Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1980

It was certainly very difficult to talked about the worst of a year that's 20 plus years older than you, it's certainly very challenging for me to talk about the best of the best of any retro year. Typically whenever you are talking about any songs that's released in the calendar year, you have your leeway to talk about hidden gem, unpopular opinion, and something that followed the general consensus. But it's certainly became even more of an uphill battle when you wanna canonized a song — or even condemned them — to the dustbin of history. As a part time music critic myself, that job could get daunting especially with the context of history. You risked on alienating the general audience and the critics if you put a certain song on your best list because you buck against the history and the norm shall we say. Well I put an AC/DC song on my worst list so let's get on with this best list.

1980 for music as a whole are the year of transition. After the whole 70s thing happened, people are looking for the alternative amidst all the chaos. The Cold War is still happening and the ecomony is still hasn't recovered after the oil crisis. And music certainly gave a snapshot of a change with the emergence of different genres that would become staples till this day. Sure we still have disco, arena rock, singer songwriter, and country. But you can see the seed of new wave, punk, heartland rock, and even a bit of reggae and hip-hop that would have charting presence for the rest of the decade. Using Hot 100, Cashbox, UK, and streaming chart has really paint a picture of 1980 for popular music — A year where change is coming but we still don't know if any of these sticks. What this means for the best list is that you'll see the classic songs here, but also some oddities and early works from artists and trends that will blew up in the near future. Even though this best list is definitely weaker than the best of 2001, It has the similarity being that some of these #1's are the best of their year. So let's not wasting time and count down...

TOP 10 BEST HIT SONGS OF 1980

10. If it wasn't for the Spotify and the UK charts, this list might be very thin. Though from both criteria the one song that I have omitted from the best list is Ace of Spades by Motorhead. I think the song is fine but suffered from having the limitation of the productions. And also I just don't really like more meathead song in general with some exceptions. Now the song that I am putting on the list is probably more meme than anything else. But Journey understood the assignment and they're making my list.

10. Any Way You Want It - Journey

One thing that could be against Arena Rock was how the theatrics and the bombast compensate the basic composition and the singing. But I call that bullwark because this song slaps so hard. Let's compared this song to Babe by Styx that I put on my worst list. Comparing Steve Perry to Denise DeYoung is kinda like comparing a refined wine that has been distilled by a careful wine maker to cheap ass wine that came in plastic bottle. Denise DeYoung believed in his own hype which resulted with Kilroy Was Here while Steve Perry just feels so effortless when he sings and you believe in him. That's why this song worked so well even if the song is about as basic as love. This one was actually came from the band's hanging out with an Irish band Thin Lizzy of "The Boys Are Back In Town" fame and yeah it showed with the productions.

One of the biggest strength of Journey is that they won't half assed anything and this song is no exception. That guitar alone has more smolder and muscles than most arena rock bands dared to do. There's nothing more endearing about Journey than Steve Perry singing voice giving 110% all of it. Yes this is here on technicality since this song only peaked at #23 but the streaming numbers really propelled this song to be eligible. But I'm glad it did. In a year that people really don't want to be cringe or what they perceived as cringe, Journey reminded me to be genuine and have fun and that's my takeaway of this song. 

9. One thing I love about the UK charts in the 70s all the way to probably 2000s is that they're always a barometer of new and experiment sounds that would become mainstream later. We will talk about the big one later on, but the fact that nostalgia about 60s soul music started out in UK this time around and with so much care put into it, how could I not put this song on the list.

9. Geno - Dexys Midnight Runners

Okay history lesson! So in the early 70s, there was this movement of young people out of The North and Midlands in the UK that danced to older more obscured soul and RnB records and it created a movement that influenced a lot of UK music at that time. You can traced a lot of evolution of UK RnB and Soul to this movement in particular. It's interesting to me at least about the history of Black American music overseas because while disco is being pronounced dead this year, in the UK and Europe they trived and evolved to a lot of denominations (same thing happened with house music for the record). And smack dabbed in the middle of the Northern Soul movement there's Dexys Midnight Runners — A band from Birmingham that released their first album sounding like and paying tribute to that movement. And it worked.

This song is a loving tribute to Geno Washington, another American Soul singer that became obscure to a lot of people nowadays. What I love about this song is the juxtaposition of this organic sounding blue-eyed soul with the yelping of Kevin Rowland. The trumpet, the bass, the emphasis of the tightness and the orchestra, it all make the song to be not just a tribute, but also the real deal. Love adding the crowd noise as well because it implied that Geno is some sort of demigod and one of the most famous people ever and I think it's by design. Geno is a song about admiration in the face of uncertainty. Kevin Rowland not having the best of times can just let loose and just be with other likeminded people like him who loves the same music that he do. Sure the vocals held me back for loving this song outright but I won't blame him to sound like that. God I love songs talking about music. 

8. The underrated part of 1980 in particular that not a lot people realized is that — even though this year was synonymous with Disco Demolition and the exclusion of black music (this is historical record btw no mincing words here) can be a wasteland of the backwash of disco, arena rock, and easy listening slog. This year also laid the groundwork to what's to come for the 80s as a whole for better and for worse. We will discuss a lot of this later on the list, but let's start off with something a bit small scale but still important. Prince had a minor charting hit this year.

8. I Wanna Be Your Lover - Prince

It's very cool to do a deep dive into a year end list like this. Because the fact that this year of all year is the one that has the record of Prince's first hit is why I like doing this. You can paint history and set the scene on pop culture just through this list as manufactured as they are especially in 1980s. Technically this song got released in 1979, but the impact being felt is more in 1980 so yeah it counts. I think funk faired better than a lot of black music during this tumultuous time but the fact that Prince got this to chart almost in the top 10 in this year is kinda remarkable.

I feel like there are some people that prefer this kind of funk Prince rather than what he made since this song because oh my lord this song slaps. The fact that Prince self produced and played all of the instruments here is staggering and really showed what Prince could do even when he was just up and coming singer. The bassline is so slick, the guitar helped the jovial nature of the song, and Prince's falsetto is the one that can't be beat. Though this song became a hit is still risque since the subject matter of the song — while not explicit — does paint a picture...of sex. Now sex in songs is nothing new before 1979, but making a sex song in major key and very happy at that is something unheard of at that time (correct me if I'm wrong btw). This song is also produced well so much so that I can see this song could be made today if it wasn't for a bit of an empty space in the low end. This song really showed what was to come in the 80s and beyond. May he rest in peace man.

7. Being right but too early has been the rage these days. Now I'll admit that sometimes it's good when what you said was wrong back then but turned out to be true all along. But more often than not, it can be maddening when you got your prediction wrong. Now following this phrase I would like to tell a story of someone named Robin Scott.

7. Pop Muzik - M

Robin Scott is one of those artists that have Bowie influence in him — that's because he's actually was in the collective that Bowie made during his Hunky Dory era. Now after he got out of that collective and having a very unremarkable career, he had other ideas. He renamed himself as pseudonym "M" and basically ushered in the new wave era to the mainstream. Now most people nowadays would say that Cars by Gary Numan is the one that really bring new wave to the chart. But. this guy bringing the sound that would become the 80s and bringing  them in 1979 aka the last disco year. And honestly while I respect Cars more than liking it, I love this song the second Todd covered this song on his One Hit Wonderland video.

From that glossy synth opening note you know something is about to go down. Apparently Robin Scott intended for this song to be the synthesis of the last few decades of popular music. I don't hear it in the productions or the composition, but I do get the sentiment. The fact that he's doing this type of sound that David Bowie would be inspired by for his 80s pop pivot is still mindblowing to me. I love how this song also has the manic feeling to it especially the backing vocals and that horn. This song is sleek and yet very scrappy and that's what I love abou this song. No wonder this one got a short resurgance on TikTok recently. Now Robin Scott tried a lot to have the same high as he did with Pop Muzik and that took him to all over the place. Including his trip to Kenya making his own Graceland before Graceland...and then AI pivot with his recent album this year. Hey they all can't be winner. 

6. What I do like about the last halves of the 20th century is how something very experimental can chart if you have enough social standing. It felt like as though big artists — the ones that were album driven have tried to experiment with their sound a bit to varying degree of results. We have talked about how in a few years, Styx would've make one of the most ill-concieved concept album with Kilroy Was Here. This is however is how a band making experimentation after their most successful album and make it work.

6. Tusk - Fleetwood Mac

What can you say really about Fleetwood Mac at this point. This is the point on my best list where I don't really have a lot to say about these entries because they're rock music canon or just music history canon at this point. So me praising stuff like Tusk — a really out of left field song made after Rumours made gajillion dollars, well it's kinda redundant is it? I will say that I feel like this could be seen as an "I'm back bitch" singles since it's kinda substanceless and I do believe that some people will be put off by it. But it's Tusk by Fleetwood Mac, I think the people that stuck up to this song since its release have the last laugh.

This song is primal and guttural which I would be if my bandmates are just fighting each other every damn day. The drum patter with the subdued performance by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. And then the song devolved into this delighted mess with the marching band and that bassline. When I said that this song has the budget I meant it especially with the marching band being USC Trojan Marching Band. I feel like the busy nature of the song is the point here especially a song about suspecting cheating — of course it's about cheating. But unlike Rumours where the break up felt more melancholic, this one is very visceral and that's why I love it so much and certainly better than Sara imo. Well what's next in terms of pop classic for this list?

5. Rock With You - Michael Jackson

Well isn't this a timely topic. As all of you know, "Michael" — another music biopic about a pop star that appeared in We Are The World and or Live Aid has grossed over a billion dollars. Now I have issues with a lot of these biopic like not telling the full picture of their story, how some of them are actually a cash grab that disrespected the dead, Omitted certain things like the crimes the artist committed, and overall just being another vehicle of the nostalgia crowd. But that's gonna be the problem that the biopic gonna tackle in the sequel. For now let's talk about one of Michael's signature hits.

This is not even one of the best songs on Off The Wall and yet this blew a lot of competitors in otherwise mediocre year. A lot of complaints about disco — a valid one is that the productions can be busy but very thin and grating. That's why I trust disco songs that weren't made by white acts...with a few exceptions that we will get into. But all of this to say that this song is like pop masterpiece. That drum fill alone is so crisp and clear and great intro to what's to come. The guitar, the Moog synth, the strings, and the trumpets later on. Good lord Quincy Jones just rip through this song. Michael though is just another league elevating this productions to a new height. His biggest strength has been that he's singing like he's happy to do it and yeah it showed here. This is just the opening salvo to a lustrous and sometimes controversial career and we'll get to why at a later time.

4. People tend to forget that the punk movement of the late 70s that coincided with the new wave and whole slew of trends was so popular. The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, and the adjacent Talking Heads were huge and making noises all over the world. But, on the charts there's probably one band that captured the Americans the most and that's Blondie. 

4. Call Me - Blondie

You know this year has the similarity with 2001 in terms of how many great songs that hit #1 that year. And fair warning there will be more of them in the top 3. That might be because the music industry took a major slump this year — thanks to the disco demolition, the default #1 for this year is the one that just had enough points for them to got to #1. By the end of the year, the sales would rebound and that will be covered later. 

Anyways this song was produced by the legendary Italian producer, Giorgio Moroder. This song was initially intended for Stevie Nicks. But due to label dispute, he chose to give it to Debbie Harry instead. And honestly I would've preferred Debbie Harry over Stevie Nicks because she commanded a big presence that Stevie Nicks doesn't have. The sultry yet powerful presence talking about the movie American Gigolo in the perspective of the male prostitute who's the main character of the movie. And the fact that Moroder found a way to mixed the punk and new wave sound of Debbie Harry with a 4/4 dance jam is nothing sort of miracle. I love that powerful guitar riff, the drums feels very crisps, and the fact that he let the mix to breathe with that awesome bridge and solo. It's a rock classic for a reason and honestly this could be an all timer...still at my #4. What could be better than this?

3. So for these two songs, if I didn't expand my definition of what counts for this list (that being Cashbox 100 YE and the Spotify Streams), then this list would've been very thin indeed. Sure, this song would've appeared on the Hot 100 Year-end for 1981. But, Cashbox chart always started in January and ended in December. You know which song that was #1 during December of 1980?

3. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

Yeah this song beat out Call Me and my other unrevealed best list candidate to be the most popular song in America according to Cashbox Chart. Honestly I would've love to go back in time and experienced this song during its release and the meteoric rise to the chart because this is like again another rock classic. 

I will say that at the time, this was a risky move for Queen. This is coming out of the success of Crazy Little Thing Called Love which also hit #1 this year. The song is good enough 50s nostalgia, but something that if it wasn't for Freddy Mercury, I don't think people cared for it. This was kinda a massive gamble still since it's a dance rock track where most of their peers jumped ship. But with that tight bassline alone, you can see why this song sold like hot pancakes. I really love how Brian May — even if he didn't do a lot — still bringing his guitar skill to enhanced this song with the guitar flourishes in the hook and in between. Though my favorite part is probably the bridge where the bassline dropped and we left with the percussion and heavy atmosphere alongside Freddy's yelping. It's such a guttural and inspired choice as this song oozed macho posturing really well. 

The tragic story of Freddy Mercury should've been handled with much care (speaking of biopic). But I feel like just by listening to his songs, you can get more of a big picture of who Freddy really is. A hard working queer man who has to project macho posturing while also very vulnerable and scared. It's something that I think this song captured very well.

2. Again, the progenitor of a lot of genres didn't really chart at all. The most you can get is new wave and even then, it wasn't that much of an impact till 1982. So genres like punk didn't have a sniff on the chart — let alone other genres like say...heavy metal? Anyways here's a heavy metal classic that qualified for my list because of streaming. 

2. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne

Honestly, kinda fitting how this song just charted because of the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. I think people really forgot how influential Ozzy Osbourne is to not just metal, but also popular music in general. Black Sabbath was that band where the kids wanted something heavier than the already dense psychedelic rock by The Beatles or the proto punk like "96 Tears". Without Black Sabbath, you probably won't have a lot of metal that appeared today ESPECIALLY Sleep Token. And yeah this song kicks ass. 

The snarly guitar riff, the dense opening started off the song with the menace it needed. and the crunchy productions just really enhanced the experience. And I do really love how scrappy this song gives off. Ozzy wrote this song about the cold war and his anxiety about the impact it might have and yeah you can hear it. The manic performance where he was swallowed by the song is just sublime production choice. I like the detail with the bass going congruent with the rest of the mix that was nice. What else can I say really? It's Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne. 

And honestly that's why making this best list took so long for me. When you talked about classic song that's based on the critical and commercial consesus, sometimes you don't know what to say really. I've always referred to when Bennett The Sage trying his hardest to find something interesting about "Sweet Child O' Mine" for his Top 20 Best #1 Songs video (yeah he used to talked about music back then). That's why I like unpopular opinions and I have certainly have tonnes of them. It's just that this year there's not a lot of competition so yeah. Great song still though.

Now for some honorable mentions.

Cars - Gary Numan

Yeah this song is the one I respect than I like. I respect that this is one of the songs that would pioneered the incoming synthwave revolution. But, for me it's too lumpy for my liking. That's why Pop Muzik got the slight edge for me. 

Turning Japanese - The Vapors

Great grooves, awesome guitar solo, and one of the songs that became a meme more than a song at this point. I still dunno why you turned Japanese when you climaxed though. Can Kyle Gordon make a parody of songs using Asian elements in their songs even if it doesn't make sense and very orientalist? Feels like he could make these type of parody.

Oops Upside Your Head - The Gap Band

Now this one is interesting. The Gap Band was a funk band led by Charlie Wilson — yes that Charlie Wilson, and during their years, they had more success in Europe and UK than the states. Even though this band really inspired the New Jack Swing and would be sampled everywhere, their success are mostly in the RnB chart and abroad. Which is a shame because this live performance of Oops Upside Your Head that became a hit in the UK is a banger. Well suck to suck America.

Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division

One of the most tragic songs on the list. Ian Curtis vocal that he provided is haunting and it's a damn shame that he died too early. That fact and the story behind this song is ultimately why I'm kinda hesitant to put it on the best list. It's because I haven't delved into Joy Division yet and that distant is why I don't wanna half assed the song's praise. But that synth is just beautifully scary and I can't knock it for that.

You May Be Right - Billy Joel

What sets Billy Joel from your other singer songwriters of the times is self awarness. And also the fact that this song has both guitar solo and sax solo is just so awesome. 

Fame - Irene Cara

Of the two songs Irene Cara did for a movie soundtrack, I'd say I prefer this one. Tighter groove, more energertic performance, and also a staple in Just Dance for a long while. 

Baggy Trousers - Madness

Just barely missed this list is a classic ska song by Madness. I do have to agree that this isn't Night Boat To Cairo nor is it One Step Beyond. But as a successor of One Step Beyond, I'd say they followed it up nicely.

Now let's get this over with!

1. The concept of "Song of the Summer" is something that's recent for Billboard Hot 100, but it has been a thing unofficially since the dawn of pop music. It will be official later on in the 2010s by Billboard and that's how we got this discourse of what actually count as song of the summer especially this couple of years. Because the metric of counting it is basically using the Billboard Chart from June to September. Ergo using this calculation, my number one song of 1980 is actually count as song of the summer. But holy shit this is a bleak summer in the best way.

1. Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 - Pink Floyd

I still can't believe that there was a time where Pink Floyd topping the US chart. Like their biggest hit at that time before this song was Money off of Dark Side of the Moon. I don't see them as a band that would churned out hit singles. They're more of an album kind of band to me like Led Zeppelin around this time. But The Wall — the concept album about music and how powerful it can be — became an unexpected hit among the public at large. And this song became almost the most popular song in America in 1980.

What works with this song to me is the tone. Yeah sure the liquid guitar, the bassline, and the drums scream funky. But with Roger Waters somber yet commanding voice, it really highlight how this song is bleak and destitute. It's an art rock disco piece about the broken education system that will break the children more than teaching them. There's a certain irony that this song is famous during summer break, but that's really what makes this song special. Yes this song is overtly political, but when the groove is this awesome, who cares really?

The success of this song is probably something that could not be repeated. This song came out at the perfect time and that's actually why this song is my number one. It's a representation of 1980 in their best and worst. A political disco rock song becoming #1 at the span of time where people are out of school during the time of Disco Demolition Night and record slums. That pathos and that circumstances really reflects the duality of the early 80s before the new wave evolution. And with that I'm done with this year. Don't forget to study kids and don't use LLMs when you study please.

FINALLY I HAVE FINISHED THIS LIST AHHH...This was a draining year to talk about but I hope that I did this year "justice". Now that my biggest hurdles as a music critic is done, I can talk about stuff I actually wanna write like....

Oh...not this year. Well whatever I'll see you all next time.