Best Albums of 1981

Listed below are the best albums of 1981 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1981 year summaryThe best artists of 1981 were Rush, Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Electric Light Orchestra, The Human League, The Cure, 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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
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:
4
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 94 of 100

Best Albums of 1981 composition

Country Albums %


United States 313 31%
United Kingdom 279 28%
Germany 60 6%
Mixed Nationality 38 4%
Australia 35 3%
France 29 3%
Japan 28 3%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 940 94%
Yes 61 6%
Live? Albums %
No 970 97%
Yes 31 3%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 992 99%
Yes 9 1%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
3. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
4. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
5. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
6. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
7. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
8. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
9. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
10. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
11. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
12. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (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. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
17. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)
18. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
19. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
20. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
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