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: 8 hours ago).
"One of the greatest prog/post-punk albums ever recorded, with texture and invention to spare. Dark, visual, unusual and masterfully executed. An immaculate and underrated tour de force. A psychedelic masterpiece. Difficult music indeed, for people who appreciate a challenging listen over spoon-fe..." [+] Reply
"A criminally underrated album on these charts! I know that Los Angeles is a better album but I’ve always connected better with Wild Gift. Favorites: Adult Books, Once Over Twice, White Girl, We’re Desperate, Universal Corner" Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
516
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"You WILL believe that three men, a guitar, a bass and a drum set can be loud enough to drown out an F-14." Reply
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40footwolf | 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.
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
485
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"There's only so much you can do with two chords, but Scientist manages to make an otherwise dull 37 minutes quite interesting." Reply
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teague | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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.
"Not as great as the first album but still very good. Great songs as always, but just a little short of that magic that made their first album so special." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
456
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Solid if not great. Front-loaded as well. But the first side is classic Tom Petty at the height of his power." Reply
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Repo | 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.
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
453
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"THE Goth album for all those who like the morbid side of life! Favourite Track: 'Kick in the Eye'" Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
447
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Depeche Mode's debut album is full of throwaway pop with Vince Clarke at the helm. Obviously, just can't get enough, is a classic pop song, the rest is a combination of not bad and forgettable. It's funny listening to some of these songs, I mean, can you imagine Depeche Mode playing, what's your ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
445
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Not quite as uncompromising as their debut; while Entertainment has a unique punk feel to it, this settles in to a more typical post-punk sound. The anger is still there though, and there is still some edge to the guitars as well. Pretty good follow-up to one of the best debuts of all time." Reply
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babyBlueSedan | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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:
437
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"An eclectic mix of musical genres (world music, free jazz, reggae/dub) performed on an eclectic mix of odd instruments, including traditional African and Asian percussion instruments. Very experimental music, but it's not entirely avant-garde as there is some structure to the songs provided by th..." [+] Reply
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drstuey | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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 6 of 100
Best Albums of 1981 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| 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.
