The Best Rock Songs of the 80s
What are the best rock songs from the 80s?
The 1980s saw New Wave entering the year as the single biggest mainstream market, with heavy metal, punk rock and
hardcore punk, and hip hop achieving increased crossover success. New Wave was a music genre that existed during the
late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. It emerged from punk rock as a reaction against the popular music of the 1970s.
New Wave incorporated various influences such as the rock 'n' roll styles of the pre-hippie era, ska, reggae, power pop,
the mod subculture, electronic music, disco, funk, etc.
With the demise of punk rock, a new generation of punk-influenced genres arose, including Gothic rock, post-punk,
alternative rock, emo and thrash metal. Other rock subgenres that emerged in the 1980s included synthpop, hardcore
punk and alternative rock.
By 1984, hair metal, long a dormant part of the Los Angeles music scene, started its reign on the charts.
Led by hypermasculine bands like Quiet Riot (Metal Health), Van Halen (Van Halen) and Mötley Crüe
(Shout at the Devil), hair metal reached its popular peak in the late 1980s with Def Leppard's Hysteria and Bon Jovi's
New Jersey. Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction burst onto the scene late in the decade, and launched a new,
short-lived era of more machoistic posturing and harsh, critical lyrics, mixed with the occasional ballad and virtuosic riff.
Located below you will find a list of some of the best rock songs of the 1980s. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are
looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.
Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible
with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on
our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.
These singles are considered among the best rock songs to hit the charts in the 1980s.
- "Arthur's Theme" performed by Christopher Cross
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- "Abracadabra" performed by The Steve Miller Band
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- "Amanda" performed by Boston
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- "Addicted To Love" performed by Robert Palmer
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- "Another One Bites The Dust" performed by Queen
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- "Born In The U.S.A." performed by Bruce Springsteen
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- "Burning Down The House" performed by Talking Heads
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- "Can't Fight This Feeling" performed by REO Speedwagon
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- "Carrie" performed by Europe
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- "Centerfold" performed by J. Geils Band
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- "Cum On Feel The Noize" performed by Quiet Riot
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- "Dancing In The Dark" performed by Bruce Springsteen
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- "Dr. Feelgood" performed by Motley Crue
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- "Every Breath You Take" performed by the Police
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- "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" performed by Poison
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- "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
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- "Here I Go Again" performed by Whitesnake
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- "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" performed by Pat Benatar
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- "Hungry Like The Wolf" performed by Duran Duran
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- "I Hate Myself For Loving You" performed by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
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- "(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight" performed by Cutting Crew
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- "I Love Rock 'N Roll" performed by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
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- "I Melt With You" performed by Modern English
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- "I Want Candy" performed by Bow Wow Wow
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- "I Want to Know What Love Is" performed by Foreigner
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- "In a Big Country" performed by Big Country
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- "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" performed by R.E.M.
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- "Jack & Diane" performed by John Cougar Mellencamp
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- "Janie's Got A Gun" performed by Aerosmith
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- "Jessie's Girl" performed by Rick Springfield
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- "Jump" performed by Van Halen
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- "Legs" performed by ZZ Top
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- "Livin' on a Prayer" performed by Bon Jovi
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- "Love Hurts" performed by Nazareth
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- "Love in an Elevator" performed by Aerosmith
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- "Love is a Battlefield" performed by Pat Benatar
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- "Money For Nothing" performed by Dire Straits
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- "Need You Tonight" performed by INXS
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- "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" performed by Great White
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- "Pour Some Sugar On Me" performed by Def Leppard
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- "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A." performed by John Cougar Mellencamp
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- "Round and Round" performed by Ratt
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- "Sister Christian" performed by Night Ranger
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- "Start Me Up" performed by Rolling Stones
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- "Sweet Child O' Mine" performed by Guns N' Roses
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- "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" performed by Eurythmics
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- "Talk Dirty to Me" performed by Poison
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- "The Final Countdown" performed by Europe
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- "The Warrior" performed by Scandal
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- "Under Pressure" performed by Queen & David Bowie
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- "Wasted on the Way" performed by Crosby, Stills, and Nash
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- "We Built This City" performed by Starship
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- "Welcome to the Jungle" performed by Guns N' Roses
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- "We're Not Gonna Take It" performed by Twisted Sister
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- "What I Like About You" performed by Romantics
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- "Working For The Weekend" performed by Loverboy
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- "You Give Love a Bad Name" performed by Bon Jovi
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