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 53,000 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	2,115	193,955	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,154	120,182	Moving Pictures (153rd)by Rush
1982	2,129	148,453	Thriller (77th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,126	135,519	Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
1984	2,129	171,030	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,131	143,838	Hounds Of Love (57th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,252	171,031	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,454	162,681	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,544	152,034	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,563	197,582	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,597	1,596,305

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:

838 charts

Rank Score:

9,275

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

171

Average Rating:

81 (911 votes)

Comments:

22.

Ride The Lightning

Metallica

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

869 charts

Rank Score:

9,223

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

174

Average Rating:

84 (1,305 votes)

Comments:

23.

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

935 charts

Rank Score:

8,654

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

189

Average Rating:

83 (1,439 votes)

Comments:

24.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

883 charts

Rank Score:

8,260

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

199

Average Rating:

78 (1,289 votes)

Comments:

25.

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

874 charts

Rank Score:

8,192

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

201

Average Rating:

81 (971 votes)

Comments:

26.

Let It Be

The Replacements

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

805 charts

Rank Score:

7,927

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

212

Average Rating:

82 (907 votes)

Comments:

27.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

832 charts

Rank Score:

7,824

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

217

Average Rating:

78 (1,137 votes)

Comments:

28.

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

779 charts

Rank Score:

7,407

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

229

Average Rating:

80 (901 votes)

Comments:

29.

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

838 charts

Rank Score:

7,259

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

237

Average Rating:

82 (1,008 votes)

Comments:

30.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

818 charts

Rank Score:

7,073

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

247

Average Rating:

80 (970 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	111	11%
1983	97	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	80	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	%

	416	42%
	386	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	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%

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