Best Albums of 1981

Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
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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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
150
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
149
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
144
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
144
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
144
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
139
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
139
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
137
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
133
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
150.
Chariots Of Fire 
Soundtrack
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
131
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 15 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Country Albums %


United States 315 32%
United Kingdom 276 28%
Germany 61 6%
Mixed Nationality 38 4%
Australia 36 4%
Japan 30 3%
France 29 3%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 939 94%
Yes 61 6%
Live? Albums %
No 970 97%
Yes 30 3%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 991 99%
Yes 9 1%
Recognised  Year Charts (2024)
1. Albums of the year 2024 by Decibel (2024)
2. The 50 Best Albums Of 2024 by Billboard (2024)
3. The Top 50 Albums of 2024 by Crack Magazine (2024)
4. The 25 best albums of 2024 by The A.V. Club (2024)
5. Best albums of 2024 by Independent (2024)
6. Albums of the Year 2024 by Loud And Quiet (2024)
7. Albums of the year 2024 by Kerrang! (2024)
8. Top 50 Albums of 2024 by The Needle Drop (2024)
9. The 50 Best Albums of 2024 by Pitchfork (2024)
10. Albums of the year 2024 by Piccadilly Records (2024)
11. Uncut's 80 Best Albums of 2024 by Uncut (2024)
12. The 100 Best Albums of 2024 by Rolling Stone (2024)
13. The 50 Best Albums of 2024 by Treble (2024)
14. BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2024 by BrooklynVegan (2024)
15. The Best Albums of the Year 2024 by The Line Of Best Fit (2024)
16. The 10 best albums of 2024 by The Atlantic (2024)
17. Albums of 2024 by The Skinny (2024)
18. The 10 Best Albums of 2024 by Esquire (2024)
19. The Best Albums of 2024 by New Music Express (2024)
20. The 20 best albums of 2024 by Dazed (2024)
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