Best Albums of 1986
Explore the best albums of 1986, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts
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Last updated: 1 hour ago
"One of the quintessential albums of all time, from the compositions of Johnny Marr, the lyrics and voice of Morrisey, and the overall mystic of The Smiths make this a timeless album. Impeccable production quality, 110% effort on every song, their heart and soul on every song." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,504
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Comments:
"What an incredible album this is! The emotion and power that is driven across to the listener is mesmerising and the sheer talent on display is fantastic. The energy never slows throughout the whole record and it is extremely powerful and can so easily dominate you. This is mainly due to the inst..." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,129
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"Graceland, IS Paul Simon's greatest album. It's a stunning fusion of pop/rock and African grooves and sounds. It's a stunning record. It's amazing to think now just how much flak and criticism Simon got at the time for making this album during the apartheid years, I suppose it's understandable, b..." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,400
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"Listening to this album again after some time and looking at some of the reviews on this site and others I have the following comments. Firstly do not judge this album by the the 'commercial hits', 'Sledgehammer' and 'Big Time', these are not the best tracks on the album. Several listens are requ..." Reply
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Goliath | 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:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,212
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Comments:
"An album that I've been listening to for a few months. I was blown away on my first listen at how well the album flowed from song to song. Skylarking is a true masterpiece of Pop, Psychedelia and Baroque tinged songs while having a unique Pastoral feel." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,448
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"The beginning of what will be something so special in music… not often are artists left to make what they want - esp when it’s not deemed commercially lucrative. Love this album. It is somewhat eclipsed by the spirit of Eden. Hollis was clearly a very talented chap, and thankfully the record comp..." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,990
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"Oh this album is so much fun. I'm being totally serious. It's heavy, loud, and fast. I have no idea how they can play and sing so fast but it really takes me by storm and makes my adrenaline pump. The high-pitched tales of the terrors of hell are awesomely hilarious. Completely over the top lyric..." Reply
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dmercado | 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:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,626
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Comments:
"Never understood why this album got virtually no attention during its time, even on college radio. The video for "Fall on Me" found its way onto MTV, but other than that, there was nothing. A pity, because that song was only one of a collection of the greatest music R.E.M. ever recorded. Rare is ..." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,440
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Comments:
"As much as I enjoy it, I feel like this is one of those albums that I'd appreciate even more if I had been alive when it was first released." Reply
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,282
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Average Rating:
Comments:
"My favourite Depeche Mode album. Some of the best songs like "Stripped" or "But Not Tonight" and the perfect opening track ("Black Celebration") that sets the mood for the whole album. Regardless of the growing darkness in their sound this is still an album you can really enjoy. Most Depeche Mode..." Reply
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nocturnaldelight | 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:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,602
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100
Best Albums of 1986 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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|||
| Various Artists | 26 | 3% | |
| Wham! | 3 | 0% | |
| The Residents | 3 | 0% | |
| Frank Zappa | 3 | 0% | |
| Swans | 3 | 0% | |
| Tuxedomoon | 2 | 0% | |
| Nico | 2 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
381 | 38% | |
 |
265 | 27% | |
 |
41 | 4% | |
 |
40 | 4% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
 |
28 | 3% | |
 |
25 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of 1986 chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 4 from 91st to 87th |
Up 2 from 66th to 64th |
Up 2 from 57th to 55th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 4 from 87th to 91st |
Down 2 from 64th to 66th |
Down 2 from 79th to 81st |
Recognised
Year Charts (2025)
