80s Pop Music: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A look at some of the good, bad, and ugly aspects of 80s pop music.

The Good

In the 1980s, pop music was everything. It was a decade of excess, and the music reflected that. There were some amazing pop songs that defined the decade and are still popular today. These are the good ones.

– Madonna, “Like a Virgin”
– Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean”
– Prince, “When Doves Cry”
– Cyndi Lauper, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
– Whitney Houston, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”

These are just a few of the great pop songs from the 1980s. If you’re looking for a trip down memory lane, or if you’re just curious about what pop music was like in that decade, give these a listen. You might be surprised at how good they still sound today.

The Bad

When it comes to 80s pop music, there is the good, the bad, and the ugly. The bad can be summed up in one word: hair. That’s right, the hair. Big hair was all the rage in the 80s, and many pop stars of the era had some seriously big hair. Of course, not all 80s pop stars had big hair, but many of them did. And let’s face it, big hair is not a good look.

In addition to the bad hair, there was also the bad fashion. Again, this was mostly due to the fact that big hair required big fashion to go along with it. And unfortunately, many of the fashion choices made in the 80s were not good ones. Bright colors, shoulder pads, and tight pants were just some of the fashion faux pas committed in the name of style in the 1980s.

Then there was the music itself. Much of 80s pop music was just downright awful. It was cheesy and overproduced, and it lacked any real substance or depth. Sure, there were a few good songs here and there, but for every good song there were at least a dozen bad ones.

So when it comes to 80s pop music, the bad definitely outweighs the good. But fortunately, there are also plenty of great 80s pop songs to offset all of the bad ones.

The Ugly

The 1980s were a time of great change in the pop music landscape. The industry saw the rise of MTV and the birth of the music video, which would change the way that audiences consume music forever. However, not all of the changes that took place in the 80s were good. In fact, some would say that a lot of the music from this decade was pretty terrible.

Let’s take a look at some of the worst offenders when it comes to 80s pop music. We’ll start with a band that is still popular today, but who many people would agree made some pretty awful music in the 80s: Duran Duran.

The British new wave band burst onto the scene in 1981 with their debut album, “Duran Duran.” The album was a massive hit, spawning several hit singles including “Girls on Film” and “Hungry Like the Wolf.” However, it was their follow-up album, “Rio,” that cemented their place in pop culture history.

“Rio” was an even bigger success than their debut, spawning four top ten singles in the US including “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Save a Prayer.” However, many people consider Duran Duran’s later work to be pretty terrible. Their 1984 album, “Seven and the Ragged Tiger,” was met with mixed reviews and their 1986 album, “Notorious,” was downright panned by critics.

Another popular band from the 80s that made some pretty terrible music was Wham!. The British duo found success with their debut album, “Fantastic,” which included the hit single “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” However, they followed it up with an album that is widely considered to be one of the worst albums of all time: 1986’s “Music from the Edge of Heaven.”

The album was savaged by critics and only spawned one minor hit single, “I’m Your Man.” It was such a commercial and critical failure that it effectively ended Wham!’s career. They attempted to mount a comeback in 1989 with a new album and single, but it was too little too late and they disbanded shortly thereafter.

These are just two examples of popular bands from the 80s who made some really terrible music. There are plenty more where they came from!