80s music is still alive and well and in great demand. There are still many thousands of fans who love the 80's music and they listen to it often. The 80's music can be heard on many radio stations and also on the internet. There are many websites that allow members to listen to the music while they are online surfing the net, reading email, or working. There are also many sites where the music can be downloaded onto the computer, mp3 player, etc. CDs and videos of the 80's music can be purchased online or offline. There are many new 80's compilations which have been released recently so the fans can still enjoy it. Some fans may want to fill in the gaps of their collections and the compilations are a way of doing it.

     The 80's was a time of big change in rock and roll music from the way it was known in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. There was a New Wave of music and many different styles evolved from it. Some of the different styles of music in the 80's was, hard rock, heavy metal, disco, post punk, college rock, New Wave of British heavy metal, thrash metal, synth pop, hair metal, heartland rock, gangsta rap, hip hop,, and more. There were also many dances invented to fit the new styles of music. Some, of the many, dances were disco, pac man, cabbage patch, robo cop, wavin’, poppin’, lockin’, tickin’, break dancing, new kids move, roger rabbit, running man, moonwalk, funky twist, and more.

     There were dance instruction videos available so people could learn how to do the new dances. There were also many new country dances which were the rage for country music listeners. There was the electric slide, boot scootin’ boogie, and many more. There were also videos available to teach country music lovers how to do these new dances. There were new instruments used in some of the 80's music in order to achieve the new sound the artists strived for and succeeded. The electric keyboards, synthesizers, and drum machines came into play. These instruments made such a new distinct sound that the artists were pleased and many of them experimented with them to get just the right sound they wanted. Each artists wanted his, her, or their own distinct sound so when their music was played, the public would know who it was instantly.

     Another big change in the 80's was the coming of the music videos and their connection to MTV, VH-1, and some small television stations which aired the music videos. Thanks to this great exposure, many artists became very successful.

     80s music facts can be found on the internet or your local library. There were many artists during the 1980's and also many new music styles. You can find a lot of websites full of information and history about the 1980's music and the artists. You can find individual artists, their songs, and their biographies or interviews about them online. A quick search on Google or Yahoo, or MSN, can get you about all of the information you need.

     Some very good informative websites are, www.80's.com, www.80sretromusic.com, and www.80smusiccentral.com, just to name a few. There are many people who are still crazy about the 80's music and you can listen to it right over the internet if you like. Just choose your artist or song and do a search for it, or go to some of the websites that allow you to listen to the music for free. Or if you are looking for albums or singles of your favorite artists, you can find them on sites like Ebay or Amazon. You can also find them on websites related to the 80's music. 

     The Top 8 Artists of the 80's are: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, The Police, U2, R. E. M., and John Mellencamp.

     The Top 8 Albums of the 80's are: Thriller (Michael Jackson), Like A Virgin (Madonna), Born In the USA (Bruce Springsteen), Purple rain (Prince), Appetite For Destruction (Guns N’ Roses), The Joshua Tree (U2), Faith (George Michael), and 1984 (Van Halen).

     The Top 10 Singles of the 80's are: Every Breath You Take (The Police), Eye of the Tiger (Survivor), I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner), Jump (Van Halen), With Or Without You (U2), Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses). So Emotional (Whitney Houston), Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler), Endless Love (Lionel Richie & Diana Ross), and Centerfold (J. Geils band).

     Top 10 Songs of the 80's are: Call Me (Blondie), All Out of Love (Air Supply), Another One Bites the Dust (Queen), Celebration (Kool & the Gang), Hit Me With Your best Shot (Pat Benatar), Ride Like the Wind (Christopher Cross), Shining Star (The Manhattans), Fame (Irene Cara), Just Like Starting Over (John Lennon). Top 10 Solo Careers are: Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Lionel Richie, George Michael, Don Henley, Belinda Carlisle, Sting, Stevie Nicks, and Kenny Loggins.

     There were many artists during the 80's and many different styles of music. The 80's brought about a big change in how the public saw rock music. The different styles of rock music during the 80's were, New Wave, hard rock, heavy metal, rap, college rock, and more. There were new funky styles of dancing such as the moonwalk, funky twist, break dancing, wavin’, lockin’, tickin’, poppin’, Pac man, Running Man, Roger rabbit, Robo Cop, Cxabbage Patch, and more.

      There were many 80s music artists who were very successful in the 80's and some moved on into the 90's and even some are still performing today. There are many compilation albums and new albums, from individual artists and groups, being released even today. Some are scheduled to release new music in 2008. There are also many tours planned by the artists. There were also many 80's artists who were not very successful and may have only lasted for a few years before they split up. Some of the artists have also passed away and cannot perform any more but their music lives on in the music they released.

     Many of the artists of the 80's had the music video to thank for their success. With the coming of the music videos and the exposure they got through the cable television channels, MTV and VH-1, the artists became successful. Some of them would not have become successful had it not been for the airtime they received on MTV. Others who were already successful, were even more successful, thanks to MTV and the music videos. Music videos are still popular today and many artists depend on them for their success.

     There are country music video stations as well as rock stations. Some of the top music videos of the 80's were, Madonna, U2, Bon Jovi, Prince, Poison, Jewel, Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, Michael Jackson, just to name a few. There were many solo artists as well as groups of artists during the 80's and there was a wide variety of music styles. Some of the New Wave styles of music which popped up were, heavy metal, hard rock, disco, post punk, rap, thrash metal, college rock, hip hop, synth pop, hair metal, and many more. There were also many new dances invented to fit the music styles.

     Some of these dances were, Cabbage Patch, Robo Cop, running man, Roger Rabbit, the moonwalk, funky twist, new kids move, break dancing, Pac Man, tickin’, lockin’, wavin’, poppin’ and many more. Some of the many artists (both solo artists and groups) of the 80's were, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Rick James, Lipps Inc., Eurythmics, Human League, Soft Cell, DEVO, New Order, Prince, The Romantics, Salt N Pepa, Kool and the Gang, Irene Cara, The Weather Girls, The Pointer Sisters, Marcia Griffiths, Billy Idol, Diana Ross, Shannon, Cyndi Lauper, The S. O. S Band, Technotronic feat. Felly, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, Earth Wind and Fire, Rob base and DJ EZ Rock, M/A/R/R/S, Whitney Houston, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Dead or Alive, Donna Summer, After the Fire, Sheila E., The B-52s, Tone Loc, Michael Sembello, Culture Club, Thomas Dolby, A-Ha, Men At Work, and many more.

     80s dance music is one of the most diverse of all times. There are many different styles of dancing which were invented in the 80's to fit the many different styles of music that evolved from that era. There are still millions of fans of the 80's music styles so there are many radio stations and online websites geared toward the 80's music.

     Some of the different dances which began in the 80's were, disco, running man, Roger rabbit, Robo Cop, tickin’, lockin’, wavin’, poppin’, Pac man, break dancing, the moonwalk, Cabbage Cabbage Patch, funky twist, New Kids Move, boogie, electro, funky,and more. There seemed to be a new dance for just about every song style. This era was a time for the new music videos. Television shows which aired the music videos were, MTV, VH-1, and many smaller television shows and thirty minute shows.

     Some of the favorite dance tunes were, Bad, was #1 in 1987(by Michael Jackson), How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, #12 in 1983 (by Laura Branigan), Somebody’s Baby was #7 in 1982 (by Jackson Brown), Far From Over was #10 in 1983 (by Frank Stallone), and Lucky Star, was #4 in 1984 (by Madonna). Funk style dancing was the craze during the 80's and it was normal to wear parachute pants, biker shorts, and sweats.

     There were videos which could teach you how to do the dances if you wanted to. Christy Lane was a very popular video to learn them from. Universal Studios has a series of 80's compilations that are marketed on television and they are focused on dance music of the era. They show how diverse the dance styles were at that time. Some of the songs included in this series are, Planet Rock (by Afrika Bambaataa), You Dropped A Bomb On Me (by Gap Band), Let the Music Play (by Shannon), and many more.

     There were many songs which hit the charts in the 80's and some of them sold millions of copies. The following is a list of the top 15 dance songs of the 80s. They will certainly bring back some memories for some.

Top 10 '80s Solo Careers

Maybe it's just me, but as a music lover who came of age during the '80s, it certainly seemed like an inordinate amount of artists formerly in bands had their solo careers explode during this decade. Perhaps the self-centeredness and materialism of the era had something to do with that, but no matter the source of the impulse, solo careers made for an impressive array of record sales for artists from Phil Collins all the way through to George Michael. So much for the phrase "lonely at the top."

1. Michael Jackson

I briefly toyed with the notion of excluding Jackson from this list, only because, based on the sheer majesty of his '80s solo career, it's easy to nearly forget that he belonged to a group in the first place. The fact that the Jackson Five were major hitmakers in their own right serves only to illustrate that much more clearly just how massive Jackson became in the wake of one of pop music's biggest albums of all time, 1982's omnipresent Thriller. Jackson forged a nearly unattainable template.

2. Phil Collins

The longtime Genesis frontman and drummer may not have seemed destined for solo success, but he made up for his lack of sex appeal and style with a tuneful nose for pop accessibility. Starting with 1981's Face Value and stretching across three subsequent top-selling albums during the decade, Phil Collins delivered hit after hit. All told, he compiled six No. 1 pop singles while also managing to gain abundant play on rock radio. Collins' mix of classic rock and balladry was simply unmatched.

3. Peter Gabriel

Always a far more charismatic and mysterious figure than his former Genesis bandmate, Peter Gabriel nonetheless never came close to matching the popularity or pop music savvy of Collins. Even so, he released one of the '80s monster albums in 1986's So, and he contributed some definite musical watermark moments, most notably "In Your Eyes", a tune so famously used in Cameron Crowe's film Say Anything. Ultimately, Gabriel ruled the pop music outskirts even as Collins earned middle ground stardom.

4. Lionel Richie

As a member of '70s soul and funk giants the Commodores, Richie always displayed a knack for big, juicy hooks and love songs. But none of his previous success could have prepared the listening public for his sheer potential to perfect a broad style of pop music. Although Richie hit it big occasionally with somewhat embarrassing attempts at dance pop ("Dancing on the Ceiling"), his strength always remained his sublime, lilting ballads, from "Endless Love" to "Hello" to "Say You, Say Me".

5. George Michael

Although his success with Wham! fell just short of qualifying as a solo career from the start (sorry, Mr. Ridgeley), George Michael reached ever more dizzying heights upon the release of his 1987 masterpiece, Faith. The record reached No. 1 on both the pop and R&B charts, and based upon the solid foundation of the album, Michael's reputation as a pop superstar was quickly cemented. Michael released only one solo album within the boundaries of the decade, but that's all that was required of him.

6. Don Henley

While almost everyone who was ever in the Eagles has released some degree of music as a solo artist, far and away the most successful member in this apartment is Henley. Glenn Frey had his moments, but Don Henley displayed a consistency as a solo artist that is not common for renegades from big-time rock bands. Like Collins and Richie, Henley's solo efforts appealed to a wide variety of audiences, and as a composer he proved himself as skilled with synthesizers as with acoustic guitars.

7. Belinda Carlisle

The music business being fickle as it is, it took a fairly thorough makeover to turn former Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle into a pop star. I don't know why it seemed so necessary for her to lose some pounds when the band had enjoyed so much success during her plumper days, but that is the way it happened, I guess. Musically, Carlisle completed the transition from her former band's very early punk days to unabashed adult contemporary pop, a la "Mad About You" and "I Get Weak".

8. Sting

The ex-Police frontman and bassist boasts arguably the most interesting and divergent solo career of any '80s artist, though that doesn't necessarily make it the best. For my money, Mr. Sumner tends to be a bit too insistent about straying from his melodic pop past in favor of jazz and world music stylings. Nonetheless, it's difficult to question the quality of his songwriting on tunes like "Fortress Around Your Heart", one of Sting's more accessible solo efforts.

9. Stevie Nicks

You definitely know you're wildly successful as a solo artist when that career takes off significantly prior to your band's official breakup. That was most certainly the case with Nicks, who almost immediately began to exceed Fleetwood Mac's '80s releases with her 1981 debut, Bella Donna. Still, even more notable is that her most well-known solo hits ("Edge of Seventeen" and "Stand Back", for example) are matched in quality by lesser-known gems like "If Anyone Falls" and "Talk to Me".

10. Kenny Loggins

Having begun his career as one-half of a partnership with Jim Messina, Kenny Loggins was early accustomed to being at the forefront musically. So in that sense, it wasn't difficult for him to step into the total spotlight as a solo artist. However, as one of the '80s kings of the film soundtrack, Loggins truly embraced the decade and wrote appropriately bombastic ballads like "Meet Me Halfway" and fist-clenching rockers perfect for the silver screen such as "Danger Zone" or "I'm Alright".

Top 10 '80s Music Film & TV Crossover Artists

This phenomenon continues today stronger than ever, but in the '80s perhaps more than ever stars of the screen were just dying for music careers, and vice-versa. Some of their careers did almost expire during the process, but that didn't stop the fireworks in a car-wreck rubberneck sort of way. Step back in time for a look at the best and worst of these curiosities.

1. Patrick Swayze

The star of the 1987 sleeper film Dirty Dancing must have been owed some serious favors that allowed him to record "She's Like the Wind". The lyrics from this song boast one of the worst lines in music history: "She's like the wind through my trees." Nonsensical has never had it this good. If there were merely one tree, at least it could be interpreted as an offbeat phallic reference. It still wouldn't make any damn sense, but at least there'd be something to hang your hat on... literally.

2. Bruce Willis

Fresh off his hit TV show Moonlighting and right before he became a full-fledged film star with 1988's Die Hard, I suppose Bruce Willis felt like the obvious thing to do was release a half-baked collection of Motown-inspired R&B for a phantom audience. Well, I don't know if that much forethought went into it, but that's certainly all Willis accomplished with this exercise in celebrity self-gratification. Neither the song choices nor performances inspire emotion of any kind, even disgust.

3. Rick Springfield

A case could be made that this Australian heartthrob doesn't quite qualify as a crossover artist since his efforts in film, TV and music were always more simultaneous than influenced by one another. Nonetheless, maybe the organic nature of Springfield's dual career helped him generate greater quality in his work. After all, Springfield was believable if a bit bland as Apollo's doomed brother Zack in TV's Battlestar Galactica". We already should know he was an underrated, genuine musician.

4. Madonna

This '80s pop queen has always had significantly less luck when it comes to her onscreen appearances, and these stumbles began in earnest with 1985's Desperately Seeking Susan. Somehow all the charisma at her command could not turn Madonna into a convincing actor, but you certainly can't accuse her of being a quitter. Who's That Girl? followed in 1987, but the singer reached her film nadir with her embarrassing turn as Breathless Mahoney in the ill-fated Dick Tracy.

5. Don Johnson

Only in the '80s could Mr. Five o'Clock Shadow have worn what he wore on Miami Vice or emote like a madman in the video for his biggest pop offering "Heartbeat". But the decade was nothing if not permissive, and that leaves music audiences with considerable carnage following Johnson's foray into vocal excess. The video for the aforementioned hit single was a real bodice-ripper, cloaked in black and white and featuring more fist-clenching, over-the-top exultation than I ever thought possible.

6. Eddie Murphy

Well, it was impossible to avoid this one, though I certainly considered it. Murphy's first venture into music had been on an otherwise all-comedy album, and its title, "Boogie in Your Butt", should have been enough warning to music executives not to let him record any more music. But as Bobbi Flekman says, "Money talks and bull solid waste walks," or something like that. So record Murphy did, and even Rick James' help on "Party All the Time" couldn't stop the disaster.

7. Sting

Over the course of his long and successful career, very few things Gordon Sumner touched turned out badly, and that goes for his thespian endeavors as well. His turns in Brimstone and Treacle, Dune, and The Bride were always interesting, quirky and dark, and somehow they seemed to populate a separate universe from his high-profile work with the Police. The evidence of Sting's diverse talent is obvious in that both his film and music careers continue to flourish today.

8. David Bowie

Similar to Sting, Bowie has always shown an ability to adapt to very different circumstances in the entertainment business. He reinvented himself several times musically but generally remained an oddity of some kind or another. That quality translated well to his film roles, both of the dark variety and the more childlike make-believe fare like Labyrinth. Bowie remains a multi-purpose media star today, obviously.

9. John Stamos

The former soap star and major ensemble player on TV's inexplicably beloved Full House never hid the fact within his roles that he really wanted to be a musician. Bad-boy rocker Uncle Jesse therefore took the first opportunity he got to play music more seriously, though that blew up in his face a bit with his involvement with the revamped, "Kokomo"-era Beach Boys. Though he never cultivated an actual musical career, we're still trying to wipe that particular tune from our collective memory.

10. Jack Wagner

We all know celebrity is an unbelievably powerful thing, and when could that fact be more clear than in an examination of the career of former soap star Jack Wagner? He parlayed General Hospital fame into a hit song in 1984, with the emotive but tepid ballad "All I Need." Since then Wagner has furthered the marriage of these two mass media forms for his own benefit, and he is even set to release a new CD in connection with another soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

A way to look at '80s music in a broader, more specific way is to break down the decade's events, albums and songs by year. This gives a much more complete picture of the artists and styles that were particularly popular, significant or simply highly listenable throughout the wide expanse of the decade.

Top 10 Songs of 1980

Top 10 Songs of 1981

Top 10 Songs of 1982

Top 10 Songs of 1983

Top 10 Songs of 1984

Top 10 Songs of 1985

Top 10 Songs of 1987

Top 10 Songs of 1986

Top 10 Songs of 1988

Top 10 Songs of 1989

was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1973. There were two brothers who started the band. They were Angus and Malcolm Young. They were one of the bands who were pioneers of the heavy metal music. Led Zeplin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath were some of the others who played heavy metal music in that same time frame. The music was very hard for some to listen to but others really appreciated it. A lot of parents cringed when their kids began listening to this type of music and it was very hard on the ears when it was turned up loud. AC/DC released their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. Then in 1979 they recorded their very successful album, Highway To Hell.

  The band had a few member change before the release of this album. The bass player Cliff Williams was replaced with Mark Evans in 1977. In 1980 the lead singer and co-songwriter, Bon Scott died and was later replaced with singer Brian Johnson. Later in 1980 their biggest selling album, Back In Black, was released.

   MADONNA after a star reaches a certain point, it's easy to forget what they became famous for and concentrate solely on their persona. Madonna is such a star. Madonna rocketed to stardom so quickly in 1984 that it obscured most of her musical virtues. Appreciating her music became even more difficult as the decade wore on, as discussing her lifestyle became more common than discussing her music. However, one of Madonna's greatest achievements is how she manipulated the media and the public with her music, her videos, her publicity, and her sexuality. Arguably, Madonna was the first female pop star to have complete control of her music and image.
    MADONNA moved from her native Michigan to New York in 1977, with dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. She studied with choreographer Alvin Ailey and modeled. In 1979, she became part of the Patrick Hernandez Revue, a disco outfit that had the hit "Born to Be Alive." She traveled to Paris with Hernandez; it was there that she met Dan Gilroy, who would soon become her boyfriend. Upon returning to New York, the pair formed the Breakfast Club, a pop/dance group. Madonna originally played drums for the band, but she soon became the lead singer. In 1980, she left the band and formed Emmy with her former boyfriend, drummer Stephen Bray. Soon, Bray and Madonna broke off from the group and began working on some dance/disco-oriented tracks. A demo tape of these tracks worked its way to Mark Kamins, a New York-based DJ/producer. Kamins directed the tape to Sire Records, which signed the singer in 1982.

    A-HA is a band from Norway who are the best selling Norwegian Band in the world with over 75 million albums and singles sold. They are also nominated for a Grammy Award. The group achieved their fame in the 1980's and were successful around the glob into the 1990's and 2000's. The group consisted of three members. Those who made up the trio were Morton Harket (vocals from 1982 to 1994 and again from 1998 to the present). Magne Furuholmen (keyboard from 1982 to 1994 and again from 1998 to the present), and Paul Waaktaar- Savoy (guitar from 1982 to 1994 and again from 1998 to the present).
   The trio stayed together for the duration of their career with no substitutes. This is very rare in the music world. Others have changed band members frequently and there are very few bands who stay together like this one did.

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In 1984, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure founded a supergroup Baind Aid from many of the most popular British and Irish performers of the time to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?". The single exceeded expectations. The record was released on 3th December  and went straight to No. 1 in the UK singles chart. It became the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at No. 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK.

Raising money for Ethiopia continued with an unforgettable global event called Live Aid on July 13, 1985. It was held simultaneously over a 16 hour period Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, with some acts performing at other places. With all-time satelite tv broadcast it is estimated that across 100 countries over 1.5 billion viewers watched the event.

Bob Marley is one of the greatest artist of all times and the greatest reggae artist.His songs of faith, devotion, and revolution created a legacy that continues to live on, not only through the music of his extended family but also through generations of artists the world over touched by his genius.

Marley's best known hits includes I Shot the Sheriff, No Woman, No Cry, Exodus, Could You Be Loved, Stir It Up, Jamming, Redemption Song, One Love and, together with The Wailers, Three Little Birds, as well as the posthumous releases Buffalo Soldier and Iron Lion Zion. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, three years after his death, is the best-selling reggae album ever (10 times platinum), with sales of more than 12 million copies.