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.
19802,211192,928
19812,248120,593
19822,210147,329
19832,229134,942
Murmur (139th)by R.E.M.
19842,208169,250
19852,233143,208
19862,346168,361
19872,560160,338
19882,665151,337
19892,693195,757
Total23,6031,584,042

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:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
238
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
238
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
238
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
237
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
237
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
237
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
237
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
236
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
236
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
235
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 84 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year Albums %


1980 118 12%
1981 121 12%
1982 107 11%
1983 99 10%
1984 103 10%
1985 79 8%
1986 94 9%
1987 88 9%
1988 95 10%
1989 96 10%
Artist Albums %


The Cure 10 1%
Iron Maiden 8 1%
Depeche Mode 8 1%
The Smiths 8 1%
Rush 8 1%
R.E.M. 7 1%
Talking Heads 7 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 416 42%
United States 392 39%
Australia 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 27 3%
Canada 23 2%
Germany 22 2%
Argentina 12 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 969 97%
Yes 31 3%
Live? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 11 1%
Popular  Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
3. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
4. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
5. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
6. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
7. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
8. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
9. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
10. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
11. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
12. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
13. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
14. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
15. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
16. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
17. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
18. The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time (1-100) by Paste (2024)
19. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
20. Los 48 mejores discos de la historia by Esquire España (2022)
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