Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 51,000 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.
19802,053196,667
19812,099121,770
19822,062148,744
19832,072136,427
Murmur (144th)by R.E.M.
19842,066173,628
19852,069144,194
19862,165173,766
19872,387165,779
19882,469155,275
19892,472203,193
Total21,9141,619,443

The best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Pixies, Prince, The Cure, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
40,631
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
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Average Rating:
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
40,060
Rank in 1989:
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Average Rating:
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,548
Rank in 1980:
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,612
Rank in 1989:
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,129
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,774
Rank in 1987:
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,578
Rank in 1985:
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,450
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,446
Rank in 1980:
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,401
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 114 11%
1981 122 12%
1982 109 11%
1983 96 10%
1984 104 10%
1985 83 8%
1986 94 9%
1987 88 9%
1988 92 9%
1989 100 10%
Artist Albums %


The Cure 10 1%
Iron Maiden 8 1%
Depeche Mode 8 1%
Rush (CA) 8 1%
The Smiths 7 1%
R.E.M. 7 1%
Talking Heads 7 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 419 42%
United States 387 39%
Australia 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 24 2%
Germany 21 2%
Ireland 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 968 97%
Yes 34 3%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 24 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 991 99%
Yes 11 1%
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