Best Albums of the 1980s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1980s decade summary
YearAlbums 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.
19802,214192,906
19812,256120,747
19822,220148,026
19832,236135,053
Murmur (139th)by R.E.M.
19842,212169,332
19852,234143,477
19862,350169,059
19872,564160,360
19882,673151,562
19892,699195,839
Total23,6581,586,361

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
190
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 118 12%
1981 121 12%
1982 108 11%
1983 98 10%
1984 103 10%
1985 80 8%
1986 97 10%
1987 88 9%
1988 91 9%
1989 96 10%
Artist Albums %


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


United Kingdom 417 42%
United States 392 39%
Australia 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Argentina 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 968 97%
Yes 32 3%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Ever Artists
1. The Beatles
2. Radiohead
3. Pink Floyd
4. David Bowie
5. Bob Dylan
6. Led Zeppelin
7. The Rolling Stones
8. Arcade Fire
9. The Velvet Underground
10. Nirvana
11. Kendrick Lamar
12. Neil Young
13. The Smiths
14. Miles Davis
15. The Beach Boys
16. Kanye West
17. R.E.M.
18. Pixies
19. Jimi Hendrix
20. Bruce Springsteen
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