Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 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.
19802,111194,453
19812,144120,329
19822,119148,278
19832,122135,685
Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
19842,127171,263
19852,127144,206
19862,246171,497
19872,449162,837
19882,537152,367
19892,557198,058
Total22,5391,598,974

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.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Share | |
Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,701
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
42.
War 
Ireland U2
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,540
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,526
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,384
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,118
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,116
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,029
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,931
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,927
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,865
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 5 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 117 12%
1981 120 12%
1982 110 11%
1983 97 10%
1984 102 10%
1985 81 8%
1986 96 10%
1987 87 9%
1988 93 9%
1989 97 10%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 417 42%
United States 386 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Ireland 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 966 97%
Yes 34 3%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Recognised  Year Charts (2023)
1. Top 40 Albums of 2023 by Decibel (2023)
2. Top 10 Albums of the Year 2023 by Bleep (2023)
3. 30 Best Albums of 2023 by Revolver (2023)
4. NME Albums Of The Year 2023 by New Music Express (2023)
5. The 80 Best Albums Of 2023 by PopMatters (2023)
6. Les Inrocks Albums of the Year 2023 by Les Inrocks (2023)
7. Best Albums of 2023 by Norman Records (2023)
8. Albums of the year 2023 by The Line Of Best Fit (2023)
9. The 50 Best Albums Of 2023 by Complex (2023)
10. Loud And Quiet Albums of the Year 2023 by Loud And Quiet (2023)
11. The 20 best albums of 2023 by Dazed (2023)
12. Uncut Best 75 Albums Of The Year 2023 by Uncut (2023)
13. The 30 best albums of 2023 by Time Out (2023)
14. Albums Of The Year 2023 by Rough Trade (2023)
15. Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023 by The Quietus (2023)
16. The 100 Best Albums of 2023 by Rolling Stone (2023)
17. Top 100 Albums of 2023 by Piccadilly Records (2023)
18. Best Albums of 2023 by Northern Transmissions (2023)
19. The 20 Best Albums of 2023 by Esquire (2023)
20. Top 55 Albums of 2023 by The Alternative (2023)
Back to Top