Best Albums of 1986

« View best albums of 1985View best albums of 1987 »

Listed below are the best albums of 1986 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1986 year summaryThe best artists of 1986 were The Smiths, Metallica, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Talk Talk, Slayer, Beastie Boys, R.E.M. and Depeche Mode.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

21.

Brotherhood

New Order

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

229 charts

Rank Score:

1,046

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

254

Overall Rank:

1,636

Average Rating:

77 (292 votes)

Comments:

22.

World Of Echo

Arthur Russell

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

125 charts

Rank Score:

1,045

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

256

Overall Rank:

1,639

Average Rating:

76 (119 votes)

Comments:

23.

Control

Janet Jackson

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

165 charts

Rank Score:

944

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

279

Overall Rank:

1,791

Average Rating:

71 (203 votes)

Comments:

24.

Victorialand

Cocteau Twins

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

176 charts

Rank Score:

927

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

283

Overall Rank:

1,819

Average Rating:

77 (216 votes)

Comments:

25.

Infected

The The

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

147 charts

Rank Score:

925

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

284

Overall Rank:

1,828

Average Rating:

74 (163 votes)

Comments:

26.

Please

Pet Shop Boys

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

184 charts

Rank Score:

900

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

289

Overall Rank:

1,871

Average Rating:

76 (204 votes)

Comments:

27.

London 0 Hull 4

The Housemartins

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

147 charts

Rank Score:

799

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

317

Overall Rank:

2,075

Average Rating:

76 (118 votes)

Comments:

28.

Strange Times

The Chameleons

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

111 charts

Rank Score:

796

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

319

Overall Rank:

2,085

Average Rating:

79 (133 votes)

Comments:

29.

Scoundrel Days

a-ha

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

114 charts

Rank Score:

762

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

332

Overall Rank:

2,163

Average Rating:

73 (179 votes)

Comments:

30.

Born Sandy Devotional

The Triffids

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

126 charts

Rank Score:

758

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

333

Overall Rank:

2,171

Average Rating:

76 (127 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
2
3
4
...
99
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of 1986 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	30	3%
Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic	3	0%
Swans	3	0%
The Residents	3	0%
Cocteau Twins	3	0%
B.B. King	3	0%
Frank Zappa	3	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	377	38%
	267	27%
	46	5%
	45	5%
	29	3%
	28	3%
	23	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	912	91%
Yes	88	9%

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

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	980	98%
Yes	20	2%

« View best albums of 1985View best albums of 1987 »

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Popular Charts
1. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
2. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
3. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
4. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
5. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
6. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
7. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
8. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
9. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
10. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
11. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
12. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
13. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
14. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
15. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
16. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
17. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
18. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
19. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
20. 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by The Sound (2018)