{"id":951183,"date":"2026-11-03T14:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/951183\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T14:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:52:12","slug":"8-songs-from-the-80s-that-people-with-elite-music-taste-listen-to-on-repeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/951183\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Songs From The 80s That People With Elite Music Taste Listen To On Repeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

So many songs from the 1980s are iconic not just because the decade is nostalgic, it was a decade of incredible social and technological change. Artists made music unlike anything anyone had heard<\/a>, and that created a culture where people took wild risks and accepted some truly unique sounds.<\/p>\n

Young people appreciate these songs not just for their retro quality<\/a>, but for how unique they are, even for today. That’s why people with elite music taste still listen to these 1980s songs on repeat.<\/p>\n

Songs from the 80s people with elite music taste still listen to on repeat1. \u2018Love Will Tear Us Apart\u2019 by Joy Division<\/p>\n

\"Joy Ben Houdijk | Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n

Right on the cusp of the two wildly different decades, this 1980 track is more than a catchy melody. It\u2019s a story, and an emotional one at that, for anyone who\u00a0remembers the cultural context and story of Joy Division<\/a> around this time. As a posthumous release after Ian Curtis\u2019 passing, it\u2019s more than just a cool song, but a reflection of the struggles of his personal life.<\/p>\n

As an opposition to the 1975\u2019s \u201cLove Will Keep Us Together,\u201d it\u2019s surprising that the song took off as one of their first music chart hits, but it did. And today, it\u2019s usually the coolest people, with great music taste and an appreciation for the context of 1980s hits and culture, who still play it over and over again.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 10 Forgotten Habits From The 1980s That Actually Built Strong Character<\/a><\/p>\n

2. \u2018Blue Monday\u2019 by New Order<\/p>\n

This 1983 song is a blend of everything that defined the 1980s: synth sounds, pop references, and dance music. If you\u2019ve stuck to a certain genre or lane, this song might touch on at least one. It\u2019s a musical battle between tons of different songs, but there\u2019s no doubt: it\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n

Songs like this are a great reminder of the shift away from traditional instruments that was already happening in the 80s. Small synthesizers and drum machines created songs like this, edgy and effortlessly new-sounding, regardless of when you\u2019re listening.<\/p>\n

Yes, there are very obvious\u00a0Joy Division sounds in this eclectic<\/a>, hodge-podge band, but songs like this remind everyone of the lane they crafted for themselves in sheer dance, techno music.<\/p>\n

3. \u2018Holiday\u2019 by Madonna<\/p>\n

You couldn\u2019t possibly give someone the title of \u201cbest music taste\u201d without including Madonna, whether it\u2019s 1980s songs or not. They\u2019re all worthy of the title, but this 1983 track is especially iconic. Even if she\u2019s solidified a forever spot in pop culture today, for a long time, she was a trailblazer and pioneer of movements that didn\u2019t always have a space in the public eye.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s songs like this that don\u2019t just bring us back to a time of pop culture stardom. The 80s were about changing tech, shifting culture, and a whole new type of iconography with working-class glam stars like Madonna<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED: People Who Listen To This Type Of Music Have Stronger Brains, According To Research<\/a><\/p>\n

4. \u2018Running Up That Hill\u2019 by Kate Bush<\/p>\n

While the song\u2019s huge revival in 2022, after being included in the fourth season of Netflix\u2019s \u201cStranger Things,\u201d is partially to blame for Kate Bush\u2019s icon status in modern culture, she\u2019s always been a pillar of the 80s music legacy.<\/p>\n

With a song like this, the more people who listen and internalize the lyrics, the better. We might have been\u00a0growing into a more narcissistic society in the era, but it\u2019s music like this, people still found grounding in emotional honesty.<\/p>\n

5. \u2018Everywhere\u2019 by Fleetwood Mac<\/p>\n

\"Fleetwood Randy Miramontez | Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n

There are few pop songs more timeless than a Fleetwood Mac song. While 80s culture might\u2019ve defined the band\u2019s\u00a0changing dynamics and member drama<\/a>, it\u2019s part of what each passing generation grows to love about their history. I mean, there\u2019s a reason why\u00a0their 1997 reunion concert<\/a> still gets millions of views today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The song Everywhere remains timeless because it’s a dreamy, ethereal, always-dance-worthy track that anyone can learn to love, whenever or wherever they end up hearing it.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 10 Everyday Things 80s Kids Were Expected To Handle All On Their Own<\/a><\/p>\n

6. \u2018When Doves Cry’ by Prince<\/p>\n

Prince was like nobody anyone had seen in the 1980s and somehow remains exactly that unique today. He was a small-framed guy who wasn’t tall in an era of jocks, but he famously dated the most beautiful, important women in pop culture at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even more importantly, he wrote songs that changed the cultural landscape. The guitar solos on When Doves Cry are like almost nothing before or after, with drum lines that were both pop-ish and funky in the same song. Add to that the overall heat of the lyrics and you’ve got a song that is instantly identifiable even today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Add to that a dramatic and emotional music video<\/a> hinting at a much more serious relationship dynamic and you’ve got a truly elite song joining many other Prince songs that could be on this list.\u00a0<\/p>\n

7. \u2018This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)\u2019 by Talking Heads<\/p>\n

The Talking Heads were a truly iconic band. David Byrne was a front man like nobody had ever seen. He wasn’t about being a dream-boat pop star or even a bad by rocker, he was what we now affectionately call a nerd or a geek. In the Flock of Seagulls era of hairstyles, Byrne’s hair was high and tight like it was the 1960s and instead of tight-fitting tee shirts or slashed-up Levis, Byrne wore outrageous costumes like his wildly oversized suit<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there are many Talking Heads songs that could go on a list like this (just like Prince), This Must Be The Place is now remembered as one of the most beautiful, unique love songs of the era. There are no other songs that sound like this, even now. You could get lost in the synth and electrified aspects of it and not notice the lyrics, but when you finally hear them, you can’t help but fall in love with this song both musically and lyrically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED: If You Still Have These 4 Things From The ’80s In Your House, You’re More Nostalgic Than You Realize<\/a><\/p>\n

8. \u2018Higher Love\u2019 by Steve Winwood<\/p>\n

\"Steve Sterling Munksgard | Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n

While it presents as a standard 80s love ballad, this 1986 hit from Winwood is what Gen Zers today would call \u201ctextbook yearning.\u201d It captures the layeredness that so many songs from this decade encapsulate: floaty on the radio, deep and existential on paper. Just check out this couplet in the lyrics: “I could light the night up with my soul on fire \/ I could make the sun shine from pure desire” and you get the picture.<\/p>\n

You can listen to the iconic song and its melodies, but when you pay closer attention to the lyrics, there\u2019s no escaping a much deeper, entrancing story.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 8 Song Lyrics From The 1980s That Feel Like Falling In Love To Gen X & Baby Boomers<\/a><\/p>\n

Zayda Slabbekoorn<\/a> is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor\u2019s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.<\/p>\n

Related Stories From YourTango:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So many songs from the 1980s are iconic not just because the decade is nostalgic, it was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":951184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[143368,274966,64,63,134,136,7790,2332,18144,8567],"class_list":["post-951183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1980s","tag-80s","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-nostalgia","tag-pop-culture","tag-self","tag-songs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}