Top 250 Songs of the 80s (5 of 5)

My opinion, my taste, but after thorough research of the songs released in the 80s, these are the best.

1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989

1960s          1970s          1980s          1990s

The 80s began when I was five and ended when I was 15. As far as first-hand experience goes, the first few years were dictated by whatever my mother would play. The last few years were dictated by the style in junior high or early on in high school. But the overall appeal of 80s music came from my enjoyment of rock and university party music.

For the decade reviews, I gave the songs a hard and fast ranking. The year-by-year stuff were simply grouped.

Here in Part 5, we finish things off with Songs 1 through 50.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

50. In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins (1981)

You’re only allowed to listen to this if you air-drum the solo

49. Born In The U.S.A.  – Bruce Springsteen (1984)

48. What I Am  – Edie Brickell & New Bohemians (1988)

47. Straight Outta Compton  – N.W.A (1988)

NSFW – My favorite rap song from the 80s

Here is the clean version:

46. One More Night  – Phil Collins (1985)

45. With Or Without You  – U2 (1987)

44. Every Breath You Take  – The Police (1983)

43. Gimme All Your Lovin’  – ZZ Top (1983)

42. Wild Flower  – The Cult (1987)

Extended version, because I like that one better

41. Rock N’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution  – AC/DC (1980)

40. Hurts So Good – John Mellencamp (1982)

39. Start Me Up – The Rolling Stones (1981)

38. Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield (1981)

37. Money For Nothing  – Dire Straits (1985)

36. Jane Says  – Jane’s Addiction (1988)

35. Total Eclipse Of The Heart  – Bonnie Tyler (1983)

34. Epic  – Faith No More (1989)

33. Sister Christian  – Night Ranger (1983)

32. Red Red Wine  – UB40 (1983)

31. Baby Have Some Faith – 54-40 (1989)

Underrated, little-played song. Needs more exposure, because it’s a great one. The best from 54-40 IMO.

30. Billie Jean – Michael Jackson (1982)

29. Redemption Song  – Bob Marley (1980)

28. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey (1981)

27. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)  – Phil Collins (1984)

26. Wanted Dead Or Alive  – Bon Jovi (1986)

25. You Shook Me All Night Long  – AC/DC (1980)

24. Buffalo Soldier  – Bob Marley & the Wailers (1983)

23. I Love Rock And Roll – Joan Jett (1981)

22. Here I Go Again  – Whitesnake (1987)

21. Keep On Loving You  – REO Speedwagon (1980)

20. What It Takes  – Aerosmith (1989)

19. Glory Of Love  – Peter Cetera (1986)

18. Does Anybody Out There Even Care – Lenny Kravitz (1989)

Little-known song from an underrated album. Let Love Rule is probably my second favorite album of all time. If Kravitz was an established artist when this album came out, then this song would have certainly been a hit.

17. Pour Some Sugar On Me  – Def Leppard (1987)

16. Purple Rain  – Prince (1984)

15. Love Bites  – Def Leppard (1987)

14. Rosemary – Lenny Kravitz (1989)

13. Girl I’m Gonna Miss You – Milli Vanilli (1989)

12. Beds Are Burning  – Midnight Oil (1988)

11. When Doves Cry  – Prince (1984)

10. Every Rose Has Its Thorn  – Poison (1988)

9. Paradise City  – Guns N’ Roses (1987)

8. Oh Sherrie  – Steve Perry (1984)

7. Sweet Child O’ Mine  – Guns N’ Roses (1987)

6. You’re the Inspiration  – Chicago (1984)

5. Boots or Hearts – The Tragically Hip (1989)

4. Let Love Rule  – Lenny Kravitz (1989)

3. Blow at High Dough – The Tragically Hip (1989)

2. Patience  – Guns N’ Roses (1988)

1. New Orleans Is Sinking – The Tragically Hip (1989)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

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Get the entire 250-song playlist on Spotify here. And on YouTube here.

Here are the Top 250 songs of the 80s, in the opinion of yours truly…

1	New Orleans Is Sinking	–	The Tragically Hip	1989
2	Patience	–	Guns N’ Roses	1988
3	Blow at High Dough	–	The Tragically Hip	1989
4	Let Love Rule	–	Lenny Kravitz	1989
5	Boots or Hearts	–	The Tragically Hip	1989
6	You’re the Inspiration	–	Chicago	1984
7	Sweet Child O’ Mine	–	Guns N’ Roses	1987
8	Oh Sherrie	–	Steve Perry	1984
9	Paradise City	–	Guns N’ Roses	1987
10	Every Rose Has Its Thorn	–	Poison	1988
11	When Doves Cry	–	Prince	1984
12	Beds Are Burning	–	Midnight Oil	1988
13	Girl I’m Gonna Miss You	–	Milli Vanilli	1989
14	Rosemary	–	Lenny Kravitz	1989
15	Love Bites	–	Def Leppard	1987
16	Purple Rain	–	Prince	1984
17	Pour Some Sugar On Me	–	Def Leppard	1987
18	Does Anybody Out There Even Care	–	Lenny Kravitz	1989
19	Glory Of Love	–	Peter Cetera	1986
20	What It Takes	–	Aerosmith	1989
21	Keep On Loving You	–	REO Speedwagon	1980
22	Here I Go Again	–	Whitesnake	1987
23	I Love Rock And Roll	–	Joan Jett	1981
24	Buffalo Soldier	–	Bob Marley & the Wailers	1983
25	You Shook Me All Night Long	–	AC/DC	1980
26	Wanted Dead Or Alive	–	Bon Jovi	1986
27	Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)	–	Phil Collins	1984
28	Don’t Stop Believin’	–	Journey	1981
29	Redemption Song	–	Bob Marley	1980
30	Billie Jean	–	Michael Jackson	1982
31	Baby Have Some Faith	–	54-40	1989
32	Red Red Wine	–	UB40	1983
33	Sister Christian	–	Night Ranger	1983
34	Epic	–	Faith No More	1989
35	Total Eclipse Of The Heart	–	Bonnie Tyler	1983
36	Jane Says	–	Jane’s Addiction	1988
37	Money For Nothing	–	Dire Straits	1985
38	Jessie’s Girl	–	Rick Springfield	1981
39	Start Me Up	–	The Rolling Stones	1981
40	Hurts So Good	–	John Mellencamp	1982
41	Rock N’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution	–	AC/DC	1980
42	Wild Flower	–	The Cult	1987
43	Gimme All Your Lovin’	–	ZZ Top	1983
44	Every Breath You Take	–	The Police	1983
45	With Or Without You	–	U2	1987
46	One More Night	–	Phil Collins	1985
47	Straight Outta Compton	–	N.W.A	1988
48	What I Am	–	Edie Brickell & New Bohemians	1988
49	Born In The U.S.A.	–	Bruce Springsteen	1984
50	In The Air Tonight	–	Phil Collins	1981
51	Back In Black	–	AC/DC	1980
52	Traveling Riverside Blues	–	Led Zeppelin	1982
53	I Go Blind	–	54-40	1986
54	Just Like Paradise	–	David Lee Roth	1988
55	Eternal Flame	–	Bangles	1988
56	Rock and Roll Girls	–	John Fogerty	1985
56	Coming Home	–	Cinderella	1988
57	Hard Habit To Break	–	Chicago	1984
58	Super Trouper	–	ABBA	1980
59	Stand	–	R.E.M.	1988
60	Alone	–	Heart	1987
61	Hysteria	–	Def Leppard	1987
62	Islands in the Stream	–	Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton	1983
63	Sharp Dressed Man	–	ZZ Top	1983
64	They Don’t Know	–	Tracey Ullman	1983
65	All Through The Night	–	Cyndi Lauper	1983
66	Another One Bites The Dust	–	Queen	1980
67	The Tide Is High	–	Blondie	1980
68	Touch Of Grey	–	Grateful Dead	1987
69	The Way You Make Me Feel	–	Michael Jackson	1987
70	Father Figure	–	George Michael	1987
71	New Moon On Monday	–	Duran Duran	1983
72	Last American Exit	–	The Tragically Hip	1987
73	Brilliant Disguise	–	Bruce Springsteen	1987
74	Rag Doll	–	Aerosmith	1987
75	Angel	–	Aerosmith	1987
76	Slow and Low	–	Beastie Boys	1987
77	Jack & Diane	–	John Mellencamp	1982
78	Blister In The Sun	–	Violent Femmes	1982
79	Legs	–	ZZ Top	1983
80	Push It	–	Salt N Pepa	1987
81	Need You Tonight	–	INXS	1987
82	One Gun	–	54-40	1987
83	Africa	–	Toto	1982
84	Boy Inside the Man	–	Tom Cochrane and Red Rider	1986
85	Livin’ on a Prayer	–	Bon Jovi	1986
86	Fall On Me	–	R.E.M.	1986
87	Rhymin & Stealin	–	Beastie Boys	1986
88	Rave On	–	John Mellencamp	1988
89	She Sells Sanctuary	–	The Cult	1985
90	Seven Bridges Road	–	Eagles	1980
91	Sad Songs (Say So Much)	–	Elton John	1984
92	Queen Of Hearts	–	Juice Newton	1981
93	In Your Eyes	–	Peter Gabriel	1986
94	It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me	–	Billy Joel	1980
95	Union Of The Snake	–	Duran Duran	1983
96	The Look	–	Roxette	1988
97	Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)	–	Cinderella	1988
98	Let’s Go Crazy	–	Prince	1984
99	Faith	–	George Michael	1987
100	End Of The Line	–	The Traveling Wilburys	1988
101	Raspberry Beret	–	Prince	1985
102	You Give Love a Bad Name	–	Bon Jovi	1986
103	Welcome To The Jungle	–	Guns N’ Roses	1987
104	Free Fallin’	–	Tom Petty	1989
105	About A Girl	–	Nirvana	1989
106	Pride (In The Name Of Love)	–	U2	1984
107	Blame It On The Rain	–	Milli Vanilli	1989
108	Walk Like An Egyptian	–	Bangles	1986
109	We’re Not Gonna Take It	–	Twisted Sister	1984
110	Glory Days	–	Bruce Springsteen	1984
111	All the Things I Wasn’t	–	Grapes of Wrath	1989
112	This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide	–	The Kings	1980
113	Trickle Down	–	The Tragically Hip	1989
114	Listen To Your Heart	–	Roxette	1989
115	Handle With Care	–	The Traveling Wilburys	1988
116	Crimson and Clover	–	Joan Jett	1982
117	Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos	–	Public Enemy	1989
118	Dream On	–	Nazareth	1982
119	All I Want Is You	–	U2	1988
120	Sign Your Name	–	Terence Trent D’Arby	1987
121	Hard to Say I’m Sorry	–	Chicago	1982
122	I’ll Be There For You	–	Bon Jovi	1988
123	These Dreams	–	Heart	1986
124	Smooth Criminal	–	Michael Jackson	1987
125	Angel Of The Morning	–	Juice Newton	1981
126	Driving My Life Away	–	Eddie Rabbitt	1980
127	It Ain’t Enough	–	Corey Hart	1983
128	Seven Wonders	–	Fleetwood Mac	1987
129	Take It On The Run	–	REO Speedwagon	1981
130	The Flame	–	Cheap Trick	1988
131	Straight From The Heart	–	Bryan Adams	1983
132	Dirty Diana	–	Michael Jackson	1987
133	What About Love?	–	Heart	1985
134	What Does It Take	–	Honeymoon Suite	1986
135	Finest Worksong	–	R.E.M.	1988
136	Keep Your Hands To Yourself	–	The Georgia Satellites	1986
137	Live To Tell	–	Madonna	1986
138	I Won’t Back Down	–	Tom Petty	1989
139	I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For	–	U2	1987
140	Hungry Like The Wolf	–	Duran Duran	1982
141	Everywhere	–	Fleetwood Mac	1987
142	Rock ‘N Roll Is King	–	Electric Light Orchestra	1983
143	In Your Room	–	Bangles	1988
144	My Hometown	–	Bruce Springsteen	1984
145	Open Arms	–	Journey	1982
146	Mony Mony	–	Billy Idol	1981
147	I Build This Garden for Us	–	Lenny Kravitz	1989
148	I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)	–	The Proclaimers	1988
149	Love Removal Machine	–	The Cult	1987
150	Paper in Fire	–	John Mellencamp	1987
151	Safety Dance	–	Men Without Hats	1983
152	Nightshift	–	Commodores	1985
153	Fire Woman	–	The Cult	1989
154	I Hate Myself For Loving You	–	Joan Jett	1988
155	Pass The Dutchie	–	Musical Youth	1982
156	Manic Monday	–	Bangles	1986
157	Superman	–	R.E.M.	1986
158	Tom Sawyer	–	Rush	1981
159	Sweetest Thing	–	U2	1987
160	Centerfield	–	John Fogerty	1985
161	Head Like A Hole	–	Nine Inch Nails	1989
162	Can’t Fight This Feeling	–	REO Speedwagon	1984
163	Groovy Kind of Love	–	Phil Collins	1988
164	Valotte	–	Julian Lennon	1984
165	Hold Me	–	Fleetwood Mac	1982
166	Uptown Girl	–	Billy Joel	1983
167	Runnin’ Down A Dream	–	Tom Petty	1989
168	Panama	–	Van Halen	1984
169	Wouldn’t It Be Good	–	Nik Kershaw	1984
170	Sweet Jane	–	Cowboy Junkies	1989
171	I Want to Know What Love Is	–	Foreigner	1984
172	Eyes of a Stranger	–	Payolas	1982
173	Fairytale of New York	–	The Pogues	1987
174	Alive and Kicking	–	Simple Minds	1985
175	Beat It	–	Michael Jackson	1982
176	Desire	–	U2	1988
177	You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)	–	Dead or Alive	1984
178	Gypsy Road	–	Cinderella	1988
179	Girl You Know It’s True	–	Milli Vanilli	1989
180	Girls Just Want To Have Fun	–	Cyndi Lauper	1983
181	I Wish It Would Rain Down	–	Phil Collins	1989
182	You May Be Right	–	Billy Joel	1980
183	Last of the Red Hot Fools	–	The Jitters	1987
184	Lil’ Devil	–	The Cult	1987
185	Rise	–	Public Image Ltd.	1986
186	No Sleep Till Brooklyn	–	Beastie Boys	1986
187	Misunderstanding	–	Genesis	1980
188	Crazy Train	–	Ozzy Osbourne	1980
189	Bamboleo	–	Gipsy Kings	1987
190	99 Luftballons	–	Nena	1984
191	Time After Time	–	Cyndi Lauper	1983
192	Heaven	–	Bryan Adams	1984
193	Don’t Go Back To Rockville	–	R.E.M.	1984
194	California Girls	–	David Lee Roth	1985
195	Up Where We Belong	–	Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes	1982
196	Paul Revere	–	Beastie Boys	1986
197	Sweet Soul Sister	–	The Cult	1989
198	Every Woman In the World	–	Air Supply	1981
199	Fishin’ in the Dark	–	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	1987
200	It’s Raining Again	–	Supertramp	1982
201	Cherry Bomb	–	John Mellencamp	1987
202	Edge of Seventeen	–	Stevie Nicks	1981
203	Head Over Heels	–	The Go-Go’s	1984
204	Hold Me Now	–	Thompson Twins	1983
205	Home Sweet Home	–	Mötley Crüe	1985
206	Hungry Heart	–	Bruce Springsteen	1980
207	I Love A Rainy Night	–	Eddie Rabbitt	1980
208	Summer of ’69	–	Bryan Adams	1984
209	Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)	–	Eurythmics	1982
210	Any Way You Want It	–	Journey	1980
211	Volare	–	Gipsy Kings	1989
212	Dude (Looks Like A Lady)	–	Aerosmith	1987
213	American Dream	–	Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	1988
214	Wild Wild Life	–	Talking Heads	1986
215	Crash	–	The Primitives	1986
216	Pictures of Matchstick Men	–	Camper Van Beethoven	1989
217	Drive	–	The Cars	1984
218	Centerfold	–	J. Geils Band	1981
219	Hell’s Bells	–	AC/DC	1980
220	Janie’s Got A Gun	–	Aerosmith	1989
221	Nobody Told Me	–	John Lennon	1984
222	Pink Houses	–	John Mellencamp	1984
223	38 Years Old	–	The Tragically Hip	1989
224	Love In An Elevator	–	Aerosmith	1989
225	Pop Goes the World	–	Men Without Hats	1987
226	Freeze-Frame	–	J. Geils Band	1981
227	So Far Away	–	Dire Straits	1985
228	The One That You Love	–	Air Supply	1981
229	Heart And Soul	–	T’Pau	1987
230	Woman	–	John Lennon	1980
231	Rooty Toot Toot	–	John Mellencamp	1987
232	Under Pressure	–	Queen	1981
233	Used To Love Her	–	Guns N’ Roses	1988
234	Driver 8	–	R.E.M.	1985
235	Heart And Soul	–	Huey Lewis & the News	1983
236	Who Made Who	–	AC/DC	1986
237	When the Weight Comes Down	–	The Tragically Hip	1989
238	One	–	Metallica	1988
239	Elvira	–	The Oak Ridge Boys	1981
240	I Just Called To Say I Love You	–	Stevie Wonder	1984
241	Throwing It All Away	–	Genesis	1986
242	Limelight	–	Rush	1981
243	Lonely Ol’ Night	–	John Mellencamp	1985
244	Karma Chameleon	–	Culture Club	1983
245	Shout	–	Tears for Fears	1984
246	Wasn’t That A Party	–	The Irish Rovers	1980
247	Walk This Way	–	Run-D.M.C.	1986
248	All Night Long	–	Lionel Richie	1983
249	Cold Shot	–	Stevie Ray Vaughan	1984
250	Holiday Road	–	Lindsey Buckingham	1983

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