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 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1980s decade summary

Year	Albums 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.
1980	2,197	193,846	Remain In Light (26th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,232	120,841	Moving Pictures (155th)by Rush
1982	2,186	147,863	Thriller (72nd)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,230	135,228	Murmur (139th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,195	169,925	Purple Rain (79th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,222	143,945	Hounds Of Love (56th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,339	169,225	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,552	161,124	The Joshua Tree (53rd)by U2
1988	2,643	151,950	Daydream Nation (71st)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,678	196,977	Doolittle (19th)by Pixies
Total	23,474	1,590,924

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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21.

Sign "O" The Times

Prince

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

859 charts

Rank Score:

9,279

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

168

Average Rating:

81 (923 votes)

Comments:

22.

Ride The Lightning

Metallica

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

885 charts

Rank Score:

9,231

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

170

Average Rating:

84 (1,331 votes)

Comments:

23.

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

956 charts

Rank Score:

8,575

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

186

Average Rating:

83 (1,454 votes)

Comments:

24.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

905 charts

Rank Score:

8,335

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

192

Average Rating:

78 (1,305 votes)

Comments:

25.

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

893 charts

Rank Score:

8,089

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

201

Average Rating:

81 (980 votes)

Comments:

26.

Let It Be

The Replacements

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

813 charts

Rank Score:

7,805

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

212

Average Rating:

82 (917 votes)

Comments:

27.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

842 charts

Rank Score:

7,480

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

223

Average Rating:

78 (1,149 votes)

Comments:

28.

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

792 charts

Rank Score:

7,319

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

231

Average Rating:

80 (909 votes)

Comments:

29.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

837 charts

Rank Score:

7,172

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

234

Average Rating:

80 (986 votes)

Comments:

30.

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

855 charts

Rank Score:

7,129

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

235

Average Rating:

82 (1,020 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	121	12%
1982	108	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	101	10%
1985	80	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	89	9%
1988	94	9%
1989	96	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
The Smiths	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	416	42%
	390	39%
	41	4%
	26	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	967	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	979	98%
Yes	21	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

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

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