Bfl
This is fun! My picks as a 20-something back then, not in any particular order:
Van Halen - ‘Jump’
Bruce Hornsby and the Range - ‘The Way It Is’
Heart - ‘Alone’ (’Magic Man’ is better; I wore out their debut album)
Whitesnake - ‘Here I Go Again’
Rufus & Chaka Khan - ‘Ain’t Nobody’
Robert Palmer - ‘Addicted to Love’
Soul II Soul - ‘Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)’
Mike and the Mechanics - ‘The Living Years’ (ANYTHING Genesis-related is always GOLD to me)
Soft Cell - ‘Tainted Love’
Duran Duran - ‘Rio’
Roxy Music - ‘More than This’
Wham! - ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’
U2 - ‘With or Without You’
Peter Gabriel - ‘Sledgehammer’ (Again, Genesis!)
Guns N Roses - ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’
Fleetwood Mac - ‘Everywhere’
Simple Minds - ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’
Pet Shop Boys - ‘West End Girls’
David Bowie - ‘Let’s Dance’
A-Ha - ‘Take on Me’ (Best video ever - EVER!)
XTC - Love On A Farmboy’s Wages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VSFU0jKVYs
only 1 billy joel song ? I didn’t get a harrumph outta youse guys.(Pardon to Blazing Saddles)
Funny how the top selling song of all time is 35 on the list.
Just funny.
Sharp Dressed Man: ZZ Top: 1983.
Sadly i had no idea Eddie Van Halen played on Beat It. I saw this interview just a few days ago- OMG!!! Start at the 2 minute mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOb9iQrglg0
Best Instrumental of the 1980s
September Fifteenth - Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB7bkhslIXw
Need another list “The Top 100 Songs of the 80’s That Aren’t On the List of the 100 Top Songs of the 80’s”.
Not a bad list as far as popular music goes. Pretty much captures the vibe of that decade. Bit disappointing “Legs” by ZZ Top isn’t on it
Probably already been mentioned, but Life In Wartime / Talking Heads, and Jenny Jenny / Tommy TuTone.
(Not that one would know anything about that kinda stuff.)
Also Anarchy in the UK / Sex Pistols.
“Beautiful World” by Devo isn’t on there. At least a Madness tune is represented. I could make a better top 50 list than this list of 100.
These aren’t ranked (except by year), but they’re one of the places I like to go to for my 80’s fix.
https://www.youtube.com/@MarioMex/videos
I really don't think the 1980s was a good music decade when compared to the 1960s and 1970s. However, there are a few gems in there. I also really like The Tide is High by Blondie, Centerfield by John Fogerty, Down Under by Men at Work, Super Trouper by ABBA, Uptown Girls and The Longest Time by Billy Joel. Several of these songs seem to be 1950s retro which had a novelty niche for a while in the 1980s. Before he finalized the title, Lennon referred to his song as "Elvis Orbison" and later stated it was a kind of tribute to the rock pioneers like Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and Roy Orbison.
I came up with my Top 20 song list for the 1980s -- which is bigger than the Top 10 list I just posted on the 1990s thread!
1. "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley (maybe the defining song of the decade)
2. "Hysteria" by Def Leppard (fantastic guitar tracks, and one of the most underrated songs of all time)
3. "Waiting On A Friend" by the Rolling Stones (epic 1980s hit from a band that was around for a long time even then)
4. "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby & The Range
5. "Like A Rock" by Bob Seger
6. "It's All I Can Do" by the Cars (I cheated a bit on this one, since it was released in late December 1979 but it is definitely a 1980s sound)
7. "Time Stand Still" by Rush
8. "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart
9. "Find Your Way Back" by Starship
10. "Only The Young" by Journey
11. "The Flame" by Cheap Truck
12. "In A Big Country" by Big Country
13. "Suddenly Last Summer" by the Motels
14. "The Spirit Of Radio" by Rush
15. "Talk Of The Town" by the Pretenders
16. "Patience" by Guns and Roses
17. "Bad" by U2
18. "Stand Or Fall" by The Fixx
19. "Life In A Northern Town" by Dream Academy
20. "Valerie" by Steve Winwood
DEVO - I’ve ever been to a better live show
There's a guy and girl band on YouTube - The Fantastic Plastics - that do some very good Devo covers, theramin playing and all.