Top 60 Albums Of The 1980s

Top 60 Albums Of The 1980s

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A list by
nonZero
Created
February 10, 2025
Entries
60
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Here are the 80s albums that have stood out and made the largest impact on me. To be as transparent as possible, I've labelled albums as 'nostalgia bias' where my memories of the band give it an advantage over others.

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here. There are a ton of albums that I've rated 9/10 in the 'TBR' tab that may never make it to this list, be sure to check those out.)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of 80s metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)
60.
1.
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
10/10 · Thrash Metal · 1986
60.
2.
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
9.88/10 · Thrash Metal · 1984
60.
3.
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
9.81/10 · Heavy Metal · 1988
60.
4.
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
9.78/10 · Thrash Metal · 1988
60.
5.
Slayer - Reign In Blood
9.65/10 · Thrash Metal · 1986
60.
6.
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
9.50/10 · Heavy Metal · 1984
60.
7.
Testament - The New Order
9.39/10 (excluding track 8) · Thrash Metal · 1988
60.
8.
Rush - Moving Pictures
9.36/10 · Progressive Rock · 1981
60.
9.
Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
9.25/10 · Progressive Metal · 1988
60.
10.
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
9.25/10 · Heavy Metal · 1980
60.
11.
Warlord - And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun...
9.25/10 · Heavy Metal · 1984
60.
12.
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
9.21/10 · Hard Rock · 1987
60.
13.
AC/DC - Back In Black
9.20/10 · Hard Rock · 1980
60.
14.
King Diamond - Abigail
9.19/10 · Heavy Metal · 1987
60.
15.
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
9.19/10 · Heavy Metal · 1982
60.
16.
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
9.11/10 · Death Metal · 1989
60.
17.
Anthrax - Among The Living
9.11/10 · Thrash Metal · 1987
60.
18.
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien
9.10/10 · Instrumental Hard Rock · 1987
60.
19.
Accept - Restless And Wild
9.10/10 · Heavy Metal · 1982
60.
20.
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
9.10/10 (nostalgia bias) · Industrial Metal · 1989
60.
21.
Coroner - Punishment For Decadence
9.06/10 (excluding track 10) · Technical Thrash Metal · 1988
60.
22.
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
9.06/10 · Heavy Metal · 1984
60.
23.
Coroner - No More Color
9.00/10 · Technical Thrash Metal · 1989
60.
24.
Slayer - South Of Heaven
9.00/10 · Thrash Metal · 1988
60.
25.
W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children
9.00/10 · Heavy Metal · 1989
60.
26.
Toxik - Think This
8.95/10 · Technical Thrash Metal · 1989
60.
27.
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz
8.94/10 · Heavy Metal · 1980
60.
28.
Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
8.93/10 (excluding track 7) · Thrash Metal · 1986
60.
29.
Aria - Игра С Огнём
8.93/10 · Heavy Metal · 1989
60.
30.
Dio - Holy Diver
8.89/10 · Heavy Metal · 1983
60.
31.
Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn
8.88/10 · Instrumental Progressive Metal · 1988
60.
32.
Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence
8.88/10 · Thrash Metal · 1987
60.
33.
Kreator - Terrible Certainty
8.88/10 · Thrash Metal · 1987
60.
34.
Faith No More - The Real Thing
8.86/10 · Alternative Metal · 1989
60.
35.
Accept - Balls To The Wall
8.85/10 · Heavy Metal · 1983
60.
36.
Toxik - World Circus
8.85/10 · Technical Thrash Metal · 1987
60.
37.
Candlemass - Nightfall
8.83/10 · Epic Doom Metal · 1987
60.
38.
King Diamond - Conspiracy
8.81/10 · Heavy Metal · 1989
60.
39.
Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith
8.80/10 · Heavy Metal · 1984
60.
40.
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
8.75/10 · Epic Doom Metal · 1986
60.
41.
Forbidden - Forbidden Evil
8.75/10 · Thrash Metal · 1988
60.
42.
Annihilator - Alice In Hell
8.75/10 · Thrash Metal · 1989
60.
43.
Anthrax - Spreading The Disease
8.72/10 · Thrash Metal · 1985
60.
44.
Dio - The Last In Line
8.72/10 · Heavy Metal · 1984
60.
45.
Deathrow - Deception Ignored
8.71/10 · Technical Thrash Metal · 1989
60.
46.
Crimson Glory - Transcendence
8.70/10 · Heavy Metal · 1988
60.
47.
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
8.69/10 · Death Metal · 1989
60.
48.
Aria - Герой Асфальта
8.67/10 · Heavy Metal · 1987
60.
49.
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
8.64/10 · Heavy Metal · 1983
60.
50.
Sodom - Persecution Mania
8.63/10 (excluding track 3) · Thrash Metal · 1987
60.
51.
Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
8.63/10 · Progressive Metal · 1988
60.
52.
Sodom - Agent Orange
8.63/10 · Thrash Metal · 1989
60.
53.
Terrorizer - World Downfall
8.63/10 · Grindcore · 1989
60.
54.
Testament - The Legacy
8.61/10 · Thrash Metal · 1987
60.
55.
Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory
8.56/10 · Heavy Metal · 1986
60.
56.
Flotsam And Jetsam - No Place For Disgrace
8.56/10 (excluding track 5) · Thrash Metal · 1988
60.
57.
Scorpions - Love At First Sting
8.56/10 · Hard Rock · 1984
60.
58.
Running Wild - Port Royal
8.55/10 · Heavy Metal · 1988
60.
59.
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
8.50/10 · Heavy Metal · 1986
60.
60.
Helloween - Walls Of Jericho
8.50/10 · Power Metal · 1985
Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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