List 10ish of your best/favorite 80's bands

The Smiths
The Go-Betweens Mk I period
Felt
Associates
Iron Maiden
Bauhaus Mk I period
Microdisney
Cocteau Twins
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Joy Division
Magazine
The Cure
Sad Lovers and Giants
Simple Minds (for their pre-1985 work)
Style Council
The Sound
Killing Joke

 

REM
U2
Pretenders
The Clash
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Dire Straits
The Cars
Talking Heads
The Cure
ELO

Plus individual artists like:
Paul McCartney
John Mellancamp

 

Kate Bush
Robert Fripp (solo)
Peter Gabriel (solo)
Marillion
Metallica
Iron Maiden
WatchTower
Death Angel
Slayer
The Misfits

 

Pretenders
Pat Benatar
Heart (yes, even in the 80s!)
U2
Prince
The Smiths
Bruce Springsteen
The Cure
Eurythmics
Divinyls
Kate Bush

 

Forgot:

Public Image Ltd.
The Pogues
The Feelies
Gang Of Four
The Teardrop Explodes
China Crisis

 

U2
Simple Minds
The Blue Nile
The Waterboys
Talk Talk
The Cure
Cocteau Twins
Roxy/Bryan Ferry
Talking Heads
Peter Gabriel

 

Lloyd Cole & Commotions
Mink De Ville
Blasters
Plimsouls
Stan Ridgway
Tubes
Missing Persons
Tom Petty
Dream Syndicate
Joan Armatrading

 

First to come to mind...


Elvis Costello

Blondie

REM

Pretenders

X

Pogues

Waterboys

.

 

There is no top 10.

There is only Prince.

 

1. Metallica
2. REM
3. Husker Du
4. Marillion
5. Motorhead
6. Slayer
7. Motley Crue
8. Maurizio Bianchi
9. Chris Isaak
10. George Thorogood

 

In no particular order.

King Crimson
REM
The Cure
Love and Rockets
Cocteau Twins
Metallica
Slayer
U2
Peter Gabriel
The Replacements

 

Rush
Duran Duran
A Flock of Seagulls
The Police
Robert Plant
Martha and the Muffins
Go-Go's
Prince
Queensryche
Santana, (I actually prefer the band's 80's albums over the 60's and 70's material )

 

X
Wire
The Pale Fountains
Clay Allison / Opal
Let's Active
Dream Syndicate
Rain Parade
Blake Babies
Stan Ridgway
The Lemonheads

 

Fabulous Thunderbirds
Plimsouls
Nick Lowe and Paul Carrack - Noise to Go
Little Steven and Disciples of Soul
Echo and the Bunnymen
John Hiatt
HooDoo Gurus
Fleshtones
Green On Red
Jesus and Mary Chain
X

 

Good choice ,very underrated band

Kate Bush
Duran Duran
The Blue Nile
XTC
Simple Minds
Ultravox
The Church
The Go Betweens
The Smiths
The Stranglers
The Jam
Adam Ant
Spandau Ballet

 

The Cars
Journey
Toto
The Pretenders
Foreigner
Styx
REO Speedwagon
Boston
Def Leppard
ZZ Top

 

R.E.M.
Green on Red
Violent Femmes
Stray Cats
The Blasters
The Dream Syndicate
Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs
The Smiths
Rain Parade
The Georgia Satellites
BoDeans
Hüsker Dü
U2
Big Country
The Long Ryders
Prefab Sprout
The Housemartins
Lone Justice
The Paladins
The Waterboys

 

Any Trouble
The Godfathers
The Call
The Hoodoo Gurus
The Fleshtones
Material
Melvins
Masters Of Reality
Wall Of Voodoo
The Birthday Party
Echo and the Bunnymen

 

A great band that never gets mentioned is Wet Wet Wet from Scotland. Two great 80's albums are Popped In Souled Out and Holding Back The River

 

Not much of an 80s guy, but my top 3 are...

Duran Duran/Power Station/Arcadia
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Rick Springfield

Darryl

 

a-ha
Depeche Mode
Duran Duran
Iron Maiden
Marillion
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
REM
The Smiths
Talking Heads
U2

 

The Blasters
Marshall Crenshaw
The dB's
The Dream Syndicate
Echo & The Bunnymen
The Feelies
Robyn Hitchcock
Husker Du
The Long Ryders
Los Lobos
Pixies
The Pogues
The Pretenders
R.E.M.
The Replacements
U2
Violent Femmes
The Waterboys
X

 

The Bevis Frond
Hoodoo Gurus
Original Sins
Sunnyboys
The Sound
Stems
Scientists
Hitmen (AUS)
ANgels/Angel City
Elvis Brothers
Plan 9
lyres

 

The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Replacements
Los Lobos
The Blasters
The Lyres
The Tailgators
The Smithereens
Rockpile
The Traveling Wilburys
Georgia Satellites

 

In no particular order:

Japan
Depeche Mode
China Crisis
Ultravox
Level 42
Gary Numan
The Cure
The Smiths