The 1980s were one of the best decades ever for movies and entertainment. Just stop and think about the excellent movies filmed in the 1980s, it’s a long and impressive list.
But as far as music is concerned, the 1980s was the decade of new wave, synth-pop and hair metal. And no parent in their right mind is going to boast to their kids about attending a Poison or Flock of Seagulls concert. It would be far too embarrassing, for both the parent and the kid.
While we can dismiss bands like Men Without Hats and Twisted Sister, there are still plenty of bands from the 1980s that we can proudly say we were fans of. In fact, we would proudly wear a shirt with their logo on it from American Recycled Clothing. Here are just a few of the better bands from the 1980s.
Even if you lost interest in them when they released The Black Album, you have to admit that they totally rocked out in the 1980s. Their 1986 album, Master of Puppets, is one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Go ahead and listen to it, you are bound to start banging your head.
Mixed with blues and just a dash of country, the Dire Straits were one of the few rock bands to break out and succeed in an era of disco and punk.
Introspective lyrics with great guitar licks made them one of the more original rock bands of the 1980s. And they accomplished this without big hair, makeup or exploding drums.
Their 5th studio album, Brothers in Arms, was unstoppable from the moment of its release in 1985.
The Police were a part of the British New Wave invasion. The trio started out as a Reggae band (no kidding) and evolved through a world of various kinds of music styles. We classify them as a sophisticated rock band.
And don’t worry if the song Roxanne is going through your head right now, you can thank us later.
Even progressive rock bands can prove they have what it takes to dominate in the 1980s. The Canadian progressive rock band Rush made a scene in the 1980s with their 1981 album Moving Pictures. Simply put, it is one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
There is a lot of discussion as to who was the better frontman for Genesis. We will tell you right now it was Peter Gabriel. We aren’t dissing Phil Collins, we are just huge fans of Peter Gabriel.
That said, Collins did a fine job with the band and propelled them into a 1980s powerhouse. Now, Genesis is not a “cool” band, but there is no shame in humming Invisible Touch while strolling down the street.
Every decade had that one artist that everybody knew and loved. In the 1950s it was Elvis. The Beatles dominated the 1960s and The eagles were on top in the 1970s.
If you were to ask anyone who the biggest band was in the 1980s, the majority of people would agree that it was U2. Anyone can recognize The Edge’s unique guitar style and Bono’s wailing vocals.
Love or hate them, you cannot deny that they were a force to be reckoned with in the 1980s. They won hearts all over the world with their single Sweet Child of Mine and they changed the way people listened to music.
R.E.M. rose to fame in 1981 and would gradually receive critical acclaim for their creations. In 1987, Rolling Stone dubbed them America’s best rock and roll band. We can get behind that.
Panama, Jump and Hot For Teacher, these are just a few of the great hits performed by Van Halen. And it doesn’t matter who is singing for them (except Gary Cherone, of course), it is all about Eddie and his sick guitar skills.
In 1988, Death released Leprosy, which instilled them into the annals of Death Metal. Death employed powerful grooves that did not need blast beats behind them to demonstrate their Death Metal mentality.
Now, support your favorite band from the 1980s by sporting one of their t-shirts from American Recycled Clothing.
But as far as music is concerned, the 1980s was the decade of new wave, synth-pop and hair metal. And no parent in their right mind is going to boast to their kids about attending a Poison or Flock of Seagulls concert. It would be far too embarrassing, for both the parent and the kid.
While we can dismiss bands like Men Without Hats and Twisted Sister, there are still plenty of bands from the 1980s that we can proudly say we were fans of. In fact, we would proudly wear a shirt with their logo on it from American Recycled Clothing. Here are just a few of the better bands from the 1980s.
Metallica
Even if you lost interest in them when they released The Black Album, you have to admit that they totally rocked out in the 1980s. Their 1986 album, Master of Puppets, is one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Go ahead and listen to it, you are bound to start banging your head.
Dire Straits
Mixed with blues and just a dash of country, the Dire Straits were one of the few rock bands to break out and succeed in an era of disco and punk.
Introspective lyrics with great guitar licks made them one of the more original rock bands of the 1980s. And they accomplished this without big hair, makeup or exploding drums.
Their 5th studio album, Brothers in Arms, was unstoppable from the moment of its release in 1985.
The Police
The Police were a part of the British New Wave invasion. The trio started out as a Reggae band (no kidding) and evolved through a world of various kinds of music styles. We classify them as a sophisticated rock band.
And don’t worry if the song Roxanne is going through your head right now, you can thank us later.
Rush
Even progressive rock bands can prove they have what it takes to dominate in the 1980s. The Canadian progressive rock band Rush made a scene in the 1980s with their 1981 album Moving Pictures. Simply put, it is one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Genesis
There is a lot of discussion as to who was the better frontman for Genesis. We will tell you right now it was Peter Gabriel. We aren’t dissing Phil Collins, we are just huge fans of Peter Gabriel.
That said, Collins did a fine job with the band and propelled them into a 1980s powerhouse. Now, Genesis is not a “cool” band, but there is no shame in humming Invisible Touch while strolling down the street.
U2
Every decade had that one artist that everybody knew and loved. In the 1950s it was Elvis. The Beatles dominated the 1960s and The eagles were on top in the 1970s.
If you were to ask anyone who the biggest band was in the 1980s, the majority of people would agree that it was U2. Anyone can recognize The Edge’s unique guitar style and Bono’s wailing vocals.
Guns N’ Roses
Love or hate them, you cannot deny that they were a force to be reckoned with in the 1980s. They won hearts all over the world with their single Sweet Child of Mine and they changed the way people listened to music.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. rose to fame in 1981 and would gradually receive critical acclaim for their creations. In 1987, Rolling Stone dubbed them America’s best rock and roll band. We can get behind that.
Van Halen
Panama, Jump and Hot For Teacher, these are just a few of the great hits performed by Van Halen. And it doesn’t matter who is singing for them (except Gary Cherone, of course), it is all about Eddie and his sick guitar skills.
Death
In 1988, Death released Leprosy, which instilled them into the annals of Death Metal. Death employed powerful grooves that did not need blast beats behind them to demonstrate their Death Metal mentality.
Now, support your favorite band from the 1980s by sporting one of their t-shirts from American Recycled Clothing.