Best Albums of the 1980s

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1980s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1980	2,129	194,028	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,164	120,400	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,135	148,499	Thriller (76th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,131	135,683	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,145	171,087	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,147	143,940	Hounds Of Love (57th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,277	170,213	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,475	162,473	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,562	151,855	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,586	197,414	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,751	1,595,592

The best artists of the 1980s were The Smiths, Prince, Pixies, The Cure, Talking Heads, U2, Metallica, Kate Bush, R.E.M. and The Stone Roses.

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321.

Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album

Daniel Johnston

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

132 charts

Rank Score:

791

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

321

Overall Rank:

2,095

Average Rating:

73 (164 votes)

Comments:

322.

Beauty And The Beat

Go-Go's

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

177 charts

Rank Score:

790

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

322

Overall Rank:

2,098

Average Rating:

75 (165 votes)

Comments:

323.

Like A Virgin

Madonna

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

212 charts

Rank Score:

789

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

323

Overall Rank:

2,102

Average Rating:

73 (304 votes)

Comments:

324.

Jeopardy

The Sound

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

127 charts

Rank Score:

782

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

324

Overall Rank:

2,118

Average Rating:

77 (144 votes)

Comments:

325.

October

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

199 charts

Rank Score:

777

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

325

Overall Rank:

2,126

Average Rating:

72 (420 votes)

Comments:

326.

Hallowed Ground

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

135 charts

Rank Score:

776

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

326

Overall Rank:

2,128

Average Rating:

77 (158 votes)

Comments:

327.

Ambient 4: On Land

Brian Eno

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

154 charts

Rank Score:

768

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

327

Overall Rank:

2,138

Average Rating:

78 (198 votes)

Comments:

328.

Rebel Yell

Billy Idol

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

177 charts

Rank Score:

767

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

328

Overall Rank:

2,144

Average Rating:

74 (194 votes)

Comments:

329.

Music For A New Society

John Cale

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

111 charts

Rank Score:

766

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

329

Overall Rank:

2,147

Average Rating:

77 (108 votes)

Comments:

330.

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam And The Ants

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

144 charts

Rank Score:

763

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

330

Overall Rank:

2,157

Average Rating:

71 (194 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 33 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	117	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	102	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	93	9%
1987	86	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
U2	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	415	42%
	386	39%
	41	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	967	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	987	99%
Yes	13	1%

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