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	2,132	193,884	Remain In Light (27th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,176	120,575	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,139	148,321	Thriller (76th)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,151	135,611	Murmur (143rd)by R.E.M.
1984	2,154	170,880	Purple Rain (81st)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,166	144,128	Hounds Of Love (58th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,282	170,049	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,486	162,476	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,567	151,815	Daydream Nation (69th)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,592	197,480	Doolittle (18th)by Pixies
Total	22,845	1,595,219

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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91.

Hysteria

Def Leppard

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

398 charts

Rank Score:

2,986

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

593

Average Rating:

72 (544 votes)

Comments:

92.

Making Movies

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

421 charts

Rank Score:

2,943

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

602

Average Rating:

78 (572 votes)

Comments:

93.

Substance 1987
Compilation

New Order

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

314 charts

Rank Score:

2,936

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

605

Average Rating:

83 (461 votes)

Comments:

94.

Love Over Gold

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

380 charts

Rank Score:

2,926

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

609

Average Rating:

79 (520 votes)

Comments:

95.

Low-Life

New Order

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

391 charts

Rank Score:

2,919

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

611

Average Rating:

80 (471 votes)

Comments:

96.

The Nightfly

Donald Fagen

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

325 charts

Rank Score:

2,856

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

621

Average Rating:

77 (365 votes)

Comments:

97.

Juju

Siouxsie And The Banshees

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

381 charts

Rank Score:

2,849

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

622

Average Rating:

79 (422 votes)

Comments:

98.

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me

The Cure

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

481 charts

Rank Score:

2,815

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

628

Average Rating:

78 (664 votes)

Comments:

99.

Seventeen Seconds

The Cure

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

440 charts

Rank Score:

2,805

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

631

Average Rating:

78 (660 votes)

Comments:

100.

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Brian Eno & David Byrne

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

370 charts

Rank Score:

2,784

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

100

Overall Rank:

643

Average Rating:

77 (418 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 10 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	123	12%
1982	110	11%
1983	96	10%
1984	103	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	93	9%
1987	88	9%
1988	93	9%
1989	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Rush	8	1%
U2	7	1%
The Smiths	7	1%
R.E.M.	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	417	42%
	386	38%
	41	4%
	28	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	969	97%
Yes	35	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	992	99%
Yes	12	1%

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