For music from a year in the 1980s, go to 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89
This article includes an overview of the famous events and trends in popular music in the 1980s.
The 1980s saw the … See more

Rock
Post-punk
Some of the most successful post-punk bands at the … See more

Pop
The 1980s gave rise to the teenage groups Exposé, Menudo, Timbiriche, and Los Chicos, as well as emerging teenage stars such as See more

In Japan, bands such as Shonen Knife, Boredoms, The Star Club, X Japan, Dead End and The Stalin began in the Japanese rock bands and visual kei emerged in the 1980s with bands … See more

Reflecting on changes in the music industry during the 1980s, Robert Christgau later wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s See more

Pop
The 1980s saw the reinvention of Michael Jackson, and the worldwide superstardom of Prince, Madonna, and Whitney Houston, who were all among … See more

Australian rock band INXS achieved international success during the decade with a series of hit recordings, including the albums Listen Like Thieves (1985), Kick (1987), … See more