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:

2,484 charts

Rank Score:

36,001

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

88 (2,897 votes)

Comments:

265

Doolittle

Pixies

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,542 charts

Rank Score:

33,852

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

2,017 charts

Rank Score:

28,955

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,824 charts

Rank Score:

27,307

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,036 votes)

Comments:

152

The Stone Roses

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,013 charts

Rank Score:

23,943

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,277 votes)

Comments:

203

The Joshua Tree

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

1,852 charts

Rank Score:

19,014

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

1,394 charts

Rank Score:

18,859

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

1,628 charts

Rank Score:

16,452

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

82 (2,147 votes)

Comments:

161

Purple Rain
Soundtrack

Prince And The Revolution

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

1,423 charts

Rank Score:

16,431

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

10.

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

1,572 charts

Rank Score:

16,244

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

84 (1,854 votes)

Comments:

147

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	119	12%
1982	107	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	99	10%
1987	87	9%
1988	95	10%
1989	94	9%

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	%

	419	42%
	390	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	21	2%
	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%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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