Best Albums of 1988
Explore the best albums of 1988, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Click to see how the rankings are calculated
Last updated: 5 hours ago
Last updated: 5 hours ago
"Sharper and better sculpted than 'Sister', yet fresher and far more diverse as well. The noisy underpinnings remain, and on top is an alt rock inspired soundscape that lays the foundations for politically driven, seriously good lyrics. As albums go, few are quite as well structured as this; it fl..." [+] Reply
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DeusExMackia | 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,907
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
2.
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"This is Savage.This is a mother fucking masterpiece. I feel sorry for people who cant understand the drama of this. Every song is special as they mixture surrealism with punk in many cool/different vibes. The difference between this one and doolittle is really this is seems more like a classic al..." [+] Reply
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arthurbittencourt | 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,858
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"My personal favourite album of all time. Over twenty years old and yet still sounds so current with today's ears." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,270
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The most important and influential rap record ever made. Chuck D and co. create an excellent protest record delivered with a heavy dose of new york attitude and grit. It really is a landmark album featuring some of Public Enemy's greatest songs. Bring the noise, don't believe the hype, and, rebel..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,672
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Despite the production flaws, it is my second favourite after Ride The Lightning. Songwriting is so brilliant, almost a complement to The Black Album with all the long and complex song structures. Unlike some of Metallica's newer songs it never gets boring though. The Shortest Straw and Eye Of Th..." [+] Reply
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LedZep | 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,017
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"One of the surprise hits of the eighties, Tracy Chapman's debut is a beautiful album of lovely songs. Fast car, is off course a classic, one of the best songs of the 1980's, but there are plenty of other great songs here; talkin' bout a revolution, mountain o' things, for my lover, across the lin..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,007
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I have always loved those "I was there " album stories , for example "I was there when Sgt Peppers came out " or " I was there when Joshua Tree was released " .... well I have my very own "I was there " moment , I was there when 'Isn't Anything' was released in 1988 and I'll never forget it . I p..." [+] Reply
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Brad1770 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,548
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"REM's first album on a major label. Green, is half a big, dumb rock record, and half acoustic, the kind of which the band would master on their next two albums. Pop song'89, get up, turn you inside out, and especially, stand, are the closest the band ever got to party rock, they're all enjoyable ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,545
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"One of the most important album in hip hop. Unfortunately it is not well tied-up together. Some forgettable moments and some classic moments." Reply
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,297
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Somehow these metal masters found a way to fuse the synths with the heavy guitar/bass/drum combo and make a unique product that retains it's heavy metallic flavor. This is some of Maiden's most consistent songwriting, Harris' bass lines are as astonishing as ever, Dickinson's vocals continue to s..." [+] Reply
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Fischman | 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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,489
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100
Best Albums of 1988 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Various Artists | 22 | 2% | |
| Frank Zappa | 4 | 0% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 0% | |
| Philip Glass | 3 | 0% | |
| The Bevis Frond | 3 | 0% | |
| Duke Ellington | 3 | 0% | |
| Yoshio Ojima | 2 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
435 | 43% | |
 |
227 | 23% | |
 |
49 | 5% | |
 |
44 | 4% | |
 |
30 | 3% | |
 |
27 | 3% | |
 |
26 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of 1988 chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 25 from 100th to 75th |
Up 2 from 75th to 73rd |
Up 1 from 98th to 97th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 9 from 72nd to 81st |
Down 3 from 91st to 94th |
Down 2 from 81st to 83rd |
