User:FraDany/List of my number-one albums of the 1980s

The Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Sunday to Saturday; during the 1980s, a total of 47 albums reached number one. The most successful artist of the 1980s was American singer and dancer Michael Jackson, who topped the Albums Chart for 65 weeks with three different albums. Thriller, his sixth studio album, was the biggest-selling album of 1983 and the biggest-selling album of the decade, as well as of all time. The first number-one album of the 1980s was The Wall, the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd – released in 1979, first reached number one in December, and remained at the top for eleven consecutive weeks. The final number one of the 1980s was ...But Seriously by English musician Phil Collins.

Number-one albums

Thriller (1982) by American singer Michael Jackson was the biggest-selling album of the decade; it spent 35 consecutive weeks at the top of the Albums Chart, longer than any other album in history and remains the best-selling album of all time. Bad (1987), Jackson's seventh studio album, was also the second best-selling album of the decade. Jackson also spent 65 weeks at the top of the chart, longer than any other act.

Greatest Hits (1981) by British band Queen was the third biggest-selling album and the best-selling compilation of the decade. It is also the fourth biggest-selling album in music history. Queen also reached number one with four different releases during the 1980s, the most of any act.

American musician Prince and his band The Revolution had the sixth best-selling album of the decade with Purple Rain (1984), which is also the best-selling soundtrack album.

Key

†	Best-selling album of the year
‡	Runner-up album of the year
	Best-selling album of the decade
	Runner-up album of the decade

Artist	Album	Weeks at number one	Issue date
1980
The Clash	London Calling	9	2 March
Boney M.	The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits	10	4 May
Queen	The Game	7	13 July
AC/DC	Back in Black ‡	11	31 August
ABBA	Super Trouper †	15	16 November
1981
Aerosmith	Aerosmith's Greatest Hits	5	1 March
REO Speedwagon	Hi Infidelity ‡	11	5 April
Vangelis	Chariots of Fire: Music from the Original Soundtrack	9	21 June
Foreigner	4	10	23 August
Queen	Greatest Hits †	16	1 November
1982
Barbra Streisand	Memories ‡	12	21 February
Toto	Toto IV †	12	16 May
Duran Duran	Rio	11	8 August
The Beatles	20 Greatest Hits	4	24 October
ABBA	The Singles: The First Ten Years	6	21 November
1983
Men at Work	Business as Usual	8	2 January
Michael Jackson	Thriller †	18	27 February
Various artists	Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture	9	3 July
The Police	Synchronicity ‡	11	4 September
Michael Jackson	Thriller †	15	20 November
1984
Queen	The Works	7	4 March
Various artists	Footloose: Original Soundtrack of the Paramount Motion Picture	4	22 April
Bob Marley and the Wailers	Legend ‡	12	20 May
Bruce Springsteen	Born in the U.S.A.	10	12 August
Prince / the Revolution	Purple Rain †	15	21 October
1985
Madonna	Like a Virgin	4	3 February
Phil Collins	No Jacket Required †	14	3 March
Dire Straits	Brothers in Arms	12	9 June
Bryan Adams	Reckless	9	1 September
Billy Joel	Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II ‡	12	3 November
1986
The Doors	The Best of The Doors	7	26 January
Whitney Houston	Whitney Houston ‡	12	16 March
Queen	A Kind of Magic	3	8 June
Various artists	Top Gun: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	5	29 June
Madonna	True Blue †	16	3 August
Janet Jackson	Control	6	23 November
1987
Bon Jovi	Slippery When Wet	11	4 January
U2	The Joshua Tree	5	22 March
Fleetwood Mac	Tango in the Night	7	26 April
Whitney Houston	Whitney ‡	12	14 June
Michael Jackson	Bad †	17	6 September
1988
Various artists	Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture ‡	10	3 January
George Michael	Faith †	12	13 March
Cher	Cher	8	5 June
Tracy Chapman	Tracy Chapman	7	31 July
Guns N' Roses	Appetite for Destruction	10	18 September
Enya	Watermark	9	27 November
1989
Fleetwood Mac	Greatest Hits	9	29 January
Madonna	Like a Prayer †	9	2 April
Queen	The Miracle	7	4 June
Roxette	Look Sharp!	9	23 July
Tina Turner	Foreign Affair	5	24 September
Cher	Heart of Stone ‡	10	29 October

Artists with the most number ones

Four artists all had at least three number-one albums during the 1980s.

Artist	Number ones	Albums
Queen	4	List The Game (1980) Greatest Hits (1981) The Works (1984) The Miracle (1989)
Phil Collins	3	List Face Value (1981) No Jacket Required (1985) ...But Seriously (1989)
Michael Jackson		List Off the Wall (1979) Thriller (1982) Bad (1987)
Madonna		List Like a Virgin (1984) True Blue (1986) Like a Prayer (1989)

Albums with the most weeks at number one

The following albums spent at least twenty weeks at number one during the 1980s.

Artist	Album	Weeks at number one
Michael Jackson	Thriller	35
	Bad	20

Artists with the most weeks at number one

Three different artists have spent thirty weeks or more at number one on the album chart during the 1980s.

Artist	Weeks at number one	Albums
Michael Jackson	65	List Off the Wall (10 weeks) Thriller (35 weeks) Bad (20 weeks)
Queen	42	List The Game (7 weeks) Greatest Hits (18 weeks) The Works (10 weeks) The Miracle (7 weeks)
Madonna	34	List Like a Virgin (7 weeks) True Blue (17 weeks) Like a Prayer (10 weeks)

Best-selling albums of the 1980s

No.	Album	Artist	Year	Weeks at number one
1	Thriller	Michael Jackson	1982	35
2	Bad		1987	20
3	Greatest Hits	Queen	1981	18
4	True Blue	Madonna	1986	17
5	Super Trouper	ABBA	1980	17
6	Purple Rain	Prince / the Revolution	1984	17
7	Faith	George Michael	1987	16
8	Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture	Various artists		10
9	Legend	Bob Marley and the Wailers	1984	13
10	Back in Black	AC/DC	1980	11
11	No Jacket Required	Phil Collins	1985	14
12	Born in the U.S.A.	Bruce Springsteen	1984	13
13	Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II	Billy Joel	1985	14
14	The Magic of Boney M. – 20 Golden Hits	Boney M.	1980	10
15	Toto IV	Toto	1982	13
16	The Joshua Tree	U2	1987	12
17	Brothers in Arms	Dire Straits	1985	11
18	Like a Prayer	Madonna	1989	10
19	...But Seriously	Phil Collins		8
20	Whitney	Whitney Houston	1987	13