Best Albums of the 1980s

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
YearAlbums 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.
19802,199193,375
19812,236120,872
19822,189147,600
19832,230134,997
Murmur (140th)by R.E.M.
19842,198169,782
19852,226143,562
19862,343168,987
19872,554160,757
19882,646151,587
19892,682196,537
Total23,5031,588,057

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
508
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
505
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
505
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
504
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
503
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
501
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
501
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
500
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
500
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
499
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 47 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 118 12%
1981 121 12%
1982 107 11%
1983 98 10%
1984 102 10%
1985 80 8%
1986 95 10%
1987 88 9%
1988 94 9%
1989 97 10%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 417 42%
United States 390 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 26 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Argentina 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%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
3. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
4. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
5. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
6. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
7. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
8. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
9. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
10. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
11. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
12. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
13. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
14. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
15. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
16. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
17. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
18. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
19. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
20. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
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