Best Albums of 1986

Listed below are the best albums of 1986 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
summaryThe best artists of 1986 were The Smiths, Metallica, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Talk Talk, Slayer, R.E.M., Beastie Boys and Depeche Mode.
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
283
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
282
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
73.
The Whole Story 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
279
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
279
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
274
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
272
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
261
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
251
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
245
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
80.
Misfits 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
235
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 8 of 100

Best Albums of 1986 composition

Country Albums %


United States 383 38%
United Kingdom 264 26%
Germany 46 5%
Mixed Nationality 43 4%
Japan 30 3%
Australia 28 3%
France 23 2%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 916 91%
Yes 87 9%
Live? Albums %
No 969 97%
Yes 34 3%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 983 98%
Yes 20 2%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
3. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
4. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
5. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
6. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
7. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
8. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
9. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
10. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
11. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
12. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
13. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
14. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
15. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
16. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
17. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
18. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
19. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
20. Los 30 mejores discos de la década de 2010 by Esquire España (2023)
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