The 1980s were an incredible decade for music. The emergence of electronic dance music (electro, techno, house, freestyle, euro-dance) and new wave modern rock coincided with the continued popularity of soft rock, glam rock, thrash metal, and shred guitar. At the same time, post-disco, Italo-disco, Euro-disco, and dance-pop all grew in popularity.
With that in mind, there's a lot of music to choose from when picking the best songs from the 80s. But with the help of Reddit, Redditor u/u/toast2that asked, “What’s the best song of the 80s?” Here are the most popular answers.
1. “Just Like Heaven” – The Cure
u/letsgetrandy answered, “Just Like Heaven, by The Cure, literally has “hooks” on every instrument. It's easily one of the best pop songs ever made, and possibly the best of the 80s.”
This prompted u/toast2that to reply, “Great song. The Cure are definitely one of the best 80s bands.”
2. “Take On Me” – A-ha
u/ohyoushiksagoddess suggested, “Take on Me by Ah-ha.” The responses were mainly in favor, with u/GalFiasco saying, “Oh the MTV Unplugged version is one of my all time favorite songs!”
u/getyourcheftogether replied, “This gets my vote.”
3. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Tears for Fears
u/phonologotron said, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears.”
It garnered a positive response from u/Tail_Nom who said, “I think of Tears for Fears when I think of 80's, and I think of Everybody Wants to Rule the World when I think of Tears for Fears. It would be a massive shame to reduce them to that single song, but this is the fairest answer, I think.”
4. “Don't You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds
u/cogitoergopwn answered, “Don't You [sic] – Simple Minds,” which prompted u/OfficeChairHero to reply, “This is the definitive 80s song in my mind. And of course, Breakfast Club is the definitive movie.”
u/passporttohell said, “Yes, absolutely this!”
5. “Eyes Without a Face” – Billy Idol
u/ThoriumDog answered, “There is no one “best,” but I've been on a Billy Idol kick the last couple days so for the purpose of answering this question I will say: Eyes Without a Face.”
u/KolhiiHead69 and u/beatnickk both replied, with the former saying, “I love Eyes Without A Face. So underrated,” and the latter saying, “I discovered this song later in life and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard it before. Incredible s**t.”
6. “The Boys of Summer” – Don Henley
u/TheBugsMomma answered, “Boys of Summer [sic] by Don Henley,” prompting u/dballz12 to reply, “Dude…the nostalgia pods are activated hard with that riff. You feel like you're in a warm breeze while listening.”
7. “Another One Bites the Dust” – Queen
u/ckdickens answered, “Another one bites the dust-Queen. Also has the perk of being a song to perform CPR to.”
u/Fine-Tea-7477 responded, “This my jam.”
8. “Like a Prayer” – Madonna
u/yupstilldrunk suggested, “Like a prayer.” The response was positive, with u/ericbrent saying, “Yes! Absolutely epic and checks so many boxes.”
u/OfficeChairHero replied, “This song stirred up so much controversy. It's definitely top 10 of the 80s.”
u/sentient_luggage also replied, saying “The outro to this song is wicked. It's a very basic chord progression, but the baseline drives it, the chorus frames it, and Madonna sounds SO F***ING URGENT that it can't be ignored. Love this tune.”
9. “Blue Monday” – New Order
u/trojan_man16 and u/Drug_Ninja both answered, “New Order – Blue Monday.” Does anything more need to be said about this one?
10. “Running Up That Hill” – Kate Bush
Quite a long way down the Reddit page, u/Kwaranteen's answer, “Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush,” can be found – a track that's earned a new modern fanbase, given its use on Stranger Things in recent times.
u/luffypuppycorn replied saying, “I expected this to be way higher.”
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.