1980 - 1989

The lists of 80s hit music are always controversial. This list is no different. Sourced from Billboard Magazine, these charts are only a reflection of how Billboard determined the popularity of singles in the 80s. Trying to construct a best seller chart was always extremely tricky. Rarely was it done by actual sales that the record companies have on their books. Instead a number of record stores were surveyed and this was statistically analysed to give an indication of the hit singles charts for a given period across the country.

Remember - the record companies rarely knew the real time sales of a song or album. The use of computer systems had not hit the retail sector, so there would be many months before the true sales were known. Then how would you work out the sales for a given week across all songs?

In the 80s, hit singles were far bigger sellers than today, by the middle of the decade many articles were doubting the future of singles. Even though the Internet was unknown at the time, singles sales were sliding throughout the decade.

Some other things to consider are that these are US charts, published by Billboard. It reflects an average across the US, not worldwide. For example, the hit music scene in the UK at the beginning of the 80s was completely different to the US. Also Billboard published their lists in late December, but typically the cut off point was late November to meet their print deadlines - so the sales don't reflect a calender year. Plus the charts are misleading in another way. A strong selling 80s hit in November-December of a year may not make it into either year as the sales would be split between the two years. One final point to keep in mind - hit songs that were popular in your home or on your radio station were not necessarily what everyone else listened to, so don't be too surprised at what appears here...

1. Call Me - Blondie
2. Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd
3. Magic - Olivia Newton-John
4. Rock With You - Michael Jackson
5. Do That To Me One More Time - Captain & Tennille
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
7. Coming Up - Paul McCartney
8. Funkytown - Lipps Inc.
9. It's Still Rock And Roll To Me - Billy Joel
10. The Rose - Bette Midler
11. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
12. Cars - Gary Numan
13. Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
14. Working My Way Back To You-Forgive Me Girl - Spinners
15. Lost In Love - Air Supply
16. Little Jeannie - Elton John
17. Ride Like The Wind - Cristopher Cross
18. Upside Down - Diana Ross
19. Please Don't Go - K.C. & The Sunshine Band
20. Babe - Styx
21. With You I'm Born Again - Billy Preston & Syreeta
22. Shining Star - Manhattans
23. Still - Commodores
24. Yes - I'm Ready - Teri De Sario With K.C.
25. Sexy Eyes - Dr. Hook
26. Steal Away - Robbie Dupree
27. Biggest Part Of Me - Ambrosia
28. This Is It - Kenny Loggins
29. Cupid-I've Loved You For A Long Time - Spinners
30. Let's Get Serious - Jermaine Jackson
31. Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer - Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
32. Sailing - Christopher Cross
33. Longer - Dan Fogelberg
34. Coward Of The County - Kenny Rogers
35. Ladies Night - Kool & The Gang
36. Take Your Time - S.O.S. Band
37. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) - Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer
38. Too Hot - Kool & The Gang
39. More Love - Kim Carnes
40. Pop Muzik - M

This list of songs was obtained from http://www.eightyeightynine.com/music/top40.html if you are interested in looking into more songs from the 80's.