Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 55,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1980s decade summary
YearAlbums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts. Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year) Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
19802,228192,128
19812,273120,091
19822,245147,589
19832,254134,373
Murmur (138th)by R.E.M.
19842,224168,850
19852,250142,655
19862,364167,956
19872,585160,032
19882,692150,998
19892,725194,379
Total23,8401,579,051

The 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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,655
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
34,732
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29,574
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,581
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
24,414
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,321
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,269
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,687
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,647
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,469
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 978. Page 1 of 98

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 119 12%
1981 119 12%
1982 108 11%
1983 98 10%
1984 101 10%
1985 81 8%
1986 99 10%
1987 87 9%
1988 93 9%
1989 95 10%
Artist Albums %


The Cure 10 1%
Iron Maiden 8 1%
The Smiths 8 1%
Rush 8 1%
U2 7 1%
The Fall 7 1%
Depeche Mode 7 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 416 42%
United States 392 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 21 2%
Ireland 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 967 97%
Yes 33 3%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 22 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
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. The Velvet Underground
10. Nirvana
11. Kendrick Lamar
12. Neil Young
13. The Smiths
14. Miles Davis
15. The Beach Boys
16. Kanye West
17. R.E.M.
18. Pixies
19. Jimi Hendrix
20. Bruce Springsteen
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