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	2,131	193,901	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,175	120,588	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,139	148,345	Thriller (76th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,149	135,646	Murmur (143rd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,152	170,975	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,167	144,165	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,281	170,109	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,479	162,514	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,567	151,875	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,590	197,530	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,830	1,595,647

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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861.

Bedtime For Democracy

Dead Kennedys

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

39 charts

Rank Score:

230

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

861

Overall Rank:

5,758

Average Rating:

71 (60 votes)

Comments:

862.

Hold Your Fire

Rush

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

70 charts

Rank Score:

229

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

862

Overall Rank:

5,769

Average Rating:

70 (166 votes)

Comments:

863.

Shahen-Shah

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

23 charts

Rank Score:

229

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

863

Overall Rank:

5,778

Average Rating:

77 (34 votes)

Comments:

864.

Arc Of A Diver

Steve Winwood

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

95 charts

Rank Score:

228

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

865.

Seven And The Ragged Tiger

Duran Duran

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

88 charts

Rank Score:

228

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

865

Overall Rank:

5,796

Average Rating:

69 (138 votes)

Comments:

866.

Wings Of Tomorrow

Europe

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

20 charts

Rank Score:

228

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

866

Overall Rank:

5,801

Average Rating:

72 (38 votes)

Comments:

867.

Silvertone

Chris Isaak

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

48 charts

Rank Score:

227

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

867

Overall Rank:

5,809

Average Rating:

70 (69 votes)

Comments:

868.

Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics

Jon Hassell & Brian Eno

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

227

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

869.

The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto
Compilation

Various Artists

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

227

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

869

Overall Rank:

5,819

Average Rating:

73 (51 votes)

Comments:

870.

Up For A Bit With The Pastels

The Pastels

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

54 charts

Rank Score:

226

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

870

Overall Rank:

5,826

Average Rating:

76 (44 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 87 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	93	9%
1987	86	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
U2	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	415	42%
	386	39%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	967	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

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

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

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