This post offers something simple yet ambitious: a playlist that I believe encapsulates the music of 1980. Let me start with a disclaimer—I’m not claiming to be the ultimate authority on music, nor do I consider myself a musicologist (whatever that is).
To create this playlist, I compiled a list of the year’s top-selling albums—gold and platinum hits—and set out to listen to every single track. Yes, every single one. How many people do you know with both the time and determination to undertake such a project? My plan is to continue this endeavor year by year, compiling playlists that capture the spirit of each year.
I provide links to these playlists because I genuinely enjoy them—whether I’m working around the house, commuting, or just letting the music transport me back in time. My hope is that others might find them equally enjoyable. I encourage any comments regarding additions or subtractions from this list.
This is a user-friendly playlist. The menu can be easily accessed in the top right corner.
AlphaBest Songs of 1980
- AGAINST THE WIND – Bob Seger
- AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK – Van Halen
- ANY WAY YOU WANT IT – Journey
- BOULEVARD – Jackson Browne
- BRASS IN POCKET – Pretenders
- BURN RUBBER ON ME – Gap Band
- CARS – Gary Numan
- CELEBRATION – Kool & the Gang
- COMING UP – Paul McCartney
- COULD YOU BE LOVED – Bob Marley
- CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE – Queen
- CRAZY TRAIN– Ozzy Osbourne
- DE DO DO DO, DE DA DA DA – Police
- DON’T ASK ME WHY – Billy Joel
- EVEN IT UP – Heart
- FIRE LAKE – Bob Seger
- FREEWILL – Rush
- GAMES PEOPLE PLAY – Alan Parsons Project
- HAVE A DRINK ON ME – AC/DC
- HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT – Pat Benatar
- HURT SO BAD – Linda Ronstadt
- I WILL FOLLOW – U2
- I’M COMING OUT – Diana Ross
- IT’S STILL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME – Billy Joel
- KISS ON MY LIST – Hall & Oates
- LATE IN THE EVENING – Paul Simon
- LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR – Pete Townsend
- LITTLE JEANNIE – Elton John
- LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT – Judas Priest
- MAGIC – Olivia Newton-John
- MASTER BLASTER – Stevie Wonder
- ONCE IN A LIFETIME – Talking Heads
- POP MUZIK – M
- PRIVATE IDAHO – B-52s
- ROCK N’ ROLL AIN’T NOISE POLLUTION – AC/DC
- ROUGH BOYS – Pete Townsend
- SOMETIMES A FANTASY – Billy Joel
- TAKE YOUR TIME – S.O.S. Band
- THE SPIRIT OF RADIO – Rush
- THE TIDE IS HIGH – Blondie
- TREAT ME RIGHT – Pat Benatar
- TURN IT ON AGAIN – Genesis
- UPSIDE DOWN – Diana Ross
- WATCHING THE WHEELS – John Lennon
- WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE – Steve Winwood
- WHIP IT – Devo
- WOMAN IN LOVE – Barbra Steisand
- YOU BETTER RUN – Pat Benatar
- YOU MAKE MY DREAMS – Hall & Oates
- YOU MAY BE RIGHT – Billy Joel
- YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG – AC/DC
Piece of Mindful 
1980 or thereabouts was the year I lost touch with popular music. I did not divert to some other genre, even though now and then someone would introduce me to something going on that caught my attention (U2, Bare Naked Ladies, and Denver’s Own Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Willie Nelson’s Heartland, for example. Paul Simon was a constant throughout.) These newer groups caught my eye because they were throwbacks, their music tuneful. That is what left the music scene in the 1980s IMO, missing the H. I have Sirius/XM satellite radio in my truck, and I often skim through the choices, 60s-80s (no 90s), and most often land on the 70s as a place where something hits a memory that I like, including guilty pleasures like ABBA.
I am typical, no doubt, as we land on our brain wave music preference in our teens-30s, somewhere in that time frame. Anything after sounds like random notes thrown off a barn wall, or no music value at all (HipHop). I hate to say this, but I am more like everyone else than I care to think about.
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Agreed. As a child of the 70s I was less than enthused about what was coming out in that decade. Basically, what I’m doing is a farewell tour, letting go of the past. I just figure if I’m investing so much time and effort I may as well share my results. In the end I will likely be asking you for classical music suggestions.
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I only stumbled on classical, and make no pretense of being thorough. There is just so much of it. If you check out my iPhone for classical, you’ll find … me again, looking for tuneful – Mozart Piano Concerto 21, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Dvorak #9, Beethoven’s 5&9 and Egmont, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, and favorite of all time, Handel’s Serse (Xerxes), the opening music … I tried one time to listen to the entire opera, but, you know, it’s an opera. There’s lots of other stuff, like this morning on the Stairmaster I listened to Barber’s Adagio for Strings – you would recognize it from the movie Platoon. But I assure you, even in Classical music, I am still a boy from Billings, Montana, where we knew that Swan Lake was way up by Kalispell, in NW Montana.
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Mark, I have been meaning to thank you for re-introducing me to classical music. In my 20s I was in a relationship with a serious pianist, and we took graduate courses together in classical music. And I would go to weekly piano recitals put on by one of the faculty (at U of Albany, NY).
After separating from her I drifted away from classical music. However several months ago Mark had a few posts on classical music, which I listened to, and decided to start listening regularly again. I have a one hour commute each way, and found WHRB the Harvard radio station is really good, along with a few others. I find it very calming.
I don’t know any other general blogger who talked about classical music other than Mark. I listen daily now.
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Funny, we share a journey into classical inspired by a romantic mate. I knew nothing about the genre, but my wife was a lifelong devotee. One year for her birthday I purchased tickets for that year’s Colorado Symphony offerings, and thought it would not be cool if I did not accompany her. As chance would have it the first show was Beethoven’s Ninth, and I was drifting off into a trance of sorts, all of it new to me, when I was hit by the Ode to Joy sequence in the fourth movement, 300 voices and every instrument at their loudest and best. I was blown away, and not too long later bought a CD that had 100 30-second or so clips from various compositions, and thus began my delightful journey, my wife gratified that after years of indifference, I had finally come around.
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Here’s Barber’s Adagio set to fictional scenes in Oliver Stone’s Platoon. Oliver has been at the front line in redramatizing fictional historic events (JFK) to intensify them so that the new impressions become real history. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful piece.
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Rush-Best Band Ever–And The Last Two Pat Benatar songs are Money–Learning how to play those two-Great List.
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Thanks! Yes, Rush and Pat Benatar were very proficient in 1980. Along with Billy Joel and AC/DC.
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The Judas Priest track was the only one I ever sought out when shuffles were created. I was listening to punk and embryonic techno in 1980. And finally getting laid. Loud, fast and angry.
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Excuse me … the getting laid or the music was loud, fast and angry?
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yes
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I was listening to Kasey Kasum countdown the top 100 of 1980, in 1980. With my Realistic tape recorder and little microphone recording directly off the speaker of my GE long range reception radio.
So Kevin my 10 year old self had time to record every hit from 1980 on cassettes, and methodically write down the lists of each song on every tape.
I remember 1979 was the Knack, My Sharona. 1980 was Blondie, can’t remember song.
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“Call Me” no doubt…as in “youcan…ray”.
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Correct, I looked it up after I typed it so i wasn’t cheating. I thought it was Heart of Glass, which I remember being much more popular.
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Bruce Gary, drummer for Knack, was surprised to learn that his ten favorite drummers growing up were all Hal Blaine of the Wrecking Crew.
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Cars by Gary Numan. Pleasure Principle is an outstanding album. With pyramids and seeing eyes all over it!
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I was surprised to see that he has been releasing material consistently over the decades. His most recent being a 2021 concept album about “climate change.”
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Thanks a lot Ken now I can’t like Gary Numan anymore.
For the record my friend who is into the Goth scene said Numan is one of the founding fathers of that genre/lifestyle. David Bowie supposedly went commercial in the 80s with crap like Lets Dance because he believed Numan had already done the music he wanted to do, and he could not do better.
I meant to comment on your 1970s music posts. I believe you should look outside the USA – the 1970s were an outstanding decade for the emergence of great “third world” music from places like Jamaica, Africa, etc, along with the emergence of acts like Kraftwerk in Germany. Definitely the most creative decade of the 20th century for music and film – there’s no decade that comes close for great films.
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There is no reason you should know or care, but I have been going through a purging process with popular music. I have explored and now (mostly) abandoned popular music from the 30s through the 70s never to return again. I am now moving through the 80s. In the end, I plan to do exactly as you have suggested. Thank you.
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start with Brasil
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Referring to comment: Bruce Gary, drummer for Knack, was surprised to learn that his ten favorite drummers growing up were all Hal Blaine of the Wrecking Crew.
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There was a second part to this comment that I accidentally trashed, permanently. That happens when I work on the iPad, the commands are so close together I hit one thinking it was the other. You might want to redo that comment. It will go through now un-moderated.
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Hello Mark, Unfortunately the inspiration has passed. I didn’t keep a copy. And I can’t articulate it the same which would make it feel forced. At least you saw it. I will keep a copy of my posts from now on. Thank you. ~M
Sent with Proton Mail secure email.
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