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.
19802,082195,689
19812,121120,948
19822,086148,155
19832,095136,314
Murmur (141st)by R.E.M.
19842,094172,970
19852,099143,846
19862,198173,632
19872,412164,032
19882,500153,961
19892,502201,744
Total22,1891,611,291

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:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
195
Rank in 1989:
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Average Rating:
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
195
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
195
Rank in 1984:
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
195
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Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
194
Rank in 1983:
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
194
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
194
Rank in 1988:
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
194
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
194
Rank in 1987:
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
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194
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 114 11%
1981 122 12%
1982 108 11%
1983 97 10%
1984 102 10%
1985 82 8%
1986 96 10%
1987 86 9%
1988 92 9%
1989 101 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 417 42%
United States 387 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 26 3%
Canada 24 2%
Germany 21 2%
Ireland 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 965 97%
Yes 35 4%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Artists of the 2000s
1. Radiohead
2. Arcade Fire
3. The Strokes
4. Coldplay
5. Sufjan Stevens
6. Arctic Monkeys
7. Wilco
8. Muse
9. Animal Collective
10. The White Stripes
11. Kanye West
12. Phil Elverum
13. Interpol
14. Modest Mouse
15. Madvillain
16. Queens Of The Stone Age
17. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
18. LCD Soundsystem
19. The National
20. The Flaming Lips
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