The 60 Best Songs of the '80s (2023)

In 1987, Houston was a fresh-faced siren with a clear voice and a world of possibility beneath his feet. Her interpretation of the song — which, as it unfolds, is more about loneliness than love — speaks volumes for her ability to radiate warmth and positivity through her unique vocals. It was a far cry from the woes the singer faced later in her career. The song has been a staple at parties and karaoke, and years after his death, the song has become a bittersweet rallying cry that still gets all wall-hugging people on the dance floor.

Of course, the album version of "The Perfect Kiss" (from 1985's Low Life) is a great song too; a flamboyant, funky performance by the most influential pop band of the '80s in their heyday. But this version is the best. Released as a single and included on 1987's "Substance" compilation, it features a full OG melody as well as some extra final minutes, which add to Peter Hook's heavy bass, ribbed frog textures, and swirling synth hits. additional impact.

Bowie was everywhere in the '80s: duets with Jagger, climbing in spandexmazeburied aliveFelice Natal, Lawrence Sr.Ended up having a midlife crisis that led to disturbing beards andtin machine. But not before, he managed to record some of the decade's best tracks, including 1983's nihilistic soul boogie, assisted by Nile Rodgers. We encourage you to keep your feet on the ground, as this cyclical, cynical, irresistible refrain continues.

You really have to thank Brian Eno for Once in a Lifetime. Under his direction, the Talking Heads pieced together (unbeknownst to them) the parts of the riff and the beginning of a song called "Right Start" to create a moment in music history. Tina Weymouth's signature bassline, Jerry Harrison's snappy synths, and Bourne's sermon-inspired half-sung, half-spoken sermon all collide, Create something weird. It was an art pop song unlike any other at the time.

The title of NWA's debut single doesn't just herald the arrival of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E and MC Ren. He heralded the arrival of West Coast rap in the most aggressive and revolutionary way imaginable, leaving the dominant rock players of the time with no choice but to get out of the way. There are only a few moments in the history of music where you feel the perfect synchronization of structure and rhythm. This is one of them.

Prince was so prolific in the 1980s that maybe 90% of what's on this list was his and still works. However, if forced to choose a Prince song, "Purple Rain" is the obvious choice. This is a stunning, well-crafted masterpiece that highlights everything that made Prince Rogers Nelson an absolute legend: his talent for unique melodies; his multi-instrumental playing; his incredible vocal ability, from guttural to to falsetto, pained to ethereal; and his unrivaled ability to completely kill guitar solos. This is the prince at his best. The song is as influential today as it was nearly 40 years ago.

"Nineteen Eighty Nine..." The first five syllables of Public Enemy's most zeitgeist hit, commissioned by Spike Lee for his groundbreaking filmdo the right thingPacks a lot of punch. Since then, it has grown more intense, creating a gulping manifesto that includes this gem: "Elvis was a hero to most / But he was never malicious to me / Look, that The loser is a total racist/Simple and fair/Mom, fuck him and John Wayne/Because I'm black and I'm proud it's true, Ruth.

With a synth beat and the terse "Don't Push Me 'Cause I'm Close to the Edge," Flash's storied contribution to the hip-hop era was more than a sensation, he declared to the world that hip-hop was entertainment without leisure. It was the same movement as the protest-obsessed hippies of the 1960s, the same fans who inexplicably turned against the music of young, confident, frustrated black men who wanted to raise awareness and change the world. music.

Robert Smith's "Unhappy Men" spent about half the 1980s writing deeply sad goth rock and the other half creating some of the greatest pop songs of all time. Naturally, there's some spillover between the two—which is why 1985's "Close to Me" is a strong contender for the band's best song, with its melancholic lyrics paired with wildly upbeat brass riffs (inspired by from Funeral March in New Orleans). There is also a version of the album without a trumpet, but why that?james manning

Gay gave the world the greatest sex song of all time, "Let's Get It On," back in 1973. Yet nine years later, he's about to outdo himself with "Sex Therapy," his first single outside of Motown. (was released just two years before he was shot dead by his father). This soulful track is decidedly more '80s-inspired, with drum machines, upbeat guitars and beautiful synths in the background. It's also probably the most apt closing line on a porn-themed song yet: "Please don't take too long/Jerking off is no good."

Madge lived the 1980s on what she preached on this career-defining hit, one of her last 1980s hits and her pinnacle.like a prayeralbum. Here's an excellent wrap-up of the first act of "Lucky Star," "Like a Virgin," "Material Girl," "The Edge," "Daddy Don't Preach," and "True Blue" -- each of which could easily make this Lists remain on the market. But "Express Yourself" isn't just the pop diva's stadium song: It's timeless.anthem for allI'm looking for a song about my personality party.

The Boss tweaked old standard singer titles to write their own classic, and here's the best single from their sprawling rosterborn in americaAmbition, frustration and sex, 1984's Dancing in the Dark, was Springsteen's dance zenith, in the late Clarence Clemons' typically dizzying reached its peak in the saxophone solo. Few of the era's song refrains contain important fire safety warnings.

In 1984, Tina Turner was 44 years old and on the way to a comeback. Eventually, she broke up with her abusive, art-loving husband, Ike, Svengali, who had been out of acting, Las Vegas gigs, and an unreleased solo album for years. but a hit albumprivate dancerHis chart-topper "What's Love Got to Do with It"—his first top-ten hit in over a decade—turned the hard-charging soul icon into a solo superstar. In the video, she roams New York in a denim jacket, leather miniskirt and feathered hair — a bruised but challenged example of independent joy.

We're so used to Michael Jackson's classy, ​​cool side, he's a hit singerchainIt's easy to forget just how powerful "Beat It" really is. It's not just Eddie Van Halen's famously rousing solo; it's a bantering, perfect grimace of a guitar riff — conceived by Jackson and directed by session maestro Steve Lukasser The playing—those overwrought, frustrating beats that seem to hit solid balls on concrete floors, and the raw desperation in MJ's voice as he describes the truth about life in a street fight. While "Beat It" is a dance killer, it's a very heavy song, both psychologically and sonically.

While "Love Will Tear Us Apart" will forever be associated with the tragic saga of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis -- who killed himself shortly before its release -- it doesn't need a myth to be considered a genius. do. It's an overwhelmingly melancholy melody with an almost Phil Spector-esque breadth that perfectly balances Curtis' sad yet polite lyrics about the end of a marriage. The fact that the surviving band members formed Pioneer New Order almost immediately is nothing short of remarkable.

That might not be surprising considering they come from a band named after amphetamines, but the British band powered the swing beat of their 1982 classic like a dynamo, powering through tempo changes while setting the scene for the big finale. Build momentum. The lyrics tell of lyricist Kevin Rowland's childhood as a young, sexually repressed Catholic kid bordering on vulgarity but innocent enough to sing at work karaoke.

"Up that mountain"? It's not even the best track on Hounds of Love, man. Kate Bush's ability to transform esoteric compositions into visionary pop songs is certainly best known on Wuthering Heights. "Cloudbusting" is based on an even stranger work: Peter Reich's "The Book of Dreams," his memoir as the son of the psychiatrist and philosopher William Reich. It's weird, in fact, but what Bush did with it was remarkable: a five-minute fairytale about love and childhood horror, set to very unusual music, with rhythmic strings gradually overtaking snare drums. wave. It's an incredibly touching song, and quite possibly the best song produced this decade.

Is this the happiest song ever written? Probably. "You Make My Dreams" has an infectious edge—it's impossible to listen to "Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh" without smiling or wanting to get up and dance with your loved ones. Its catchy refrain perfectly encapsulates moments of first love and excitement for the future. Hall & Oates are known for smooth rock and smooth jazz and jazz-influenced dirty, complicated romances, but "You Make My Dreams" is an unabashedly upbeat hit.Georgia Evans

Yep, singer Morrissey isn't covering himself in glory. But the fact that anyone now knows who he is speaks volumes about just how extraordinary the Smith family is. Their songs could go here, but it's understandable why "How Soon Is Now?" It's a weird and utterly intoxicating combination of club backgrounds and what doesn't sound like swamp slide guitar. Neither before nor after happened.

We can regard the 80s as the era of music cheese, light on content and heavy on excess. But the decade produced some of music's most moving, tear-jerking moments, a fact made all the more poignant by the car's popularity. The 1985 hit "Tears for Fears" is one such song, an existential meditation that opens with "Welcome to your life—there's no turning back." It's serious pop, and as bassist-singer Kurt Smith puts it: "The problem is, everyone craves power, war, and the pain that comes with it.

Many scoffed at the '80s as an era of excess, but many of the era's classic singles were modest studies (see Phil Collins - no, honestly). They spend a lot of money on everything. A flamboyant and talented drummer as Stewart Copeland may be, and though Sting is known for adding a little extra movement to his beats, on "Every Breath" every note is Recorded microscopically, as if arranged with OCD, it makes the atmosphere of the chase so subtly all the more terrifying.

Norwegian electro-pop trio A-ha's first and biggest hit, "Take On Me," gained international attention in 1985 with a groundbreaking music video that blended live action and pencil animation, Starring dreamy singer Morten Harket as the escapist romantic hero, a portrait of a lonely woman and a comic adventurer. (It won six MTV Video Awards.) The song's infectious synth riff is enough to earn it a place among any '80s classic. But "Take On Me" is also known for Harket's incredible octave sound, and its apparent simplicity has inspired countless raucous karaoke songs.

The iconic first four seconds of Ronette's "Be My Baby" have been sampled multiple times over the past 50 years: Billy Joel, The Magnetic Fields, The Strokes, Amy Winehouse, Dan Deacon, Gotye...the list goes on. But only one band transformed that seminal phrase into an era-defining piece of music (almost) as profoundly as the Ronettes. Jesus and Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey" captures the bittersweet longing of fans of the original shoe, perfectly portraying the hazy mood of the '80s — not to mention Sophia Coppola's style.lost meaning after translationThe killer ends seconds before the end credits.

Sade is too fluid, and it would be so easy for us to slip into jealousy if we weren't all asleep in a stupid two-stage love-drunk stupor. The Nigerian-born, UK-raised singer-songwriter is at her best with this hit single from her second multi-platinum album.promise. When it's on, you have no choice but to relax and bask in the silent storm.

As the 70s rolled into the 80s, punk and rock (there was a difference back then) fell in love with sounds from New York. Even the Rolling Stones went clubbing and rapping. No guitar band has mastered hip-hop more than The Clash, probably because they put in a lot of practice creating their dubs. This final single — or at least the last major one — is a rehearsal for Mick Jones' sample-loving group, Big Audio Dynamite, a bit of an Isley Brothers vs. Brown A combination of speakers. Jones loved the song so much that he auditioned it on Universal a decade later.

The meme known as "Rickrolling" -- where someone lures you with an alluring link to the music video for this 1987 dance hit -- has been confusing us a bit, mostly because who wouldn't want to be exposed again Surprised by this jumbo jam? float? The synth strings, the fast pace of the boots and pants, Astley's unnatural forced laugh and his romantic humor about courting a car salesman ("You can't get that from anyone else")...it's all That adds up to three and half of the most exciting moments in the 80s classic.

Hip-hop began its golden age in the 1980s. Biz Markie is both an icon of hip-hop's dizzying appeal and its eventual demise. While critics continued to dismiss rap as a fad, the big, chattering Long Island bear bit its nose at the sheer stupidity. He overtly recycles the trash of pop music's past and ups his humor with daring haters who resist his charm. His records are both comedy albums and sample performances and pretentious works of art, which makes them even greater works of art. Eventually, he was sued, and hip-hop was changed forever. But the biggest loss is Biz's sense of self-deprecation. "Just a Friend" is the opposite of the art form's signature ostentation.

It's impossible to feel bad when this Caribbean-inspired melody starts blaring from nearby speakers. The Commodores frontman's 1983 single, with its permanent hairdo, destroyed any attempt to challenge its rhythm. Does that part sound like bullshit? That's it. Rich tried to find the right foreign-language phrase, but got impatient and created his own international party jargon.

Toto is a group of studio artists who have recorded for Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs. These feathered guys, with their chest hair, sunglasses and towels, are too nameless to be called a supergroup. "Africa" ​​was his contribution to stemming the wave of Reagan-era telethon popularity, and another condescending appeal to charities like We Are the World and Band Aid. The Yamaha GS1 synth sounds like an mbira; for some reason, there's a gong somewhere. from himheart of darknessAs it says on the deck of a tanned luxury yacht. Thankfully, this creamy scent is more coconut than crunchy cash. Interestingly, it became the unofficial theme song for Major League Soccer's New England Revolution football club and an unexpected hit for Weezer.

Few '80s icons are as evocative as Boy George, but the British singer is more than an icon of style and genre fluidity. There are plenty of sad songs on Culture Club's record, but in many ways the band stands out as The Cure's sunny gothic yin and yang, and "Karma Chameleon" is arguably the most upbeat of them all. It's still heady throughout the years, celebrating the bright colors of humanity and the power of just the right harmonica line.

Jim Kerr's soulful screams couldn't have sounded better on this fist-raised song, which is, frankly, over-the-top blues pop. Whether you think it's a song frombreakfast club'or "Songs She Wrote".breakfast clubCool" - one of the most important anthems of the era.

More appealing than a flytrap, more obnoxious than the wildest night, Rick James reached the peak of his career with the wildly funk "Super Freak." In 1981, the star's signature song became a worldwide hit, with powerful backing vocals from The Temptations, including James' uncle Melvin Franklin. Not even Hammer's MC sampling can diminish its greatness.

Anyone who grew up in the '90s knows this from two incredible movie dance scenes: Baz Luhrmann's sexyreal dance halland stupidRoman Academy and Michelle Conference. But for '80s fans, it's a slow dance classic and one of the decade's strongest songs. Cyndi's crazy orange hair may be as old as summer's milk, but it still smells fresh to us time and time again.james manning

No '80s playlist would be complete without British synth-pop singer Pet Shop Boys. Although the duo had their greatest success in their own backyard, as the duo recalled in our interview, this 1985 ode to life on the streets of London was written and recorded in New York, full of urban squalor ( Note: part is in New York). Inspired by TS Eliot's Romancewasteland). That's thanks in no small part to Neil Tennant's cool commercial performance, a hypnotic look at the era's hip-hop vibe.

“It’s great that it all started with an earthquake,” Michael Stipe said in his tongue-in-cheek poem “R.E.M.” The noise and jargon just got crazier. The lyrics create an avant-garde amalgam of apocalyptic imagery, military danger and mass media madness, featuring pop culture figures (Lenny Bruce, Leonid Brezhnev, Leonard Bernstein and Lester Bunce's unique names, who only have one initial. Unlike its evil '80s twin, Billy Joel's "We Didn't Light the Fire," the song wasn't a hit. On their 1987 albumdocument, R.E.M. is still emerging in the college rock scene. However, its message of overcoming chaos still connects anyone who wants to purify a polluted stream of consciousness.

80s synth-pop might sound cheesy today when it was actively determined to sound like the future. Why is Blue Monday different? Why do I still feel like it's the future? From the utterly iconic kick drum intro to the eerie "How Does It Feel?" by Bernard Sumner, sloping vocals, icy synths, menacing bass, eerie Gregory Psalms and more, New Order's seven-and-a-half-minute masterpiece is stunning, bold and strangely indifferent to the listener. Like a giant, incomprehensible alien creature. It was the pinnacle of synth pop, and its music was so daring and groundbreaking that no one—not even New Order—had attempted to record it since.

Ah, that unfortunate bass line. Before Vanilla Ice was famous—well, inspired by the work of Queen bassist John Deacon—this subtle, infectious bite heralds the meeting of two hugely influential rock icons. It's relatively understated, given the sheer force contained in this production, but ultimately reaches dizzying heights that Bowie and Freddie Mercury scale with ease.

Hehe, it's easy to be laughed atU2: hyperbole, shadows, glamour, unnecessary oozing on iTunes...but the band's 1987 productionjoshua treeConsecutive top three tracks, of which "With or Without You" is the most impressive. The song’s bittersweet mood fits perfectly with the song—by turns delicate, melancholic, restless and hopeless. Throw it where you can howl loudly. "Best in the Desert" with the same name as the album.

Does the drum intro sound like this?Grande? These haunting snares, provided by producer Steve Albini, are one of many elements of the band's most popular song (it wasn't even released as a single in 1988): , reverberating vocals, Black Francis spit out uncharacteristically cool lyrics with a broken voice, and a deceptively simple guitar/bass combo that still gives us goosebumps.

If you're part of an '80s cover band and you don't play the song every night - well, there's no way you wouldn't. Of all the iconic guitar riffs on this list, the opening line of "Sweet Child o' Mine" tears the air. The third single from Guns N' Roses' brilliant 1987 debut albumdesire to destroy, was the band's first and only number one single. Thirty years later, it still makes us sing our silly hearts out on the dance floor.

Transforming upbeat Motown influences into icy synth-pop might sound sacrilegious, but that's exactly what British duo Soft Cell did when they recorded Gloria Jones' funky 1965 Stomper in 1981. It ditched the energy of the original for a version featuring Marc Almond's cut-glass sound, Soft Cell, and quickly became a hit, paving the way for the ensuing explosion of synth-pop in the 1980s.

Looking back, it's hard to really appreciate the impact of The Go-Go's, the first all-female rock band backed by a studio and writing their own songs. That's because Go-Go was fully formed and ready to rock the industry with songs like this pop post-punk song that changed rock history the moment the first DJ played it.

Complexity, be damned! Sometimes, all you really need to make a blockbuster truly memorable is economy, as this chilling 1988 classic proves. On "Push It," Queens hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa creates pop magic through combinations of deceptively simple Casio beats; exclamation.

Few bands have made the leap from the insane days of "Uncontrollable Urge" to "Whip It" and onto the new wave of the '70s punk/CBGB scene quite like Mark Mothersbaugh's bunch of weirdos. Released in 1981.pathHe was ahead of his time, defining the sound of the mid-80s before everyone realized the power of weird hats, outlandish lyrics, and clinging to your inner goof. Goodness they were still ahead of their time.

Paula SimoneGraceland,In hindsight, it seems like an eerily simple reaction to everything the '80s stood for: a '60s folk-rocker recording a world-music folk-pop album with a group of South African musicians. butGracelandsnack. Specifically, the lead single is heavy, especially with Bakiti Kumalo's trademark slouchy bass solo. What could have been a midlife crisis became a phenomenon.

No one writes such beautifully pathos like Jim Steinman, and he is at his best in this epic 1983 ballad for Welsh husky-voiced virtuoso Bonnie Tyler. good. Total Eclipse of the Heart was originally a song dedicated to vampires, and it even featured in Steinman's 2002 Broadway fiasco,Dance of the VampiresIts gothic underpinnings are the focal point of the dark music video. It's an otherworldly longing, and Taylor challenges the thunderous arrangement with the quietest desperation in pop.

Debbie Harry enters the '80s in style as expected, without changing her punk/glamor image, and with this smasher, she declares that the new wave icon of the '70s is fully capable in the new decade survive. This song is the official theme song of the Richard Gere movieamerican gigoloIn terms of importance, it outlives the film by a full 40 years, and that number continues to grow.

With this powerful device, Pasadena's Guitar Hero enters the age of synthesizers (and cocaine!). Of course, it could also mean the band's slow transformation from proto-rock gods to elder statesmen - which they'll complete in a few years with Sammy Hagar - but even now, simple synth riffs and The decimated mix of Eddie's guitar strings will wake you up every time you hear it.

The Sugarhill Gang is widely considered the discoverer of hip-hop in 1979, but Kurtis Blow's 1980 hit was arguably the trendsetter, forgoing the goofy side of Sugarhill's work to show the genre was more gritty than the mainstream , more instinctive side. in the bushes. Look around.

The former Genesis frontman spent much of the 1980s acting like a more serious David Byrne, following a parallel path, fusing world sounds, polyrhythms, and horns to Adapted to his personal genre of funk.otherThe Genesis frontman would later go down the path of... a song about how he walks). It's a shame that the singer's iconic time-lapse videos are more memorable than the songs themselves. This is when Gabriel is at his funniest.

Yacht Rock was heavily criticized by hipsters, but Hall & Oates wasn't laid-back,Pina- Glue poured over by two financial brothers. The bass line is a quiet funky earworm, and the sonic crumbs floating behind it are smooth, sexy, and clean. What H&O can't decide is one of those mysteries that can never be conclusively solved, which adds to the fascination.

Is there anyone who doesn't like this song? The grumpy Lou Reed and Tom Cruise in the leading roles in the film both love this movie.Jerry Ego Maguire(No offense, he doesn't seem like the most picky music listener). To this day, we bet the fast-talking hit (co-written by Jeff Lynne) still has a fan base that spans everything from teens who want to take me away to what they think is lame, Snobby, can't-get-caught parents. Sing karaoke, for those who do it for a living.

Fleetwood Mac were synonymous with soap opera soft rock in the late '70s, and their synth-pop releases in the '80s felt nothing like their early blues-rock releases. However, even if this later version of the Mac is a bit less iconic than the sleazy whores of the previous decade, the songs are absolutely impeccable, with Christine McVeigh's smash hit "Everywhere is pop perfection, a sensual whirlwind, and a nostalgic dreamer that seems to draw strength from its wholesome appearance.

The Gender of Fauvism Changed in the EightiesPaula store, which is the first step away from the screaming and disgusting frat members that made them household names. But although most of them are landmarksgrant implementer licenseYoung "Paul Revere" is absolutely killer, from the cowboy lyrics to the sing-along to the seminal bass beat that will be imitated for decades to come. B-Boys make up for that with their careers.grant implementer license。 „Paul Revere survived because he still felt talented musicians dressed like idiots, not the other way around.

You might think Mike Tyson was playing the drums until Phil Collins signed in 1981riseSomehow, that would take away from "In the Air Tonight" its uncanny power. But it’s not, and the song, full of bitterness over the divorce of the Genesis drummer-turned-solo hit producer, still delivers the dramatic tension of a Stanley Kubrick that will be haunting The guitar strings, synth pads, and Collins' eerie coded sections are layered. Roland CR-78's. Oh, and then at 3:40, the greatest drum beat in pop history comes on.

With upbeat beats and raw sensuality, Duran Duran's iconic hits remain the driving force behind their simple yet powerful sound. It's also a hit on karaoke night...if you can hear it. No matter how hungry you are, you absolutely must not do this. But it's still fun to try.

For the next decade, "Born to Run" seemed to be the definitive conclusion in the mythology of rock workers - but then came Boss' jersey sidekick, Bon Jovi, who unraveled the story of two age-old tales of misfortune and anxiety. prelude. dreamer. Escape the flamboyance of a thick layer of glam period style. Whether you consider the 1986 hit a cheesy relic or the heyday of the original FM, the story of Bon Jovi's guitarist-turned-docker Tommy and his waitress Gina is basically perfect, right down to the logo Sex guitarist Richie Sambora: Auxiliary open loop. and dizzying tonal shifts behind the bridge.

Depeche Mode kicked off the '80s with cute puppy sythpoppers and ended with the diabolical bluesy "Personal Jesus" (their most famous song, "Enjoy the Silence," was actually a fan favorite from 1990). "Everything Counts" is a pivotal transition between the two modes, a woefully catchy electro-pop anthem that lashes out at the culture of greed in the 1980s. It hit two big hits in the 1980s, first in 1983 and then in a fun live OTT release in 1989. Anti-capitalism has never been so carefree.

Neil Young's work in the 1980s was indeed surprising, as his famous record label, Geffen, sued him for releasing songs that did not represent Neil Young. While the suit was rightfully dismissed, you can see what Geffen was all about: from vocoder electronics to 1950s retro rock. Young spent the better part of the decade making outrageously outlandish music with little to no impact on your disk. That is, until he left Geffen, who immediately released "Rockin' in the Free World," a rousing rock anthem that has been years in the making, with a catchy chorus and straightforward lyrics about old Bush's America.

When they disbanded in 2011, Sonic Youth's legend as one of the most progressive bands signed to a major label was firmly established. But if you want to understand why DCG Records decided to form such a unique band, you have to go back to their work in the late 80's, led by Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon The band released a series of songs with strange tunes. ...but melodic pop, there's nothing like "Teen Riot," a nonstop crescendo of pure sunshine wonder.