Best Albums of 1981
Explore the best albums of 1981, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts
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Last updated: 3 hours ago
"Moving Pictures was a last hurrah for prog rock, which was falling out of favour by the early 80s. Rush had never, and would never again, achieve the greatness they did on Moving Pictures. Perfectly balancing their hard rock and softer electronic sounds. Featuring some of their best know hits in ..." Reply
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souplipton | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 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:
Rank Score:
8,650
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"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:
3,366
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"I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stres, I repeat!" Reply
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marklg | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (4 helpful | 1 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:
Rank Score:
3,203
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"Best vocals in post-punk, like a goth Kate Bush or a female Johny Rotten who could actually sing. I prefer the more punk-like style on Scream but the song-writting here is more nuanced and this helps the singing too." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,059
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"I really did not see this coming. Of course there is a relationship with "Remain in Light" by TH, but the combined talent of Eno / Byrne makes this album the best and most innovative music of 1981. The processing of samples (tape loops, because digital technology was not yet available) is extraor..." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,645
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"Very influential, I don't think Daft Punk would be around if not for this album. Twilight is a very fun composion, and many other tracks have a certain magic to them." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,303
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"A darker Cure is always a finer Cure, this is definetely their most underrated as it stands toe to toe with Pornography and has a far mor elaborated and ambitious sound than their latter masterpieces, it is probably because it doesn't have a particular stand out that is usually not that appreciat..." Reply
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covecove | 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:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,074
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"One of the best hardcore punk albums ever. Angry, aggressive, and noisy. Black Flag at their best." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,032
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"One of the essential electro pop recordings. Dare, is a great album, the best the Human League ever made and it remains a highly influential LP. Don't you want me, is off course a classic track, a massive hit single in 1981. Elsewhere, love action, and, open your heart, are two more stunning song..." Reply
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,010
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""Why are these songs not taught in schools?" - Jack White. I love that." Reply
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Hayden | 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:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,903
Rank in 1981:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100
Best Albums of 1981 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Various Artists | 14 | 1% | |
| Frank Zappa | 5 | 1% | |
| 喜多郎 [Kitarō] | 3 | 0% | |
| Simple Minds | 3 | 0% | |
| Tangerine Dream | 3 | 0% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 0% | |
| Herbert Von Karajan / Berliner Philharmoniker | 3 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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 |
311 | 31% | |
 |
270 | 27% | |
 |
61 | 6% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
36 | 4% | |
 |
35 | 4% | |
 |
28 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of 1981 chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 12 from 84th to 72nd |
Up 12 from 75th to 63rd |
Up 2 from 67th to 65th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 4 from 62nd to 66th |
Down 3 from 72nd to 75th |
Down 2 from 31st to 33rd |
