Best music artists of the 1980s

Michael Jackson▲ Rising

Thriller (1982) didn't just top the charts, it colonized them, spending 37 weeks at No. 1 and turning MTV into a de facto Michael Jackson channel via the zombie-choreographed title video. He moonwalked once on the Motown 25 special and reset the bar for what a pop performance could be, making him the decade's inevitable No. 1.

Albums Sold (millions): 120 MNumber One Hits: 9Grammy Awards Won: 12Chart Impact: 10/10Genre Influence: 10/10Live Performance: 9/10Cultural Impact: 10/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 7 rankings

Prince▲ Rising

Purple Rain in 1984 was the rare case of an artist starring in his own movie, scoring it, and having the soundtrack outsell the film — a one-man multimedia empire built on guitar solos, falsetto, and unapologetic horniness. He fused funk, rock, and new wave so seamlessly that genre stopped being a useful word to describe him, forcing every artist after to think bigger.

Albums Sold (millions): 50 MNumber One Hits: 5Grammy Awards Won: 3Chart Impact: 9/10Genre Influence: 10/10Live Performance: 10/10Cultural Impact: 9/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 8 rankings

Madonna▲ Rising

From 'Like a Virgin' writhing on the VMA stage in a wedding dress to 'Papa Don't Preach' and 'Like a Prayer' baiting the Vatican, Madonna understood that controversy was content before anyone had a term for it. She didn't just have hits, she authored a template for pop stardom as constant reinvention that every diva since has been reading from.

Albums Sold (millions): 75 MNumber One Hits: 7Grammy Awards Won: 1Chart Impact: 10/10Genre Influence: 8/10Live Performance: 8/10Cultural Impact: 10/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 4 rankingsMadonna

Whitney Houston▲ Rising

Her 1985 debut alone produced three No. 1 singles, an unheard-of feat for a new artist, and 'How Will I Know' proved a technically flawless voice could still feel effortless and warm. She crossed over so completely that 'crossover' became a compliment instead of a compromise, opening doors that pop radio had kept shut.

Albums Sold (millions): 45 MNumber One Hits: 7Grammy Awards Won: 2Chart Impact: 9/10Genre Influence: 7/10Live Performance: 9/10Cultural Impact: 8/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 9 rankingsWhitney Houston

U2▲ Rising

The Joshua Tree (1987) turned Irish post-punk earnestness into stadium-sized American mythology, with 'With or Without You' and 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' soundtracking a decade's worth of arena lighter-waving. Live Aid's Bono-into-the-crowd moment in '85 sealed them as rock's conscience with a sound big enough to fill Wembley.

Albums Sold (millions): 45 MNumber One Hits: 1Grammy Awards Won: 4Chart Impact: 8/10Genre Influence: 8/10Live Performance: 9/10Cultural Impact: 8/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 6 rankings

Run-D.M.C.

'Walk This Way' with Aerosmith in 1986 didn't just make a hit, it built a bridge between rock and rap radio formats that had refused to talk to each other. Adidas tracksuits and unlaced shell-toes became a uniform because Run-D.M.C. made hip-hop look like the future rather than a novelty.

Albums Sold (millions): 10 MNumber One Hits: 0Grammy Awards Won: 0Chart Impact: 5/10Genre Influence: 9/10Live Performance: 6/10Cultural Impact: 8/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankings

Iron Maiden

'The Number of the Beast' (1982) arrived with Bruce Dickinson's operatic wail and Eddie the mascot glowering from album covers, giving NWOBHM its most theatrical and enduring ambassador. Maiden turned metal into literate, galloping storytelling — dragons, history, mythology — and toured relentlessly enough to build a global fanbase that never really left.

Albums Sold (millions): 25 MNumber One Hits: 0Grammy Awards Won: 0Chart Impact: 5/10Genre Influence: 8/10Live Performance: 9/10Cultural Impact: 6/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 4 rankingsIron Maiden

Metallica

Master of Puppets (1986) took thrash metal out of the underground without sanding off a single jagged edge, proving heavy music could be both brutal and technically ambitious. The tragic loss of bassist Cliff Burton that same year only cemented the album's legendary, almost mythic status among the genre's essential texts.

Albums Sold (millions): 40 MNumber One Hits: 0Grammy Awards Won: 0Chart Impact: 6/10Genre Influence: 9/10Live Performance: 9/10Cultural Impact: 7/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 5 rankings

Public Enemy▼ Falling

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) turned the Bomb Squad's chaotic sample collages into a weaponized sound to match Chuck D's booming political indictments. 'Fight the Power' wasn't a song so much as a mission statement, proving hip-hop could be as confrontational and vital as punk ever was.

Albums Sold (millions): 5 MNumber One Hits: 0Grammy Awards Won: 0Chart Impact: 4/10Genre Influence: 9/10Live Performance: 7/10Cultural Impact: 9/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankings

N.W.A▼ Falling

Straight Outta Compton (1988) detonated gangsta rap into the mainstream with 'F*** tha Police,' a track so incendiary the FBI actually sent the group a warning letter. Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E turned South Central's reality into uncompromising art, permanently rewriting what hip-hop was allowed to say out loud.

Albums Sold (millions): 10 MNumber One Hits: 0Grammy Awards Won: 0Chart Impact: 4/10Genre Influence: 9/10Live Performance: 5/10Cultural Impact: 9/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 2 rankings

Guns N' Roses▼ Falling

Appetite for Destruction (1987) sounded like the Sunset Strip distilled into vinyl — sleazy, dangerous, and irresistibly hooky, with 'Sweet Child O' Mine' somehow becoming a tender radio smash despite Axl Rose's outlaw sneer. They arrived as rock's last great debauched gasp before grunge swept the decade's excess away.

Albums Sold (millions): 30 MNumber One Hits: 1Grammy Awards Won: 0Chart Impact: 7/10Genre Influence: 8/10Live Performance: 8/10Cultural Impact: 7/10Fully Active in 80s: ✓

added by IJRin 6 rankings