Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by 
buzzdainer 
These days, when people talk about "eighties music" as if it were a genre, mainly they're referring to Michael Jackson and Madonna and George Michael. Maybe some of the one-hit wonders like Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the Georgia Satellites. Or the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. Or hair metal, which ruled the musical culture of my hometown in Maine with bands such as AC/DC and the Scorpions. None of those things quite describes my own musical experience of the eighties. On the one hand, I definitely knew about the stuff that was popular; it was the water in which we all swam. On the other hand, as a teenager I actively sought out music that moved me differently--the things that felt a little edgier, a little riskier, a little more emotionally charged without being completely overwrought. Well, okay, and some of the overwrought stuff, too.
A representative moment I still remember well is from fall of my eighth grade year. My English teacher gave us an assignment to bring to class a cassette tape including a song we liked for its lyrics, and we had to distribute a transcription of the lyrics to our classmates and give them an interpretation of what we thought the lyrics meant. When you're a teenager, music is tied closely to identity, or at least it was for me, and I spent a lot of time thinking of what song I should bring. I eventually settled on Hüsker Dü's "Pink Turns to Blue," because I wanted something I figured nobody else had heard, something that felt more rebellious and badass than Def Leppard or Bon Jovi. My classmates, and my teacher, were visibly uncomfortable trying to listen to the opening lines, "Going out each day to score, she was no whore but for me / Celebrating every day the way she thought it should be." If my goal was to signal to my classmates that I wasn't to be messed with, mission accomplished. Which is funny to think about now, since I now think of music as a means for bringing people together, not alienating them. Nevertheless, and maybe paradoxically, I still love a lot of that same music I loved then--perhaps because it connects me to a past version of myself that I still have a certain affection for.
- Chart updated: 07/21/2024 13:15
- (Created: 02/16/2016 18:26).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 15 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 22 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Violent Femmes' self-titled debut album delivers some of the most cathartic teen angst ever put on record ("Blister in the Sun"), along with some genuinely cringeworthy moments ("Gimme the Car"). I'm willing to excuse some of the more juvenile turns of phrase because Gordon Gano and company really do seem to understand rejection and are able to translate what is really a very personal experience into something universal. And back in the eighties when I first loved Violent Femmes, I don't think I fully appreciated their musicianship. But check out bassist Brian Ritchie's work on nearly every song here: his bass playing gives the album its unique musical signature. It's so strange that the band changed direction so abruptly on their next album, Hallowed Ground, since they seemed to have found a winning formula here.
[First added to this chart: 05/19/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,026
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
73
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When I was a teenager, I absolutely loved The Police. They were the quintessential cool three-piece band, and their instrumental virtuosity seemed only rivalled by their lyrical sophistication. Then Synchronicity arrived, and the band's popularity soared. With that increased popularity came increased scrutiny, and they came to be seen both as a little too milquetoast and a little too pretentious for a lot of people's tastes. Perhaps rightfully so. Upon revisiting this album recently for the first time in a while, I find myself still appreciating so many things about it: some delightfully ironic songwriting, brilliant instrumentation, and a lingering appreciation for the simple elements of rock music. It's neither as perfect as I once thought it was, nor as imperfect as a lot of people would have you believe. And "Every Breath You Take" remains a great song, not because it's an unambiguous great love song, but because it understands the desperate depths to which love can bring a person, even to the point of something like stalking.
[First added to this chart: 03/28/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,533
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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I didn't pay much attention to electronic dance rock pioneers New Order back in the eighties, but a friend put the song "Bizarre Love Triangle" on a mix CD (remember those?) some years ago, and I was drawn to the album as a whole to mine it for more songs I might like. Turns out the album as a whole is consistently great. I think what surprised me most is that a actually think New Order is an improvement over Joy Division, the band that spawned them when primary singer and songwriter Ian Curtis took his own life. I think that's also a reflection of my tastes: I prefer New Order's brighter, sunnier synths and crisper production to Joy Division's darker, gloomier moods. It's nice to hear that they've recently been nominated (together with Joy Division) for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
[First added to this chart: 10/01/2017]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,760
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 02/17/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,298
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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The most mysterious and inscrutable of R.E.M.'s releases, and for my money, their best. My most vivid memory of listening to this album is a rainy, cold spring afternoon with an ex-girlfriend. A strange day. We spent nearly the whole day playing game after game of ping pong in the garage, and listening to this album over and over again. We pulled apart each track on this album, discussing how each one is perfect in its way, and how they all fit together thematically and sequentially. What was fun, too, was that neither of us was quite sure of the lyrics to any of these songs, even though the songs were all meaningful to each of us in some way. Take the lovely piano ballad "Perfect Circle," for instance. Is Michael Stipe singing this: "Put your hair back we get to leave / Eleven gallows on your sleeve / Shallow figure, winner's paid / Eleven shadows way out of place"? If so, what does that mean? Does it matter?
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,629
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 02/26/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,356
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 03/01/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,792
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 03/02/2016]
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[First added to this chart: 04/22/2016]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,548
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 9. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1980 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1981 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1982 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1983 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1984 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1985 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1986 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1987 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1988 | 15 | 15% | |
| 1989 | 17 | 17% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Talking Heads | 6 | 6% | |
| R.E.M. | 5 | 5% | |
| Hüsker Dü | 4 | 4% | |
| Pixies | 3 | 3% | |
| The Replacements | 3 | 3% | |
| U2 | 3 | 3% | |
| Elvis Costello And The Attractions | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 5th to 4th Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 4th to 5th Remain In Light by Talking Heads |
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s ratings
91/100 (from 22 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 22 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 03/26/2024 13:14 |  Goliath | | 86/100 |
| 90/100 | 03/26/2024 09:06 | Moondance | | 85/100 |
| 85/100 | 02/19/2023 13:31 |  Tamthebam | | 85/100 |
| 95/100 | 02/19/2023 11:01 |  MadhattanJack | | 84/100 |
| 90/100 | 02/19/2023 09:43 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
Rating metrics:
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This chart is rated in the top 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 91.0/100, a mean average of 93.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.7.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s comments
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From buzzdainer 03/26/2024 14:37
buzzdainer 03/26/2024 14:37
Thank you, Moondance, for those suggestions. I've heard a couple of those albums, but the others are new to me. I do like that Robbie Robertson album quite a bit, and of course Dire Straits was a staple of my eighties music listening. I probably could have added a few more Australian bands to this list, since there was so much great Aussie rock from that period.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Moondance 02/19/2023 21:50
I always admire the thoughtful quality of charts & comments from buzzdainer and this is no exception. The inclusion of 6 Australian artists is quite excellent!
A couple of suggestions: ex The Band's Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson; Andy Pawlak - Shoebox Full of Secrets; Kauffamn & Caboor - Songs From Suicide Bridge; ex Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison's - Casual Gods; Dire Straits.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Johnnyo 02/19/2023 09:44
Great chart and love the descriptions that accompany the entries
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From buzzdainer 04/24/2021 20:49
buzzdainer 04/24/2021 20:49
Larcx13, I don't think you're at all off base to say Talking Heads were a strange band. For me that's part of their appeal. I think as a teenager I gravitated to them because I identified with their weirdness, their decidedly outside-the-mainstream aesthetic, because like most teenagers, I didn't feel like I fit into the mainstream. Nowadays I care less about that, and I just appreciate Talking Heads for fusing together elements of new wave and funk to create really well-made pop music. Although I have Remain in Light rated my favorite Talking Heads album, I might recommend starting with Little Creatures, which is a bit more accessible, or Stop Making Sense, which captures their live sound in a way that might enable a new listener to "get" them a bit better than their albums from the seventies and early eighties.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
Larcx13 12/05/2020 15:56
Larcx13 12/05/2020 15:56
I should give talking heads some time. What i heard up to now was quite strange.
Nice list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From emptysquares 08/30/2020 11:01
Love your chart and there's a few entries I need to check out. Special respect for getting Billy Bragg in there - I didn't think our Bill travelled that far!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From buzzdainer 07/18/2016 15:57
buzzdainer 07/18/2016 15:57
Thanks for the nice comment, pa! Doolittle is definitely worth checking out, especially given your appreciation for the likes of Fugazi, Meat Puppets, Yo La Tengo, Hüsker Dü, and others. It's plenty challenging and weird in its own way, but also melodic and likeable. Happy listening, and thanks for visiting my chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
pa 07/18/2016 15:47
pa 07/18/2016 15:47
Hey there :)
I really like your chart too and I love the inclusion of Zen Arcade and California by AMC.
Doolittle is still on my wishlist...I'll check it out soon!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From stangetzaway 07/17/2016 22:36
Excellent mix of headliners and blue collar alternative acts. Quite a few I haven't heard so will have to check out.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From buzzdainer 07/17/2016 21:15
buzzdainer 07/17/2016 21:15
Thanks, garycottier, for rating and commenting on this chart! Greg Brown is a bluesy, nostalgic singer-songwriter from Iowa who sings about the midwestern landscapes of his youth and a wide range of other topics. He's funny and irreverent, and a great guitar player. I'd recommend starting with some of his albums from the nineties, especially Further In, Dream Café, and The Poet Game. And yes, I love The Trinity Session--such a languid, dreamy, haunting listening experience. Margo Timmins is, in my opinion, one of the great vocalists of her generation.
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