Top Songs of the ’80s (Volume 2)

When you think of the 80s, you might think of Michael Jackson’s original transformation. You might think of the big, wild hair or the big shoulder pads. You might think of the Reagan administration. But, I’m here to share with you some of the great music from that retro decade you might not know or remember.

Music videos first became popular in the 1980s, ushering in a new era in experiencing this music. When you compile a list of the 500 greatest songs of the 1980s, of course you have to include Cyndi Lauper’s best, The Cars “Drive” made popular by Top Gun, and many songs by such great artists as Eddie Money or the lesser known, Taylor Dayne. These were the songs that defined the era.

I remember staying up late and seeing an info-mercial selling a collection of the 100 best songs of the ’70s. It was disappointing. They weren’t offering every song by every great artist of that era. So, I set off on a quest to build my own collections of the songs I remembered hearing on the radio. Many were songs from the ’70s, and many were songs from the ’80s. I decided to split the two, and I started finding some great music I had only heard samples of that I desperately wanted.

Here is the second sample of a wide-spread collection of songs from an era that changed the sound of rock n’ roll. It was also an era that brought about the creation of pop and hip-hop songs. Included in this collection is the fun dance music of Paula Abdul, the great rock sounds of Van Halen, and the soothing sounds of Rod Stewart. They may not be the throbbing sounds of Puff Daddy or the heavy self-deprecating sounds of Harvey Danger, but these songs are a must-have if you have any desire to live or relive the 1980s.

101) Don’t Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin
102) Don’t You Want Me by Human League
103) Don’t You Want Me by Jody Watley
104) Down Under by Men At Work
105) Downtown Train by Rod Stewart
106) Dreams by Van Halen
107) Drive by The Cars
108) Dude (Walks Like A Lady) by Aerosmith
109) Easy Lover by Phil Collins & Philip Bailey
110) Electric Blue by Icehouse
111) Eminence Front by The Who
112) End of The Innocence by Don Henley
113) Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx
114) Eternal Flame by Bangles
115) Every Breath You Take by Sting & The Police
116) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by Sting & The Police
117) Everybody Wants Some! by Van Halen
118) Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears
119) Everytime You Go Away by Paul Young
120) Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac
121) Express Yourself by Madonna
122) Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor
123) Eyes Without A Face by Billy Idol
124) Faithfully by Journey
125) Fantasy by Aldo Nova
126) Fantasy Girl by 38 Special
127) Fields Of Gold by Sting & The Police
128) Flashdance… What A Feeling by Irene Cara
129) Flesh For Fantasy by Billy Idol
130) Follow You, Follow Me by Genesis
131) Foolish Beat by Debbie Gibson
132) Foolish Heart by Steve Perry
133) Footloose by Kenny Loggins
134) For Those About to Rock by AC-DC
135) For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton
136) Forever Young by Rod Stewart
137) Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul
138) Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
139) Get Down On It by Kool & The Gang
140) Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car by Billy Ocean
141) Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
142) Gimme All Your Lovin’ by ZZ Top
143) Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
144) Girls On Film by Duran Duran
145) Gloria by Laura Branigan
146) Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen
147) Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant
148) Got Me Under Pressure by ZZ Top
149) Hard Habit to Break by Chicago
150) Hard to Say I’m Sorry- Get Away by Chicago
151) Harden My Heart by Quarterflash
152) Hazy Shade of Winter by Bangles
153) Head Over Heels by Tears For Fears
154) Heart And Soul by Huey Lewis & The News
155) Heart And Soul by T’Pau
156) Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar
157) Hearts On Fire by Randy Meisner
158) Heaven by Bryan Adams
159) Heaven by Warrant
160) Hello Again by The Cars
161) Hells Bells by AC-DC
162) Here Comes The Rain Again by The Eurythmics
163) Here I Go Again by Whitesnake
164) Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar
165) Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins
166) Hold On by Wilson Phillips
167) Hold On Loosely by 38 Special
168) Hold On To The Nights by Richard Marx
169) Holding Back The Years by Simply Red
170) Holiday by Madonna
171) Hot In The City by Billy Idol
172) How Am I Supposed To Live Without You by Michael Bolton
173) How ‘Bout Us by Champaign
174) How Will I Know by Whitney Houston
175) Human by Human League
176) Human Nature by Michael Jackson
177) Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran
178) I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman
179) I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) by Daryl Hall and John Oates
180) I Can’t Stop Loving You by Michael Jackson
181) I Can’t Wait by Nu Shooz
182) I Don’t Want To Live Without You by Foreigner
183) I Drove All Night by Cyndi Lauper
184) I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jett
185) I Melt With You by Modern English
186) I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock Of Seagulls
187) I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany
188) I Wanna Go Back by Eddie Money
189) I Want A New Drug by Huey Lewis & The News
190) I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner
191) I Wish It Would Rain Down by Phil Collins
192) I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
193) If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher
194) If I’d Been The One by 38 Special
195) If Looks Could Kill by Heart
196) If She Would Have Been Faithful…. by Chicago
197) If This Is It by Huey Lewis & The News
198) If You Leave by OMD
199) Iko Iko by Bananarama
200) I’ll Always Love You by Taylor Dayne