Best Songs of the 1980s

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   MJ
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   Billie Jean

   Michael Jackson · from Thriller (1982) · Album scores 97/99

   The bassline, the beat and the moonwalk.

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   PR
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   When Doves Cry

   Prince · from Purple Rain (1984) · Album scores 99/99

   A number one with no bassline at all.

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   TH
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   Once in a Lifetime

   Talking Heads · from Remain in Light (1980) · Album scores 95/99

   Afrobeat polyrhythm meets existential dread.

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   SM
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   There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

   The Smiths · from The Queen Is Dead (1986) · Album scores 97/99

   Morrissey and Marr's most beloved song.

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5. 5
   U2
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   With or Without You

   U2 · from The Joshua Tree (1987) · Album scores 95/99

   The slow-burn that made them stadium-sized.

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6. 6
   MA
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   Like a Prayer

   Madonna · from Like a Prayer (1989) · Album scores 79/99

   Gospel choir, controversy and a huge hook.

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   KB
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   Running Up That Hill

   Kate Bush · from Hounds of Love (1985) · Album scores 95/99

   An art-pop landmark that found a vast new audience.

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   TF
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   Everybody Wants to Rule the World

   Tears for Fears · from Songs from the Big Chair (1985) · Album scores 83/99

   Effortless, melancholy synth-pop.

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9. 9
   PE
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   Bring the Noise

   Public Enemy · from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) · Album scores 96/99

   A wall of sound and righteous fury.

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    RU
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    Walk This Way

    Run-DMC · from Raising Hell (1986) · Album scores 88/99

    The rap-rock team-up that broke MTV open.

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    SY
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    Teen Age Riot

    Sonic Youth · from Daydream Nation (1988) · Album scores 92/99

    Noise-rock's most tuneful five minutes.

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    GN
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    Sweet Child o' Mine

    Guns N' Roses · from Appetite for Destruction (1987) · Album scores 83/99

    That opening riff and a soaring outro.

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13. 13
    MJ
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    Beat It

    Michael Jackson · from Thriller (1982) · Album scores 97/99

    Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo in a pop song — unprecedented and unrepeated.

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14. 14
    PR
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    When Doves Cry

    Prince · from Purple Rain (1984) · Album scores 99/99

    No bass guitar — just drums, synth, and Prince's total confidence.

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15. 15
    MA
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    Like a Virgin

    Madonna · from Like a Virgin (1984) · Album scores 86/99

    The song that made the entire decade uncomfortable about its own pleasure.

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    BS
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    Born in the USA

    Bruce Springsteen · from Born in the U.S.A. (1984) · Album scores 83/99

    The anti-war lyric disguised as a stadium anthem — still being misread.

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    PO
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    Every Breath You Take

    The Police · from Synchronicity (1983) · Album scores 86/99

    Sting's sinister love-as-surveillance lyric wrapped in the most radio-friendly arrangement.

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    U2
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    Pride (In the Name of Love)

    U2 · from The Unforgettable Fire (1984) · Album scores 89/99

    The Edge's delay-drenched guitar and the MLK tribute that launched arena U2.

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    TH
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    Burning Down the House

    Talking Heads · from Speaking in Tongues (1983) · Album scores 84/99

    Parliament's funk filtered through Eno's ambience.

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20. 20
    TF
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    Everybody Wants to Rule the World

    Tears for Fears · from Songs from the Big Chair (1985) · Album scores 83/99

    Synth-pop as perfectly realised commercial ambition.

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    Time After Time

    Cyndi Lauper · from She's So Unusual (1983) · Album scores 79/99

    The ballad that proved she was more than Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

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    Blue Monday

    New Order · from Power, Corruption & Lies (1983) · Album scores 84/99

    The Roland 808, the sequenced bass, and the 12-inch that changed electronic music.

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    DM
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    Personal Jesus

    Depeche Mode · from Violator (1990) · Album scores 91/99

    The slide guitar and the electronic production: the most unusual thing on pop radio.

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    CU
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    Lovesong

    The Cure · from Disintegration (1989) · Album scores 95/99

    Robert Smith writing a love song — the surprise that became their biggest US hit.

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