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.
19802,211192,928
19812,248120,593
19822,210147,329
19832,229134,942
Murmur (139th)by R.E.M.
19842,208169,250
19852,233143,208
19862,346168,361
19872,560160,338
19882,665151,337
19892,693195,757
Total23,6031,584,042

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:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
190
Rank in 1987:
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:
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:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1987:
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:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
189
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1988:
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:
188
Rank in 1988:
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 107 11%
1983 99 10%
1984 103 10%
1985 79 8%
1986 94 9%
1987 88 9%
1988 95 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 %


United Kingdom 416 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 969 97%
Yes 31 3%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 11 1%
Recognised  Year Charts (2023)
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4. Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023 by The Quietus (2023)
5. Best Albums of 2023 by Norman Records (2023)
6. Loud And Quiet Albums of the Year 2023 by Loud And Quiet (2023)
7. The 50 Best Albums of 2023 by Treble (2023)
8. The 50 Best Albums Of 2023 by Pitchfork (2023)
9. The 10 Best Global Music Albums Of 2023 by PopMatters (2023)
10. KCRW's Best Albums of 2023 by KCRW (2023)
11. The 30 best albums of 2023 by Time Out (2023)
12. The 80 Best Albums Of 2023 by PopMatters (2023)
13. The best albums of 2023 by Independent (2023)
14. The 20 Best Albums of 2023 by Esquire (2023)
15. Louder Than War Albums Of 2023 by Louder Than War (2023)
16. Top 100 Albums of 2023 by Piccadilly Records (2023)
17. The Top 50 Albums of the Year by Crack Magazine (2023)
18. BrooklynVegan's Top 55 Albums of 2023 by BrooklynVegan (2023)
19. The 20 best albums of 2023 by Dazed (2023)
20. NME Albums Of The Year 2023 by New Music Express (2023)
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