Best Albums of the 1980s

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81.

Discipline 

 King Crimson

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"I saw Adrian Belew play a bar in Iowa City in...had to be...1981 or 82. So, he had been on Sheik Yerbouti, Remain In Light, this album which everybody seemed to love...and there were maybe 300 people there, and he was playing with a recorded rhythm track so when we got him to do an encore, he jus...""I saw Adrian Belew play a bar in Iowa City in...had to be...1981 or 82. So, he had been on Sheik Yerbouti, Remain In Light, this album which everybody seemed to love...and there were maybe 300 people there, and he was playing with a recorded rhythm track so when we got him to do an encore, he just played the first two songs on the tape again. He said, "Who here remembers their first acid trip?" and we whooped and hollered. Amazingly small-time performance for a guy who could play arenas with three different world-class bands at the time. His vocals and his whole personality just transformed what King Crimson was capable of--Americanized the whole operation, and for the good. This album was completely on trend at the time, with the talky prose poem over music like Laurie Anderson etc, the Talking Heads-style funk on the opening track, the anagram song title like Eno had done, this was working out iterations of ideas that were in the air at the time. But Fripp was working out his own ideas musically, and his output in these years was very diverse, from his Frippertronics stuff to the album with Daryl Hall and the League of Gentlemen album. He had done the spiritual study with JG Bennett, and he was coming out with all this diverse product, plus the alternate tuning, and pretty soon he started giving holistic guitar clinics to...anybody who wanted to sign up. Every interview he gave was like words from an oracle, and every album was an important statement. Discipline, for the crowd I was hanging with, was a monolithic, landmark album, we didn't so much listen to it as study it. Stands up pretty well after all these years."  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

1981

Appears in:

467 charts

Rank Score:

3,237

Rank in 1981:

3

Rank in 1980s:

81

Overall Rank:

535

Average Rating:

 80 (631 votes)

Comments:

25

82.

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Sister 

 Sonic Youth

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"A savagely good record. Sonic Youth's "screw you mom", flannel shirt wearing, ever-so-slightly-edgy teenage phase. More accomplished than previous works, but less monumental and less polished than what would follow, meaning it delivers that rough, bitter taste that made this era of SY so damn goo...""A savagely good record. Sonic Youth's "screw you mom", flannel shirt wearing, ever-so-slightly-edgy teenage phase. More accomplished than previous works, but less monumental and less polished than what would follow, meaning it delivers that rough, bitter taste that made this era of SY so damn good in absolute spades. It takes time and consideration to be appreciated, but beneath its raw, feedback-driven and strangely subtle overtone is a beautiful creation that strings together the last remains of punk and post-punk, with hints of alt rock and art rock, all of which is brought together in a tumultuous 40-something-minute record. Not an easy album to listen to, but one that - like much of Sonic Youth's discography - is extremely satisfying."  [+]  Reply

- DeusExMackia | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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:

1987

Appears in:

522 charts

Rank Score:

3,206

Rank in 1987:

9

Rank in 1980s:

82

Overall Rank:

539

Average Rating:

 80 (655 votes)

Comments:

43

83.

Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers 
Compilation

 Bob Marley & The Wailers

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"Great Album ....but it is a best of package ... and compilations shouldn't count in a greatest album chart."  Reply

- ~SMiLE~ | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

1984

Appears in:

528 charts

Rank Score:

3,205

Rank in 1984:

14

Rank in 1980s:

83

Overall Rank:

540

Average Rating:

 85 (1,038 votes)

Comments:

58

84.

Reckoning 

 R.E.M.

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"As a traditionally structured guitar-pop album, this couldn't be much better. Because its melodies are so perfect and unsentimental, I haven't tired of it after more than 30 years. I think it helps that the songs are not explicit, because in that way they keep the listener's imagination active. I...""As a traditionally structured guitar-pop album, this couldn't be much better. Because its melodies are so perfect and unsentimental, I haven't tired of it after more than 30 years. I think it helps that the songs are not explicit, because in that way they keep the listener's imagination active. It's not just that you can lay your own shifting meanings into the lyrics depending on your state of mind, but at many points the music is layered and opaque without being muddy, which must have been a very hard balance to achieve, and that keeps it interesting after many years. They also avoided some of the fashions of the day that might have dated their sound and came up with an original sound connected to uniquely American folk traditions. For a band that idolized New York punk, they surprisingly gravitated toward a folk sound that was probably very true to their personal experiences having grown up in the deep south. I think the band got weaker later when they tried to sound more like their New York and glam-rock idols. Early R.E.M. sometimes bring to mind the sensibility of Harry Smith, who was both a mysterious avant-garde bohemian artist, based in New York, and an archivist of American folk music. I think both R.E.M. and Harry Smith can be placed in a continuum of uniquely American creativity that combines the avant-garde with folk traditions."  [+]  Reply

- larryrrr | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 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:

1984

Appears in:

500 charts

Rank Score:

3,191

Rank in 1984:

15

Rank in 1980s:

84

Overall Rank:

543

Average Rating:

 80 (709 votes)

Comments:

39

85.

Rio 

 Duran Duran

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"Game changing eighties synth pop/rock album, possibly underrated by non musicians, particularly in relation to what Nick Rodes accomplished with the keyboard aspects. Four absolutely cracking eighties tracks in 'Rio', 'Hungry Like the Wolf', 'Save a Prayer' and 'New Religion'."  Reply

- Junomoogmello | 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:

1982

Appears in:

480 charts

Rank Score:

3,096

Rank in 1982:

8

Rank in 1980s:

85

Overall Rank:

553

Average Rating:

 76 (587 votes)

Comments:

40

86.

Kill 'Em All 

 Metallica

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"The musical equivalent of a kick in the nuts. Not as technically proficient as their later work, but fast, furious and in-your-face. Seek and Destroy is one of the greatest metal anthems of all time."  Reply

- Decurso | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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:

1983

Appears in:

521 charts

Rank Score:

3,093

Rank in 1983:

8

Rank in 1980s:

86

Overall Rank:

554

Average Rating:

 78 (960 votes)

Comments:

43

87.

Juju 

 Siouxsie And The Banshees

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"The darkest of the Banshees's album juju invites into a world of tribal cruelty fueled by soaring vocals and hammering drums."  Reply

- titansaurs28 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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:

1981

Appears in:

418 charts

Rank Score:

3,062

Rank in 1981:

4

Rank in 1980s:

87

Overall Rank:

559

Average Rating:

 80 (457 votes)

Comments:

26

88.

Rum Sodomy & The Lash 

 The Pogues

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"The greatest drinking album ever. That's what it's for. Some wonderful songs that have become part of Irelands Heritage. Also a nice Australian folk song as the final track ."  Reply

- BraddlesHendo | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 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:

444 charts

Rank Score:

2,988

Rank in 1985:

10

Rank in 1980s:

88

Overall Rank:

568

Average Rating:

 78 (420 votes)

Comments:

28

89.

Permanent Waves 

 Rush

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"The perfect bridge between their super-proggy stuff and their 80s sound"  Reply

- jdenny2018 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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:

1980

Appears in:

466 charts

Rank Score:

2,981

Rank in 1980:

8

Rank in 1980s:

89

Overall Rank:

570

Average Rating:

 81 (634 votes)

Comments:

33

90.

Substance 
Compilation

 New Order

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"Let me try and put this into context: you have a band that changed the definition of what an indie rock/alternative band could be, pioneered the new wave genre, released a number of songs that become club classics and have since gone onto to define electronica and dance music. And then, you take ...""Let me try and put this into context: you have a band that changed the definition of what an indie rock/alternative band could be, pioneered the new wave genre, released a number of songs that become club classics and have since gone onto to define electronica and dance music. And then, you take all of their best work, their biggest hits, a couple of remixes and some previously unheard work, and put into a double album which has one of the best names for an album ever. The result is Substance. This isn't just some compilation or 'best of' album; it's the New Order bible."  [+]  Reply

- DeusExMackia | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 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:

1987

Appears in:

344 charts

Rank Score:

2,861

Rank in 1987:

10

Rank in 1980s:

90

Overall Rank:

587

Average Rating:

 84 (493 votes)

Comments:

38

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 9 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Year	Albums	%
1980	120	12%
1981	119	12%
1982	107	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	87	9%
1986	92	9%
1987	88	9%
1988	98	10%
1989	91	9%

Artist	Albums	%
The Cure	10	1%
Prince	8	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Elvis Costello	8	1%
The Smiths	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
XTC	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	412	41%
	393	39%
	40	4%
	29	3%
	22	2%
	20	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	964	96%
Yes	36	4%

Live?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	19	2%

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