Best Albums of 1985

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist

1.

Hounds Of Love 

 Kate Bush

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"Eccentric, sensual, a true feast for the ears; Bush does music narrative like no one else, all the while pushing the boundaries of the genre she's built for herself. The idea shouldn't make sense: two smaller albums in one normal length album. And yet its pulled off with brilliant tenacity. The o...""Eccentric, sensual, a true feast for the ears; Bush does music narrative like no one else, all the while pushing the boundaries of the genre she's built for herself. The idea shouldn't make sense: two smaller albums in one normal length album. And yet its pulled off with brilliant tenacity. The opening side, "Hounds Of Love", is Bush's chance to explore pop in its most conventional form. Hints of previous albums can be found here, but it is most certainly new. From its superb opener to the emotion-packed vocals of its title track and on to the mesmerising, fantastic "Cloudbusting", it never loses pace once and builds you up for that mini-finale so, so well. The second half, "The Ninth Wave", demands your fullest attention; "And Dream of Sheep" lulls you into its aura of sound, and hooks you into its story. From there, Bush experiments with conveying feelings and narrative through sound, such as with the sharp, jabbing sounds of "Under Ice" to the distant loneliness of the vocals in "Hello Earth". It's a truly magical experience. The most amazing accomplishment of "Hounds of Love" is just how much is crammed into its 47 minute run time. Yet it is flawless in its delivery and composition, and you cannot help but feeling utterly compelled by its sound and story. Unique in its outset, incredible in its sound and brilliant all-round; I cannot recommend it enough."  [+]  Reply

- DeusExMackia | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 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:

1,426 charts

Rank Score:

18,085

Rank in 1985:

1

Rank in 1980s:

7

Overall Rank:

53

Average Rating:

 85 (1,425 votes)

Comments:

104

2.

Rain Dogs 

 Tom Waits

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"Well, I'm listening to it right now. I was expecting a nice heartfelt acoustic/folk album, since Tom Waits is the whitest name ever and the album cover looked relatively harmless. HOLY GOD WHAT IS THIS"  Reply

- makerofbuckets | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +35 votes (35 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:

1,149 charts

Rank Score:

11,441

Rank in 1985:

2

Rank in 1980s:

14

Overall Rank:

112

Average Rating:

 84 (1,353 votes)

Comments:

89

3.

Brothers In Arms 

 Dire Straits

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"I was 13 when this album came out. My foster parents were in their 40's and mostly dug soft rock and folk (like Sting, James Taylor, Bruce Cockburn, etc...) This was our common ground. It's an album everyone can love."  Reply

- Decurso | 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:

1985

Appears in:

870 charts

Rank Score:

7,055

Rank in 1985:

3

Rank in 1980s:

28

Overall Rank:

223

Average Rating:

 78 (1,188 votes)

Comments:

87

4.

Meat Is Murder 

 The Smiths

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"The only Smiths album I find uneven. The U.S. version includes "How Soon Is Now", the quality of which dwarfs everything else and makes some songs sound particuarly mediocre. "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" is the only other highlight for me. "Barbarism Begins At Home" is quality but takes too lo...""The only Smiths album I find uneven. The U.S. version includes "How Soon Is Now", the quality of which dwarfs everything else and makes some songs sound particuarly mediocre. "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" is the only other highlight for me. "Barbarism Begins At Home" is quality but takes too long making its exit, while the title track features some beautiful playing but is spoiled by some rare pontification by Morrissey. "  [+]  Reply

- KGB | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 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:

831 charts

Rank Score:

6,177

Rank in 1985:

4

Rank in 1980s:

33

Overall Rank:

263

Average Rating:

 82 (1,303 votes)

Comments:

68

5.

Psychocandy 

 The Jesus And Mary Chain

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"I feel like I'm listening to decent power pop through someone else's earphones on a bus."  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 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:

772 charts

Rank Score:

5,550

Rank in 1985:

5

Rank in 1980s:

40

Overall Rank:

296

Average Rating:

 79 (928 votes)

Comments:

68

6.

Songs From The Big Chair 

 Tears For Fears

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"For a short flash in time back in 1985 this was the biggest album on the planet topping the charts in more country's than it wasn't and T.F.F's were close to the biggest band. Heady times for 2 fellows from humble beginnings in Bath England Listening to this album once more in 2019 for the first ...""For a short flash in time back in 1985 this was the biggest album on the planet topping the charts in more country's than it wasn't and T.F.F's were close to the biggest band. Heady times for 2 fellows from humble beginnings in Bath England Listening to this album once more in 2019 for the first time since I was a teenager (yikes !) unfortunately it hasn't aged well. The hits still sound great but the remaining tracks sound , well ...very 80's . Meaning they were great some 34 years ago but not so much today Big surprise for me was hearing the live tracks on this album , something that I hadn't recalled up until that point "  [+]  Reply

- Brad1770 | 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:

648 charts

Rank Score:

5,107

Rank in 1985:

6

Rank in 1980s:

44

Overall Rank:

329

Average Rating:

 79 (699 votes)

Comments:

49

7.

The Head On The Door 

 The Cure

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"The Cure can go two ways: either very gothic or extremely pop sounding. The Head on the Door is the latter and it's the best Cure pop album. I once read somewhere that every song in this record could easily be a single and I strongly agree. Every time I listen to this my love for it only deepens....""The Cure can go two ways: either very gothic or extremely pop sounding. The Head on the Door is the latter and it's the best Cure pop album. I once read somewhere that every song in this record could easily be a single and I strongly agree. Every time I listen to this my love for it only deepens. "Inbetween Days" is one of my favorite album openers ever, "Push" is a song I love listening to on an afternoon, "Close to Me" always makes me want to dance and "A Night Like This" makes me want to cry. I can never get tired of Robert Smith."  [+]  Reply

- lleon79 | 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:

1985

Appears in:

640 charts

Rank Score:

4,511

Rank in 1985:

7

Rank in 1980s:

50

Overall Rank:

369

Average Rating:

 81 (811 votes)

Comments:

42

8.

Tim 

 The Replacements

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"This album is at times sloppy. The production sounds strangely out of wack. There are some complaints that can be levied against this album. The thing is that this album is So Goddamn Good despite any of that bullshit that it doesn't really matter! The lyrics of Paul Westerberg stand tall on here...""This album is at times sloppy. The production sounds strangely out of wack. There are some complaints that can be levied against this album. The thing is that this album is So Goddamn Good despite any of that bullshit that it doesn't really matter! The lyrics of Paul Westerberg stand tall on here. He really took his songwriting chops to another level for this album. The lyrics to songs like "Bastards of Young" and "Swingin' Party" clearly express youthful anger, unrest and basic Fear. He does this with amazing coolness and nonchalance. Yet this album for me gets so emotional sometimes I can't take it. I think that's because the words cut so close to the bone. Westerberg really nails the basic feelings of youth on many of the songs here. He also knows how to write a love song with the best of them. There is something so romantic and romanticized about these songs - witness "Kiss Me On The Bus" and "Hold My Life" and "Little Mascara". Also this album does not take itself so seriously throughout, with such playful songs as "Waitress In The Sky" an the hard rocking track "Dose of Thunder". And when it comes to good rock and roll with really great songwriting, great hooks, and some excellent variety, this album really delivers. There's not a bad track on here. And the brilliance of the songwriting throughout is phenomenal. "Bastards of Young", "Left of the Dial" "Swinging Party" "Kiss Me On The Bus" "Hold my life" and of course the painful and haunting "The Regular" are so incredibly well written. The reasons why this album is so important and great in my eyes is very subjective. But I think almost anyone can listen and be blown away by how both Cool and Powerful this band was in their prime. "If being wrong's a crime, I'm serving forever. If being strong's your kind, then I need help here with this feather. If being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side. In the swingin' party down the line.""  [+]  Reply

- Mercury | 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:

1985

Appears in:

515 charts

Rank Score:

3,909

Rank in 1985:

8

Rank in 1980s:

64

Overall Rank:

429

Average Rating:

 81 (569 votes)

Comments:

38

9.

Steve McQueen 

 Prefab Sprout

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"I feel like I should explain my last comment. When most people people think of emotional 80's music, their mind usually jumps to The Smiths. And while I really enjoy The Smiths, their music, and their lyrics, I don't feel like they're describing problems I've had or things I've thunk, so it's har...""I feel like I should explain my last comment. When most people people think of emotional 80's music, their mind usually jumps to The Smiths. And while I really enjoy The Smiths, their music, and their lyrics, I don't feel like they're describing problems I've had or things I've thunk, so it's hard for me to get that instant personal connection so many others have when they can so quickly relate the lyrics back to their own experience. On the other hand, Prefab Sprout so eloquently describe EVERYTHING I've thought and felt that it becomes overwhelmingly emotional for me to listen to the music. It's here I've found that personal connection that elevates it from "this music is excellent" to "listening to this is a truly incredible one-of-a-kind experience." I'm so glad I've found this album, and I'm sure my love for it can only grow over time."  [+]  Reply

- sageamagoo | 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:

1985

Appears in:

403 charts

Rank Score:

3,661

Rank in 1985:

9

Rank in 1980s:

66

Overall Rank:

458

Average Rating:

 79 (379 votes)

Comments:

30

10.

Rum Sodomy & The Lash 

 The Pogues

Buy album

• AMAZON MUSIC
• EBAY
• APPLE MUSIC
• AMAZON
• SPOTIFY
• #Sponsored

"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:

441 charts

Rank Score:

2,985

Rank in 1985:

10

Rank in 1980s:

87

Overall Rank:

565

Average Rating:

 78 (420 votes)

Comments:

28

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• ...
• 99
• 100
• next »
• Goto Page: 

Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 1985 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	21	2%
細野晴臣 [Haruomi Hosono]	4	0%
The Residents	4	0%
Minutemen	3	0%
Eliahu Inbal / Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra	3	0%
Hawkwind	3	0%
Aretha Franklin	3	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	387	39%
	257	26%
	44	4%
	44	4%
	32	3%
	22	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	930	93%
Yes	71	7%

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

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	20	2%