That’s a great list with several songs that I might have included. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year, Bill!
31.12.2025 13:48 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0That’s a great list with several songs that I might have included. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year, Bill!
31.12.2025 13:48 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
BEST 80s #1 “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson
Sex, paranoia & a throbbing beat. Jackson moonwalked to mega-stardom with his Quincy Jones-produced pop-disco smash inspired by a deranged stalker. “Billie Jean” paces the shadowy edges of the dance floor but can’t avoid the spotlight: it’s #1 of the 80s!
BEST 80s #2 “Every Breath You Take” by The Police
Sting wrote and delivered the lyrics with sinister intent but many in the public heard a love song. Andy Summers’ guitar riff, alongside Steward Copeland’s sharp drumming, creates a hypnotic effect; a filling dish from just a few perfect ingredients.
BEST 80s #3 “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
The greatest debut of the 80s, “Girls” is an amusement park ride on record, a party celebrating sunny equality. From its opening synthesizer skid, the song soars skyward; Lauper’s vocals wild with abandon atop a thick, riotous pogo-stick beat.
BEST 80s #4 “Beat It” by Michael Jackson
Announced with ‘galactic’ gong sounds from a Synclaver synthesizer, “Beat It” is an event from beginning to end. Jackson delivers a layered vocal, threatening & fearful, over a scorching Eddie Van Halen guitar showstopper & a rock-hard dance beat from Toto.
BEST 80s #5 “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman
A riveting folk song that freezes time to share desperate dreams rarely confessed on pop radio. Chapman was an immediate sensation with her simple, direct delivery and heartfelt hopes: a job, a home, a chance to “be someone” before we “live and die this way.”
BEST 80s #6 “Like a Prayer” by Madonna
Straddling the sacred and the sensual, the track begins with a jagged guitar riff by Prince & then abruptly transforms into a sweet hymn. Madonna’s broken & affecting take on the word “home” makes the arrival of the supportive choir feel like a rescue mission.
BEST 80s #7 “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns ‘n Roses
Axl Rose sings a virtuoso tribute to girlfriend Erin Everly. Noodling on the guitar, Slash came up with the opening earworm & the band built a beast around it, including the “where do we go now?” breakdown/breather that follows a 2nd Slash ripper.
BEST 80s #8 “When Doves Cry” by Prince
The guitar writhes against an insistent beat. Prince enters, briefly agonized, then sharply focused: we’ll dream our way out of the darkness. To a militant rhythm, he seduces, he reveals, he accuses, he begs, he spins a tornado of emotion & he coolly departs.
BEST 80s #9 “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen
A punchy pep-talk from deep inside a rut, “Dancing” lifts its downcast hero closer and closer to happy, thanks to Springsteen’s steadily more hopeful vocals, a Clarence Clemons subtly celebratory sax, and that inspiring, recurring synth riff.
BEST 80s #10 “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler
Theatrical & bombastic, Bonnie Tyler sinks her teeth and her rasp into Jim Steinman’s stormy melodrama. Lonely piano, crashing drums, booming synths, & Rory Dodd’s eerie back-up creates a howling romantic implosion - and a singular smash.
BEST 80s #11 “Purple Rain” by Prince & the Revolution
Prince visualized purple rain falling at world’s end and composed an anthem for those final moments: hypnotic, cathartic, and grand. It’s a masterful 8:42 that grew out of a six-hour Revolution recording session, and every second feels essential.
BEST 80s #12 “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley
Guitar chords sketch a melancholy late-fall vibe, summer a distant memory. Heartbreaker Mike Campbell wrote it with Henley, whose performance won a Grammy and whose sighting of a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac became a lasting symbol of time’s cruelty.
![Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It (Official Music Video) [HD Upgrade]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:i4vjrnaehhinubvw6q6322gv/bafkreic5k7yljjyoehvqkgjwpmilp4fhjkxzyhcoa3r2avf4vp5bp2rryq@jpeg)
BEST 80s #13 “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” by Tina Turner
The song arrives with a pulsing beat & quizzical flourishes: the stage set for Tina, wise & weary. With a heartbroken rasp, she denies that what she’s feeling could be healing. A stellar blend of backstory & performance; a comeback smash.
BEST 80s #14 “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper
Over a soothing music bed with a subtle tick-tock rhythm, Cyndi Lauper delivers a heartfelt message with charisma & sincerity. Co-written with Hooter Rob Hyman, the track, with its memorable “suitcase of memories,” is timeless. It was her first #1 hit.
![Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (Official Video) [HD REMASTERED]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:i4vjrnaehhinubvw6q6322gv/bafkreid3kobvdw3gqeragyfqpsxm4p2zwdlpdzhkcpoyyyzles3tvx3jtu@jpeg)
BEST 80s #15 “West End Girls” by Pet Shop Boys
An eerie dance mood piece from former music critic Neil Tennant & synth whiz Chris Lowe. Packed with atmosphere from its opening lines, “West End Girls” launched one of the longest-running quality careers in pop history, even if America bailed early.
BEST 80s #16 “Don’t You Want Me?” by Human League
Philip Oakey thought his “Star Is Born” inspired duet with Susan Ann Sulley was a throwaway & fought its release as the 4th single from the “Dare” LP. Today, he allows he might have been wrong. The booming, biting synth track was a cinematic smash.
Oh he is definitely the worst President ever.
15.12.2025 17:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
BEST 80s #17 “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ‘n Roses
Melodic metal with a manic beat, “Jungle” is about arriving in a city where you’re the welcome mat. The lyrics commemorate a homeless man’s greeting when Axl Rose got to L.A.: “You know where you are? You’re in the jungle baby, you’re gonna die!”
BEST 80s #18 “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes
Spooky, rippling synths & a driving beat set the stage for a captivating temptress, “pure as New York snow.” Keyboard player Bill Cuomo came up with the shimmering riff; Carnes’ raspy vocal is filled with teasing admiration. The screen legend sent roses.
BEST 80s #19 “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner
Lou Gramm’s ardent vocal is a lighthouse calling the lonely & when he’s joined by the New Jersey Mass Choir & Jennifer Holliday, the surge of emotion is hard-earned. Mick Jones wrote it at 3 a.m. & deems it a gift delivered from another realm.
BEST 80s #20 “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics
“Everybody’s looking for something” on the Eurythmics’ massive debut hit. Dave Stewart, who composed the relentless synthesizer riff, thought it needed hope, so Annie Lennox added the encouraging tip “hold your head up, keep your head up.”
BEST 80s #21 “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
Like Stevie Wonder’s “Living in the City” coda expanded to full-length feature. Over a hypnotic rhythm track, Melle Mel & Duke Bootee trade you-are-there horrors. The refrain says it all: “Don’t push me, cause I’m close to the edge.”
BEST 80s #22 “Whip It” by Devo
A motivational pep talk from outer space with spaced-out lyrics and an insanely catchy guitar-synth hook, “Whip It” was inspired by Devo’s wish to inspire Jimmy Carter in his doomed presidential race against Ronald Reagan, but rumors of a self-pleasure theme dominated.
That’s a great article - thank you!
09.12.2025 18:06 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
BEST 80s #23 “Call Me” by Blondie
No one mixed rock aggression & disco hedonism better than Giorgio “Hot Stuff” Morodor, and for the “American Gigolo” theme, he built a monster track to unleash Blondie’s Debbie Harry upon. Electrifying and fearless, she drove the track to the top of the charts.
![Van Halen - Jump (Official Music Video) [HD]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:i4vjrnaehhinubvw6q6322gv/bafkreiexw5whef3n4yrejzy5cnjxxcpxe6spzkms6kroba6weetdseem4e@jpeg)
BEST 80s #24 “Jump” by Van Halen
A synthesizer hook could’ve been a leap too far for the guitar-focused rockers, but it was Eddie himself who came up with the central “Jump” riff. David Lee Roth credits roadie Larry Hostler with helping him shape the song’s rousing ‘just get up and do it!’ message.
![Chaka Khan - I Feel for You (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:i4vjrnaehhinubvw6q6322gv/bafkreiaj4bskam7rba6phufv544cqwt46tz5xpo7ssjsq2my4seehyknui@jpeg)
BEST 80s #25 “I Feel for You” by Chaka Khan
A four-star all-star affair: Chaka’s version of Prince’s song has soaring, sunny vocals, a popping-and-locking break-beat, Stevie’s harmonica & “Fingertips,” and Melle Mel’s rap & his iconic intro - an Arif Mardin production error turned perfect mistake.
BEST 80s #26 “Need You Tonight” by INXS
A hypnotic and sensual slap-step groove with a tickling guitar riff and a hushed Michael Hutchence vocal: low, seductive, and briefly, exposed. (“I’m lonely!”). Written by Hutchence with Andrew Farris, “Need You Tonight” is the band’s sole US Number One hit.
![a-ha - Take On Me (Official Video) [4K]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:i4vjrnaehhinubvw6q6322gv/bafkreihouqgfo367jgcydx4n33mli7xqyhliqb3ccckzv2zbpkvokecnnu@jpeg)
BEST 80s #27 “Take on Me” by A-Ha
A-Ha worked and re-worked “Take on Me,” eventually landing on a world-dominating sequence of dizzying & frantic keyboard and drum runs complemented by Morten Harket’s low-down to sky-high vocals. As one record exec described him, Roy Orbison with movie star looks.