Best Albums of 1981

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Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1981 year summaryThe best artists of 1981 were Rush, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Electric Light Orchestra, The Cure, The Human League, Black Flag and This Heat.

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51.

Desire

Tuxedomoon

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

77 charts

Rank Score:

523

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

447

Overall Rank:

2,908

Average Rating:

76 (88 votes)

Comments:

52.

Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires

Scientist

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

67 charts

Rank Score:

519

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

450

Overall Rank:

2,918

Average Rating:

77 (55 votes)

Comments:

53.

Pretenders II

Pretenders

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

121 charts

Rank Score:

475

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

487

Overall Rank:

3,149

Average Rating:

75 (131 votes)

Comments:

54.

No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith
Live

Motörhead

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

123 charts

Rank Score:

470

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

491

Overall Rank:

3,177

Average Rating:

80 (161 votes)

Comments:

55.

Playing With A Different Sex

Au Pairs

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

84 charts

Rank Score:

463

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

495

Overall Rank:

3,210

Average Rating:

78 (79 votes)

Comments:

56.

Wild Gift

X (US)

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

129 charts

Rank Score:

457

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

497

Overall Rank:

3,248

Average Rating:

75 (135 votes)

Comments:

57.

Hard Promises

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

128 charts

Rank Score:

452

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

502

Overall Rank:

3,269

Average Rating:

75 (157 votes)

Comments:

58.

The Durutti Column

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

83 charts

Rank Score:

451

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

505

Overall Rank:

3,278

Average Rating:

75 (91 votes)

Comments:

59.

Mask

Bauhaus

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

124 charts

Rank Score:

450

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

506

Overall Rank:

3,284

Average Rating:

77 (151 votes)

Comments:

60.

Speak & Spell

Depeche Mode

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

140 charts

Rank Score:

447

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

510

Overall Rank:

3,300

Average Rating:

70 (211 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 6 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	16	2%
Frank Zappa	5	1%
Kitarō	3	0%
Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra	3	0%
Simple Minds	3	0%
Gary Numan	3	0%
David Bowie	3	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	305	31%
	284	28%
	58	6%
	40	4%
	36	4%
	30	3%
	27	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	938	94%
Yes	62	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	969	97%
Yes	31	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	10	1%

« View best albums of 1980View best albums of 1982 »

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Best Albums of 2002
1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
2. Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol
3. A Rush Of Blood To The Head by Coldplay
4. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips
5. Songs For The Deaf by Queens Of The Stone Age
6. You Forgot It In People by Broken Social Scene
7. Sea Change by Beck
8. ( ) by Sigur Rós
9. By The Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. In Absentia by Porcupine Tree
11. Geogaddi by Boards Of Canada
12. Up The Bracket by The Libertines
13. The Eminem Show by Eminem
14. American IV: The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash
15. Original Pirate Material by The Streets
16. O by Damien Rice
17. Audioslave by Audioslave
18. The Rising by Bruce Springsteen
19. Come Away With Me by Norah Jones
20. The Mantle by Agalloch