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.
The Pointer Sisters Amy Grant John Mellencamp Guns N' Roses Madonna Anita Baker XTC Robert Palmer Toto Minor Threat George Michael The Replacements Kraftwerk Violent Femmes Judas Priest Nick Cave Pet Shop Boys Steve Winwood Kate Bush Tina Turner The Jam Olivia Newton-John Yes John Williams The Smiths Ramones George Benson Bob Marley Eddie Money Talking Heads Genesis Devo Queen Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand King Crimson Stevie Nicks Dio Brian Eno Def Leppard Prince Neil Young Stevie Ray Vaughan Culture Club George Harrison Faith No More Pixies Cyndi Lauper Black Sabbath Michael Jackson Salt N Pepa Heart The Fall Hüsker Dü Warren Zevon Paul Simon Gang of Four Metallica Bauhaus Sonic Youth Peter Gabriel English Beat Carly Simon Roxy Music Talk Talk Jackson Browne Jane's Addiction Styx Ice-T Living Colour The Rolling Stones Boogie Down Productions Emmylou Harris Smokey Robinson Bon Jovi Bruce Springsteen Journey Dire Straits AC/DC Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Van Halen Nine Inch Nails Fleetwood Mac Echo and the Bunnymen Crowded House Afrika Bambaataa Whitney Houston Rick James Sting Leonard Cohen Public Image Ltd. Cheap Trick Skinny Puppy Slayer Steve Earle Sinead O'Connor N.W.A The Alan Parsons Project The Clash The B-52's "Weird Al" Yankovic Ministry Adam and the Ants The Commodores The Moody Blues Kenny Loggins Patti LaBelle The Go-Go's Billy Joel The Judds ABC David Bowie The Pogues Megadeth The Cult Dinosaur Jr. Einstürzende Neubauten Black Flag INXS Blondie ABBA Madness Duran Duran Linda Ronstadt Joe Jackson Al Jarreau The Cars Phil Collins Eric Clapton Rush Electric Light Orchestra Men at Work Fugazi Stray Cats Tom Petty (solo) The Tragically Hip Don Henley The Jesus and Mary Chain Lou Reed Neil Diamond Siouxsie & the Banshees The Grateful Dead Frankie Goes to Hollywood Anthrax The Dead Kennedys Kool & the Gang LL Cool J Joan Jett and the Blackhearts The Misfits Sade Foreigner Midnight Oil Hall & Oates Elton John Bonnie Raitt Paul McCartney Alice Cooper Boz Scaggs Grace Jones Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five Diana Ross Scorpions Bryan Adams R.E.M. The Cure Cocteau Twins The Pretenders Miami Sound Machine X De La Soul Beastie Boys Stevie Wonder Aretha Franklin Sparks The Psychedelic Furs Los Lobos Public Enemy Chaka Khan Mötley Crüe New Edition New Edition George Strait Cher Dolly Parton Tom Waits Lionel Richie Ozzy Osbourne Bobby Brown Deep Purple Simple Minds The Bangles Eurythmics U2 Depeche Mode ZZ Top Ultravox Quincy Jones Billy Idol Dexys Midnight Runners Huey Lewis and The News Joy Division/New Order The Human League Rod Stewart Squeeze Joe Cocker They Might Be Giants Tracy Chapman Suzanne Vega The J. Geils Band Elvis Costello & the Attractions Pat Benatar Willie Nelson Twisted Sister John Lennon Motörhead Luther Vandross Bob Seger The Police Janet Jackson The Kinks Red Hot Chili Peppers Run DMC Bad Brains Tears for Fears Minutemen Iron Maiden Aerosmith Meat Puppets Kenny Rogers Stone Roses Eric B. & Rakim Billy Bragg Gloria Estefan Donna Summer
Of the 234 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)
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)
Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight (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)
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Legend (1984)
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. (1984)
Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
Los Lobos - How Will the Wolf Survive? (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)
Sade - Diamond Life (1984)
Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising (1985)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985)
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985)
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985)
New Order - Low-Life (1985)
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (1985)
LL Cool J - Radio (1985)
The Replacements - Tim (1985)
Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (1985)
Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (1985)
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder (1985)
Various artists - The Indestructible Beat of Soweto (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)
Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
Slayer - Reign In Blood (1986)
Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley/Go Bo Diddley (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)
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (1989)
Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
Janet Jackson - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (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)
Rush - The Spirit Of Radio (1980)
X - Los Angeles (1980)
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (1980)
Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (1980)
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime (1980)
Peter Gabriel - Biko (1980)
George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today (1980)
Go-Go's - We Got the Beat (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)
The Police - Every Breath You Take (1983)
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1983)
ZZ Top - Legs (1983)
John Cougar Mellencamp - Authority Song (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)
U.T.F.O. - Roxanne, Roxanne (1984)
Prince - When Doves Cry (1984)
Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do With It (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)
Guns 'N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle (1987)
Tom Waits - Hang on St. Christopher (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)
| ⇦ 1970s | 1990s ⇨ |