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: 3 hours ago
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"One of the more accessible albums in their discography but definitely not a "sellout" record as some claim. This contains an air side and a metal side, meaning there are equal amounts of light music such as Stand and Pop Song 89 as well as heavier music like Turn You Inside Out." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,516
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"Isn't anything is everything I love about music. Feed me with your kiss is always on repeat" Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,508
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"Good debut from Nirvana. Musically, there's a couple great songs, but the rest I don't find too impressive. However, what I love about Bleach is the passion that went into it. Whenever Kurt sings, I get chills cause of how into it he is and how much it seems like he wants to keep singing. I love ..." Reply
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Space-Dementia | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,451
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"I find this album to be a little bit bare at times and I always struggled to connect with some of the slower songs. With that being said when this record is good it is amazing. The highlights for me are More Than This and the title track both of which are very rich and enjoyable. There are a few ..." Reply
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,422
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"I was just talking with my dad the other day about what a great album Lifes Rich Pageant is. We're of very different generations musically, and this is one of those rare points of total agreement. The song he singled out for particular praise was "The Flowers of Guatemala," and I couldn't agree m..." Reply
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buzzdainer | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,419
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"This is an album that is so short and sweet and it is packed full of enjoyable moments that make it so easy to fall in love with. Tracks like Computer World and Computer Love are so catchy and have such an amazing rhythm that you feel like you are getting infected by them. Musically, it can sound..." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,416
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"One of my all time favorite albums. I'm biased in the sense that I went to a lot of warehouse clubs in Detroit around the time this came out and several of these tracks got a lot of play time. This and Ministry's A Land of Rape and Honey the year prior really put their stamp on industrial music f..." Reply
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,385
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"This one was on continuous spin when it first came out - everybody had. Two decades later, I find it hasn't lost any of its charm. Great music from the start; I think it's Petty's finest effort." Reply
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,306
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"One of the best rap album of 80" Reply
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peate754 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,274
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"Seminal Rap album that is incorrectly labelled as the 1st Gangsta Rap release , rather it was the first Gangsta Rap album to garner mainstream success largely on word of mouth and infamy. Interestingly success was found mainly in the homes of disenfranchised white males rather than the black comm..." Reply
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Brad1770 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,242
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 8 of 100
Best Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 118 | 12% | |
| 1981 | 120 | 12% | |
| 1982 | 108 | 11% | |
| 1983 | 96 | 10% | |
| 1984 | 100 | 10% | |
| 1985 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1986 | 93 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 87 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 99 | 10% | |
| 1989 | 92 | 9% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Cure | 10 | 1% | |
| Prince | 8 | 1% | |
| Iron Maiden | 8 | 1% | |
| Depeche Mode | 8 | 1% | |
| Elvis Costello | 8 | 1% | |
| The Smiths | 8 | 1% | |
| Rush | 8 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
411 | 41% | |
| |
391 | 39% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
28 | 3% | |
 |
23 | 2% | |
 |
21 | 2% | |
 |
11 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 4 from 70th to 66th |
Up 4 from 62nd to 58th |
Up 2 from 102nd to 100th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 4 from 57th to 61st |
Down 2 from 33rd to 35th |
Down 2 from 38th to 40th |
| New entries New entries in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 2 from 102nd to 100th |
| Leavers Leavers from top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 1 from 100th to 101st |
Recognised
Year Charts (2025)
