10 Best R&B Albums Of Each Year 1980‑1989

Criteria: These Top 10 R&B albums of each year 1980-1989 were ranked based on impact, influence and popularity.

10 Best R&B Albums of 1989

1. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
Janet Jackson
2. Keep On Movin'
Soul II Soul
3. Foreign Affair
Tina Turner
4. Stay with Me
Regina Belle
5. Tender Lover
Babyface
6. 2300 Jackson Street
The Jacksons
7. Larger Than Life
Jody Watley
8. Silky Soul
Maze
9. The Man Is Back!
Barry White
10. Bulletproof Heart
Grace Jones

10 Best R&B Albums of 1988

1. Don't Be Cruel
Bobby Brown
2. Any Love
Luther Vandross
3. Giving You the Best That I Got
Anita Baker
4. Karyn White
Karyn White
5. Don't Let Love Slip Away
Freddie Jackson
6. Oasis
Roberta Flack
7. In Effect Mode
Al B. Sure!
8. Guy
Guy
9. Vesta 4 U
Vesta Williams
10. ck
Chaka Khan

10 Best R&B Albums of 1987

1. Bad
Michael Jackson
2. Characters
Stevie Wonder
3. One Heartbeat
Smokey Robinson
4. Jody Watley
Jody Watley
5. If I Were Your Woman
Stephanie Mills
6. Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
Trent D'Arby
7. Make It Last Forever
Keith Sweat
8. Touch the World
Earth, Wind & Fire
9. Hearsay
Alexander O'Neal
10. All in the Name of Love
Atlantic Starr

10 Best R&B Albums of 1986

1. Control
Janet Jackson
2. Dancing on the Ceiling
Lionel Richie
3. Give Me the Reason
Luther Vandross
4. Break Every Rule
Tina Turner
5. Word Up!
Cameo
6. Love Zone
Billy Ocean
7. Winner in You
Patti LaBelle
8. Just Like the First Time
Freddie Jackson
9. Rapture
Anita Baker
10. Precious Moments
Jermaine Jackson

10 Best R&B Albums of 1985

1. Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
2. Nightshift
Commodores
3. Rock Me Tonight
Freddie Jackson
4. The Night I Fell in Love
Luther Vandross
5. Rhythm of the Night
DeBarge
6. Patti
Patti LaBelle
7. Promise
Sade
8. As the Band Turns
Atlantic Starr
9. Can't Stop the Love
Maze
10. All for Love
New Edition

10 Best R&B Albums of 1984

1. Purple Rain
Prince and the Revolution
2. Private Dancer
Tina Turner
3. Emergency
Kool & the Gang
4. Suddenly
Billy Ocean
5. Solid
Ashford & Simpson
6. New Edition
New Edition
7. Swept Away
Diana Ross
8. Gap Band VI
The Gap Band
9. She's Strange
Cameo
10. Starchild
Teena Marie

10 Best R&B Albums of 1983

1. Busy Body
Luther Vandross
2. Can't Slow Down
Lionel Richie
3. Powerlight
Earth, Wind & Fire
4. Born to Love
Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
5. Between the Sheets
Isley Brothers
6. Get It Right
Aretha Franklin
7. Cold Blooded
Rick James
8. Stay with Me Tonight
Jeffrey Osborne
9. No Parking on the Dance Floor
Midnight Star
10. Juicy Fruit
Mtume

10 Best R&B Albums of 1982

1. Thriller
Michael Jackson
2. Midnight Love
Marvin Gaye
3. Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
4. Jump to It
Aretha Franklin
5. Donna Summer
Donna Summer
6. Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I
Stevie Wonder
7. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
8. So Excited!
The Pointer Sisters
9. Get Loose
Evelyn "Champagne" King
10. The Other Woman
Ray Parker Jr.

10 Best R&B Albums of 1981

1. Raise!
Earth, Wind & Fire
2. Being with You
Smokey Robinson
3. Street Songs
Rick James
4. In Our Lifetime
Marvin Gaye
5. The Poet
Bobby Womack
6. Something Special
Kool & the Gang
7. Never Too Much
Luther Vandross
8. A Woman Needs Love
Raydio
9. Black & White
Pointer Sisters
10. It Must Be Magic
Teena Marie

10 Best R&B Albums of 1980

1. Diana
Diana Ross
2. Hotter than July
Stevie Wonder
3. The Two of Us
Yarbrough & Peoples
4. Give Me the Night
George Benson
5. Love Somebody Today
Sister Sledge
6. Three for Love
Shalamar
7. TP
Teddy Pendergrass
8. Real People
Chic
9. Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway
Roberta Flack
10. S.O.S.
The S.O.S. Band

Last Updated: 2020-04-04