Best Albums of the 1980s

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1980s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1980	2,129	194,045	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,163	120,381	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,135	148,511	Thriller (75th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,131	135,604	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,144	171,120	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,146	143,754	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,277	170,255	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,474	162,412	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,562	151,763	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,586	197,313	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,747	1,595,157

The best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.

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581.

Friday Night In San Francisco
Live

Al Di Meola / John McLaughlin / Paco de Lucía

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

70 charts

Rank Score:

375

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

581

Overall Rank:

3,837

Average Rating:

78 (85 votes)

Comments:

582.

Beat

King Crimson

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

100 charts

Rank Score:

374

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

582

Overall Rank:

3,845

Average Rating:

73 (179 votes)

Comments:

583.

Too Fast For Love

Mötley Crüe

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

73 charts

Rank Score:

373

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

583

Overall Rank:

3,850

Average Rating:

69 (121 votes)

Comments:

584.

Electric Café

Kraftwerk

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

91 charts

Rank Score:

373

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

584

Overall Rank:

3,860

Average Rating:

72 (126 votes)

Comments:

585.

Temple Of Low Men

Crowded House

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

94 charts

Rank Score:

371

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

585

Overall Rank:

3,872

Average Rating:

75 (116 votes)

Comments:

586.

Bummed

Happy Mondays

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

113 charts

Rank Score:

370

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

586

Overall Rank:

3,886

Average Rating:

73 (119 votes)

Comments:

587.

California

American Music Club

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

84 charts

Rank Score:

370

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

587

Overall Rank:

3,893

Average Rating:

74 (77 votes)

Comments:

588.

Workers Playtime

Billy Bragg

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

60 charts

Rank Score:

368

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

588

Overall Rank:

3,904

Average Rating:

75 (60 votes)

Comments:

589.

Heart

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

91 charts

Rank Score:

367

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

589

Overall Rank:

3,914

Average Rating:

74 (102 votes)

Comments:

590.

Construction Time Again

Depeche Mode

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

127 charts

Rank Score:

366

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

590

Overall Rank:

3,922

Average Rating:

71 (179 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 59 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	86	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Talking Heads	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	416	42%
	385	38%
	41	4%
	28	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	968	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	24	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	13	1%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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