Best Albums of the 1980s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 55,000 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	2,223	192,150	Remain In Light (26th)by Talking Heads
1981	2,263	120,306	Moving Pictures (156th)by Rush
1982	2,231	147,357	Thriller (71st)by Michael Jackson
1983	2,245	134,601	Murmur (139th)by R.E.M.
1984	2,218	169,097	Purple Rain (77th)by Prince And The Revolution
1985	2,239	143,024	Hounds Of Love (53rd)by Kate Bush
1986	2,354	168,338	The Queen Is Dead (16th)by The Smiths
1987	2,571	159,936	The Joshua Tree (51st)by U2
1988	2,677	150,978	Daydream Nation (73rd)by Sonic Youth
1989	2,708	195,164	Doolittle (19th)by Pixies
Total	23,729	1,580,952

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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991.

In God We Trust, Inc

Dead Kennedys

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

49 charts

Rank Score:

190

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

992.

Friday The 13th
Live

The Playn Jayn

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

189

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

993.

Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter III

Prince Far I & The Arabs

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

29 charts

Rank Score:

189

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

994.

The Only Fun In Town

Josef K

Year of Release:

1981

Appears in:

53 charts

Rank Score:

189

Rank in 1981:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

995.

Live... In The Heart Of The City
Live

Whitesnake

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

188

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

996.

Nena

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

35 charts

Rank Score:

188

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

996

Overall Rank:

6,816

Average Rating:

72 (39 votes)

Comments:

997.

Vengeance

New Model Army

Year of Release:

1984

Appears in:

28 charts

Rank Score:

188

Rank in 1984:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

998.

Clan Of Xymox

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

188

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

998

Overall Rank:

6,831

Average Rating:

77 (35 votes)

Comments:

999.

Earth, Sun, Moon

Love And Rockets

Year of Release:

1987

Appears in:

50 charts

Rank Score:

188

Rank in 1987:

Rank in 1980s:

999

Overall Rank:

6,833

Average Rating:

74 (64 votes)

Comments:

1000.

Runaway Horses

Belinda Carlisle

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

37 charts

Rank Score:

188

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

1,000

Overall Rank:

6,835

Average Rating:

74 (42 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	119	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	108	11%
1983	98	10%
1984	103	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	97	10%
1987	87	9%
1988	92	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	%

	420	42%
	390	39%
	39	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	968	97%
Yes	33	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	23	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	12	1%

« View best albums of the 1970sView best albums of the 1990s »

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Best Artists of 1963
1. Charles Mingus
2. Bob Dylan
3. The Beatles
4. James Brown
5. Sam Cooke
6. Thelonious Monk
7. The Thelonious Monk Quartet
8. The Beach Boys
9. Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
10. Duke Ellington / Charlie Mingus / Max Roach
11. John Coltrane
12. Jorge Ben
13. Kenny Burrell
14. The Oscar Peterson Trio
15. Oscar Peterson
16. Roy Orbison
17. John Coltrane Quartet
18. Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
19. Herbert Von Karajan / Berliner Philharmoniker
20. John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman