Best Albums of the 1980s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 6 hours ago).
"I met Suzanne briefly when she came to play at Kent State. I was friends with her brother Tim. It was pretty exciting, even though there were radio transmissions coming through her equipment that she complained bitterly about. I would have forgotten all about this album without that experience. E..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
923
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"brilliant from start to end ! very different from Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, but at least as good. This must be higher in the overall chart !" Reply
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cartoken | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
922
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"What a beautiful time to be 15 and still wonderful to hear this album again. Maybe we all still underrate it. Yes, The Smtihs captured the feelings of more teenagers, but they never reached this beauty, clear like a scottish stream. "We could send letters" may contain the most beautiful words fro..." [+] Reply
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O.T. | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
921
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This was the first Parsons Album I listened to. The Intro Song (Sirius/Eye in the Sky) is Just hypnotic. Other Key Tracks are 'Silence and I' and 'Wise and old'. The only problem I have with this album is, that it has too much pop. (Children of the Moon, Fingers Burned, psychobabble, Step by step..." [+] Reply
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PinkMind | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
918
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The greatest EP of all time. Just a fact. Thorn is one of MBV's best songs." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
917
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"RIP OZZY! You helped many people over the years through your music..." Reply
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MetalMan67 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
916
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"It really is a work of art for such a pretentious genre. New Age usually is nothing but overly artsy bullshit, but this album is wonderful in all the right ways. A favorite for me." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
907
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"A sleazy electro pop album. The record cover says it all with Marc Almond suspiciously half hiding something obviously very naughty. As for the music, tainted love, is one of the great singles of the eighties, and, bedsitter, a good follow up. The closing track, say hello, wave goodbye, is beauti..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
901
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Still strong, but to be honest, they sound more dated here then they did in the 70s." Reply
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junodog4 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
893
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The tone of this album is a melancholic and meditational mixture of Western and Eastern existentialism allied with a sense of Christian piety and exotic detachment. Gabriel's masterpiece is first and foremost an ethereal and evocative study in 'sound' which acts as a kind of catalyst for the semi..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
890
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 29 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 120 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 119 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 107 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 96 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 102 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 88 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 98 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 91 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| XTC | 8 | 1% | |
| Prince | 8 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Elvis Costello | 8 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
412 | 41% | |
 |
393 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
 |
11 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
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