Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
summaryThe 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:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,639
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,609
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,605
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,572
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,563
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,553
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,553
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,541
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
109.
Louder Than Bombs 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,514
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,496
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 11 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 119 12%
1981 120 12%
1982 107 11%
1983 99 10%
1984 101 10%
1985 81 8%
1986 97 10%
1987 87 9%
1988 95 10%
1989 94 9%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 418 42%
United States 389 39%
Australia 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Ireland 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 966 97%
Yes 34 3%
Live? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 22 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
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