Favorite 80s' Songs
 

What are your favorite songs from the 1980s'?

Mine would be in no specific order I listed my top 15 which would be my picks of best of the 1980s in music:

Eye of The Tiger-Survivor
Everybody Wants To Rule The World-Tears From Fears
Beat It-Michael Jackson w/ Van Halen
Don't Stop Believin'-Journey
Separate Ways-Journey
Take On Me-Aha
Land Down Under-Men At Work
We Didn't Start The Fire-Billy Joel
Tell Her About It-Billy Joel
Don't You Forget About Me-Simple Minds
Power of Love- Huey Lewis & The News
Wonderful Christmas Time- Paul McCartney
You're The Inspiration-Chicago
Time After Time-Cyndi Lauper
Centerfield- John Fogerty

I'll name 15 as well.

The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
The Trooper - Iron Maiden
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Iron Maiden
Moonchild - Iron Maiden
Turbo Lover - Judas Priest
Desert Plains - Judas Priest
Pain and Pleasure - Judas Priest
Heavy metal - Judas Priest
The Four Horsemen - Metallica
Metal Militia - Metallica
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Dance in the Memories - Dance in the Memories
Angel of Death - Slayer
Amadeus - Falco
What You Need - INXS

The song in this clip really says how I feel about the 1980s! I am so gonna be Rodney Dangerfield's character in my 50s!!!

If I may I would like to bump it up to 18 and add:
Boys of Summer-Don Henley
Livin' On A Prayer-Bon Jovi
Always Something There To Remind Me-Naked Eyes

Oooh, this is tough. I'll do 20, just because there are SOOO many to choose from.

Take On Me- Aha (This is actually my #1!)
Livin' On A Prayer- Bon Jovi
Glory of Love- Peter Cetera
Power of Love- Huey Lewis
You're the Inspiration- Chicago (this one is a close #2)
I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight- Cutting Crew
Piano Man- Billy Joel
I Want To Know What Love Is- Foreigner
Summer of 69- Bryan Adams
We Built This city- Jefferson starship
Tell Her About It- Billy Joel
Just Like A Prayer- Madonna
Thriller- Michael Jackson
You Might Think- The Cars
Africa- Toto
The Warrior- Patty Smythe and Scandal
Don't Dream It's Over- Crowded House
The Air Tonight- Genesis
Holding Out For A Hero- Bonnie Tyler
Hungry Eyes- Eric Carmen


There are MANY more, but I'd better stop here!

We have such a similar list between the 18 I listed and 20 you did. Great choices. I know all of those. Jefferson Starship is an underrated band. The Warrior I wondered why it was not a enternace theme for The Ultimate Warrior.

Heh, I'm an 80's gal, through and through. Believe me, there were SOOO many more, but I tried to keep it down to JUST the ones I listen to the most.

Others on my list-

Safety Dance- Men Without Hats
Come On Eileen- Dexy's Midnight Runners
One Night In Bangkok- Chess
I Wear My Sunglasses At Night- Corey Hart
Paradise City- Guns N' Roses
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John
Midnight Train- Journey
Open Arms- Journey
Hotel California- Eagles
All Night Long- Lionel Richie
La Isla Bonita- Madonna


and on and on....

Hotel California was released in 1976. Its still a great song. Just not of the 80s'. Reads like you are listing your iPod selections.

you really got great taste in music, most of them are my favourites too, number one would be Come on Eileen, its such a funny song which makes you kind of happy :D

I'm not into much of what would be considered iconic 80's music. My favorite song's of the 80's are largely obscure or underground, like English punk & Japanese jazz. The more prominent stuff would be from NWA & Pink Floyd, I guess.

867-5309 by Tommy Tutone
Mr. Roboto by Styx
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight by Genesis
The Final Countdown by Europe
St. Elmo's Fire by John Parr

That's all I can think of for now.

Funny you should say that, because that's the year I was born. It wasn't released in the 80's, but was still big all through that decade due to Eagles still being very popular then. A lot of people forget that music groups back then typically had more staying power than current bands tend to do. So I heard that song played all through the 80's, right along with all the others listed.

Also, most of those songs ARE on my phone and mp3 playlists, not to mention my music library on my PC. Because that's the music era I usually listen to.



Yeah, it's a great song! I almost put it on my original list.

Any Iron Maiden song.

Apart from some of the more obvious ones already named... oh, this could be an interesting list, given I'm an obvious child of the 80s, and I've got a wealth of obscure singles to call upon :lol:

*tips hit to MsMD for mentioning One Night In Bangkok and Come On Eileen*

(didn't realise the latter had actually made it to the US)

Dexys Midnight Runner - Geno
XTC - Senses Working Overtime
Yazoo - Only You
Aneka - Japanese Boy
Madness - Embarrassment
Pet Shop Boys - Heart
Fine Young Cannibals - Suspicious Minds (definition of a cover better than the original)
Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (you may not know the song, but you'll recognise the samples other modern songs have used!)
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere
Nik Kershaw - The Riddle
Jonah Louie - Stop the Cavalry
Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
Ultravox - Vienna
Queen - I Want To Break Free
Alphaville - Big in Japan
Peter Schilling - A Different Story
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
The Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Pat Benetar - Love is a Battlefield
Roxette - The Look
The Stranglers - Golden Brown
The Clash - Rock the Casbah
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
OMD - Enola Gay
Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
Tears For Fears - Mad World
Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
Baltimora - Tarzan Boy
Yello - Oh Yeah
Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
The Bangles - Manic Monday
Level 42 - Lessons in Love
Buckner and Garcia - Pac-Man Fever :P

Obscure alright. I only recognize two names on your list.

Anyone from my era would have grown up listening to those heh... out of interest, which two had you heard of? I'm guessing The Bangles is one...

I will take a crack at it. I know 5. I know Suspicious Minds, but only Elvis'version. Also know Fine Young Cannibals who redid it,but only for their signature song She Drives Me Crazy. Aside from that...Manic Monday, Mad World, Little Lies, I Want To Break Free ( Mercury is creppy in drag), Bette Davis's Eyes, Pac-Man Fever (thanks to YouTube) , and Sweet Dreams. All are interesting tunes except Sweet Dreams IMHO. I cannot get past the line "some of them want to be abused".

Virtually none of that is obscure...

Hence the use of the word "could" heh... a couple of them probably are (no one I know remembers XTC or Peter Schilling), but as said, if you grew up here in the 80s, most of those should be known.