Announcing Pitchfork’s 200 Best Songs of the 1980s

The 1980s weren’t all power shoulders and poofy haircuts. New wave, pop, and hair metal dominated the charts, but rap, house, and college radio bubbled up from the underground. You were singing along to “Where the Streets Have No Name” at a stadium, sweating it out to a Frankie Knuckles mix inside a packed Chicago warehouse, losing it to the break in “Rebel Without a Pause”, toggling the television to find the “Billie Jean” video on MTV, twiddling the radio knob further left of the dial to hear R.E.M. There was something out there for everyone.

In the past, we put together lists of the best songs from the ’60s, the ’90s, and the ’00s, as well as our 2010-2014 list, and now we’re tackling another decade: On Monday, we’ll share our list of the 200 best songs of the 1980s. We’ll continue with more ’80s-related features later in the week. 

We’re also throwing a launch party at Eighty Two in Los Angeles this Sunday, August 23, to celebrate the list. Neon Indian, Funkmosphere (Billy Goods, Eddie Funkster, and DJ Randy Watson), Daniel T., and Allie Teilz will DJ. It kicks off at 8 p.m.; check out the poster below.

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