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.
19802,214192,954
19812,256120,795
19822,220147,836
19832,236135,114
Murmur (140th)by R.E.M.
19842,211169,147
19852,234143,417
19862,349168,872
19872,564160,485
19882,673151,482
19892,697195,794
Total23,6541,585,894

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:
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:
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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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:
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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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
188
Rank in 1987:
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%
Iron Maiden 8 1%
Depeche Mode 8 1%
The Smiths 8 1%
Rush 8 1%
R.E.M. 7 1%
The Fall 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 Albums of the 1970s
1. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
2. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
3. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
4. Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin
5. London Calling by The Clash
6. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
7. The Wall by Pink Floyd
8. Animals by Pink Floyd
9. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
10. Who's Next by The Who
11. Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan
12. Exile On Main St. by The Rolling Stones
13. Marquee Moon by Television
14. Hunky Dory by David Bowie
15. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye
16. Pink Moon by Nick Drake
17. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
18. Low by David Bowie
19. Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
20. Blue by Joni Mitchell
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