Top Albums of 1980





Rank All Time Rank Artist Album Genres
1
37
Talking Heads Remain in Light New Wave, Post-Punk
2
55
Joy Division Closer Post-Punk
3
116
AC/DC Back in Black Hard Rock
4
153
Pretenders Pretenders New Wave
5
306
Bruce Springsteen The River Heartland Rock, Pop Rock, Singer/Songwriter
6
419
Prince Dirty Mind Pop Rock, Synth Funk
7
420
Dexys Midnight Runners Searching for the Young Soul Rebels Blue Eyed Soul, New Wave
8
421
Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables Hardcore Punk
9
458
The Clash Sandinista! Punk Rock
10
459
X Los Angeles Punk Rock
11
501
David Bowie Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) Art Rock, Pop Rock
12
537
Elvis Costello and The Attractions Get Happy!! New Wave, Pop Rock
13
543
The Feelies Crazy Rhythms New Wave, Post-Punk
14
637
Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth Post-Punk
15
649
Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel (III) Art Rock
16
682
Motörhead Ace of Spades Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
17
699
The Cure Seventeen Seconds Gothic Rock, Post-Punk
18
780
The Jam Sound Affects Mod Revival, New Wave, Post-Punk
19
878
The Cramps Songs the Lord Taught Us Garage Punk, Psychobilly
20
980
Fehlfarben Monarchie und Alltag Neue Deutsche Welle, Post-Punk
21
1019
U2 Boy Post-Punk
22
1056
Echo and the Bunnymen Crocodiles Post-Punk
23
1104
The Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight Jangle Pop, Neo-Psychedelia
24
1105
The Police Zenyatta Mondatta New Wave, Pop Rock
25
1120
Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
26
1153
Diana Ross Diana Disco
27
1215
The Specials More Specials 2 Tone
28
1218
John Lennon & Yoko Ono Double Fantasy Pop Rock
29
1226
Killing Joke Killing Joke Post-Punk
30
1349
Judas Priest British Steel Heavy Metal
31
1352
The Beat I Just Can't Stop It 2 Tone, New Wave
32
1447
Magazine The Correct Use of Soap New Wave, Post-Punk
33
1485
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden NWOBHM
34
1528
The Teardrop Explodes Kilimanjaro New Wave, Post-Punk
35
1560
Dire Straits Making Movies Pop Rock
36
1650
Adam and The Ants Kings of the Wild Frontier New Wave
37
1676
Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
38
1700
Bauhaus In the Flat Field Gothic Rock, Post-Punk
39
1731
Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band Doc at the Radar Station Art Rock, Experimental Rock
40
1892
Linton Kwesi Johnson Bass Culture Dub Poetry
41
2002
UB40 Signing Off Reggae
42
2168
Tom Waits Heartattack and Vine Blues Rock, Singer/Songwriter
43
2179
The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers Film Soundtrack, Rhythm & Blues
44
2198
Bob Marley and The Wailers Uprising Roots Reggae
45
2282
Rockpile Seconds of Pleasure Power Pop, Pub Rock
46
2306
Stevie Wonder Hotter Than July Pop Soul
47
2359
XTC Black Sea New Wave, Pop Rock, Post-Punk
48
2363
Steely Dan Gaucho Jazz-Rock, Pop Rock
49
2504
Pete Townshend Empty Glass Pop Rock
50
2721
Suicide Alan Vega/Martin Rev - Suicide Synth Punk, Synthpop
51
2755
David Murray Ming Avant-Garde Jazz
52
2798
The Residents Commercial Album Art Pop, Satire
53
2836
Rush Permanent Waves Hard Rock, Progressive Rock
54
2849
Ultravox Vienna New Romantic, Synthpop
55
2882
Half Japanese 1/2 Gentlemen / Not Beasts Experimental Rock, Noise Rock, Punk Rock
56
2920
Cold Chisel East Pub Rock
57
2980
The Jacksons Triumph Pop Soul, Synth Funk
58
2994
Steve Winwood Arc of a Diver Pop Rock

Albums "bubbling under" the all-time top 3000:
Squeeze Argybargy Power Pop
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Joan Jett/Bad Reputation Garage Rock, Hard Rock
John Foxx Metamatic Synthpop
The Sound Jeopardy Post-Punk
Mink DeVille Le Chat Bleu Pop Rock
George Jones I Am What I Am Nashville Sound
Nacha Pop Nacha Pop New Wave, Pop Rock
Art Ensemble of Chicago Full Force Avant-Garde Jazz
The B-52's Wild Planet New Wave
The Undertones Hypnotised Pop Punk
Pat Metheny 80/81 Jazz
Emmylou Harris Roses in the Snow Country
Durutti Column The Return of The Durutti Column Art Rock, Post-Punk
Ramones End of the Century Punk Rock
Devo Freedom of Choice New Wave
Tuxedomoon Half Mute Experimental Rock, Post-Punk
The Fall Grotesque (After the Gramme) Post-Punk
Barbra Streisand Guilty Adult Contemporary
The Jim Carroll Band Catholic Boy New Wave
Madness Absolutely 2 Tone, Pop
Siouxsie and The Banshees Kaleidoscope Post-Punk
Nic Jones Penguin Eggs Contemporary Folk, English Folk Music, Singer/Songwriter
Smokey Robinson Warm Thoughts Soul
Yello Solid Pleasure Experimental, Synthpop
Simple Minds Empires and Dance New Wave, Post-Punk
Defunkt Defunkt Jazz-Funk
Chic Real People Disco, Funk
James Brown Soul Syndrome Soul
Black Uhuru Sinsemilla Roots Reggae
Donna Summer The Wanderer Pop Soul
Swell Maps Jane from Occupied Europe Art Punk, Post-Punk
The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs Post-Punk
Kate Bush Never for Ever Art Pop
Harold Budd and Brian Eno Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror Ambient
Carla Bley Social Studies Jazz
Wipers Is This Real? Punk Rock
Japan Gentlemen Take Polaroids Art Pop, New Romantic
Robert Nighthawk Live on Maxwell Street 1964/And This Is Maxwell Street Blues
Colin Newman A-Z Post-Punk