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.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
981
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
969
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
966
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
960
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
960
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
953
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
952
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
949
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
943
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
943
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 28 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 120 12%
1981 120 12%
1982 107 11%
1983 99 10%
1984 101 10%
1985 81 8%
1986 98 10%
1987 86 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 967 97%
Yes 34 3%
Live? Albums %
No 979 98%
Yes 22 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Artists of 2015
1. Kendrick Lamar
2. Sufjan Stevens
3. Tame Impala
4. Father John Misty
5. Grimes
6. Courtney Barnett
7. Carly Rae Jepsen
8. Beach House
9. Steven Wilson
10. Kamasi Washington
11. Julia Holter
12. Jamie xx
13. Björk
14. Joanna Newsom
15. Blur
16. Death Grips
17. Travis Scott
18. Viet Cong
19. Preoccupations
20. Everything Everything
Back to Top