Best Albums of the 1980s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 57,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

summaryThe 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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The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

2,491 charts

Rank Score:

34,059

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

88 (2,916 votes)

Comments:

265

24.

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

975 charts

Rank Score:

7,975

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

190

Average Rating:

83 (1,483 votes)

Comments:

32.

Meat Is Murder

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

830 charts

Rank Score:

6,350

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

257

Average Rating:

82 (1,297 votes)

Comments:

35.

Hatful Of Hollow

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

629 charts

Rank Score:

5,993

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

277

Average Rating:

85 (1,045 votes)

Comments:

38.

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

749 charts

Rank Score:

5,755

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

289

Average Rating:

81 (1,133 votes)

Comments:

109.

Louder Than Bombs
Compilation

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

309 charts

Rank Score:

2,426

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

109

Overall Rank:

717

Average Rating:

83 (665 votes)

Comments:

729.

The World Won't Listen
Compilation

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

61 charts

Rank Score:

278

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

729

Overall Rank:

4,939

Average Rating:

80 (186 votes)

Comments:

821.

Rank
Live

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

61 charts

Rank Score:

240

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

821

Overall Rank:

5,580

Average Rating:

75 (111 votes)

Comments:

Total albums: 8. Page 1 of 1

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	106	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	83	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	85	9%
1988	98	10%
1989	95	10%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	417	42%
	389	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	21	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	966	97%
Yes	34	3%

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

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

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