Best Albums of the 1980s

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1.

The Queen Is Dead 

 The Smiths

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"The Queen is Dead has an allure that no other album can match, what other lp can you reach for, when to put it simpy, no other will do? Who else in the music industry but Morrissey could dare to write a love song as suicidally but as beautifully pessimistic as 'I Know It's Over'? And this is the ...""The Queen is Dead has an allure that no other album can match, what other lp can you reach for, when to put it simpy, no other will do? Who else in the music industry but Morrissey could dare to write a love song as suicidally but as beautifully pessimistic as 'I Know It's Over'? And this is the crux: the reason why the album and The Smiths were loved so much was because Morrissey laid bare and SANG the insecurities, paranoias, and foibles, that most people like to keep hidden under their mask of 'normality'. That and the fact that Marr was very literally on fire and the songs were the very best to have been written (how can There's a Light That Never Goes Out not be one of the greatest songs ever written?). The Queen is Dead is a masterpiece." [More]
- johnner | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +17 votes (18 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:

1986

Appears in:

2,493 charts

Rank Score:

32,812

Rank in 1986:

1

Rank in 1980s:

1

Overall Rank:

16

Average Rating:

 88 (2,940 votes)

Comments:

265

2.

Doolittle 

 Pixies

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"Well alternative was an alternative from mainstream to begin with. Now that anything is labelled alternative, it would be refreshing to be given an alternative to alternative. Alternatively, people could go back to Mainstream. Perhaps we could alternate between the two every few years... well, er...""Well alternative was an alternative from mainstream to begin with. Now that anything is labelled alternative, it would be refreshing to be given an alternative to alternative. Alternatively, people could go back to Mainstream. Perhaps we could alternate between the two every few years... well, erm... Doolittle is good." [More]
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (11 helpful | 2 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:

1989

Appears in:

2,556 charts

Rank Score:

30,839

Rank in 1989:

1

Rank in 1980s:

2

Overall Rank:

18

Average Rating:

 88 (2,973 votes)

Comments:

293

3.

Remain In Light 

 Talking Heads

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"The layers. DEAR LORD THE LAYERS. For me, this is how "Remain in Light" won me over. The abundance of chanting vocals, the abstract guitar picking, the erratic percussion is almost like a breath of fresh air to me in today's seemingly-unhinged music scene (yes i know the album came out 34 years a...""The layers. DEAR LORD THE LAYERS. For me, this is how "Remain in Light" won me over. The abundance of chanting vocals, the abstract guitar picking, the erratic percussion is almost like a breath of fresh air to me in today's seemingly-unhinged music scene (yes i know the album came out 34 years ago). The only downside for me was the last 3 songs. Whilst everything from "Born Under Punches" to "Houses in Motion" is brimming with creative energy, the final tracks come to me as somewhat of an anticlimax, particularly "The Overload", which I am still beating myself black and blue to finally understand. Never the less, Remain in Light seems to always come down to Brian Eno's production, so let's not take anything away from it. It's magnificent. The texture, the layering (de ja vu?), even the random electronic twinges make this album a true classic. It's a really brilliant album of progressively-original pop songs. 9/10" [More]
- vinnid127 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 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:

2,044 charts

Rank Score:

27,140

Rank in 1980:

1

Rank in 1980s:

3

Overall Rank:

26

Average Rating:

 87 (2,310 votes)

Comments:

196

4.

Disintegration 

 The Cure

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"Joy Division's "Atmosphere" stretched over 70 minutes. So yeah, it sounds good."
- CellarDoor | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (10 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:

1989

Appears in:

1,852 charts

Rank Score:

26,074

Rank in 1989:

2

Rank in 1980s:

4

Overall Rank:

29

Average Rating:

 86 (2,076 votes)

Comments:

152

5.

The Stone Roses 

 The Stone Roses

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"This album stirs up so many emotions in me and always transports me back to the wonderful summer of 1989 and the joys of being 18 again. I have listened to thousands of times over the last 22 years and have never tired of it. It is a defining masterpiece..."
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 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:

1989

Appears in:

2,034 charts

Rank Score:

22,447

Rank in 1989:

3

Rank in 1980s:

5

Overall Rank:

33

Average Rating:

 86 (2,312 votes)

Comments:

204

6.

The Joshua Tree 

 U2

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"Deep thoughts by poonwrestler..."
- Mr. Shankly | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (10 helpful | 2 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:

1,878 charts

Rank Score:

18,258

Rank in 1987:

1

Rank in 1980s:

6

Overall Rank:

51

Average Rating:

 83 (2,473 votes)

Comments:

231

7.

Hounds Of Love 

 Kate Bush

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"I remember hearing this for the first time. I was so impressed and happy. I was also surprised that somehow I had gone 23 years without ever having heard of this album or Kate Bush at all. First thing that really hits me is her voice. In general it is strong as hell and very passionate. On this a..."" I remember hearing this for the first time. I was so impressed and happy. I was also surprised that somehow I had gone 23 years without ever having heard of this album or Kate Bush at all. First thing that really hits me is her voice. In general it is strong as hell and very passionate. On this album in particular she is so great with her vocals expressing a great range of emotion - anger and love and joy and hope. The next thing is the production is, although dated, very epic and dramatic. The tracks for "Cloudbusting" and "Running Up That Hill" and basically the entirety of the second half is marvelous. And the hazy and disquieting song "Mother Stands for Comfort" is really beautiful. Anyway, the power of this record is hard to put in words. Somehow though whenever I hear it I feel better. And it is also such a daring and original pop record. I don't know what to call this, Prog-Pop maybe? Anyway, it's a gem and highly recommended to all. "It breaks the cage and fear escapes and takes possession just like a crowd rioting inside."" [More]
- Mercury | 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:

1,424 charts

Rank Score:

18,047

Rank in 1985:

1

Rank in 1980s:

7

Overall Rank:

53

Average Rating:

 85 (1,422 votes)

Comments:

104

8.

Thriller 

 Michael Jackson

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"you know, i've realised how utterly pointless it is arguing the toss over what has value and what doesn't with regard to music.. nothing is intrinsically worthless. before stumbling upon this site i knew of otherwise respectable people who would be genuinely moved by listening to happy-hardcore t...""you know, i've realised how utterly pointless it is arguing the toss over what has value and what doesn't with regard to music.. nothing is intrinsically worthless. before stumbling upon this site i knew of otherwise respectable people who would be genuinely moved by listening to happy-hardcore trance (kanye west on speed essentially). now i'm beginning to accept that others can be equally enthralled by the most existential, formless discord. the point is, 56 million people are right, if they believe they are. similarly, you are too. but being in a minority is certainly not tantamount to some kind of cultural supremacy, conversley isn't being anti-popular part of the same innate human desire to establish yourself individually within a collective? ..of anti-popularist/elitist types that is? and the fact is, in 1983 and everyday since, people have been hitting the studio desparate to make an album this big and none have succeeded. with success on this scale, simply turning up and going head first into the marketing machine is not sufficient. the quality of the songs is undeniable, even if you can only appreciate that from a technical perspective, and that, along with the distinctive stylings of the man himself, is why 56 million people got it." [More]
- telefunker | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (9 helpful | 2 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:

1,663 charts

Rank Score:

16,099

Rank in 1982:

1

Rank in 1980s:

8

Overall Rank:

66

Average Rating:

 82 (2,184 votes)

Comments:

162

9.

Purple Rain 
Soundtrack

 Prince And The Revolution

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"The most stunningly varied, eclectic, and just plain GOOD album I have ever owned. Had the same copy since I was 10, and nothing has ever beaten it. The songs managed to be brilliant and obtuse, yet still managed to appeal to a massive audience. "The Beautiful Ones" and "Take Me With You" are so ...""The most stunningly varied, eclectic, and just plain GOOD album I have ever owned. Had the same copy since I was 10, and nothing has ever beaten it. The songs managed to be brilliant and obtuse, yet still managed to appeal to a massive audience. "The Beautiful Ones" and "Take Me With You" are so far beyond great. All in all my favorite of all time." [More]
- jjstraka | 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:

1984

Appears in:

1,457 charts

Rank Score:

15,758

Rank in 1984:

1

Rank in 1980s:

9

Overall Rank:

72

Average Rating:

 83 (1,674 votes)

Comments:

132

10.

Daydream Nation 

 Sonic Youth

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"I thought rock n roll was a certain way, that there were established patterns and timbres to draw from. When I heard Sonic Youth, new vistas suddenly came into view. This album is mind-blowingly good."
- Mr. Shankly | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 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:

1988

Appears in:

1,590 charts

Rank Score:

15,345

Rank in 1988:

1

Rank in 1980s:

10

Overall Rank:

75

Average Rating:

 84 (1,880 votes)

Comments:

147

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Year	Albums	%
1980	119	12%
1981	119	12%
1982	107	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	100	10%
1985	87	9%
1986	92	9%
1987	87	9%
1988	98	10%
1989	96	10%

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

Country	Albums	%
	416	42%
	392	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	22	2%
	20	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	966	97%
Yes	35	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	980	98%
Yes	21	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	12	1%