Best Albums of 1981

Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
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Year:
summaryThe best artists of 1981 were Rush, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Electric Light Orchestra, The Cure, The Human League, Black Flag and This Heat.
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
362
Rank in 1981:
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:
354
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
354
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
343
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
324
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
321
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
303
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
301
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
298
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
297
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 8 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Country Albums %


United States 315 32%
United Kingdom 276 28%
Germany 61 6%
Mixed Nationality 38 4%
Australia 36 4%
Japan 30 3%
France 29 3%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 939 94%
Yes 61 6%
Live? Albums %
No 970 97%
Yes 30 3%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 991 99%
Yes 9 1%
Best Artists of 1978
1. Bruce Springsteen
2. Blondie
3. The Cars
4. Elvis Costello
5. Kraftwerk
6. Van Halen
7. Kate Bush
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Steve Reich
10. Talking Heads
11. Dire Straits
12. Rush
13. Pere Ubu
14. Big Star
15. The Police
16. Wire
17. The Jam
18. Devo
19. AC/DC
20. Magazine
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