Best Albums of the 1980s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 8 minutes ago).
"Full on 80s reverb guitar project. Gets a bit repetative after a while, but it's a good sound." Reply
"Massively influential, and a fantastic raw sound. Great stuff." Reply
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junodog4 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
398
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Love this work . It seems to be saying "I am the 1980's"" Reply
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WrathchildIX | 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.
"Current rap and pop stars can try to brag about how hard they are, but this man not only lived "the life" but bragged about it every moment he could. Pretty much the only things on Rick James' mind are where he's getting his next drink, his next line, and his next girl. He can afford to do this b..." [+] Reply
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ShaneSpear | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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"Even better than 'London 0 Hull 4', this has, among many other upbeat pop gems, the best song about public school (it's a tie with 'The Headmaster Ritual' really) cruelty: 'Bow Down'. A must-listen." Reply
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Norman Bates | 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.
"The album that brought Aerosmith back into the big league. Permanent vacation, is a thoroughly enjoyable rock'n'roll record. Obviously designed to be successful, it saw the band employing professional songwriters, such as Desmond Child, to work alongside them to bring a more commercial edge to th..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
394
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Happy Mondays doing what they do best. The Mondays were always the sleaziest band ever :-) This was great, along with their Hallelujah EP and the Madchester VHS video spawned a drug fuelled teenage rebellion from me and the rest is history." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
394
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The sessions could have been album takes and the live recordings are powerful and exciting. Essential Joy Division material. And yes, that is a Sister Ray cover (!)" Reply
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CellarDoor | 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.
"The Chili's never rocked harder than this, and sounded so much fun while doing it. The chemistry between the band is amazing, and the sound is infectious (you can't help but bounce off the walls to these songs). While most bands were making cheese-metal in 1987, these guys were rocking harder and..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
392
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"after the collaboration with phil spector didn't bring the hoped-for success, the ramones were received the next strange relationship to producer graham gouldman. out came a record with as many pop-punk-songs as "end of the century" already had. if you listen very carefully, you can detect a slig..." [+] Reply
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timtooky | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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.
Total albums: 1,000. Page 56 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 121 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 95 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 101 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 88 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 89 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 92 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| R.E.M. | 7 | 1% | |
| Talking Heads | 7 | 1% | |
| U2 | 7 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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412 | 41% | |
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392 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
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22 | 2% | |
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19 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
