10 Favorite Songs Of The 1980's

Says it all in the title, doesn't it?

1. Once In A Lifetime (Talking Heads, 1980)
2. You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC, 1980)
3. Purple Rain (Prince, 1984)
4. Keep On Loving You (REO Speedwagon, 1980)
5. I Melt With You (Modern English, 1982)
6. Girls On Film (Duran Duran, 1981)
7. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)(Talking Heads, 1983)
8. Money For Nothing (Dire Straits, 1985)
9. Throw Your Arms Around Me (Hunters And Collectors, 1984)
10. Don't Leave Me This Way (The Communards, 1986)

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

An honorable mention goes to most of The Eurythmics back catalogue, likewise with The Talking Heads, and "Electric Blue" & "We Can Get Together" from Icehouse. I'll also mention "You Got It" by Roy Orbison and "Hold Me Now" by The Thompson Twins.

I may like a LOT of disposable '80's crap, but frankly, I don't really consider caring.

I'd rather do 100... in no particular order:

1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun -- Cyndi Lauper
2. Time After Time -- Cyndi Lauper
3. Karma Chameleon -- Culture Club
4. Mr. Roboto -- Styx
5. No Easy Way Out -- Robert Tepper
6. Sledgehammer -- Peter Gabriel
7. Sunglasses at Night -- Corey Hart
8. The Boys of Summer -- Don Henley
9. All She Wants to Do is Dance -- Don Henley
10. Thriller -- Michael Jackson
11. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' -- Michael Jackson
12. Human Nature -- Michael Jackson
13. Material Girl -- Madonna
14. Papa Don't Preach -- Madonna
15. Into The Groove -- Madonna
16. Open Your Heart -- Madonna
17. Close (to the Edit) -- The Art of Noise
18. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? -- Culture Club
19. Der Kommissar -- After the Fire
20. I've Got My Mind Set On You -- George Harrison
21. Walking on Sunshine -- Katrina and the Waves
22. Fast Car -- Tracy Chapman
23. Footloose -- Kenny Loggins
24. Let's Hear It For The Boy -- Deniece Williams
25. She Blinded Me With Science -- Thomas Dolby
26. I Want Your Sex -- George Michael
27. Father Figure -- George Michael
28. Careless Whisper -- WHAM!
29. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go -- WHAM!
30. Keep Feeling Fascination -- The Human League
31. Different Light -- The Bangles
32. Walk Like an Egyptian -- The Bangles
33. You Can Call Me Al -- Paul Simon
34. We Built This City -- Starship
35. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now -- Starship
36. Walk of Life -- Dire Straits
37. Skeletons -- Stevie Wonder
38. Wild, Wild West -- Escape Club
39. She's a Beauty -- The Tubes
40. Drive -- The Cars
41. I'm Still Standing -- Elton John
42. Wrap Her Up -- Elton John and George Michael
43. Rock Me Amadeus -- Falco
44. Crazy for You -- Madonna
45. Causing a Commotion -- Madonna
46. Who's That Girl -- Madonna
47. Too Late for Goodbyes -- Julian Lennon
48. Tonight She Comes -- The Cars
49. Dynamite -- Jermaine Jackson
50. Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming -- Jermaine Jackson
51. Torture -- The Jacksons
52. Body -- The Jacksons
53. Operator -- Midnight Star
54. Raspberry Beret -- Prince
55. Little Red Corvette -- Prince
56. Somebody's Watching Me -- Rockwell
57. Head Over Heels -- Tears for Fears
58. Shout -- Tears for Fears
59. Everybody Wants To Rule The World -- Tears for Fears
60. Always Something There To Remind Me -- Naked Eyes
61. Out of Touch -- Hall and Oates
62. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic -- The Police
63. Every Breath You Take -- The Police
64. Don't Stand So Close to Me -- The Police
65. Who Can It Be Now? -- Men at Work
66. Jump -- Van Halen
67. Owner of a Lonely Heart -- Yes
68. Take on Me -- A-ha
69. Africa -- Toto
70. Puttin' on the Ritz -- Taco
71. Glory Days -- Bruce Springsteen
72. Dancing in the Dark -- Bruce Springsteen
73. The Safety Dance -- Men Without Hats
74. Whip It -- Devo
75. Our House -- Madness
76. Celebration -- Kool and the Gang
77. Maneater -- Hall and Oates
78. Steppin' Out -- Joe Jackson
79. Take My Breath Away -- Berlin
80. Danger Zone -- Kenny Loggins
81. If You Were Here -- Thompson Twins
82. One Night in Bangkok -- Murray Head
83. Too Shy -- Kajagoogoo
84. Rock the Casbah -- The Clash
85. Easy Lover -- Phil Collins
86. Sussudio -- Phil Collins
87. Land of Confusion -- Genesis
88. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight -- Genesis
89. Invisible Touch -- Genesis
90. Cruel Summer -- Bananarama
91. Love Shack -- The B-52's
92. Rock Lobster -- The B-52's
93. You Got It (The Right Stuff) -- New Kids on the Block
94. Need You Tonight -- INXS
95. Don't Stop Believin' -- Journey
96. Sister Christian -- Night Ranger
97. I Melt With You -- Modern English
98. Don't You (Forget About Me) -- Simple Minds
99. Wild Sex -- Oingo Boingo
100. Some Like It Hot -- The Power Station

The insane thing is I could probably think of another 100.

10? Impossible. I could only narrow it to 20. In alphabetical order because picking an absolute favorite is just as impossible.

1. Broken Wings, Mr. Mister


2. Careless Whisper, George Michael


3. Could You Be Loved, Bob Marley


4. Don't Come Around Here No More, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers


5. Don't You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds


6. Go Insane, Lindsey Buckingham (Official video not available, so here's a re-worked acoustic live performance of the song)


7. Handle With Care, The Traveling Wilburys


8. In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins


9. It Must Have Been Love, Roxette


10. Like A Prayer, Madonna


11. Never Tear Us Apart, INXS


12. The Safety Dance, Men Without Hats


13. Shout, Tears For Fears


14. Somebody's Watching Me, Rockwell


15. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty


16. Take On Me, A-Ha


17. When Doves Cry, Prince
(Apparently Prince has blocked all his music on YouTube.)

18. Wicked Game, Chris Isaak


19. With Or Without You, U2


20. You Got It, Roy Orbison (forgive the fan vid)

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I really love Handle With Care by The Travelling Wilburys, so much that I have it on vinyl (I own some records, but only of music I really love).

Dang it!

I totally forgot Berlin's Take My Breath Away

But... I don't know which song to take off the list to make room. Ack!

This is way too hard.

I was going to include "Wicked Game" and "When Doves Cry", but I'll trade those out. Here's at least an introductory set.

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cjVMOvJywk
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_t13-0Joyc
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu2iv-vMKT8
&feature=related
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1WeDC7-Jzo

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

101. Happy Birthday -- Altered Images
102. Axel F -- Harold Faltermeyer
103. The Heat Is On -- Glenn Frey
104. Neutron Dance -- The Pointer Sisters
105. I'm So Excited -- The Pointer Sisters
106. The Power of Love -- Huey Lewis & The News
107. Back in Time -- Huey Lewis & The News
108. Murderess -- The Power Station
109. Go to Zero -- The Power Station
110. Get It On (Bang a Gong) -- The Power Station
111. I Didn't Mean To Turn You On -- Robert Palmer
112. Hyperactive -- Robert Palmer
113. You Are In My System -- Robert Palmer
114. Let's Go Crazy -- Prince
115. I Would Die 4 U -- Prince
116. 1999 -- Prince
117. U Got The Look -- Prince
118. Kiss -- Prince
119. Purple Rain -- Prince
120. Loverboy -- Billy Ocean
121. Electric Avenue -- Eddy Grant
122. Mony Mony -- Billy Idol
123. White Wedding -- Billy Idol
124. Mickey -- Toni Basil
125. Rock This Town -- Stray Cats
126. You Might Think -- The Cars
127. I Want To Know What Love Is -- Foreigner
128. Broken Wings -- Mr. Mister
129. Only In My Dreams -- Debbie Gibson
130. Send Me An Angel -- Real Life
131. Things Can Only Get Better -- Howard Jones
132. How Will I Know? -- Whitney Houston
133. I Wanna Dance with Somebody -- Whitney Houston
134. Something About You -- Level 42
135. Tainted Love -- Soft Cell
136. Come On Eileen -- Dexy's Midnight Runners
137. Vacation -- Go-Go's
138. Relax -- Frankie Goes To Hollywood
139. The Look of Love -- ABC
140. Obsession -- Animotion
141. Good Thing -- Fine Young Cannibals
142. Voices Carry -- 'til Tuesday
143. Shake It Up -- The Cars
144. Let's Go All The Way -- Sly Fox
145. Control -- Janet Jackson
146. What Have You Done For Me Lately? -- Janet Jackson
147. Nasty -- Janet Jackson
148. When I Think of You -- Janet Jackson
149. The Pleasure Principle -- Janet Jackson
150. Rhythm Nation -- Janet Jackson
151. Escapade -- Janet Jackson
152. Miss You Much -- Janet Jackson
153. Black Cat -- Janet Jackson
154. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car -- Billy Ocean
155. When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going -- Billy Ocean
156. Walking in the Rain -- Grace Jones
157. My Jamaican Guy -- Grace Jones
158. Pull Up To The Bumper -- Grace Jones
159. I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) -- Grace Jones
160. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) -- Eurythmics
161. She Drives Me Crazy -- Fine Young Cannibals
162. Higher Love -- Steve Winwood
163. Hungry Like The Wolf -- Duran Duran
164. Everybody Have Fun Tonight -- Wang Chung
165. Lucky Star -- Madonna
166. Live To Tell -- Madonna
167. Express Yourself -- Madonna
168. Vogue -- Madonna
169. La Isla Bonita -- Madonna
170. Borderline -- Madonna
171. Cherish -- Madonna
172. I Found Someone -- Cher
173. If I Could Turn Back Time -- Cher
174. Eyes Without a Face -- Billy Idol
175. Jack and Diane -- John Cougar Mellencamp
176. What's Love Got To Do With It? -- Tina Turner
177. Private Dancer -- Tina Turner
178. We Don't Need Another Hero -- Tina Turner
179. One of the Living -- Tina Turner
180. Typical Male -- Tina Turner
181. All Night Long -- Lionel Richie
182. Maniac -- Michael Sembello
183. Tarzan Boy -- Baltimora
184. 99 Luftballons -- Nena
185. I've Had The Time of My Life -- Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
186. Hungry Eyes -- Eric Carmen
187. Smooth Operator -- Sade
188. It's The End of the World as We Know It -- R.E.M.
189. 867-5309 (Jenny) -- Tommy Tutone
190. Total Eclipse of the Heart -- Bonnie Tyler
191. You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) -- Dead or Alive
192. Don't Worry, Be Happy -- Bobby McFerrin
193. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) -- Michael Jackson
194. Smooth Criminal -- Michael Jackson
195. Baby Be Mine -- Michael Jackson
196. Billie Jean -- Michael Jackson
197. Speed Demon -- Michael Jackson
198. Liberian Girl -- Michael Jackson
199. Just Good Friends -- Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder
200. I Ran (So Far Away) -- Flock of Seagulls

Just a quick shot at it:

1. "Once in a Lifetime" ~ Talking Heads (1980)
2. "Tom Sawyer" ~ Rush (1981)
3. "The Spirit of Radio" ~ Rush (1980)
4. "One" ~ Metallica (1988)
5. "Orion" ~ Metallica (1986)
6. "She Sells Sanctuary" ~ The Cult (1985)
7. "Raining Blood" ~ Slayer (1986)
8. "Run to the Hills" ~ Iron Maiden (1982)
9. "The Trooper" ~ Iron Maiden (1983)
10. "Mountain Song" ~ Jane's Addiction (1988)

May revise it and restrict it to one song per artist just to get some variety since, with the exception of "Once in a Lifetime", it all seems to be rock and metal.

"Second verse, same as the first" (sorta):

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl8ULWxt7sQ
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRat31rzkto
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiW-drprous
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTmfQVXgqXw
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNpQmlsnIwE

So many more...

Here's my top five. The rest aren't in any order and I'll post them later.

5. Foetus -
4. Michael Nyman - (this is the "composer's cut" version from the 2005 reissue)
3. Yello - (weirdly sped up)
2. Butthole Surfers -
1. The Fall -

Awesome! I think if I made a list, I'll Meet You in Poland Baby would make it.

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Oh, Mark F, what are you doing? That's not '80s music.

I can't think of any album that it's harder to pick just one favorite song from!

Here's a quick top 40. Very subjective, and I tried (mostly in vain) to limit the repeat artists:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11. Current 93 – Christ and the Pale Queens, Mighty in Sorrow
12. Coil – Cardinal Points
13. The Legendary Pink Dots – The Lovers (Pt 2)
14. Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones
15. Dead Kennedys – Moon Over Marin
16. Clock DVA – The Hacker
17. Einstuerzende Neubauten – Seele Brennt
18. Public Image Ltd. – The Order of Death
19. Psychic TV – Unclean
20. Warren Zevon – Boom Boom Mancini
21. Test Dept. – Compulsion
22. Tom Waits – 16 Shells from a 30.6
23. Foetus – Descent into the Inferno
24. Skinny Puppy – Assimilate
25. Ministry – Stigmata
26. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Cabin Fever
27. Coil – Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)
28. Slayer – Raining Blood
29. Front Line Assembly – Testimony
30. Dead Can Dance - Cantara
31. Death in June – Last Farewell
32. Naked City – A Shot in the Dark
33. Chrome – Static Gravity
34. Godflesh – Christbait Rising
35. Dead Kennedys – Holiday in Cambodia
36. The Clash – Rock the Casbah
37. Clock DVA – The Unseen
38. Chu Ishikawa – Megatron
39. Revolting Cocks – In the Neck
40. Depeche Mode – To Have and to Hold

This is mostly going off of what I have on my CPU. I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton.

Also, sorry if some of them aren't from the 80's. I was too lazy to date check them. I'm pretty sure they all fit though.

Nice list, especially like the Tom Waits appreciation.

+rep for the Zevon inclusion, re93.