We have seen music go from the suited "crooners" to the leather-clad "greasers" of the fifties. We saw the Beatle era come and go, moving on to the long-haired, free lovin' years of the 70's. The 80's brought us big hair and Pop-Rock.
I will never forget cruising down a Florida highway, windows down, singing that Def Leppard hit, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" as loud as I could. Written over a 5 minute cup pf coffee, this hit song made it all the way up the charts to #2 on the 100 top hits list of the 1980's. Oh, yeah, "Red light, yellow light, green light go"...
The 1980's were great times for big haired, but terribly handsome, Bon Jovi. This 80's heart throb took "Livin' On a Prayer" all the way to #1. The story he tells of Tommy and Gina's struggle to make ends meet touched a chord in a lot of people. This is another oldie but goodie that we can all still identify with.
The British band, Duran Duran came to the chart with "Hungry Like the Wolf" in the 80's. Shooting to the 3rd spot on "Billboard's Hot 100" list of 80's music, they had everyone croaking out the lyrics, "Scent and sound, I'm lost and I'm found".
No count down can ever be complete without including Madonna. Madonna flooded the 80's with great songs and one of those was "Like a Virgin". Almost everyone knew this song. The lyrics "...touched for the very first time..." even made appearances in television comedy routines.
How about "Love Shack"? Surely you can remember the B-52s singing about their "...love shack bay-bee..."!
I personally will never forget the first time I heard Foreigner's great love song, "I Want to Know What Love Is"; but I will keep that one a secret! All I can say, is it should have made it higher than #65 on the top 100 chart!
How about Tone-Loc knockin' it out with "Wild thing"; or Bruce Springsteen and "Born in the USA". The Boss' song only made it to #48 in the 80's, but it is still bringing it 20 years later.
Prince was there for us wit "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry", and Poison hit the chart at #34 with "Every Rose Has Its Thorne".
The 80's was a great time for music. Many of the best songs from the 1980's are still favorites of both young and not-so-young today.
For a complete list of the Top 100 Songs of the 1980's....click here.....
Published by Beth Inman
One of Y!CN's top writers, I lead a very busy life, but am learning to take time to do the things I like to do... for me. One of those things is to write. View profile
- Top HIts of the '80s (Volume 1)Here is a list of 100 out of more than 500 great songs in the '80s
- Top Songs of the '80s (Volume 2)Here is the next 100 songs from the 500 greatest songs of the 80s. Listed in alphabetical order.
- Top 100 Songs of the '70s You Should OwnIf you're a fan of the 1970s, here is a list of all the songs you need to make one great collection
- How Janet Jackson Took Control of the '80sA look at Janet Jackson's first successful album, Control, and it's impact on music of the 1980's and thereafter.
- Top 10 Metal Songs of the '80sThe greatest tracks from the hair bands of the 80s
- Classic 80s Music Reviews: Footloose Movie Soundtrack
- Classic 80s Music Reviews: Flashdance Movie Soundtrack
- Classic 80's Music Reviews
- Top Ten Songs of the 1960s
- The Best And/or Most Memorable Films of the Eighties
- Finding Good Music Reviews Online
- Classic 80s Movies: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
