Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 55,000 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.
19802,224192,244
19812,266120,254
19822,237147,689
19832,249134,230
Murmur (137th)by R.E.M.
19842,220169,028
19852,244142,781
19862,359168,040
19872,578159,807
19882,685151,145
19892,718194,527
Total23,7801,579,746

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
532
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
527
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
526
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
444.
VU 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
525
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
524
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
522
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
522
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
521
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
520
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
520
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 45 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 120 12%
1981 120 12%
1982 108 11%
1983 98 10%
1984 101 10%
1985 81 8%
1986 98 10%
1987 87 9%
1988 92 9%
1989 95 10%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 418 42%
United States 390 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Ireland 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 967 97%
Yes 33 3%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
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