Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

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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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55.
Stop Making Sense 
Live soundtrack
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,311
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
956
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:
768
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
677
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
612
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
568
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
500
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
496
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
462
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
459
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 22. Page 1 of 3

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 95 10%
1987 87 9%
1988 97 10%
1989 95 10%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 416 42%
United States 390 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 23 2%
Ireland 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 964 96%
Yes 36 4%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 22 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Recognised  Year Charts (2024)
1. The 50 Best Albums Of 2024 by Billboard (2024)
2. Albums of the year 2024 by Decibel (2024)
3. Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2024 by Exclaim! (2024)
4. The 80 Best Albums Of 2024 by PopMatters (2024)
5. The Top 50 Albums of 2024 by Crack Magazine (2024)
6. The 25 best albums of 2024 by The A.V. Club (2024)
7. Best albums of 2024 by Independent (2024)
8. Albums of the Year 2024 by Loud And Quiet (2024)
9. Albums of the year 2024 by Kerrang! (2024)
10. Top 50 Albums of 2024 by The Needle Drop (2024)
11. The 50 Best Albums of 2024 by Pitchfork (2024)
12. Albums of the year 2024 by Piccadilly Records (2024)
13. Uncut's 80 Best Albums of 2024 by Uncut (2024)
14. The Best Albums of the Year 2024 by The Line Of Best Fit (2024)
15. The 100 Best Albums of 2024 by Rolling Stone (2024)
16. The 50 Best Albums of 2024 by Treble (2024)
17. BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2024 by BrooklynVegan (2024)
18. The 20 best albums of 2024 by Dazed (2024)
19. The 10 best albums of 2024 by The Atlantic (2024)
20. Albums of 2024 by The Skinny (2024)
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