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 58,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

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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70.

Isn't Anything

My Bloody Valentine

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

525 charts

Rank Score:

3,622

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

472

Average Rating:

80 (699 votes)

Comments:

88.

Pretenders

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

507 charts

Rank Score:

2,941

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

575

Average Rating:

78 (595 votes)

Comments:

100.

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Brian Eno & David Byrne

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

388 charts

Rank Score:

2,725

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

100

Overall Rank:

633

Average Rating:

77 (438 votes)

Comments:

126.

Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1

The Traveling Wilburys

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

322 charts

Rank Score:

2,086

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

126

Overall Rank:

824

Average Rating:

76 (394 votes)

Comments:

166.

Tango In The Night

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

304 charts

Rank Score:

1,598

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

166

Overall Rank:

1,091

Average Rating:

75 (423 votes)

Comments:

204.

Double Fantasy

John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

323 charts

Rank Score:

1,368

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

204

Overall Rank:

1,260

Average Rating:

73 (416 votes)

Comments:

222.

Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks

Brian Eno With Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

207 charts

Rank Score:

1,211

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

222

Overall Rank:

1,406

Average Rating:

81 (246 votes)

Comments:

234.

Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa

Keith Jarrett / Gidon Kremer; Dennis Russell Davies / Staatsorchester Stuttgart; The 12 Cellists Of The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Saulius Sondeckis / Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra / Alfred Schnittke

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

156 charts

Rank Score:

1,132

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

234

Overall Rank:

1,509

Average Rating:

80 (174 votes)

Comments:

265.

Learning To Crawl

Pretenders

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

217 charts

Rank Score:

984

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

265

Overall Rank:

1,726

Average Rating:

76 (228 votes)

Comments:

271.

You Made Me Realise

My Bloody Valentine

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

149 charts

Rank Score:

950

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

271

Overall Rank:

1,770

Average Rating:

83 (279 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 27. Page 1 of 3

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	119	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	106	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	84	8%
1986	94	9%
1987	86	9%
1988	97	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	%

	413	41%
	391	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	20	2%
	12	1%
Show all

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

Live?	Albums	%
No	979	98%
Yes	21	2%

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

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

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