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Music in the ’80s is typically associated with the computerized, neon-tinged sounds of MTV<\/a>, but there was much more to this wildly varied decade. <\/p>\n Its earliest years were dominated by the last vestiges of post-punk, long before music videos were a thing. Classic rock acts with roots all the way back to the ’60s acts were also still topping the charts in the era’s first years, including the Rolling Stones<\/a>, Paul McCartney<\/a> and Pink Floyd<\/a>. <\/p>\n Some of the most consistent ’70s hitmakers refused to give way as MTV came into its own \u2013 including Journey<\/a>, Styx<\/a>, Foreigner<\/a> and Fleetwood Mac<\/a>. At the ’80s midpoint, Bruce Springsteen<\/a>, Dire Straits<\/a>, John Fogerty<\/a>, Van Halen<\/a> and Genesis<\/a>‘ Peter Gabriel<\/a> and Phil Collins<\/a> were everywhere. <\/p>\n At the same time, however, rock began to break apart. Synthpop gave way to alternative rock and various mutations of hard rock and heavy metal. Motley Crue<\/a> and then Guns N’ Roses<\/a> built on the crunchy brawn of AC\/DC<\/a>‘s early-’80s successes. R.E.M<\/a>., U2<\/a> and important lesser-known acts like Husker Du<\/a> and Kate Bush<\/a> made their own waves. <\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> The Top 100 Albums of the ’70s<\/a><\/p>\n Hard rock mutated in exciting ways, whether it was the long-form historical narratives of Iron Maiden<\/a> or the fleet thrash genius of early Metallica<\/a>. Then you had ’70s-era acts like Don Henley<\/a>, Aerosmith<\/a>, Kiss<\/a> and Paul Simon<\/a> who were utterly transformed along the way. <\/p>\n Robert Plant<\/a>, Van Halen<\/a> and Black Sabbath<\/a> updated their approach, while Hall and Oates<\/a> plugged directly into the zeitgeist. UCR touches on all of these many musical wonders in the following staff-voted countdown of the Top 100 rock albums released in the ’80s: <\/p>\n Music in the ’80s is typically associated with the neon-tinged synthpop of MTV’s early era, but there was much more to this wildly varied decade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Listen to John Jackson of the Bon Scott Estate on the ‘UCR Podcast’<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhat’s the Best Rock Album of the ’80s?<\/h3>\n
Rock’s 100 Best ’80s Albums<\/h2>\n