The Best 80s Music ~ Top 100 of the Decade (page 3 of 3)

We pick it up again at #35 and head all the way to #1 best song of the 80s!

“Livin' in the Eighties”

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Anything, Anything ⁽¹⁹⁸⁵⁾ by Dramarama - #35

A harbinger of things to come, Anything, Anything featured a very 90s style of sound—amped up, dirty rhythm guitar and shouted vocals—way back in the mid-80s. While this song found a home and heavy rotation on L.A.'s influential alternative radio station KROQ, the band never made it to the big time, not even when the 90s caught up to them.

Still in Hollywood ⁽¹⁹⁸⁷⁾ by Concrete Blonde - #34

For those who had never been to Hollywood and still believed it to be a glamourous place, the lyrics to this song may have seemed confusing at the time of its release. Why complain about being in Hollywood? Doesn't everyone want to be in Hollywood? But by the late 1980s, Hollywood (as in the actual, physical area) had lost a lot of its luster. Hollywood Blvd. had become the domain of cheap tattoo parlors and hookers and the area's rundown apartments were the home of many broke musicians.

In the 2000s the area went through much "revitalization," but the context of Hollywood in the 80s is important to understanding this particular tune by Concrete Blonde.

Suedehead ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Morrissey - #33

The end of The Smiths caught Morrissey by surprise, but he just barreled ahead anyway. The final Smiths album Strangeways Here We Come and Morrissey's first solo album Viva Hate sound so much alike that they could almost be the same album.

And although The Smiths' Johnny Marr would certainly be considered one of rock's greatest guitarists, Suedehead proved that Morrissey didn't need him in order to create a fantastic song.

Ocean Size ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Jane's Addiction - #32

Seldom has a song's lyrics so perfectly fit the feel of the music. Ocean Size, indeed.

No Myth ⁽¹⁹⁸⁹⁾ by Michael Penn - #31

Michael Penn got a pretty good start to his musical career while still an unknown via a coveted spot on Saturday Night Live... which his brother Sean happened to be hosting that week.

Nepotism aside, Penn gained a ton of respect from critics for his masterful songwriting, highlighted quite effectively on No Myth.

The Back of Love ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by Echo and the Bunnymen - #30

Though they didn't achieve much success in the US (their song Lips Like Sugar was their only US hit, and a modest one at that) Echo and the Bunnymen were a huge force in pretty much every other part of the world in the 80s and their "neo-psychedelic" style influence a slew of young British bands.

Under Pressure ⁽¹⁹⁸²⁾ by Queen & David Bowie - #29

Take two giants of a decade's music (in this case, the decade of the 70s) and bring them together in a studio in the next decade and you're unlikely to get something mediocre: either you'll get something utterly fantastic or something absolutely terrible. Luckily for us, Under Pressure is the former.

Cuts You Up ⁽¹⁹⁸⁹⁾ by Peter Murphy - #28

Peter Murphy had previously been the lead singer of Bauhaus, which was one of those bands which, while not gaining a huge mainstream following, did influence a whole lot of musicians to come.

On his solo album, Murphy combines the somber nature of his previous band with a sparklingly clean production style. The simple arrangement of Cuts You Up is notable as is the delicate and alluring beauty of the solo cello part.

A Night Like This ⁽¹⁹⁸⁵⁾ by The Cure - #27

As has been noted elsewhere, the music of The Cure seems to bounce back and forth between happy, silly songs and gigantic, gothic and depressing songs.

A Night Like This may very well be the best of the gothic and depressing. In a way it was also something of a marker in that The Cure's next album featured the song Just Like Heaven which took them from 80s cult group to the top of the charts.

Burning Down the House ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by Talking Heads - #26

The album Speaking in Tongues and more specifically the tune Burning Down the House brought the epic quirkiness and utter originality of Talking Heads to a mainstream audience.

Its success was a bit of a surprise in that the Heads were simply doing what they always did -- arty, rocking tunes -- but this one caught on.

The Promise ⁽¹⁹⁸⁵⁾ by Arcadia - #25

A one-album side project from half the members of Duran Duran, the Arcadia album So Red the Rose featured a slight departure for those musicians, as it was basically an artier, more serious version of the pop group. It is also notable in that it utilized many, many tracks of synthesizers and guitars (listen to the album on headphones and you'll hear about a million different parts coming in and out) to create a huge sound which influenced many producers down the line.

The Promise also features simply mesmerizing lead guitar work from Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and backing vocals by Sting.

Here Comes the Rain Again ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by Eurythmics - #24

Eurythmics took a huge creative step forward with this tune. Already known as pioneers in the field of synth music, Eurythmics added another layer by working in collaboration with film composer Michael Kamen to blend real strings together with their synths for one gigantic and beautiful tune, and something entirely new in the genre of synth music.

Sweet Jane ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Cowboy Junkies - #23

Recorded live in an abandoned church, Cowboy Junkies' cover of Lou Reed's Sweet Jane became a huge and unexpected hit. A bit of an anomaly in that it was a quiet song being played on rock radio, you can almost feel the space in the room as this song rolls mellowly along.

Jane Says ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Jane's Addiction - #22

During the mid 80s Jane's Addiction tore through LA's club scene, returning gritty, bombastic, epic rock to a scene dominated by bands whose main focus seemed to be on teasing their hair. Perry Farrell would later cement his place in music history as the founder of Lalapalooza and Dave Navarro would land on several "greatest guitarist" lists, but during the time of their album Nothing's Shocking they were taking hard rock back from the hair bands.

That being said, Jane Says was that album's low-key song, with a brilliant mix of acoustic guitars, steel drums and a tale of life in the seedier parts of Hollywood.

The Boys of Summer ⁽¹⁹⁸⁴⁾ by Don Henley - #21

Don Henley was the co-songwriter/co-lead-singer of one of the biggest bands of the 1970s, The Eagles. When the 80s came around and the Eagles were no more, Henley embarked on a solo project that sounded absolutely nothing like his former band. He crafted the sort of project which has been attempted by many, many musicians as they age (and which usually results in embarrasing failure): namely, taking his music and updating it for a younger generation.

Let's face it, this is the kind of thing that has "Crash and Burn Imminent" written all over it. But amazingly, Henley made it work. The skillful synth arrangements were so right (the haunted feel of Boys of Summer is just perfect) that you would swear that they had been created by someone who had been pioneering the synth genre, not by the man who had written and recorded Desperado.

Down in It ⁽¹⁹⁸⁹⁾ by Nine Inch Nails - #20

The release of Pretty Hate Machine in 1989 was a watershed moment in music. For the first time an angry young man had latched onto a synthesizer instead of a guitar — he then proceeded to shred the hell out of an instrument heretofore not used for shredding. Trent Reznor made electronic music rock and it was an approach that definitely hit a chord as witnessed by the countless imitators he inspired.

Recorded while Reznor was a "gopher" at a recording studio in (of all places) Cleveland, Pretty Hate Machine is also important in that it was first released by an independent label (TVT, which previously had been called TeeVee Tunes and had made its money by pitching novelty records on cheesy late-night television spots), and the album became one of the first by an indie label to achieve platinum status.

Fall on Me ⁽¹⁹⁸⁶⁾ by R.E.M. - #19

R.E.M. continued to gain more fans and sell more records with each release they had during the 80s (this was before the internet age and Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and all that). For the album Life's Rich Pageant the band teamed with bonafide hit-making producer Don Gehman. Though he didn't turn them into chart-toppers (that wouldn't come for a few more years) Gehman is credited with making Michael Stipe's previously mumbled and mixed-back vocals crisper and brought to the front of the mix; he also pressured Stipe and company to focus more on their lyrics.

This is perfectly demonstrated on the environmentally themed Fall on Me, the video for which, by the way, is possibly the first instance of the now-popular "lyric video" (it also contains a typo, but let's not hold that against them).

Shout ⁽¹⁹⁸⁵⁾ by Tears for Fears - #18

By the mid-80s a lot of bands had added more synth to their sounds, meanwhile a pioneering synth group did just the opposite: with Songs From The Big Chair Roland Orzabal jettisoned most of the synths in favor of a full band and the fuller sound that could be created.

Shout is a powerhouse of a song, whose lyrics are based around the same primal scream therapy that had inspired the band's name in the first place.

She's Got a New Spell ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Billy Bragg - #17

An iconoclast with a capital "I," Billy Bragg has made his career on politically-charged, folk-inspired tunes. But the always outspoken Bragg also knows how to make a pretty cool pop song, as he does with this tune from the album Workers' Playtime.

Never Let Me Down Again ⁽¹⁹⁸⁷⁾ by Depeche Mode - #16

Synth pioneers Depeche Mode know how to delve deeply into the dark side. On this tune Martin Gore turns his writing talent to the issue of drug abuse.

Saved by Zero ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by The Fixx - #15

The Fixx combined intricate synth parts with crisp, ringing guitar tones. Saved by Zero creates a somber meditative mood.

Cult of Personality ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Living Colour - #14

For some reason the thought of a black group rocking hard seemed almost a foreign idea in the 80s (strange, when you consider that the first rock and roll was white guys blatantly ripping off African-American blues musicians, and considering that one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock was Jimi Hendrix). But rock, they did.

Cult of Personality is a hard-hitting political song with the fantastic guitar work of Vernon Reid. The song is also memorable for utilizing samples of famous political speeches in a rock song.

Sweet Dreams ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by Eurythmics - #13

Annie Lennox with a bright red buzz cut and a video featuring Dave Stewart working on a computer in a field full of cows—that's how the world was introduced to the seminal synth song Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Eurythmics had been kicking around somewhat unsuccessfully for a few years, when according to Stewart, a synth pattern played backward caught his ear and eventually was turned into this song.

Interestingly, Eurythmics was one of the first bands to utilize a home studio, as Lennox and Stewart felt that having the equipment at their disposal allowed more time for creative experimentation, many of their early tunes, such as this one, were recorded on an 8-track reel-to-reel at home rather than in a full-blown production studio. And no one was the wiser.

Sunday Bloody Sunday ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by U2 - #12

U2 at their political best. A young, passionate Irish band writing about the "Troubles" in their home country. Powerful stuff and a classic.

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want ⁽¹⁹⁸⁴⁾ by The Smiths - #11

Lyrically speaking, this is probably the definitive song for The Smiths.

The simple acoustic guitar part is a much mellower statement than usual from Johnny Marr, but it is beautiful and works perfectly with Morrissey's tortured words on this one.

Rock the Casbah ⁽¹⁹⁸²⁾ by The Clash - #10

There were many kids in the middle of America who completely missed England's 70s punk, simply because in those days their only musical source was local Top 40 radio. In the early 80s MTV changed that by giving young music lovers a glimpse of music beyond the charts and from around the world. For many in the first MTV generation, Rock the Casbah was their first exposure to punk.

The Clash's hard-hitting political music is definitely in your face on this tune, whose music video featured an Arab and a Jew out on a road trip. And because of this tune, many of those young Americans retroactively sought out the genre of punk.

Troy ⁽¹⁹⁸⁷⁾ by Sinead O'Connor - #9

The first glimpse that many of us got of the bald, petite volcano that was Sinead O'Connor was the song Troy, which on its release in 1987 was quite a unique statement. In the 1960s some groups such as The Moody Blues had experimented with using an orchestra in rock songs, but in the 80s, let's just say this was something that hadn't been done in a while. Then along comes Troy, which features O'Connor's passionate, screaming vocals atop an orchestral arrangement.

Not a huge hit, but definitely a huge statement from an important new voice.

Luka ⁽¹⁹⁸⁷⁾ by Suzanne Vega - #8

Coming out of what was left of the folk scene in New York, Suzanne Vega took her great guitar riffs, combined them with experimental-sounding electric guitars and synths, then topped it off with her unique vocal style. Her minimalistic singing style, soft almost to the point of a whisper and confined within a narrow range, managed to somehow portray an intense amount of emotion, and perfectly fit her quirky and intelligent lyric style.

Through most of her career she has lived on the outskirts of popularity, but Luka gave her a first glimpse of a wider audience.

Fragile ⁽¹⁹⁸⁷⁾ by Sting - #7

A pure triumph from a man who has probably written more hit songs in his lifetime than pretty much anyone else, Fragile is a heartbreakingly beautiful song. For the previous few years Sting had been experimenting with tinging his rock songs with jazz, and in this one he uses a beautiful Spanish guitar lick which creeps into your bones.

Atop that he has written some of his most touching lyrics: inspired by a true and tragic civilian death in the midst of war-torn country.

Forever Now ⁽¹⁹⁸²⁾ by The Psychedelic Furs - #6

The Psychedelic Furs took a huge creative leap with the album Forever Now. Produced by progressive rock icon Todd Rundgren, the band dove into the world of synthesizers and intricate production techniques with which Rundgren had been experimenting. The result was a work unlike any before (or since). On previous records the Furs had taken a punk-inspired energy and added intricate layers of musicianship.

With Forever Now the band looked to the new synthesizers and incororporated even more layers—layers of electronics and effects—to create something both visceral and human.

Fast Car ⁽¹⁹⁸⁸⁾ by Tracy Chapman - #5

Downer lyrics. A simple and mostly acoustic arrangement in an era when acoustic guitars had been absent from the charts for a few decades. A female singer in the music video age who did not look like a model. With all of this against her, certainly very few could have predicted the huge popularity of Tracy Chapman's first album and the smash hit Fast Car. But something about that song was so damned effective and touched a nerve in so many people that it propelled Chapman into probably the most unlikely stardom ever seen.

And her success gave hope to many indie musicians who were trying to create something more than pop and provided inspiration for many of the female singer/songwriters to come along in the next generation.

King of Pain ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by The Police - #4

The album Synchronicity turned out to be the swan-song for The Police. Within the few years from the late 70s to the early 80s The Police revived the "power trio" concept and managed to go from small indie act to the biggest band in the world, seemingly by shear force of will. The album was a gargantuan hit, with about half of the songs released and turning into hit singles.

While the biggest of those hits was the now-classic Every Breath You Take, arguably the highlight of the album is the intricate and beautiful tune King of Pain, whose solemn and painful lyrical imagery is the perfect endnote for the band's prolific career.

Bad ⁽¹⁹⁸⁴⁾ by U2 - #3

In the band's early years, U2 employed a passion to their performances that rivaled the passion a zealot would give to a religion. Coupled with this emotion was the unique guitar style of The Edge and U2 managed to amass some of the most devoted fans on the planet. For the album The Unforgettable Fire the band wanted to take their music in a very different direction (and this was not the last time they would try that experiment) and enlisted ambient master Brian Eno to produce.

The result was a masterwork that blended that passion, that guitar and a haunting atmosphere. Bad is arguably the song which best encapsulates the approach and is generally considered one of the band's best.

Radio Free Europe ⁽¹⁹⁸³⁾ by R.E.M. - #2

There are those who would claim that indie-rock really started with REM. In their early days, and without much of a label, the band toured relentlessly, all of them crammed into an old van. They recorded their first single, Radio Free Europe in a small garage studio as countless bands would after them. This do-it-yourself approach inspired many bands to come, as did Peter Buck's jangle-y guitar style.

In the 1980s the term "alternative" had yet to be coined, but its precursor was "college radio" and REM was among the first bands to specifically target college radio. It paid off. At the end of 1983, Rolling Stone magazine stunned the music industry by naming the independent label released Murmur as the best album of the year.

And Finally...

Red Rain ⁽¹⁹⁸⁶⁾ by Peter Gabriel - #1

In the early days of the synthesizer a common criticism of the form was that synth music was "cold." That changed when Peter Gabriel started to sink his teeth into the instrument. He had formerly been the lead singer of the formerly progressive-rock band Genesis, and since striking out on his own, Gabriel had explored the world of synth music, coupling it with his unique and powerful voice. The reply to the complaint of "cold" synth music was the passion of Peter Gabriel. With the album So, Gabriel not only achieved an artistic triumph but also became the huge international star that his fans had always felt he should be. Red Rain shows both his passion and artistry at its best.

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