Uncovering the Next Generation's Hall of Fame
| ⇦ 1970s | 1990s ⇨ |
The Defining Artists of the 1980s
The following artists released some of the best music of the 1980s. Hall of Famers are highlighted in orange.
Cher Black Sabbath The Cure Mötley Crüe Minutemen The Alan Parsons Project Emmylou Harris Prince Bruce Springsteen Iron Maiden Bryan Adams Pet Shop Boys Brian Eno The Jam Anita Baker Joy Division/New Order Los Lobos The B-52's English Beat The Kinks The J. Geils Band Blondie Paul Simon Tina Turner Kool & the Gang The Rolling Stones Red Hot Chili Peppers Minor Threat The Pointer Sisters Quincy Jones Kenny Rogers Lionel Richie Boz Scaggs Willie Nelson Sade Ozzy Osbourne Jackson Browne Siouxsie & the Banshees Stevie Nicks LL Cool J Van Halen Salt N Pepa Elvis Costello & the Attractions The Police Rush AC/DC The Cult ABBA Fleetwood Mac Stevie Ray Vaughan Dolly Parton Public Image Ltd. Bon Jovi Talk Talk Joan Jett and the Blackhearts The Pretenders Chaka Khan Men at Work Stevie Wonder Midnight Oil Adam and the Ants Eric B. & Rakim Duran Duran Anthrax Styx Neil Young ABC N.W.A The Misfits Leonard Cohen Bad Brains XTC Afrika Bambaataa De La Soul The Pogues Tracy Chapman The Go-Go's Eurythmics John Mellencamp Robert Palmer Squeeze Elton John King Crimson Yes Smokey Robinson R.E.M. Neil Diamond Toto Bonnie Raitt The Fall "Weird Al" Yankovic Queen The Jesus and Mary Chain Aretha Franklin Dexys Midnight Runners Electric Light Orchestra The Moody Blues Rick James Dinosaur Jr. Grace Jones Paul McCartney Michael Jackson Madness Ice-T Twisted Sister Billy Joel The Clash Echo and the Bunnymen Amy Grant Peter Gabriel Foreigner Hall & Oates Megadeth Simple Minds Culture Club The Dead Kennedys The Human League Tears for Fears George Benson Hüsker Dü Bob Marley George Strait X Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five Pixies John Lennon Stone Roses Metallica George Michael Motörhead Eddie Money Al Jarreau Joe Cocker Suzanne Vega Meat Puppets Kraftwerk Scorpions Kate Bush Miami Sound Machine Jane's Addiction Warren Zevon Tom Petty (solo) Bob Seger The Replacements Billy Idol Roxy Music Linda Ronstadt Heart New Edition The Cars INXS Journey Huey Lewis and The News Joe Jackson Living Colour Whitney Houston Fugazi Nick Cave Janet Jackson Cocteau Twins Cheap Trick Frankie Goes to Hollywood Kenny Loggins George Harrison Barbra Streisand Sparks Judas Priest Talking Heads Aerosmith Black Flag Guns N' Roses Ministry David Bowie Diana Ross Patti LaBelle Dio Slayer Madonna Dire Straits Eric Clapton Nine Inch Nails Skinny Puppy Lou Reed Gloria Estefan Cyndi Lauper Rod Stewart Def Leppard Phil Collins Genesis Sinead O'Connor The Judds Donna Summer Gang of Four Sting Bauhaus Boogie Down Productions The Bangles Alice Cooper Sonic Youth Faith No More Beastie Boys John Williams Ramones Ultravox Steve Winwood Einstürzende Neubauten The Psychedelic Furs Public Enemy Devo Don Henley Run DMC Stray Cats They Might Be Giants ZZ Top Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Steve Earle Carly Simon Violent Femmes Bobby Brown Olivia Newton-John Crowded House Pat Benatar Depeche Mode U2 Luther Vandross The Smiths Tom Waits
Of the 227 artists listed above, 48% have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
| ⇦ 1970s | 1990s ⇨ |
The Defining Albums of the 1980s
Diana Ross - Diana (1980)
David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
Prince - Dirty Mind (1980)
AC/DC - Back In Black (1980)
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry (1980)
The Pretenders - Pretenders (1980)
Joy Division - Closer (1980)
The Clash - Sandinista! (1980)
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (1980)
U2 - Boy (1980)
Bruce Springsteen - The River (1980)
Talking Heads - Remain In Light (1980)
X - Los Angeles (1980)
The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You (1981)
Luther Vandross - Never Too Much (1981)
Rush - Moving Pictures (1981)
Black Flag - Damaged (1981)
Echo & The Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here (1981)
The Police - Ghost in the Machine (1981)
X - Wild Gift (1981)
Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight (1982)
Prince - 1999 (1982)
Richard and Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights (1982)
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (1982)
The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat (1982)
Roxy Music - Avalon (1982)
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Imperial Bedroom (1982)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
U2 - War (1983)
ZZ Top - Eliminator (1983)
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983)
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)
The Police - Synchronicity (1983)
Eurythmics - Touch (1983)
R.E.M. - Murmur (1983)
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense (1984)
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. (1984)
Los Lobos - How Will the Wolf Survive? (1984)
Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C. (1984)
The Replacements - Let It Be (1984)
The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Legend (1984)
Sade - Diamond Life (1984)
Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising (1985)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985)
Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (1985)
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985)
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985)
Various artists - The Indestructible Beat of Soweto (1985)
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
New Order - Low-Life (1985)
Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (1985)
LL Cool J - Radio (1985)
The Replacements - Tim (1985)
Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (1985)
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder (1985)
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (1985)
Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell (1986)
New Order - Brotherhood (1986)
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead (1986)
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley (1986)
Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
Slayer - Reign In Blood (1986)
Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)
Steve Earle - Guitar Town (1986)
Peter Gabriel - So (1986)
Anita Baker - Rapture (1986)
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded (1987)
Michael Jackson - Bad (1987)
George Michael - Faith (1987)
The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
Prince - Sign O' The Times (1987)
R.E.M. - Document (1987)
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me (1987)
U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
Pet Shop Boys - Actually (1987)
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full (1987)
Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel Of Love (1987)
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)
Sonic Youth - Sister (1987)
Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me (1987)
N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton (1988)
Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988)
Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams (1988)
EPMD - Strictly Business (1988)
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (1988)
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (1988)
Don Henley - The End Of The Innocence (1989)
Madonna - Like A Prayer (1989)
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (1989)
Janet Jackson - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)
Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)
Aerosmith - Pump (1989)
The Cure - Disintegration (1989)
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time (1989)
| ⇦ 1970s | 1990s ⇨ |
The Defining Songs of the 1980s
Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster (Jammin') (1980)
Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved (1980)
AC/DC - Back In Black (1980)
Kurtis Blow - The Breaks (1980)
English Beat - Mirror In The Bathroom (1980)
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long (1980)
X - Los Angeles (1980)
Rush - The Spirit Of Radio (1980)
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (1980)
Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (1980)
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime (1980)
Peter Gabriel - Biko (1980)
Go-Go's - We Got the Beat (1980)
George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today (1980)
Joan Jett - Bad Reputation (1980)
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades (1980)
Bob Marley - Redemption Song (1980)
Devo - Whip It (1980)
Judas Priest - Breaking The Law (1980)
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980)
Luther Vandross - Never Too Much (1981)
Black Flag - TV Party (1981)
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (1981)
The Specials - Ghost Town (1981)
Rick James - Super Freak (1981)
The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed (1981)
Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen (1981)
Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure (1981)
R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe (1981)
Rush - Limelight (1981)
Stray Cats - Rock This Town (1981)
Michael Jackson - Beat It (1982)
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (1982)
Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock (1982)
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (1982)
Culture Club - Time (Clock of the Heart) (1982)
Toto - Africa (1982)
Prince - 1999 (1982)
George Clinton - Atomic Dog (1982)
Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf (1982)
Prince - Little Red Corvette (1982)
Grandmaster Flash - The Message (1982)
Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City (1982)
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1983)
The Police - Every Breath You Take (1983)
John Cougar Mellencamp - Authority Song (1983)
ZZ Top - Legs (1983)
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time (1983)
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (1983)
John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses (1983)
New Order - Blue Monday (1983)
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride And Joy (1983)
Van Halen - Jump (1983)
Hüsker Dü - Turn on the News (1984)
Prince - Purple Rain (1984)
Depeche Mode - People Are People (1984)
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It (1984)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
U.T.F.O. - Roxanne, Roxanne (1984)
Bruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark (1984)
The Smiths - How Soon is Now? (1984)
The Replacements - I Will Dare (1984)
U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) (1984)
The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (1984)
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah (1984)
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (1984)
Madonna - Like a Virgin (1984)
Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World (1985)
Miami Sound Machine - Conga (1985)
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Cities in Dust (1985)
Madonna - Into the Groove (1985)
The Replacements - Here Comes a Regular (1985)
The Replacements - Left Of The Dial (1985)
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes (1986)
Prince - Kiss (1986)
Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (1986)
Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (1986)
Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
Beastie Boys - (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party) (1986)
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning (1987)
Public Enemy - Bring The Noise (1987)
INXS - Never Tear Us Apart (1987)
The Cure - Just Like Heaven (1987)
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full (1987)
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (1987)
U2 - With Or Without You (1987)
Tom Waits - Hang on St. Christopher (1987)
Guns 'N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle (1987)
Lucinda Williams - Passionate Kisses (1988)
The La's - There She Goes (1988)
Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two (1988)
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (1988)
N.W.A - Fuck Tha Police (1988)
N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton (1988)
Pixies - Where Is My Mind? (1988)
Ministry - Stigmata (1988)
Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot (1988)
Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance (1988)
Madonna - Like a Prayer (1989)
Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole (1989)
Beastie Boys - Hey Ladies (1989)
Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation (1989)
The Cure - Pictures of You (1989)
Public Enemy - Fight the Power (1989)
Biz Markie - Just a Friend (1989)
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