Best Rock Albums From The Year 1980

Photo: Luuz Ottazu / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Our Best Rock Albums From The Year 1980 is the first part of a series that will examine the best albums of every year of the decade of the 1980s. Our series on the best classic rock albums of the 1970s went extremely well so we decided to cover each year of the 1980s. After we are done with the 1980s, we will turn our attention to the 1960s. That will be a fun ride. In the end, we will probably cover every decade’s best albums and then turn to the songs.

Our Best Rock Albums From The Year 1980 is divided into three sections. The first section is split into two parts. Our top 50 albums of the Year 1980 are defined by what we believe were the albums that had the most impact commercially and artistically while setting new trends or continuing already established trends at very high levels. There were hundreds of records released in 1980 that we would have loved to put on the Top 50 list, but the room just does not allow for it. As far as the order goes, the albums listed from fifty to eleven are pretty much in random order. It’s kind of hard to rank 40 albums as there are just too many variables.

However, our top 10 is our definite top 10. It showcases the albums that we believe defined the best records of 1980. The Top 10 is of course subjective, but in many ways also lends itself to objectivity. These were albums that had a huge impact on music culture and society. Their impact was felt immediately and also continued onward inspiring new acts.

The third part of our Best Albums of the year 1980 list is represented by all the other great albums that we did not cast onto our top 50. The albums are listed chronologically by the months they were released throughout the year. There are many great ones there that we know readers will argue should have been on the top 50 list or even in the top 10. But then we always ask “so which ones do we pull out.” Tough choices. We hope you enjoy the read. In the end its just about having fun and waking up some memories for us all folks and turning the younger people onto music they may not be aware of.

Best Rock Albums From The Year 1980

# 50 – Argybargy  – Squeeze

# 49 – Seconds of Pleasure – Rockpile

# 48 – 21 at 33 – Elton John

# 47 – McCartney II – Paul McCartney

# 46 – Glass Houses – Billy Joel

# 45 – Flesh and Blood – Roxy Music

# 44 – Los Angeles – X

# 43 – Hi Infidelity – RE0 Speedwagon

# 42 – Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden

# 41 – Animal Magnetism – Scorpions

# 40 – Get Happy – Elvis Costello

# 39 – Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School – Warren Zevon

# 38 – Empty Glass – Pete Townshend

# 37 – Sandinista! – The Clash

# 36 – All Shook Up – Cheap Trick

# 35 – Hypnotised – The Undertones

# 34 – Rockin’ into the Night – 38 Special

# 33 – Mad Love – Linda Ronstadt

# 32 – One Step Closer – The Doobie Brothers

# 31 – Boy’s Don’t Cry –The Cure

# 30 – Peter Gabriel III – Peter Gabriel

# 29 – Making Movies – Dire Straits

# 28 – Hold Out – Jackson Browne

# 27 – Heartattack and Vine – Tom Waits

# 26 – Dirty Mind – Prince

# 25 – Bad Reputation – Joan Jett

# 24 – One Trick Pony – Paul Simon

# 23 – Departure – Journey

# 22 – The Pretenders – The Pretenders

# 21 – Bebe le Strange – Heart

# 20 – Danger Zone – Sammy Hagar

# 19 – Against The Wind – Bob Seger

# 18 – Love Stinks – The J.Geils Band

# 17 – Emotional Rescue – The Rolling Stones

# 16 – End of the Century – The Ramones

# 15 – Blizzard Of Oz – Ozzy Osbourne

# 14 – The Game – Queen

# 13 – Heaven and Hell – Black Sabbath

# 12 – Crimes of Passion – Pat Benatar

# 11 – Woman and Children First – Van Halen

# 10 – British Steel – Judas Priest

#  9 – Ace of Spades – Motorhead

#  8 – Permanent Waves – Rush

#  7 – Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) – David Bowie

#  6 – Zenyatta Mondatta – The Police

#  5 – Double Fantasy – John Lennon

#  4 – Gaucho – Steely Dan

#  3 – The River – Bruce Springsteen

#  2 – Boy – U2

#  1 – Back In Black – AC/DC

More Fantastic Classic Rock Albums Released in 1980

These are listed in chronological order in which they came out throughout the year

Best Rock Albums – January 1980

The Romantics –The Romantics

Voices – Hall & Oates

The Age of Plastic – The Buggles

God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners – Robert Fripp

No Place to Run – UFO

Union Jacks – The Babys

Best Rock Albums – February 197

Bryan Adams – Bryan Adams

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Conquest  – Uriah Heep

Soldier – Iggy Pop

Willie Nile – Willie Nile

Best Rock Albums – March 1980

Sequel – Harry Chapin

Progressions of Power – Triumph

Welcome To The Club – Ian Hunter

Let the Music Do the Talking – Joe Perry Project

Best Rock Albums – April 1980

Solo in Soho – Phil Lynott

Flush the Fashion – Alice Cooper

Go to Heaven – Grateful Dead

Middle Man – Boz Scaggs

Best Rock Albums – May 1980

The Up Escalator – Graham Parker

Tight Shoes – Foghat

Songs the Lord Taught Us – The Cramps

Best Rock Albums – June 1980

Cultösaurus Erectus – Blue Oyster Cult

Saved – Bob Dylan

Huey Lewis and the News – Huey Lewis and the News

True Colours – Split Enz

There & Back – Jeff Beck

Tomcattin’ – Blackfoot

Best Rock Albums – July 1980

Back on the Streets – Donnie Iris

Closer – Joy Division

Crocodiles – Echo & The Bunnymen

Chicago XIV – Chicago

Full Moon – Charlie Daniels Band

Voices – Hall & Oates

Playing For Keeps – Eddie Money

Best Rock Albums – August 1980

Kaleidoscope – Siouxsie & the Banshees

Alibi – America

Panorama – The Cars

Wild Planet – The B-52’s

A – Jethro Tull

Drama – Yes

Common One – Van Morrison

The Michael Schenker Group – Michael Schenker Group

Doc at the Radar Station – Captain Beefheart

Reach for the Sky – The Allman Brothers Band

Best Rock Albums – September 1980

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables – Dead Kennedys

Never for Ever – Kate Bush

Black Sea – XTC

Nothin’ Matters and What If It Did – John Cougar

Deface The Music – Utopia

Hotter Than July – Stevie Wonder

Audio-Visions – Kansas

Beatin’ the Odds – Molly Hatchet

Clues – Robert Palmer

Best Rock Albums – October 1980

Killing Joke – Killing Joke

Remain in Light – Talking Heads

Chinatown – Thin Lizzy

INXS – INXS

Beat Crazy – Joe Jackson

More George Thorogood and the Destroyers – George Thorogood and the Destroyers

Ultra Wave – Bootsy Collins

Best Rock Albums – November 1980

Stage Struck – Rory Gallagher

Hawks & Doves – Neil Young

The Jazz Singer – Neil Diamond

Kings of the Wild Frontier – Adam & The Ants

Song of Seven – Jon Anderson

Autoamerican – Blondie

Yesshows – Yes

The Turn of a Friendly Card – The Alan Parsons Project

Best Rock Albums – December 1980

Arc of a Diver – Steve Winwood

Flash Gordon – Queen

Live – Fleetwood Mac

UPDATED MAY 4, 2023

Best Rock Albums From The Year 1980 article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

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