Best Albums of the 1980s

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

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.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

2,485 charts

Rank Score:

35,888

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

88 (2,899 votes)

Comments:

265

Doolittle

Pixies

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,543 charts

Rank Score:

33,764

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

2,019 charts

Rank Score:

28,866

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

1,826 charts

Rank Score:

27,223

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,037 votes)

Comments:

152

The Stone Roses

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,015 charts

Rank Score:

23,873

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:

1,854 charts

Rank Score:

19,004

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

1,395 charts

Rank Score:

18,821

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

1,629 charts

Rank Score:

16,442

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:

1,424 charts

Rank Score:

16,392

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

10.

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

1,574 charts

Rank Score:

16,194

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

84 (1,855 votes)

Comments:

147

« prev
1
2
3
4
...
99
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	119	12%
1981	119	12%
1982	108	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	101	10%
1985	82	8%
1986	97	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%
The Fall	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	419	42%
	389	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	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 »

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Best Albums of 2024
1. Brat by Charli XCX
2. Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay
3. Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend
4. Songs Of A Lost World by The Cure
5. Wall Of Eyes by The Smile
6. Prelude To Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party
7. GNX by Kendrick Lamar
8. The New Sound by Geordie Greep
9. Romance by Fontaines D.C.
10. Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee
11. Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker
12. Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons
13. Hit Me Hard And Soft by Billie Eilish
14. Chromakopia by Tyler, The Creator
15. Wild God by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
16. Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee
17. No Name by Jack White
18. Mahashmashana by Father John Misty
19. Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman
20. Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé