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	2,209	192,901	Remain In Light (26th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,246	120,613	Moving Pictures (157th)by Rush
1982	2,207	147,283	Thriller (73rd)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,223	135,063	Murmur (138th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,203	169,467	Purple Rain (79th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,234	143,246	Hounds Of Love (56th)by Kate Bush
1986	2,345	168,495	The Queen Is Dead (17th)by The Smiths
1987	2,559	160,597	The Joshua Tree (52nd)by U2
1988	2,662	151,541	Daydream Nation (72nd)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,690	195,968	Doolittle (19th)by Pixies
Total	23,578	1,585,176

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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21.

Sign "O" The Times

Prince

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

861 charts

Rank Score:

9,286

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

168

Average Rating:

81 (927 votes)

Comments:

22.

Ride The Lightning

Metallica

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

886 charts

Rank Score:

9,235

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

170

Average Rating:

84 (1,337 votes)

Comments:

23.

The Smiths

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

958 charts

Rank Score:

8,514

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

184

Average Rating:

83 (1,459 votes)

Comments:

24.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

905 charts

Rank Score:

8,249

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

193

Average Rating:

78 (1,309 votes)

Comments:

25.

Violent Femmes

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

894 charts

Rank Score:

8,026

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

204

Average Rating:

81 (983 votes)

Comments:

26.

Let It Be

The Replacements

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

814 charts

Rank Score:

7,783

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

211

Average Rating:

82 (922 votes)

Comments:

27.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

842 charts

Rank Score:

7,448

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

221

Average Rating:

78 (1,155 votes)

Comments:

28.

Peter Gabriel

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

790 charts

Rank Score:

7,268

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

231

Average Rating:

80 (911 votes)

Comments:

29.

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

839 charts

Rank Score:

7,074

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

237

Average Rating:

80 (992 votes)

Comments:

30.

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

854 charts

Rank Score:

7,059

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

238

Average Rating:

82 (1,021 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 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	94	9%
1987	88	9%
1988	96	10%
1989	96	10%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	415	42%
	392	39%
	39	4%
	26	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	969	97%
Yes	31	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	11	1%

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

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