89 Best '80s Songs
When Taylor Swift announced that her next record would be titled 1989—the year she was born—images of a crucifix-hugging Madonna and a Rhythm Nation-pledging Janet Jackson immediately came to mind. The music of the '80s has long been celebrated for its penchant for experimentation and unabashed adoration of all things pop, from the synthed-out bliss of New Wave to the sky-high hair-dos of the Sunset Strip's most notorious metalheads to rappers pushing the boundaries of an ever-changing genre. Approximately nine kajillion compilations of top '80s songs exist, and a visit to your local dive is incomplete unless you spend some quality time with the decade's greatest hits courtesy of an ancient jukebox. People keep hitting replay on these tracks for a reason, and it's because these songs, though they're rooted in the days of DayGlo and The Breakfast Club, are ultimately timeless.
To honor one of the best decades in music and culture, here's a collection of the 89 best '80s songs. Click to the next slide to begin your journey through the decade that gave us Taylor Swift...and so much more.
By Jeff Benjamin, Hilary Hughes, Maria Sherman, and Samantha Vincenty
1m
30s
21m
23m
21m
3m
2m
22m
3m
1m
1m
3m
45m
21m
1m
2m
1m
2m
20m
7m
3m
38s
3m
4m
4m
3m
3m
3m
2m
55s
4m
3m
1m
8m
7m
3m
2m
2m
2m
28s
3m
2m
3m
2m
43s
31s
55s
1m
3m
5m
2m
3m
22s
23m
1m
45s
3m
20m
20m
20m
8m
2m
23s
2m
1m
2m
2m
28s
1m
2m
1m
4m
21s
8m
2m
27s
1m
1m
27s
23s
4m
34s
3m
3m
2m
2m
3m
30s
26s
1m
3m
6m
34s
3m
3m
1m
2m
5m
3m
1m