⇦ 1979

1981 ⇨

The Best Music of 1980

Here is a selection of the best albums and songs from 1980. Hall of Famers are highlighted in orange.

For a list of the top artists who made their debut recording in 1980, check out this list.

Albums (?)		Wikipedia
ABBA	Super Trouper	☆
AC/DC	Back In Black	☆
Adam and the Ants	Kings of the Wild Frontier	☆
Air Supply	Lost in Love	☆
Barbra Streisand	Guilty	☆
Bauhaus	In The Flat Field	☆
Billy Joel	Glass Houses	☆
Black Sabbath	Heaven and Hell	☆
Blondie	Autoamerican	☆
Bob Marley & the Wailers	Uprising	☆
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band	Against the Wind	☆
Boz Scaggs	Middle Man	☆
Bread & Butter	Monday Morning	☆
Bruce Cockburn	Humans	☆
Bruce Springsteen	The River	☆
Cabaret Voltaire	The Voice of America	☆
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band	Doc at the Radar Station	☆
Carly Simon	Come Upstairs	☆
Chic	Real People	☆
David Bowie	Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)	☆
Dead Kennedys	Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables	☆
Devo	Freedom Of Choice	☆
Dexy's Midnight Runners	Searching For Young Soul Rebels	☆
Diana Ross	Diana	☆
Dire Straits	Making Movies	☆
Dolly Parton	9 to 5 and Odd Jobs	☆
Donna Summer	The Wanderer	☆
Echo & The Bunnymen	Crocodiles	☆
Elvis Costello & The Attractions	Get Happy!!	☆
Emmylou Harris	Roses in the Snow	☆
English Beat	I Just Can't Stop It	☆
Genesis	Duke	☆
George Benson	Give Me the Night	☆
George Jones	I Am What I Am	☆
Giorgio Moroder	American Gigolo	☆
Grace Jones	Warm Leatherette	☆
Grateful Dead	Go to Heaven	☆
Hall & Oates	Voices	☆
Harold Budd/Brian Eno	Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror	☆
Iron Maiden	Iron Maiden	☆
Joan Jett	Joan Jett (Bad Reputation)	☆
John Lennon & Yoko Ono	Double Fantasy	☆
John Williams	Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: OST	☆
Joni Mitchell	Shadows and Light	☆
Journey	Departure	☆
Joy Division	Closer	☆
Judas Priest	British Steel	☆
Kate Bush	Never For Ever	☆
Kazumi Watanabe	To Chi Ka	☆
Killing Joke	Killing Joke	☆
Kool & the Gang	Celebrate!	☆
Laraaji	Ambient 3: Day of Radiance	☆
Michael and Stormie Omartian	The Builder	☆
Motörhead	Ace Of Spades	☆
Neil Diamond	The Jazz Singer	☆
Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra	Xanadu	☆
Ozzy Osbourne	Blizzard Of Ozz	☆
Pat Benatar	Crimes of Passion	☆
Paul McCartney	McCartney II	☆
Paul Simon	One-Trick Pony	☆
Paul Winter	Callings	☆
Peter Gabriel	Peter Gabriel (3) (Melt)	☆
Prince	Dirty Mind	☆
Prism	III	☆
Professor Longhair	Crawfish Fiesta	☆
Queen	The Game	☆
REO Speedwagon	Hi Infidelity	☆
Robert Palmer	Clues	☆
Roxy Music	Flesh and Blood	☆
Rush	Permanent Waves	☆
Scorpions	Animal Magnetism	☆
Simple Minds	Empires and Dance	☆
Siouxsie & the Banshees	Kaleidoscope	☆
Squeeze	Argybargy	☆
Steely Dan	Gaucho	☆
Steve Winwood	Arc of a Diver	☆
Stevie Wonder	Hotter Than July	☆
Stiff Little Fingers	Nobody's Heroes	☆
Suicide	Suicide: Alan Vega And Martin Rev	☆
Talking Heads	Remain In Light	☆
Tatsuro Yamashita	Ride on Time	☆
Teddy Pendergrass	TP	☆
The Alan Parsons Project	The Turn of a Friendly Card	☆
The B-52's	Wild Planet	☆
The Blues Brothers	The Blues Brothers: Original Soundtrack Recording	☆
The Buggles	The Age of Plastic	☆
The Cars	Panorama	☆
The Circle Jerks	Group Sex	☆
The Clash	Sandinista!	☆
The Cramps	Songs the Lord Taught Us	☆
The Cure	Seventeen Seconds	☆
The Cure	Boys Don't Cry	☆
The Damned	The Black Album	☆
The Feelies	Crazy Rhythms	☆
The Jam	Sound Affects	☆
The Pointer Sisters	Special Things	☆
The Police	Zenyatta Mondatta	☆
The Pretenders	Pretenders	☆
The Psychedelic Furs	The Psychedelic Furs	☆
The Residents	Commercial Album	☆
The Rolling Stones	Emotional Rescue	☆
The Romantics	The Romantics	☆
The Soft Boys	Underwater Moonlight	☆
The Specials	More Specials	☆
The Undertones	Hypnotized	☆
Thin Lizzy	Chinatown	☆
Tom Waits	Heartattack and Vine	☆
U2	Boy	☆
Van Halen	Women and Children First	☆
Various Artists	Fame: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	☆
Warren Zevon	Stand in the Fire	☆
Waylon Jennings	Music Man	☆
Willie Nelson & Family	Honeysuckle Rose	☆
X	Los Angeles	☆
XTC	Black Sea	☆
Zapp	Zapp	☆

---

Songs (?)		Wikipedia
ABBA	The Winner Takes It All	☆
ABBA	Super Trouper	☆
AC/DC	Back In Black	☆
AC/DC	You Shook Me All Night Long	☆
AC/DC	Hells Bells	☆
AC/DC	Shoot To Thrill	☆
AC/DC	Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution	☆
Adam and the Ants	Antmusic	☆
Adam and The Ants	Kings of the Wild Frontier	☆
Afrika Bambaataa	Zulu Nation Throwdown	☆
Air Supply	Lost in Love	☆
Air Supply	All Out of Love	☆
Ambrosia	Biggest Part of Me	☆
Bad Brains	Pay to Cum	☆
Barbra Streisand with Barry Gibb	Guilty	☆
Bauhaus	Dark Entries	☆
Billy Joel	It's Still Rock And Roll To Me	☆
Billy Joel	You May Be Right	☆
Billy Joel	Don't Ask Me Why	☆
Billy Joel	Sometimes a Fantasy	☆
Black Sabbath	Heaven and Hell	☆
Blondie	Rapture	☆
Blondie	Call Me	☆
Blondie	The Tide Is High	☆
Blondie	Atomic	☆
Bob Marley & The Wailers	Redemption Song	☆
Bob Marley & The Wailers	Could You Be Loved	☆
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band	Against The Wind	☆
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band	You'll Accomp'ny Me	☆
Boz Scaggs	Miss Sun	☆
Boz Scaggs	Look What You've Done to Me	☆
Bruce Springsteen	Hungry Heart	☆
Bruce Springsteen	The River	☆
Carly Simon	Jesse	☆
Circle Jerks	Live Fast Die Young	☆
Climax Blues Band	I Love You	☆
Dan Fogelberg	Same Old Lang Syne	☆
David Bowie	Ashes to Ashes	☆
David Bowie	Fashion	☆
Dead Kennedys	Holiday in Cambodia	☆
Dead Kennedys	Police Truck	☆
Devo	Whip It	☆
Devo	Freedom Of Choice	☆
Devo	Girl U Want	☆
Devo	Gates of Steel	☆
Diamond Head	Am I Evil?	☆
Diana Ross	I'm Coming Out	☆
Diana Ross	Upside Down	☆
Diesel	Sausalito Summernight	☆
Dire Straits	Romeo and Juliet	☆
Dire Straits	Skateaway	☆
Dire Straits	Tunnel of Love	☆
Dolly Parton	9 To 5	☆
Donna Summer	The Wanderer	☆
Donnie Iris	Ah Leah!	☆
Echo & The Bunnymen	Rescue	☆
Eddie Rabbitt	I Love a Rainy Night	☆
Eddie Rabbitt	Drivin' My Life Away	☆
Electric Light Orchestra	All Over the World	☆
Elton John	Little Jeannie	☆
Elvis Costello	I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down	☆
Elvis Costello & The Attractions	High Fidelity	☆
Emmylou Harris	Wayfaring Stranger	☆
English Beat	Mirror In The Bathroom	☆
Eugenio Lo Gullo	Country Banjo Show	☆
Frank Sinatra	Theme From New York, New York	☆
Genesis	Misunderstanding	☆
Genesis	Turn it On Again	☆
George Benson	Give Me the Night	☆
George Jones	He Stopped Loving Her Today	☆
Hall & Oates	You Make My Dreams	☆
Hall & Oates	Kiss On My List	☆
Hall & Oates	You've Lost That Loving Feeling	☆
Harlequin	Innocence	☆
Irene Cara	Fame	☆
Iron Maiden	Phantom of the Opera	☆
Jackson Browne	Boulevard	☆
Joe Dulce	Shaddap You Face	☆
John Lennon	Woman	☆
John Lennon	Watching The Wheels	☆
John Lennon	(Just Like) Starting Over	☆
John Lennon	Beautiful Boy	☆
John Williams	The Imperial March	☆
Journey	Any Way You Want It	☆
Joy Division	Love Will Tear Us Apart	☆
Joy Division	Atmosphere	☆
Joy Division	Twenty Four Hours	☆
Joy Division	Isolation	☆
Joy Division	Dead Souls	☆
Judas Priest	Breaking The Law	☆
Judas Priest	Living After Midnight	☆
Kate Bush	Babooshka	☆
Kate Bush	Army Dreamers	☆
Kenny Loggins	I'm Alright	☆
Kenny Rogers	Lady	☆
Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes	Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer	☆
Kool And The Gang	Celebration	☆
Kurtis Blow	The Breaks	☆
Lakeside	Fantastic Voyage	☆
Linda Ronstadt	Hurt So Bad	☆
Loverboy	Turn Me Loose	☆
Martha and The Muffins	Echo Beach	☆
Merle Haggard	I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink	☆
Molly Hatchet	Flirtin' With Disaster	☆
Motörhead	Ace Of Spades	☆
Motörhead	Love Me Like A Reptile	☆
Neil Diamond	America	☆
Neil Diamond	Hello Again	☆
Neil Diamond	Love on The Rocks	☆
Olivia Newton-John	Magic	☆
Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard	Suddenly	☆
Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra	Xanadu	☆
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Enola Gay	☆
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Electricity	☆
Outlaws	(Ghost) Riders in the Sky	☆
Ozzy Osbourne	Crazy Train	☆
Ozzy Osbourne	Mr. Crowley	☆
Pat Benatar	Hit Me With Your Best Shot	☆
Pat Benatar	Treat Me Right	☆
Pat Benatar	You Better Run	☆
Pat Benatar	Hell Is For Children	☆
Paul McCartney	Coming Up	☆
Paul Simon	Late in the Evening	☆
Pete Townshend	Let My Love Open the Door	☆
Pete Townshend	Rough Boys	☆
Peter Gabriel	Games Without Frontiers	☆
Peter Gabriel	Biko	☆
Peter Gabriel	I Don't Remember	☆
Peter Gabriel	Intruder	☆
Queen	Another One Bites The Dust	☆
Queen	Crazy Little Thing Called Love	☆
Queen	Flash	☆
Queen	Play the Game	☆
Ramones	Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?	☆
REO Speedwagon	Keep On Loving You	☆
REO Speedwagon	Take It on the Run	☆
Robbie Dupree	Steal Away	☆
Robert Palmer	Johnny and Mary	☆
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway	You Are My Heaven	☆
Rush	The Spirit Of Radio	☆
Rush	Freewill	☆
Saxon	Dallas 1PM	☆
Scorpions	The Zoo	☆
Sheena Easton	Morning Train (Nine to Five)	☆
Siouxsie and the Banshees	Christine	☆
Spandau Ballet	To Cut a Long Story Short	☆
Split Enz	I Got You	☆
Squeeze	If I Didn't Love You	☆
Squeeze	Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)	☆
Steely Dan	Hey Nineteen	☆
Stephanie Mills	Never Knew Love Like This Before	☆
Steve Winwood	While You See A Chance	☆
Stevie Wonder	Master Blaster (Jammin')	☆
Stevie Wonder	Happy Birthday	☆
Stray Cats	Runaway Boys	☆
Talking Heads	Once In A Lifetime	☆
Talking Heads	Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)	☆
Teddy Pendergrass	Love T.K.O.	☆
Teena Marie	I Need Your Lovin'	☆
The Alan Parsons Project	Games People Play	☆
The Alan Parsons Project	Time	☆
The B-52's	Private Idaho	☆
The B-52's	Party Out of Bounds	☆
The Brothers Johnson	Stomp!	☆
The Cars	Touch and Go	☆
The Clash	The Magnificent Seven	☆
The Cure	A Forest	☆
The Gap Band	Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)	☆
The Go-Go's	We Got the Beat	☆
The J. Geils Band	Love Stinks	☆
The Jam	Going Underground	☆
The Jam	That's Entertainment	☆
The Jim Carroll Band	People Who Died	☆
The Manhattans	Shining Star	☆
The Misfits	Last Caress	☆
The Pointer Sisters	He's So Shy	☆
The Police	Don't Stand So Close To Me	☆
The Police	De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da	☆
The Rolling Stones	She's So Cold	☆
The Rolling Stones	Emotional Rescue	☆
The Romantics	What I Like About You	☆
The S.O.S. Band	Take Your Time (Do It Right)	☆
The Sugarhill Gang	8th Wonder	☆
The Undertones	My Perfect Cousin	☆
The Vapors	Turning Japanese	☆
Tom Waits	Jersey Girl	☆
Tom Waits	Heartattack and Vine	☆
U2	I Will Follow	☆
U2	Out of Control	☆
Ultravox	Vienna	☆
Visage	Fade to Grey	☆
Waylon Jennings	Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)	☆
Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind	Main Title (The Shining)	☆
Willie Nelson	On The Road Again	☆
Willie Nelson	Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground	☆
X	Los Angeles	☆
X	Johnny Hit and Run Paulene	☆
X	Sex and Dying in High Society	☆
X	Your Phone's Off the Hook (But You're Not)	☆
XTC	Generals and Majors	☆
XTC	Respectable Street	☆
XTC	Towers of London	☆
Young Marble Giants	Brand New Life	☆
Zapp	More Bounce to the Ounce	☆

⇦ 1979

1981 ⇨