Best Albums of 1981

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Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

summaryThe best artists of 1981 were Rush, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Electric Light Orchestra, The Cure, The Human League, Black Flag and This Heat.

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Moving Pictures

Rush

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

1,008 charts

Rank Score:

9,418

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

162

Average Rating:

82 (1,287 votes)

Comments:

Computerwelt

Kraftwerk

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

480 charts

Rank Score:

3,548

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

443 charts

Rank Score:

3,108

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

566

Average Rating:

80 (612 votes)

Comments:

Juju

Siouxsie And The Banshees

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

403 charts

Rank Score:

2,950

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

591

Average Rating:

80 (441 votes)

Comments:

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Brian Eno & David Byrne

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

384 charts

Rank Score:

2,759

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

635

Average Rating:

77 (432 votes)

Comments:

Time

Electric Light Orchestra

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

286 charts

Rank Score:

2,555

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

107

Overall Rank:

693

Average Rating:

76 (388 votes)

Comments:

Faith

The Cure

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

388 charts

Rank Score:

2,161

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

123

Overall Rank:

808

Average Rating:

77 (591 votes)

Comments:

Dare

The Human League

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

407 charts

Rank Score:

2,137

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

126

Overall Rank:

820

Average Rating:

75 (463 votes)

Comments:

Damaged

Black Flag

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

390 charts

Rank Score:

2,023

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

132

Overall Rank:

867

Average Rating:

76 (500 votes)

Comments:

10.

Deceit

This Heat

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

255 charts

Rank Score:

1,918

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

141

Overall Rank:

912

Average Rating:

78 (260 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	17	2%
Frank Zappa	5	1%
David Bowie	3	0%
喜多郎 [Kitarō]	3	0%
Simple Minds	3	0%
Gary Numan	3	0%
Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra	3	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	315	32%
	277	28%
	61	6%
	40	4%
	36	4%
	30	3%
	29	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	937	94%
Yes	63	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	970	97%
Yes	30	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	10	1%

« View best albums of 1980View best albums of 1982 »

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Best Artists of the 1960s
1. The Beatles
2. The Velvet Underground
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Bob Dylan
5. The Beach Boys
6. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
7. The Velvet Underground & Nico
8. Led Zeppelin
9. The Rolling Stones
10. The Doors
11. John Coltrane
12. King Crimson
13. Frank Zappa
14. The Kinks
15. Love
16. Van Morrison
17. Neil Young
18. Charles Mingus
19. Miles Davis
20. The Zombies