i loved the 80s but i cant remember all the great bands/singers/songs from that decade...any good suggestions?

It would help if you mentioned a type of music! 80's is pretty broad...

I recommend:

Metallica
Slayer
Exodus
The Germs
Exciter
C.O.C.
D.R.I.
G.B.H.
Circle Jerks
Minor Threat
Nirvana ("Bleach" came out in '89)
Mudhoney

The list is practically endless...

edit to add (thanks to wendersfan for reminding me):
The Replacements
Husker Du
Soul Asylum
Goo Goo Dolls

American:

The Replacements
Hüsker Dü
R.E.M.
X
Sonic Youth
Meat Puppets
Lets Active
The Bongos
Mission of Burma

Brit:

The Jesus and Mary Chain
Gang of Four
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Teardrop Explodes
New Order
The Smiths
The Wedding Present
Pretenders
Aztec Camera

good stuff...thanks guys!

As far as I'm concerned, the early '80s was owned by Duran Duran.

Why did I picture the Steven Wright DJ voiceover from Reservoir Dogs saying that when I read it?

Not mentioning these as well :-

Depeche Mode
The Stone Roses (late 80's)
Big Country

I recommend "Pretenders" and "Learning To Crawl" by the Pretenders.

And I also recommend "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection" by the Waitresses.

Please go to amazon and listen to their legal 30 second sound samples of these 3 CDs, and let me know what you think. I don't know anyone who was ever disappointed by these 3 CDs.

By the way, I love your handle! My handle is the name of the green dragon from Adventure on the Atari 2600.

Do you want early, mid or late 80s stuff? Do you want punk, new wave, heavy metal, grunge, dance, pop, alternative/college radio, there is so much to choose from.

Some of my favorites:
Bauhaus
The Cure
New Order
Joy Division
Duran Duran
Slayer
Metallica (Master of Puppets and earlier)
Misfits
The Clash
Pixies
Jane's Addiction
Ministry
Skinny Puppy
REM
Erasure
Jesus and the Mary Chain
Sonic Youth
Big Black/Rapeman (Steve Albini)
Dead Milkmen
Culture Club
Public Enemy
NWA
Beastie Boys
De La Soul
A Tribe Called Quest
Love and Rockets/Tones on Tale

Good list.

I'll chime in to add that U2 was pretty good in the 80s: October, War, Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, and Rattle and Hum

1980
Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Robert Palmer - Clues
AC/DC - Back in Black
Joy Division - Closer

1981
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture & Morality

1982
Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park

1984
Cocteau Twins - Treasure
Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual

1985
a-Ha - Hunting High and Low
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - The First Born is Dead

1986
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

1987
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions...
Cabaret Voltaire - Code
Guns 'N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Whitney Houston - Whitney

1988
Mano Negra - Patchanka
Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary
Front 242 - Front by Front
My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
The Pixies - Surfer Rosa

1989
Young MC - Stone Cold Rhymin'
The Kronos Quartet - Winter Was Hard
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

By no means definitive...

Yeah I forgot to add them, I stopped listening to them after Joshua Tree, but I loved all their stuff prior.

If you get VH1 Classics I would suggest you watch The Alternative (Wed-Thur-Sun at 10:00am & pm CST) for some good alternative including a lot of 80s stuff.

bryan adams
anthrax
bad company - 80's & early 90's material with brian howe.
bon jovi
cinderella
culture club
def leppard
duran duran
extreme
fastway
the firm
the fixx
the go go's
gun's & roses
sammy hagar
honeymoon suite
the hooters
billy idol
inxs
iron maiden
kiss - 80's - 90's material "imo" there best stuff especially lick it up.
julian lennon
living colour
loverboy
madonna
richard marx
megadeth
men at work
metallica
george michael
midnight oil
motley crue
night ranger
aldo nova
the outfield
ozzy osbourne
john parr
pet shop boys
poison
the pretenders
the psychedelic furs
quiet riot
ratt
r.e.m.
the romantics
david lee roth
rtz
joe satriani
scandal
skid row
the smithereens
rick springfield
starship
stray cats
stryper
survivor
tesla
38 special
thompson twins
triumph
twisted sister
ub40
warrant
wasp
wham
white lion
whitesnake
winger

Lol except for the rap/hip hop bands, you mentioned my CD collection.
I to like bands as musically opposing as Duran Duran, Slayer, Erasure and Skinny Puppy and as obscure as the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Dead Milkmen.

You misread the title. He asked for good bands.

Best 80's band is the Jesus and Mary Chain.

For exactly one album.

Squeeze is the criminally overlooked band of the 80's.

Glenn Tilbrook (lead singer) puts on some of the best live shows I've ever seen to this day.)


-Paul Jacobi-

I always liked the 80's Cheap Trick albums for "fun" listening. What, no one listed Winger?! ;P

Here's another mention of The Replacements. I spent huge amounts of time and money trying to find bootlegs and hard-to-find vinyl of them.

John Cougar Mellencamp, American Fool was a great album.

The Cult, they kept getting better and better in the 80's with each successive album.

dost my eyes deceive me no Simple Minds - ?!

- Art of Noise
- Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- Yello
- The Human League
- Spandau Ballet
- Haircut 100

Adding:

1980
Hall and Oates - Voices

1981
Hall and Oates - Private Eyes

1983
Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain

1985
Cabaret Voltaire - The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord

Adding Level 42 to the list. Go get their "Best of" You won't be sorry.

Red Rider

[QUOTE=freudguy] listening. What, no one listed Winger?!

I did...and i meant it...

You're right the ones i listed are great bands...