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: 5 hours ago).
"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.
"T&C is simply a massive album from start to finish blending rock, punk, folk/Celtic, etc in one beautiful collection of songs (long before it was "cool"). Never one to shy away from their convictions and difficult/current topics, T&C excels at story telling, driving emotions and getting your feet..." [+] Reply
"1981 would mark the peak of arena rock -- corporate rock to the critic class. Between them, Hi Infidelity, Foreigner 4, Styx's Paradise Theater, and Journey's Escape sold approximately 30 million units. This November 1980 release kicked things off with a mix of power balladry and hard rock with p..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
379
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The point where I got into Depeche, true, there are some weak songs but hating on it is a bit like criticising your childhood teddy bear for having bad stitching. Leave it alone!!" Reply
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johnner | 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:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
378
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Jon Hassell cleverly combines his electronic processing of sound with tribal/environmental recordings, giving this album a real sense of strangeness and wonder. Beware! The opening track will make you think your speakers are f*cked. I used to play this album all the time when I was younger and my..." [+] Reply
"First three tracks? Very solid. The rest? Can't remember a thing about them." Reply
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jhuik | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 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.
"Of course it's no Remain In Light or Fear of Music, but it's certainly a good deal better than Little Creatures or True Stories. Doesn't deserve to be the lowest rated Talking Heads album here." Reply
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Onater | 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
375
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"In my opinion, Tinderbox is The Banshees at their best. And it's not just for Cities in Dust. Other great tracks include Land's End, Partys Fall, Sweetest Chill" Reply
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joedec | 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:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
373
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This album shows the best how music can describe emotions and believe me, this album is full of them." Reply
"One of my favorite artists and some good rock 'n' roll. He has this ability to rock one moment and the next belt out sensitive ballads. A superb album to listen too, although in my favorite studio album collection is Stranger In Town." Reply
Total albums: 1,000. Page 58 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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 |
414 | 41% | |
 |
392 | 39% | |
 |
41 | 4% | |
 |
27 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
 |
12 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
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