Best Albums of the 1980s

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81.

Discipline 

 King Crimson

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"I saw Adrian Belew play a bar in Iowa City in...had to be...1981 or 82. So, he had been on Sheik Yerbouti, Remain In Light, this album which everybody seemed to love...and there were maybe 300 people there, and he was playing with a recorded rhythm track so when we got him to do an encore, he jus...""I saw Adrian Belew play a bar in Iowa City in...had to be...1981 or 82. So, he had been on Sheik Yerbouti, Remain In Light, this album which everybody seemed to love...and there were maybe 300 people there, and he was playing with a recorded rhythm track so when we got him to do an encore, he just played the first two songs on the tape again. He said, "Who here remembers their first acid trip?" and we whooped and hollered. Amazingly small-time performance for a guy who could play arenas with three different world-class bands at the time. His vocals and his whole personality just transformed what King Crimson was capable of--Americanized the whole operation, and for the good. This album was completely on trend at the time, with the talky prose poem over music like Laurie Anderson etc, the Talking Heads-style funk on the opening track, the anagram song title like Eno had done, this was working out iterations of ideas that were in the air at the time. But Fripp was working out his own ideas musically, and his output in these years was very diverse, from his Frippertronics stuff to the album with Daryl Hall and the League of Gentlemen album. He had done the spiritual study with JG Bennett, and he was coming out with all this diverse product, plus the alternate tuning, and pretty soon he started giving holistic guitar clinics to...anybody who wanted to sign up. Every interview he gave was like words from an oracle, and every album was an important statement. Discipline, for the crowd I was hanging with, was a monolithic, landmark album, we didn't so much listen to it as study it. Stands up pretty well after all these years."  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

468 charts

Rank Score:

3,282

Rank in 1981:

3

Rank in 1980s:

81

Overall Rank:

534

Average Rating:

 80 (630 votes)

Comments:

25

82.

Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers 
Compilation

 Bob Marley & The Wailers

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"Great Album ....but it is a best of package ... and compilations shouldn't count in a greatest album chart."  Reply

- ~SMiLE~ | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

1984

Appears in:

528 charts

Rank Score:

3,252

Rank in 1984:

14

Rank in 1980s:

82

Overall Rank:

535

Average Rating:

 85 (1,037 votes)

Comments:

58

83.

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Sister 

 Sonic Youth

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"I would recommend listening to this before Daydream Nation, or you might be a bit underwhelmed. I listened to Daydream and found this a little lacking at first, but it eventually clicked. I still like Daydream a tad more, but this is still a masterpiece and Schizophrenia is better than everything...""I would recommend listening to this before Daydream Nation, or you might be a bit underwhelmed. I listened to Daydream and found this a little lacking at first, but it eventually clicked. I still like Daydream a tad more, but this is still a masterpiece and Schizophrenia is better than everything on Daydream in my opinion."  [+]  Reply

- Cojo7 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

1987

Appears in:

521 charts

Rank Score:

3,235

Rank in 1987:

9

Rank in 1980s:

83

Overall Rank:

536

Average Rating:

 80 (653 votes)

Comments:

43

84.

Reckoning 

 R.E.M.

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"As a traditionally structured guitar-pop album, this couldn't be much better. Because its melodies are so perfect and unsentimental, I haven't tired of it after more than 30 years. I think it helps that the songs are not explicit, because in that way they keep the listener's imagination active. I...""As a traditionally structured guitar-pop album, this couldn't be much better. Because its melodies are so perfect and unsentimental, I haven't tired of it after more than 30 years. I think it helps that the songs are not explicit, because in that way they keep the listener's imagination active. It's not just that you can lay your own shifting meanings into the lyrics depending on your state of mind, but at many points the music is layered and opaque without being muddy, which must have been a very hard balance to achieve, and that keeps it interesting after many years. They also avoided some of the fashions of the day that might have dated their sound and came up with an original sound connected to uniquely American folk traditions. For a band that idolized New York punk, they surprisingly gravitated toward a folk sound that was probably very true to their personal experiences having grown up in the deep south. I think the band got weaker later when they tried to sound more like their New York and glam-rock idols. Early R.E.M. sometimes bring to mind the sensibility of Harry Smith, who was both a mysterious avant-garde bohemian artist, based in New York, and an archivist of American folk music. I think both R.E.M. and Harry Smith can be placed in a continuum of uniquely American creativity that combines the avant-garde with folk traditions."  [+]  Reply

- larryrrr | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

1984

Appears in:

497 charts

Rank Score:

3,217

Rank in 1984:

15

Rank in 1980s:

84

Overall Rank:

542

Average Rating:

 80 (709 votes)

Comments:

39

85.

Kill 'Em All 

 Metallica

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"The first thrash metal album! This is raw Metallica! This is the album that fueled most of the 80s metal. I realize that's a big statement but I stand behind it. My least favorite song on the album is Phantom Lord and even then it is a kickass track. Dave Mustaine's writing is immediately apparen...""The first thrash metal album! This is raw Metallica! This is the album that fueled most of the 80s metal. I realize that's a big statement but I stand behind it. My least favorite song on the album is Phantom Lord and even then it is a kickass track. Dave Mustaine's writing is immediately apparent on this album. It is far more raw and fast than anything else Metallica ever did."  [+]  Reply

- Jasonconfused | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 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:

522 charts

Rank Score:

3,128

Rank in 1983:

8

Rank in 1980s:

85

Overall Rank:

548

Average Rating:

 78 (961 votes)

Comments:

43

86.

Juju 

 Siouxsie And The Banshees

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"The only album I'll practice witchcraft to"  Reply

- | 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:

1981

Appears in:

419 charts

Rank Score:

3,124

Rank in 1981:

4

Rank in 1980s:

86

Overall Rank:

550

Average Rating:

 80 (455 votes)

Comments:

26

87.

Rio 

 Duran Duran

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"If you haven't watched the Futurama films, do it! They are about 4 times as long as the episodes and are just as funny. Also, you get one of the epicest quotes ever: Zapp: "Meanwhile, we shall sing top hits from the '80s." Kif: "Which '80s, sir?" Zapp: "For me, there are only one '80s." ...starts...""If you haven't watched the Futurama films, do it! They are about 4 times as long as the episodes and are just as funny. Also, you get one of the epicest quotes ever: Zapp: "Meanwhile, we shall sing top hits from the '80s." Kif: "Which '80s, sir?" Zapp: "For me, there are only one '80s." ...starts singing "Hungry Like a Wolf", which brings up a very important point: this album couldn't be more shamelessly the '80s and probably gets the #1 spot on my "Why the '80s were awesome"-list. It's a shiny, synthy, pompous, danceable, syncopated paradise... and above all, it's violently catchy! I don't know how else to describe it other than awesome... awesome to the max!"  [+]  Reply

- Mother Nature's Son | 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.

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

479 charts

Rank Score:

3,053

Rank in 1982:

8

Rank in 1980s:

87

Overall Rank:

563

Average Rating:

 76 (586 votes)

Comments:

40

88.

Permanent Waves 

 Rush

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"This is one of Rush's most consistent . . . and best ... albums. Along with the "hits" (Spirit of Radio, Freewill), there is the concise but brilliant 'Entre Nous,' and possibly the group's most intelligent and greatest epic length cut, 'Natural Science.'"  Reply

- Fischman | 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:

1980

Appears in:

464 charts

Rank Score:

2,994

Rank in 1980:

8

Rank in 1980s:

88

Overall Rank:

571

Average Rating:

 81 (634 votes)

Comments:

33

89.

Rum Sodomy & The Lash 

 The Pogues

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"The Pogues best album. Shane McGowan is on top form. It's not brilliant, and is a little inconsistent, but at it's best it's fantastic. Some great songs, especially, sick bed of Cuchulain, a pair of Brown eyes, and the utterly amazing, the old main drag, my favourite Pogues song. The Gallipoli in...""The Pogues best album. Shane McGowan is on top form. It's not brilliant, and is a little inconsistent, but at it's best it's fantastic. Some great songs, especially, sick bed of Cuchulain, a pair of Brown eyes, and the utterly amazing, the old main drag, my favourite Pogues song. The Gallipoli inspired, and the band played waltzing Matilda, is a great way to close a very good album. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | 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.

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

443 charts

Rank Score:

2,989

Rank in 1985:

10

Rank in 1980s:

89

Overall Rank:

572

Average Rating:

 78 (420 votes)

Comments:

28

90.

Pretenders 

 Pretenders

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"Excellent debut album. It's still The Pretenders greatest record with some fantastic songwriting on show. Chrissie Hynde was never more better than she was here on tracks such as, precious, kid, and, brass in pocket. There were many fine debut albums around the late seventies/early eighties, this...""Excellent debut album. It's still The Pretenders greatest record with some fantastic songwriting on show. Chrissie Hynde was never more better than she was here on tracks such as, precious, kid, and, brass in pocket. There were many fine debut albums around the late seventies/early eighties, this is one of them. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | 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.

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

508 charts

Rank Score:

2,895

Rank in 1980:

9

Rank in 1980s:

90

Overall Rank:

585

Average Rating:

 78 (595 votes)

Comments:

31

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 9 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

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

Country	Albums	%
	412	41%
	393	39%
	40	4%
	29	3%
	22	2%
	19	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	965	97%
Yes	35	4%

Live?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	19	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%