Crap, I messed up by thinking Under Pressure was Freddie Mercury + David Bowie instead of Queen + David Bowie and originally had a separate spot for Another One Bites the Dust. So everything moves up a spot and I'll edit it another song I forgot like Hey Micke in a previous post.
29. Don Henley - Boys of Summer
I like songs about nostalgia, looking back at past relationships, and this is one of the better ones. The guitar track is excellent throughout and “the boys of summer” is excellent imagery for a fleeting time period.
28. Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
One of the best power ballads of all time with lyrics that should be cheesy like “and every cowboy sings a sad sad song" but it works for me. I have a soft spot for Poison and would have also included some other songs like Talk Dirty To Me or Nothing But A Good Time.
27. Tommy Tutone - 867-5309
I was drawn to this song when I was younger as the 7 digit chorus is so easy to remember and catchy, when I became older and realized how creepy/psychotic it is due to being about a number written on a bathroom stall, it became even better.
26. Bob Seger - Against the Wind
A great ballad about a relationship running against the wind with a great piano part and many memorable lines like I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.
One of the ultimate hair metal songs and a song most people can relate to even if you look nothing like the lead singer. The chorus bangs but the verses are also solid.
24. Bruce Springsteen - Hungry Heart
This one is tough for me since Bruce is my #1 overall artist, however his hits from the 80s are mostly from some of my lesser favorite albums like Born in the USA and Tunnel of Love. At the same time, I'm not sure how low I can rank him. Glory Days, Born in the USA, Dancing in the Dark, My Hometown, etc. but I decided to go with the one I listen to the most in Hungry Heart which sounds happy and optimistic but also about a screwed up guy. “I got a wife and kids in Baltimore Jack, I went out for a ride and never went back” tells you exactly who this guy is in one line.
23. Queen feat. David Bowie - Under Pressure
A classic bass line like Another One Bites the Dust, and Mercury and Bowie's voices work together perfectly. The theme of being under pressure can be looked at on a person or a bigger level, and the climax of the song followed by Bowie singing it out is great.
22. AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
Speaking of banging. One of AC/DC's catchiest songs, Angus guitar work is front and center as usual but the lyrics have lots of memorable lines. I kind of wish it was just about being shook all night dancing with someone at a party instead of spending all night banging someone (I don't know when I realized what it was about, maybe it was when I figured out "She told me to come but I was already there" is exactly what it sounds like) but they still kind of make the woman seem classy and cool.
21. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
This mixes catchy 80s synths and Africa sounds in Simon's Graceland era with some Woody Allen level neuroticism. "A man walks down the street, He says, "Why am I soft in the middle, now? Why am I soft in the middle? The rest of my life is so hard, I need a photo-opportunity, I want a shot at redemption, Don't want to end up a cartoon, In a cartoon graveyard" has to be one of my favorite openings to a song. Also cool recorder part.
A great pop song with a simple concept of lusting after his friend’s girl. I guess Rick Springfield is a strong guitarist, his playing is the key to this song and he has a few more recognizable non-Jessie’s Girl songs that I thought and it always sounds good.
19. Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen
The guitar vibration in the background combined with Nicks vocal performance makes a great combination, and the dove imagery makes the edge of seventeen seem like the beginning. I’ll use this as my Fleetwood Mac entry as I forgot to include Seven Wonders on my list.
18. Guns and Roses - Sweet Child O’Mine
Guns and Roses has several songs I could have put in the top 20/30 (a part of me wanted to pick Patience), but I’ll go with Sweet Child O’Mine which mixes a great sound by Slash and very nice lyrics. I used to think it was about his kid but it looks like it might be about a younger relationship, either way the imagery of being reminded of childhood and watching the thunder pass you by is great.
17. Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
One of the best songs about being stuck in the lower class, Chapman does a great job showing the conflict of wanting to leave but having to stay behind to take care of her father, and the sad end result of her husband ending up the alcoholic too.
16. Starship - We Built This City
Some people think this is one of the worst songs ever due to lyrics like "Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio” and fake deep hilarity like "Someone's always playing corporation games. Who cares, they're always changing corporation names”. However I find it endearing and there is no substitute for catchiness. I think this song is awesome!
There are several classic Cure songs from the 80s like Just Like Heaven or Friday I'm In Love, but I'll go with this terrific ultra romantic song. The bass line and xylophone is excellent with the more lower key sounding verses leading to the superb chorus. This song covers well for a reason.
14. Michael Jackson - Beat It
MJ has several great candidates here as well, the closest omissions being Smooth Criminal and Man in the Mirror, but Beat It is too much of a classic. The lyrics have lots of memorable lines with a great machoness somehow coming from the least macho pop star imaginable. I don't have a Van Halen song on my list but Eddie does a great job on this song.
This one is hard to rate. The song is clearly a masterpiece but is inseparable from the covers despite Cohen being an amazing vocalist in his own right. I think I like the version in Shrek by the Velvet Underground guy the most.
12. Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight
A lot of people like the post drumkick part the best, but I find it's the first two thirds of the song that really sets the vibe and the mysterious feeling of whatever destiny is coming in the air tonight, and then that makes the last part of the song so satisfying.
11. Tom Petty - Free Falling
Petty has lots of good choices like I Won't Back Down, The Waiting and one I really like in Yer So Bad, but one of his most simple songs is one of his best in Free Falling, which seems to be about some sort of relationship where the singer's way of living is too different than the good girl's. It definitely gives you a California vibe.
Ultra catchy and the attraction metaphor and the primal idea of on the prowl being on the hunt for someone you're into is cool. Nice vocal performance by the lead and guitar part.
9. The Kinks - Come Dancing
A band that was more part of the Beatles time randomly releases their best song in the 80s, with a cool ska type instrumental (not usually my thing) and telling the story of his sister living the good ol days until they pave dance paradise and put up a parking lot, and one day she is the worried mother he's asking to come dancing. The big band horns at the end is nice.
A song I have become more of a fan of with time, it's great storytelling with one of my favorite openings as in a few verses it tells you that the small towners looking to escape on the midnight train to anywhere grew up and went down the darker hooker type path, but despite thing that have gone wrong they don't stop believin and looking for connection. The chorus which it take 3 minutes to get to is a great payoff after the buildup.
7. Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
A great song about growing up, and by the 2nd voice you can the main reason he's nostalgic for that time period more than playing in the band is mainly the girl he was supposed to be with, and wondering why it didn't work out. The guitar is superb in this song and fittingly so in a song where he referencing playing it, and the song suits Adams voice perfectly.
6. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
One of the most jacked up and epic songs of all time from the opening guitar riff, and I love the sound of the singer's voice in this song. More than just about fighting tying into Rocky it is about following your passions in general.
Mostly superb songs in the last 10, and a few I actually don't know well. I only realized recently Eye of The Tiger has the same opening riff as Edge of Seventeen.
ABBA is one of my favorites and The Winner Takes It All is among their best, a great breakup/divorce song about how one person is going to come out of it emotionally better than the other and it feels personal due to being inspired by a real life divorce among band members.
4. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
I think the key to this song is Tyler's vocal performance which has so much emotion and depth in it, I always felt the song was so intimate/personal that it took me until watching the insane video to realized it's this huge operatic thing and how it was obviously written for Meat Loaf. It's painful Holding Out for a Hero is disqualified since I'm a huge fan as well and probably would have ranked it top ten.
My favorite pure pop song of the 80s. The production and chorus is killer, and I really like the theme of her asking whether he's for real or just want as casual hit and run. Paula's voice has a real girl feeling character to it that really works in this one for me.
2. John Mellancamp - Jack & Diane
This has always been one of my favorite songs. I like the guitar, drum beat/clapping, and the imagery of the young couple and bittersweet place the story goes by the time the thrill is gone but they're still living and he's not missing anything by running off to the city.
1. Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer
The most epic anthem of the 80s, much like songs such as Eye of the Tiger or Don't Stop Believin an inspirational pump up song and one about perseverance. Bon Jovi's vocal performance is great in it selling the emotion. I like the format of the chorus being shorter early in the song and then hitting you with the double/triple one at the end.
1. Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer 2. John Mellancamp - Jack and Diane 3. Paula Abdul - Straight Up 4. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart 5. ABBA - The Winner Takes It All 6. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger 7. Bryan Adams - Summer of ’69 8. Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’ 9. The Kinks - Come Dancing 10. Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf 11. Tom Petty - Free Falling 12. Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight 13. Leonard Cohen - Hallejuah 14. Michael Jackson - Beat It 15. The Cure - Lovesong 16. Starship - We Built This City 17. Tracy Chapman - Fast Car 18. Guns and Roses - Sweet Child of Mine 19. Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen 20. Rick Springfield - Jessie’s Girl 21. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al 22. AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long 23. David Bowie and Freddie Mercury - Under Pressure 24. Bruce Springsteen - Hungry Heart 25. Whitesnake - Here I Go Again 26. Bob Seger - Against the Wind 27. Tommy Tutone - 867-5309 28. Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn 29. Don Henley - Boys of Summer 30. U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday 31. Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms 32. Neil Young - Rockin’ in the Free World 33. Yaz - Only You 34. Belinda Carlisle - Heaven is a Place on Earth 35. The Highwaymen - Highwayman 36. The Bangles - Eternal Flame 37. Madonna - Like a Prayer 38. Prince - 1999 39. Heart - Alone 40. Twisted Sister - We’re Not Gonna Take It 41. Peter Gabriel - Big Time 42. Pat Benator - Hit Me With Your Best Shot 43. Bananarama - Cruel Summer 44. Alannah Myles - Black Velvet 45. John Parr - St Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion) 46. Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning 47. Toto - Africa 48. Toni Basil - Hey Mickey 49. J Geils Band - Centerfold 50. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time 51. Nena - 99 Red Balloons 52. Billy Joel - You May be Right 53. John Fogerty - Centerfield 54. Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen 55. Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra 56. Scorpion - Rock You Like a Hurricane 57. Men At Work - Down Under 58. Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll 59. The Pixies - Where Is My Mind 60. Dolly Parton - 9 to 5
Thanks for reading! It was fun to revisit all these songs and made me reconsider my previous stance of 90s > 80s.
The list was more male than I expected but I guess it makes sense in the decade of Arnold, Hulk Hogan, etc.,
A little mixed on the top 5, 1 and 4 are excellent top choices, but 5 probably doesn't rank in my top 5 abba songs, and 2 and 3 I don't actually know so well, maybe they will grow on me if I listen to it more.
Sun Jul 04, 2021 8:43 pm
Flava'd vs The World
The Kramer
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:36 am Posts: 25163 Location: Classified
Good list, Livin on a Prayer is definitely a classic. Much more fun to hear at a party than Creeping Death.
80s vs 90s is tough. I feel more connected to 90s people since I was alive during the entire decade, but also think that the Grunge revolution made it overall less diverse until 98/99. 00s and 70s rule over both. 10s about equal, too soon to say. The best decade for pop, but probably the worst for both rock and hip-hop.
1. Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer 2. John Mellancamp - Jack and Diane 3. Paula Abdul - Straight Up 4. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart 5. ABBA - The Winner Takes It All 6. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger 7. Bryan Adams - Summer of ’69 8. Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’
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