Best Albums of the 1980s
Explore the best albums of the 1980s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
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Last updated: 4 hours ago
Last updated: 4 hours ago
"Because, Timtooky, it's a little more cerebral than your beloved Toy Dolls LP. I hope you didn't read that it was a concept album and were expecting another Dark Side... And yes, having looked at your chart, your music taste is disastrous. Maybe giving this album more than 3 minutes would help ad..." [+] Reply
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Jimmy Dread | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,961
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"When I saw this ranked #2 in a shoe gaze top 100 with, Loveless, number 1 I figured this would be worth listening to and it surely was. Clearly worthy of that title of one of the best shoe gaze albums of all time and a pleasure to listen to." Reply
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,816
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"This is a great album, I really like its vibe and sound that is really unique taking what is the best from contemporary bands like R.E.M. or The Smiths. Silver and Crystal Days are immediate bangers, Nocturnal Me was growing on me with each listen, The Yo-Yo Man and Thorn Of Crowns are dragging t..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,810
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"Bruce Springsteen's fifth album is a mammoth two record set, featuring half party rock and half introspective acoustic songs. The title track is off course one of Springsteen's best. The river, is a stunning track, full of Bruce's genius. Hungry heart, another Bruce classic is a brilliant pop son..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,801
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"I was fourteen years old when Tim was released, and I believe it was a review in Rolling Stone that drew my attention to it. It was the first Replacements album that I ever heard, and that's often the factor that makes me love one album by a particular artist more than all the others. I don't rem..." [+] Reply
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buzzdainer | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 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:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,774
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"Oh this album is so much fun. I'm being totally serious. It's heavy, loud, and fast. I have no idea how they can play and sing so fast but it really takes me by storm and makes my adrenaline pump. The high-pitched tales of the terrors of hell are awesomely hilarious. Completely over the top lyric..." [+] Reply
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dmercado | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 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:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,645
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"This album is definitely an inconsistent one. I will start with things that I liked about it, 1999 and especially Little Red Corvette are excellent opening tracks with immaculate production and lyrics more tasteful than any other ones on the record. Not much worse is D.M.S.R. which is one of the ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,618
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"This album is full of great songs and all of them have some of the best lyrics I have heard on a pop album. I don't hear much hype around this album and I am completely shocked by this as this record is amazing. There are so many brilliant pop songs all of which are intelligent and are multi-laye..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,608
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"This is a very compact album that has a lot of great cuts. The opening track really kicks the record off in style and it really sets the mood for the rest of the record. This atmosphere is then maintained throughout the rest of the record and is a real high point of the music. This was their firs..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,564
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"Partly for nostalgic reasons this is my favorite from U2. I just can't get enough of the Eno/Lanois atmosphere. Even the maligned "Elvis Presley and America" sounds fantastic to my ears. The title track is perhaps the most underrated song in their catalog, and we get "Bad", the best live song the..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,554
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 7 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 120 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 120 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 108 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 95 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 101 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 86 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 99 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 92 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| XTC | 8 | 1% | |
| Prince | 8 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Elvis Costello | 8 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
411 | 41% | |
 |
393 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
 |
23 | 2% | |
 |
19 | 2% | |
 |
11 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 5 from 61st to 56th |
Up 2 from 99th to 97th |
Up 2 from 86th to 84th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 3 from 82nd to 85th |
Down 2 from 39th to 41st |
Down 2 from 59th to 61st |
