Best Albums of the 1980s

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

Listed below are the best albums of the 1980s 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 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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851.

Paris, Texas
Soundtrack

Ry Cooder

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

62 charts

Rank Score:

232

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

851

Overall Rank:

5,730

Average Rating:

76 (62 votes)

Comments:

852.

Open Up And Say...Ahh!!!

Poison

Year of Release:

1988

Appears in:

64 charts

Rank Score:

231

Rank in 1988:

Rank in 1980s:

852

Overall Rank:

5,735

Average Rating:

63 (91 votes)

Comments:

853.

You And Me Both

Yazoo

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

44 charts

Rank Score:

231

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

853

Overall Rank:

5,739

Average Rating:

72 (49 votes)

Comments:

854.

Bass Culture

Linton Kwesi Johnson

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

57 charts

Rank Score:

231

Rank in 1980:

Rank in 1980s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

855.

Too Low For Zero

Elton John

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

89 charts

Rank Score:

231

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

855

Overall Rank:

5,748

Average Rating:

69 (139 votes)

Comments:

856.

Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

Megadeth

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

68 charts

Rank Score:

231

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

856

Overall Rank:

5,755

Average Rating:

72 (153 votes)

Comments:

857.

Silvertone

Chris Isaak

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

49 charts

Rank Score:

230

Rank in 1985:

Rank in 1980s:

857

Overall Rank:

5,770

Average Rating:

70 (71 votes)

Comments:

858.

Confusion Is Sex

Sonic Youth

Year of Release:

1983

Appears in:

92 charts

Rank Score:

230

Rank in 1983:

Rank in 1980s:

858

Overall Rank:

5,773

Average Rating:

71 (170 votes)

Comments:

859.

L'Eau Rouge

The Young Gods

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

229

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

859

Overall Rank:

5,781

Average Rating:

71 (35 votes)

Comments:

860.

Shahen-Shah

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

25 charts

Rank Score:

229

Rank in 1989:

Rank in 1980s:

860

Overall Rank:

5,786

Average Rating:

77 (34 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 86 of 100

Best Albums of the 1980s composition

Year	Albums	%

1980	119	12%
1981	120	12%
1982	107	11%
1983	99	10%
1984	101	10%
1985	81	8%
1986	97	10%
1987	87	9%
1988	95	10%
1989	94	9%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	418	42%
	389	39%
	40	4%
	27	3%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	966	97%
Yes	34	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

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