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.
19802,115193,911
19812,155120,180
19822,129148,413
19832,128135,605
Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
19842,131170,993
19852,130143,495
19862,256171,198
19872,458162,742
19882,544152,027
19892,563197,573
Total22,6091,596,137

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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
265
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
265
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
254
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
253
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
249
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
241
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
232
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
232
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
846.
Greatest Hits 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
230
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
227
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 93. Page 8 of 10

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 116 12%
1981 121 12%
1982 111 11%
1983 97 10%
1984 102 10%
1985 79 8%
1986 96 10%
1987 88 9%
1988 93 9%
1989 97 10%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 418 42%
United States 385 39%
Australia 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Germany 23 2%
Canada 23 2%
Ireland 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 965 97%
Yes 35 4%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Artists of 2013
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5. Queens Of The Stone Age
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7. The National
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10. Lorde
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
12. Nick Cave
13. Chance The Rapper
14. David Bowie
15. Steven Wilson
16. Julia Holter
17. Foxygen
18. Atoms For Peace
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