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 56,000 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:

2,488 charts

Rank Score:

35,468

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

88 (2,903 votes)

Comments:

265

Doolittle

Pixies

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,542 charts

Rank Score:

33,246

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

2,022 charts

Rank Score:

28,548

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,830 charts

Rank Score:

26,871

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,042 votes)

Comments:

152

The Stone Roses

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,017 charts

Rank Score:

23,752

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,280 votes)

Comments:

203

The Joshua Tree

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

1,855 charts

Rank Score:

18,750

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

1,398 charts

Rank Score:

18,525

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

1,635 charts

Rank Score:

16,430

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

82 (2,150 votes)

Comments:

162

Purple Rain
Soundtrack

Prince And The Revolution

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

1,427 charts

Rank Score:

16,297

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

10.

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

1,576 charts

Rank Score:

16,054

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

84 (1,857 votes)

Comments:

147

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Total albums: 965. Page 1 of 97

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	119	12%
1981	119	12%
1982	108	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	101	10%
1985	83	8%
1986	96	10%
1987	87	9%
1988	96	10%
1989	95	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	%

	415	42%
	391	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	965	97%
Yes	35	4%

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

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

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