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…

1980-1981 | 1982-1983 | 1984-1985 | 1986-1987 | 1988-1989

80s Hits: Top 40 Chart List – 1980 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 – Styx21. 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 Summer38. Too Hot – Kool & The Gang 39. More Love – Kim Carnes 40. Pop Muzik – M