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 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	2,184	193,379	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,225	120,622	Moving Pictures (154th)by Rush
1982	2,176	147,873	Thriller (72nd)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,227	135,479	Murmur (139th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,184	170,421	Purple Rain (78th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,211	143,973	Hounds Of Love (56th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,327	169,301	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,539	161,532	The Joshua Tree (54th)by U2
1988	2,631	152,313	Daydream Nation (71st)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,663	196,970	Doolittle (19th)by Pixies
Total	23,367	1,591,862

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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31.

Power, Corruption & Lies

New Order

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

779 charts

Rank Score:

6,865

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

251

Average Rating:

81 (913 votes)

Comments:

32.

Meat Is Murder

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

816 charts

Rank Score:

6,765

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

257

Average Rating:

82 (1,260 votes)

Comments:

33.

Hatful Of Hollow

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

614 charts

Rank Score:

6,721

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

261

Average Rating:

86 (1,014 votes)

Comments:

34.

The Dreaming

Kate Bush

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

637 charts

Rank Score:

6,534

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

264

Average Rating:

81 (764 votes)

Comments:

35.

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

701 charts

Rank Score:

6,412

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

270

Average Rating:

81 (993 votes)

Comments:

36.

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

733 charts

Rank Score:

6,178

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

282

Average Rating:

81 (1,108 votes)

Comments:

37.

Pornography

The Cure

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

684 charts

Rank Score:

6,011

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

292

Average Rating:

80 (955 votes)

Comments:

38.

Scary Monsters

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

752 charts

Rank Score:

5,954

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

298

Average Rating:

81 (1,086 votes)

Comments:

39.

Psychocandy

The Jesus And Mary Chain

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

741 charts

Rank Score:

5,942

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

299

Average Rating:

79 (900 votes)

Comments:

40.

You're Living All Over Me

Dinosaur Jr.

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

645 charts

Rank Score:

5,935

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

300

Average Rating:

82 (718 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 4 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	108	11%
1983	97	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	80	8%
1986	94	9%
1987	89	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	414	41%
	391	39%
	41	4%
	26	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

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

Live?	Albums	%
No	980	98%
Yes	20	2%

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

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

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Best Albums of the 1950s
1. Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis
2. Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
3. Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4. Blue Train by John Coltrane
5. Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley
6. In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
7. Here's Little Richard by Little Richard
8. The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Ornette Coleman
9. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
10. Berry Is On Top by Chuck Berry
11. Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
12. Songs For Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra
13. Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk
14. Somethin' Else by Cannonball Adderley
15. Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins
16. The "Chirping" Crickets by The Crickets
17. Chet Baker Sings by Chet Baker
18. Buddy Holly by Buddy Holly
19. Birth Of The Cool by Miles Davis
20. Moanin' In The Moonlight by Howlin' Wolf