 2025 by Uncut (2025)
12. BrooklynVegan's Top 58 Albums of 2025 by BrooklynVegan (2025)
13. Albums of the year 2025 by Piccadilly Records (2025)
14. Albums of the year 2025 by Pitchfork (2025)
15. Top 100 Albums of 2025 by Louder Than War (2025)
16. Best Albums of 2025 by The New Yorker (2025)
17. Top 50 Albums of 2025 by The Needle Drop (2025)
18. Albums of the year 2025 by Stereogum (2025)
19. The 50 best albums of 2025 by The Fader (2025)
20. The 20 Best Records of 2025 by Deep Cuts (2025)