Were the 1980s the worst years for music? NPR listeners seem to think so, according to the results of our poll. When asked to pick the best year for music, nearly everyone skipped the '80s entirely. On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen looks back at the decade of synth pop, hair metal, and hardcore with Stephen Thompson, editor of Song of the Day, Robin Hilton, All Songs Considered producer and host of Second Stage, and Carrie Brownstein, writer for the Monitor Mix blog.
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The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Original Soundtrack
- Song: Let's Hear It for the Boy
- from Footloose [Expanded Edition]
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Beastie Boys
- Song: Fight for Your Right
- from Licensed to Ill
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Escape Club
- Song: Wild, Wild West
- from Wild Wild West
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Hall & Oates
- Song: You Make My Dreams
- from Voices
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Don Johnson
- Song: Heartbeat
- from Heartbeat
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Bruce Springsteen
- Song: Brilliant Disguise
- from Tunnel of Love
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
The Replacements
- Song: I Will Dare
- from Let It Be
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Starship
- Song: We Built This City
- from Knee Deep in the Hoopla
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Tracy Chapman
The label did not give us permission to play the full version of this song.
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Guns N' Roses
- Song: Paradise City
- from Appetite for Destruction
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Tears for Fears
- Song: Head Over Heels
- from Songs from the Big Chair [Deluxe Edition]
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Talking Heads
- Song: This Must Be the Place [Naive Melody]
- from
- by
The label did not give us permission to play the full version of this song.
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Minor Threat
- Song: Straight Edge
- from Minor Threat [EP]
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
The Bats
- Song: North by North
- from Daddy's Highway
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Bush Tetras
- Song: Too Many Creeps
- from Boom in the Night
The '80s: Were They Really That Bad?
Doveman
- Song: Let's Hear it For the Boy
- from Footloose
![Cover for Footloose [Expanded Edition]](https://media.npr.org/programs/asc/archives/20080902/footloosecvr-8ecb6f24a72e768c351ce33af24720d768fa3a76-s200-c15.webp)
