Best Albums of 1983
Explore the best albums of 1983, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Click to see how the rankings are calculated
Last updated: 6 hours ago
Last updated: 6 hours ago
This chart is currently filtered to only show non live albums. (Remove this filter)
"I moved down to London from Birmingham in 1982 and was fortunate enough to fall in with a great bunch of people, some of whom are still friends over 40 years later. Amongst those folks was a guy called Terry who is a couple of years older than the rest of us and who, even back then, had an awesom..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,602
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I nearly lost this album when my mum threatened to throw it out because of the F word." Reply
- 
lancashirearab | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 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:
Rank Score:
7,834
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"A great album that shows new order really develop its sound and moving out joy division's shadow." Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,252
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Look, I can't stand lots of what U2 have put out and bono gets on my tits but I can't deny this record. It contains some of the best singles of the 80s. This and achtung baby are just quality. Sunday bloody Sunday...wash the car, mow the lawn. Cheers Alan." Reply
- 
Graeme2 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 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:
Rank Score:
5,481
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Can't think of too many bands whose last album was their best. But I can think of many bands where after the band broke up the lead singer became a pompous douche like Sting." Reply
- 
kingofwine | 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:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,474
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Song by song a classic album. Quirky and ground breaking, really one of the best records of the eighties full stop." Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,978
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This is the first I've heard of Tom Waits, and I'm wondering where this has been my entire life. This is daring music, and Waits attacks it with such infectious confidence, as if he's been singing these songs his whole life. There is so much variety in these 15 tracks--every new song feels like a..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,494
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"My favorite record. There is not one dull moment on this album, and every song is fantastic. It's fast, it's heavy, and it's catchy. 100/100; 5 Stars." Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,117
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"3 excellent - Modern Love, China Girl, Let's Dance 2 good - Without You, Cat People - would fit on Scary Monsters 3 filler - Ricochet - the worst, Criminal World, Shake It - annoying backing vocals. Lead vocal saves it." Reply
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,844
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"When the tigers broke free is a perfect fit for the album (after One of the few), that song is a masterpiece. Just like the whole album. Not Now John is the only below 90 rating here for me..." Reply
- 
LedZep | 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:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,187
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 962. Page 1 of 97
Best Albums of 1983 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Various Artists | 23 | 2% | |
| Nocturnal Emissions | 4 | 0% | |
| Frank Zappa | 3 | 0% | |
| Sir Georg Solti / Chicago Symphony Orchestra | 3 | 0% | |
| Daniel Johnston | 3 | 0% | |
| David Bowie | 2 | 0% | |
| Bill Evans | 2 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
334 | 33% | |
 |
290 | 29% | |
 |
48 | 5% | |
 |
42 | 4% | |
 |
28 | 3% | |
 |
26 | 3% | |
 |
24 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of 1983 chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 7 from 73rd to 66th |
Up 3 from 70th to 67th |
Up 3 from 47th to 44th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 3 from 66th to 69th |
Down 3 from 67th to 70th |
Down 2 from 45th to 47th |
Recognised
Year Charts (2025)
