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 54,000 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	2,199	193,199	Remain In Light (26th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,237	120,708	Moving Pictures (157th)by Rush
1982	2,190	147,432	Thriller (72nd)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,231	135,157	Murmur (138th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,198	169,624	Purple Rain (80th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,228	143,545	Hounds Of Love (56th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,344	168,750	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,554	160,827	The Joshua Tree (53rd)by U2
1988	2,645	151,428	Daydream Nation (73rd)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,685	196,327	Doolittle (19th)by Pixies
Total	23,511	1,586,996

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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41.

Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

713 charts

Rank Score:

5,746

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

314

Average Rating:

80 (969 votes)

Comments:

42.

War

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

760 charts

Rank Score:

5,557

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

320

Average Rating:

79 (1,183 votes)

Comments:

43.

Synchronicity

The Police

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

799 charts

Rank Score:

5,529

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

321

Average Rating:

79 (1,024 votes)

Comments:

44.

Songs From The Big Chair

Tears For Fears

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

615 charts

Rank Score:

5,335

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

336

Average Rating:

79 (665 votes)

Comments:

45.

Speaking In Tongues

Talking Heads

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

610 charts

Rank Score:

5,275

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

341

Average Rating:

81 (773 votes)

Comments:

46.

...And Justice For All

Metallica

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

623 charts

Rank Score:

5,228

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

343

Average Rating:

80 (1,133 votes)

Comments:

47.

Double Nickels On The Dime

Minutemen

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

572 charts

Rank Score:

5,043

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

350

Average Rating:

80 (628 votes)

Comments:

48.

Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

Dead Kennedys

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

668 charts

Rank Score:

4,859

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

365

Average Rating:

80 (742 votes)

Comments:

49.

Skylarking

XTC

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

582 charts

Rank Score:

4,827

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

368

Average Rating:

80 (621 votes)

Comments:

50.

Document

R.E.M.

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

684 charts

Rank Score:

4,811

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

370

Average Rating:

80 (907 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 5 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	107	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	103	10%
1985	80	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	88	9%
1988	94	9%
1989	97	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
The Smiths	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
The Fall	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	417	42%
	391	39%
	39	4%
	26	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	968	97%
Yes	32	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

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

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