Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
summaryThe 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.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
336
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
335
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
334
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
334
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
333
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
332
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
330
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
328
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
328
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
327
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 64 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 118 12%
1981 119 12%
1982 107 11%
1983 99 10%
1984 101 10%
1985 81 8%
1986 99 10%
1987 87 9%
1988 95 10%
1989 94 9%
Artist Albums %


The Cure 10 1%
Rush 8 1%
Iron Maiden 8 1%
The Smiths 8 1%
Talking Heads 7 1%
U2 7 1%
The Fall 7 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 417 42%
United States 391 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 21 2%
Argentina 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 965 97%
Yes 35 4%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 22 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Artists of 1979
1. The Clash
2. Pink Floyd
3. Joy Division
4. Talking Heads
5. Neil Young
6. Neil Young & Crazy Horse
7. Michael Jackson
8. Supertramp
9. Gang Of Four
10. AC/DC
11. Fleetwood Mac
12. The Police
13. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
14. Tom Petty
15. Gary Numan
16. Public Image Ltd.
17. Brian Eno
18. Buzzcocks
19. The B-52's
20. The Specials
Back to Top