Artists & Styles

By Steve Peake, About.com Guide to 80s Music

Think of this as your online '80s music encyclopedia, the place to learn about or delve more deeply into the wide array of bands, singers, performers and genres that left the most distinct marks on the decade's musical landscape.

1. Artists A to H
2. Artists I to R
3. Artists S to Z
4. Genre Profiles

Artists A to H

Explore here familiar artists, your favorite bands and even performers you may have missed the first time around. Artist profiles provide a foundation for learning about artists one by one, in all their singular glory.

• Bryan Adams Profile
• Air Supply Profile
• The Bangles Profile
• Pat Benatar Profile
• Bon Jovi Profile
• The Cars Profile
• Chicago Profile
• Elvis Costello Profile

• The Cure Profile
• Dire Straits Profile
• Duran Duran Profile
• Dan Fogelberg Profile
• Foreigner Profile
• The Go-Go's Profile
• Hall & Oates Profile
• Huey Lewis & the News Profile

Artists I to R

Explore here familiar artists, your favorite bands and even performers you may have missed the first time around. Artist profiles provide a foundation for learning about artists one by one, in all their singular glory.

• Billy Idol Profile
• Billy Joel Profile
• Journey Profile
• Heart Profile
• Kool & the Gang Profile
• Cyndi Lauper Profile
• Loverboy Profile
• Men at Work Profile

• George Michael Profile
• Motley Crue Profile
• Night Ranger Profile
• Tom Petty Profile
• Poison Profile
• The Pretenders Profile
• Lionel Richie Profile

Artists S to Z

Explore here familiar artists, your favorite bands and even performers you may have missed the first time around. Artist profiles provide a foundation for learning about artists one by one, in all their singular glory.

• Bob Seger Profile
• Spinal Tap Profile
• Rick Springfield Profile
• Bruce Springsteen Profile

• Survivor Profile
• Talking Heads Profile
• .38 Special Profile

Genre Profiles

Another way to find quickly what you like the most in '80s music is to identify and investigate the particular styles of music that interest you. Here you can find overviews of each of the distinct genres of '80s music, complete with lists of spotlight artists in each category.

• College Rock Profile
• Hair Metal: Hard Rock Buffed Up to a Glossy Sheen
• New Wave, the Decade's First Original Genre
• Soft Rock Profile

• Heartland Rock Profile
• Synth Pop Profile
• Post-Punk Profile