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	194,108	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,163	120,442	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,135	148,622	Thriller (75th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,131	135,689	Murmur (142nd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,144	171,181	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,146	143,883	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,277	170,319	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,473	162,558	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,562	151,917	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,586	197,493	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,746	1,596,212

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:

2,094

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:

2,097

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:

2,101

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:

198 charts

Rank Score:

777

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

325

Overall Rank:

2,125

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:

2,127

Average Rating:

77 (158 votes)

Comments:

327.

Ambient 4: On Land

Brian Eno

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

154 charts

Rank Score:

769

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 (193 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:

764

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	80	8%
1986	94	9%
1987	86	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Rush	8	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Talking Heads	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%

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

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5. Tool
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