Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 52,000 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.
19802,109194,927
19812,141120,510
19822,113148,563
19832,119135,904
Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
19842,122171,743
19852,121144,448
19862,241172,007
19872,446163,244
19882,533152,728
19892,551198,711
Total22,4961,602,785

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:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,107
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,106
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,083
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,055
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,052
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,045
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,017
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
138.
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,004
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:
2,003
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,989
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 14 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 Fall 7 1%
The Smiths 7 1%
R.E.M. 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  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
3. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
4. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
5. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
6. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
7. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
8. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
9. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
10. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
11. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
12. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
13. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
14. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
15. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
16. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
17. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
18. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)
19. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
20. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
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