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.
19802,211192,921
19812,252120,543
19822,215147,469
19832,233134,895
Murmur (140th)by R.E.M.
19842,210169,451
19852,233143,343
19862,348168,575
19872,562160,353
19882,668151,463
19892,695195,902
Total23,6271,584,915

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:
328
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:
327
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
327
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
644.
Snap! 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
327
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
327
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
324
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
324
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
324
Rank in 1984:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
321
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
320
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 65 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 118 12%
1981 121 12%
1982 110 11%
1983 97 10%
1984 104 10%
1985 79 8%
1986 95 10%
1987 88 9%
1988 94 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%
The Fall 7 1%
R.E.M. 7 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 416 42%
United States 392 39%
Australia 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 28 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Argentina 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 970 97%
Yes 32 3%
Live? Albums %
No 979 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 991 99%
Yes 11 1%
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