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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361.

Streetcleaner

Godflesh

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

98 charts

Rank Score:

686

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

361

Overall Rank:

2,337

Average Rating:

75 (109 votes)

Comments:

362.

Foreigner

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

175 charts

Rank Score:

685

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

362

Overall Rank:

2,338

Average Rating:

72 (217 votes)

Comments:

363.

Doc At The Radar Station

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

107 charts

Rank Score:

683

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

363

Overall Rank:

2,348

Average Rating:

75 (137 votes)

Comments:

364.

Crowded House

Year of Release:

1986

Appears in:

175 charts

Rank Score:

679

Rank in 1986:

Rank in 1980s:

364

Overall Rank:

2,357

Average Rating:

74 (209 votes)

Comments:

365.

Grace Under Pressure

Rush

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

155 charts

Rank Score:

672

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

365

Overall Rank:

2,375

Average Rating:

77 (256 votes)

Comments:

366.

Beauty And The Beat

Go-Go's

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

185 charts

Rank Score:

671

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

366

Overall Rank:

2,379

Average Rating:

75 (170 votes)

Comments:

367.

Nail

Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

115 charts

Rank Score:

671

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

367

Overall Rank:

2,380

Average Rating:

75 (129 votes)

Comments:

368.

Super Trouper

ABBA

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

144 charts

Rank Score:

668

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

368

Overall Rank:

2,392

Average Rating:

72 (187 votes)

Comments:

369.

Controversy

Prince

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

167 charts

Rank Score:

665

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

369

Overall Rank:

2,402

Average Rating:

75 (239 votes)

Comments:

370.

La Voce Del Padrone

Franco Battiato

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

70 charts

Rank Score:

663

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

370

Overall Rank:

2,415

Average Rating:

77 (88 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 37 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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