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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451.

The House Of Love

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

101 charts

Rank Score:

522

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

451

Overall Rank:

2,915

Average Rating:

75 (105 votes)

Comments:

452.

Heyday

The Church

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

84 charts

Rank Score:

520

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

452

Overall Rank:

2,920

Average Rating:

78 (95 votes)

Comments:

453.

Boys And Girls

Bryan Ferry

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

105 charts

Rank Score:

518

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

453

Overall Rank:

2,927

Average Rating:

75 (121 votes)

Comments:

454.

G N' R Lies

Guns N' Roses

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

142 charts

Rank Score:

517

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

454

Overall Rank:

2,929

Average Rating:

71 (318 votes)

Comments:

455.

Signing Off

UB40

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

98 charts

Rank Score:

517

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

455

Overall Rank:

2,930

Average Rating:

73 (121 votes)

Comments:

456.

Diana

Diana Ross

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

138 charts

Rank Score:

514

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

456

Overall Rank:

2,945

Average Rating:

77 (108 votes)

Comments:

457.

In My Tribe

10,000 Maniacs

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

130 charts

Rank Score:

512

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

457

Overall Rank:

2,948

Average Rating:

74 (151 votes)

Comments:

458.

Telekon

Gary Numan

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

71 charts

Rank Score:

510

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

458

Overall Rank:

2,951

Average Rating:

74 (88 votes)

Comments:

459.

Live After Death
Live

Iron Maiden

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

120 charts

Rank Score:

507

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

459

Overall Rank:

2,966

Average Rating:

80 (201 votes)

Comments:

460.

Strictly Business

EPMD

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

136 charts

Rank Score:

507

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

460

Overall Rank:

2,967

Average Rating:

77 (110 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 46 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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