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 54,000 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	2,210	192,946	Remain In Light (26th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,247	120,615	Moving Pictures (157th)by Rush
1982	2,208	147,327	Thriller (73rd)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,227	135,089	Murmur (138th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,207	169,528	Purple Rain (79th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,233	143,336	Hounds Of Love (56th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,346	168,530	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,559	160,626	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,663	151,563	Daydream Nation (72nd)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,691	195,939	Doolittle (19th)by Pixies
Total	23,591	1,585,497

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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261.

The Dream Of The Blue Turtles

Sting

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

212 charts

Rank Score:

1,011

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

261

Overall Rank:

1,676

Average Rating:

74 (247 votes)

Comments:

262.

Crocodiles

Echo & The Bunnymen

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

230 charts

Rank Score:

1,011

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

262

Overall Rank:

1,678

Average Rating:

77 (260 votes)

Comments:

263.

Brotherhood

New Order

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

231 charts

Rank Score:

1,009

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

263

Overall Rank:

1,682

Average Rating:

78 (299 votes)

Comments:

264.

Milo Goes To College

The Descendents

Year of Release:

1982

Appears in:

210 charts

Rank Score:

1,006

Rank in 1982:

Rank in 1980s:

264

Overall Rank:

1,687

Average Rating:

76 (229 votes)

Comments:

265.

Porcupine

Echo & The Bunnymen

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

203 charts

Rank Score:

1,004

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

265

Overall Rank:

1,689

Average Rating:

77 (237 votes)

Comments:

266.

Safe Mode: On

Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim
Compilation

Pixies

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

94 charts

Rank Score:

1,003

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

266

Overall Rank:

1,693

Average Rating:

84 (310 votes)

Comments:

267.

The Perfect Prescription

Spacemen 3

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

181 charts

Rank Score:

999

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

267

Overall Rank:

1,696

Average Rating:

79 (184 votes)

Comments:

268.

Escape

Journey

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

191 charts

Rank Score:

990

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

268

Overall Rank:

1,708

Average Rating:

71 (253 votes)

Comments:

269.

Suzanne Vega

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

175 charts

Rank Score:

986

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

269

Overall Rank:

1,716

Average Rating:

75 (196 votes)

Comments:

270.

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

216 charts

Rank Score:

984

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

270

Overall Rank:

1,719

Average Rating:

74 (288 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 27 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	118	12%
1981	121	12%
1982	107	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	103	10%
1985	79	8%
1986	95	10%
1987	88	9%
1988	96	10%
1989	96	10%

Artist	Albums	%

The Cure	10	1%
Rush	8	1%
Depeche Mode	8	1%
Iron Maiden	8	1%
The Smiths	8	1%
Talking Heads	7	1%
U2	7	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	415	41%
	392	39%
	39	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	970	97%
Yes	31	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	11	1%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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