Best Albums of 1981

Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 49,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1981 year summaryThe best artists of 1981 were Rush (CA), Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Electric Light Orchestra, The Cure, Black Flag, The Human League and The Gun Club.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Share | |
Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,974
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,695
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,405
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,079
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,820
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,667
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,347
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,208
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,196
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,925
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Country Albums %


United States 303 30%
United Kingdom 280 28%
Germany 59 6%
Mixed Nationality 40 4%
Australia 35 4%
France 30 3%
Japan 29 3%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 943 94%
Yes 57 6%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 22 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 990 99%
Yes 10 1%
Best Artists of 1987
1. U2
2. Guns N' Roses
3. The Smiths
4. Prince
5. Dinosaur Jr.
6. Michael Jackson
7. R.E.M.
8. Depeche Mode
9. Sonic Youth
10. Def Leppard
11. The Cure
12. New Order
13. INXS
14. The Jesus And Mary Chain
15. Pixies
16. Eric B. & Rakim
17. Midnight Oil
18. Fleetwood Mac
19. Bruce Springsteen
20. George Michael
Back to Top