So I've been trying to follow the uber-popular "So What Are You Listening To Now" thread. But I am having a tough time. I simply do NOT recognize any of the bands or music. I must admit that this makes me feel like an old fool and rather unsophisticated. Thus, I started to think about why I was so pathetic. Then I realized - IT'S NOT ME! It's all of these pimple-faced kids who are flooding the thread with names I have never heard of. Now, let's get down to some good old fashioned basics.

I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. I spent all of my teenage years in the 1980s. All of you math wizards out there have already figured out that I must have been born in 1970 making me 25-years old. Oops - wrong math! Oh well. Being a teen from the 1980s I couldn't help but think back about my days attending concerts in Las Vegas - my home town - and all of the artists from that decade that I have had the privilege to meet in my time as an intellectual property lawyer. I just got giddy.

So here is the list of what I think are the best bands of the 1980s. Like any good list, I have my criteria. To be on this list, you must have been - first and foremost - influential. All of the bands on this list created music that those in the 1990s - and particularly today -are still trying to emulate. No one has, however, surpassed any of them. Second of all, you must have been tremendously popular. For the purposes of this list, "tremendouly popular" means that you must have had a single album that sold over 10 million copies in the 1980s. I know that this will piss off all of you who listened to "underground" music during this period. Too bad.

So here is my list of BEST 80s BANDS:

1. Van Halen
2. AC/DC
3. The Police
4. U2
5. Metallica

I picked Van Halen at the top for several reasons. First, they were the most influential. They did the old rock-n-roll gig better than anyone else. To me, David Lee Roth is the quintessential rock star. He perfected what Bon Scott was denied by an early death. Then he destroyed it all by fighting with his own band. It doesn't get any more ROCK STAR than that. When I look at the bands today, I scratch my head and wonder where guys like Roth have gone. He was cool, hip, funny and ugly as hell. Now that's the 80s baby!!! Van Halen's album 1984 sold more than 10 million copies and had us all "jumping." Add that to hits like Panama and Unchained and you have the best band of the 1980s. I bet even Yngwie Malmsteen would agree.

Roth was Van Halen. So they kicked him out of the band. They struggled to recapture the magic with Sammy Hagar.



AC/DC comes in a close second. It is interesting because AC/DC only had one "great" album in the 1980s - Back in Black - and it was published in 1980. I wanted to be Bon Scott. To me, he was the greatest rocker up until he died. He simply epitomized what a rock start was all about. When he died, I thought AC/DC was dead too. But you have to hand it to the Young brothers and Brian Johnson. They made it back and big. The amazing thing is that Back in Black still rocks just as hard today as when it came out in 1980. In the end, what rock band hasn't copied AC/DC?? Plus, Back in Black sold 19 million copies - good for second highest selling album of the 1980s (second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller - which sold more than 29 million copies). I will never forget Bon. But Brian kept AC/DC alive. I think he did it by never trying to be Bon Scott. He was just himself. For those about to rock, I salute you.

Just look at that bad ass. He IS rock-n-roll. RIP.



Many try to emulate The Police - and fail. They just have an unforgettable sound. They are not hard rock and they are not pop. They are their own genre of music. I'll never forget attending my first Police concert. The curtain went up at the Thomas & Mack Center but the stage was dark. Then you hear Stewart Copeland's sticks hit three times - not four (I remember these things) - and that beautiful opening riff from Message in a Bottle just sang forth! Unforgettable! The Police had a huge hit with Synchronicity in 1983 - selling more than 10 million copies. Who didn't strut around the Junior High with "Every Breath You Take" on their lips?? Personally, I am partial to 1980's Zenyatta Mondatta with such hits as Don't Stand So Close To Me, Canary In A Coal Mine and Man In a Suitcase. But their best album remains 1981's Ghost in the Machine. I could listen to Invisible Sun and Hungry For You back-to-back all day long - AND HAVE!!

Sting is simply the coolest man alive.



U2 was my personal favorite band of the 1980s. I stumbled onto U2 when I bought their album Boy in 1980. Purchased on Vinyl, I will never forget when the needle hit down on GLORIA – G-L-O-R-I-A! Now, I was a huge Van Morrison fan and was ready to be pissed. But I loved Bono’s version and never stopped listening. The band’s tour de force came in 1984 with The Unforgettable Fire album. Of course, U2 had much bigger commercial successes – for example 1987s The Joshua Tree. But nothing hit me harder than A Sort of Homecoming, Wire and Bad. I have attended more than a dozen U2 concerts. Nothing gives me goose bumps like when The Edge starts up Bad from the stage. “Just let it go – uh huh – and start to fade away!” Joshua Tree sold over 12 million copies. I purchased it on vinyl and then a CD. It was one of my first ever CD purchases - and made my $1000 Pioneer CD player worth it!! U2 tarnished themselves a bit with some really bad stuff in the 1990s and beyond. Also, I kind of get tired of the whole "feed the world" thing. But we all have a soundtrack of our youth - U2 is mine.

A young Bono. Back when this picture was taken Ireland was all that mattered to Bono. It is less effectve when he is trying to save the entire world - single handedly.



Finally, I list Guns & Roses. I must admit, I was not a Guns & Roses fan in the 1980s. In fact, I shunned them. There were just not enough brain cells in my head to handle another rock band with a lead singer that sported a bandana. I used to make fun of Slash and Axle and ridicule those who listened to them. Then one day in 1998 I was sifting through that days Napster selections and decided to download some G&R. I was hooked. I never realized how good their music was. Their 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction sold over 16 million copies in the 1980s – outselling other 80s staples such as Hysteria by Def Leppard (87), Purple Rain (84) by Prince and Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi (86). Who can forget Axle’s howl on the first track “Welcome to the Jungle.” I didn’t know what I was missing.

Ah Axle. A great performer.



Well, that’s my list and my commentary. Let the debate begin!!!

 

AC/DC isn't 80s, it's timeless.

 

I agree totally. That's why they are second on the list. AC/DC would be in my top 5 all time as well.

 

I can't narrow it down to 5.

I'll agree with you on AC/DC, The Police, and U2

I'll add in no particular order as I scan my iPhone:

3. The Smiths
4. REM
5. New Order
6. Talking Heads
7. The Cure
8. XTC
9. Echo and the Bunnymen
10. Pink Floyd (sorta extending the 70's into the 80's )

 

I love the Smiths and have seen them many times in concert. Who could forget "William It Was Really Nothing" and "Girlfriend In A Coma." The Smith's Meat is Murder is one of the top 10 best 80s albums. Alas, however, they were not popular enough to make my list. REM was another of my favorite bands. Their Reckoning and Fables of the Reconstruction albums are like family members to me. Yet, they were always overshadowed by U2 in the decade. I love New Order. Power, Corruption and Lies is simply classic. That opening guitar in The Village - insane. I like that you list XTC - Mayor of Simpleton is one of my favorite 80s songs.

Your list would be a great genre list for New Wave (don't hit me) or something of that nature. But the bands you list were not popular enough and did not sell enough albums to meet my criteria.

Oh yeah, Boys Don't Cry is my current ring tone.

 

Van Halen - game, set, match.....FTW!!!!!

I will add more debate material tomorrow. Its bed time for me now. BTW, why no mention of Motley Crue?

 

Oops. I didn't read the bit about popularity and selling albums.

Although, I would argue that my list was a highly influential group although maybe not as commercially successful.

BTW, if you like XTC's Oranges and Lemons (Mayor of Simpleton), you should check out, if you haven't already, XTC's masterpiece: English Settlement. "Sense working Overtime" FTW

 

Oh no. Your list should have your own criteria. I was just saying why those GREAT 80s bands were not on my list.

I own English Settlement and listen to it often. Great band. One of the best that few have heard of.

 

YouTube - [MusicVideo] Run DMC ft. Aerosmith - Walk This Way

game over

 

I never warmed up to Aerosmith. Plus, they never had an album that sold over 10 million copies in the 80s (Pump sold 7.1 million copies in 1989 - good for 38th on the list). I view them more as a 1990s band. But they have sold over 60 million albums total - making them second to the Eagles all time for rock bands.

On the other hand, I LOVED Run DMC. I attended a concert once with Rum DMC, Grand Master Flash (White Lines FTW) and Whodini (The Freaks Come Out at Night!). I like the mixture of rock and rap in Walk this Way. But Steven Tyler's screaming instead of singing turned me off.