Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 1 hour ago).
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1980s decade summaryThe best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, The Cure, Pixies, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.
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"Okay, so it's not exactly "Who's Next" but it's a very solid album. Overall, the songs on here are actually better than on "Who Are You" but the boost that Keith Moon's powerful drumming would have given these songs is what is sorely missing and that's too bad because with Moon this might have be..."  [+]  Reply
- caseygow | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
212
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"My favourite of the 'latter'day Frank Zappa recordings. Some wonderful stuff on here, especially, harder than your husband, Doreen, and, Charlie's enormous mouth, all great. I've always loved this album, still do."  Reply
- garycottier | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
212
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"Pleased to Meet Me, the strongest Replacements record, was a momentous achievement. Don't Tell a Soul is such a drastic shift in sound from its predecessor that it is often dismissed as the group's nadir. But the polished production actually enables Paul Westerberg and company to do deliver a mat..."  [+]  Reply
- henrygreen0203 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
212
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"The first JMJ album I bought. I purchased this on the back of the ravings about Oxygene from a French student who stayed with my family one hot eighties summer. Couldn't get hold of Oxygene at the time. Still enjoy listening to this, not my favourite album by JMJ but the sort of album you end hum..."  [+]  Reply
- Junomoogmello | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
212
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"Although it’s never made me jump up and down with excitement, the album has an uncanny ability to express that slightly below par melancholy sadness. So 38 years later it still gets a spin when we’ve had a couple of days drizzle and the mood is right. Or more accurately, slightly wrong."  Reply
- Foxforce5 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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
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Rank Score:
212
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
211
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Share your opinion and help others discover this album. The top-voted comments are showcased in our aggregate charts!
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
211
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"What a record, looking at Streams in Spotify or Apple Music ... maybe one of the most underrated metal albums of all time. Not one bad or repetitive song. Vocals, Mix, Production, Guitars, ... everything on point. Gutter Ballet is maybe the best song they ever wrote. Of Rage and War, When the Cro..."  [+]  Reply
- ElDuderino | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful) Help 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:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
211
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Average Rating:
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
210
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
210
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 91 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

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
11. The Velvet Underground
12. Kendrick Lamar
13. Miles Davis
14. The Smiths
15. R.E.M.
16. The Beach Boys
17. Kanye West
18. Bruce Springsteen
19. The Cure
20. Pixies