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.
19802,109194,888
19812,142120,493
19822,114148,531
19832,119135,894
Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
19842,123171,707
19852,121144,418
19862,242171,962
19872,446163,207
19882,533152,692
19892,551198,654
Total22,5001,602,446

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:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,177
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,171
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,169
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,165
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,163
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,146
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,138
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,126
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
239.
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,117
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,111
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 24 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 117 12%
1981 120 12%
1982 110 11%
1983 97 10%
1984 103 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%
U2 7 1%
The Fall 7 1%
The Smiths 7 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 417 42%
United States 386 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 24 2%
Germany 22 2%
Ireland 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 967 97%
Yes 34 3%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 12 1%
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