Best Albums of 1981
Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!
"Incredibly as a big Nick Cave fan since 1988, this is the first time I have listened to it. I was surprised with the music, I was expecting it to just be searing punk but it was a lot more interesting than that. Sounds quite improvisational with all sorts of genres and styles. Cave's vocal perfor..." [+] 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.
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
298
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Great early eighties album by the Moody Blues where they are kind of, just hanging on to prog but also embracing the more 'radio friendly' soft rock approach. Despite the loss of Mike Pinder, oh master of the Mellotron, the keyboard corner still brings forth many layers of sound that blend seamle..." [+] Reply
"So in my drive to support women in rock & roll, I listened to several Runaways cassettes, coming away mostly unimpressed, but thinking the bass player had ears, and whoever wrote the song about being a "Cherry Bomb" understood rock & roll on some primal attitudinal level that deserved respect. Co..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
290
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Ok so initially I really loved it - and to be clear, the album is a fantastic voyage - but the novelty factor kind of wore off and I just don't like as much. It's still unique as hell and I can't deny the jazz fusion and songwriting glory that it is." Reply
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ramthecowy | 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.
"I love this album more and more with every listen. A truly great post-punk classic!" Reply
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Secondsoul | 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.
"After Going deaf for Living, this album was way darker, also because the new input of the keyboards. But their direct statements were much more meaningful and founded the success for the band of John Watts in europe. Side A is an absolute classic. And B with Cruise Missiles and Luton to Lisbon a ..." [+] Reply
"Tails off toward the end. I can never get enough of the clean, crisp guitar work in "Victim of Love"." Reply
"In this crazy world of contradictions and lies, every now and then I listen to this album and find a certain tranquility and pleasure. my favorite songs are Beside, the friends of mr cairo and outside of this." Reply
"Pretty good. The songs José Mercado, Lo Que Dice La Lluvia, and Esperando Nacer are great." 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.
Total albums: 1,000. Page 9 of 100
Best Albums of 1981 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Various Artists | 15 | 2% | |
| Frank Zappa | 5 | 1% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 0% | |
| 喜多郎 [Kitarō] | 3 | 0% | |
| Simple Minds | 3 | 0% | |
| Gary Numan | 3 | 0% | |
| Scientist | 3 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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 |
314 | 31% | |
 |
270 | 27% | |
 |
61 | 6% | |
 |
41 | 4% | |
 |
36 | 4% | |
 |
35 | 4% | |
 |
28 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Neil Young | |
| 10. Nirvana |
