Top 100 Artists of the 1980s (U.S. Charts)

The 1980s represented the pinnacle of pop music alongside rock, R&B, and dance music with the Hot 100 chart from Billboard being the ultimate measure. Listed below are the 100 most impactful and commercially successful artists of the decade ranked according to their U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart standings from 1980 to 1989. Each entry includes highlighted account of the artist’s top charting hits and contributions during the decade.

1. Daryl Hall & John Oates

Dominated the decade as the top-charting duo with No.1 hits like Maneater and Out of Touch.

2. Madonna

Scored seven No.1 hits, including Like a Virgin, becoming the best-selling female artist of the decade.

3. Michael Jackson

Earned nine No.1 singles and global superstardom with hits like Billie Jean and Bad.

4. Prince

Fused funk, rock, and pop with chart-toppers like When Doves Cry and Kiss.

5. Billy Joel

Had 20 Top 40 hits including It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” and Tell Her About It.

6. Elton John

Consistently charted with 21 Top 40 hits such as I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues.

7. John Cougar Mellencamp

Heartland rock icon with hits like Jack & Diane and Pink Houses.

8. Lionel Richie

Achieved five No.1 hits including Hello and All Night Long.

9. Kool & The Gang

Blended R&B and funk on hits like Celebration and Cherish.

10. Huey Lewis & The News

Charted 15 Top 40 hits, including No.1s Stuck with You and The Power of Love.

11. Phil Collins

Scored seven solo No.1 hits, including Against All Odds and One More Night.

12. Rick Springfield

Pop-rock success with Jessie’s Girl and several other Top 10 singles.

13. Journey

Iconic arena rock band with 16 Top 40 hits, including Don’t Stop Believin’.

14. Stevie Wonder

Returned to the top with I Just Called to Say I Love You and Part-Time Lover.

15. Chicago

Had two No.1 hits and a string of successful ballads including Hard Habit to Break.

16. Kenny Rogers

Crossover country-pop star with No.1 hits Lady and Islands in the Stream.

17. Air Supply

Australian soft rock duo with hits like The One That You Love.

18. Duran Duran

New Wave band with hits like Hungry Like the Wolf and The Reflex.

19. Pat Benatar

Female rock powerhouse known for Love Is a Battlefield and We Belong.

20. Sheena Easton

Scored No.1 with Morning Train and Top 10s like Strut.

21. Billy Ocean

Hitmaker behind No.1s like Caribbean Queen and Get Outta My Dreams.

22. Whitney Houston

Launched her career with seven consecutive No.1s including How Will I Know.

23. Rod Stewart

Continued his chart success with Young Turks and Some Guys Have All the Luck.

24. Bruce Springsteen

Rock icon who scored Top 10s with Dancing in the Dark and Glory Days.

25. The Pointer Sisters

R&B trio known for Jump (For My Love) and Neutron Dance.

26. George Michael (incl. Wham!)

Pop superstar with hits like Faith,Careless Whisper, and Father Figure.

27. REO Speedwagon

Topped the charts with Keep On Loving You and Can’t Fight This Feeling.

28. Diana Ross

Returned to the top with Upside Down and Endless Love.

29. Bob Seger

Scored Top 10 hits like Against the Wind and the No.1 Shakedown.

30. Olivia Newton-John

Scored major success with Physical and Magic.

31. Paul McCartney

Earned No.1s with collaborations like Say Say Say and Ebony and Ivory.

32. Tina Turner

Comeback legend with What’s Love Got to Do with It and Better Be Good to Me.

33. Cyndi Lauper

Scored with Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Time After Time.

34. Kenny Loggins

Soundtrack king with hits like Footloose and Danger Zone.

35. Culture Club

Led by Boy George, had No.1 Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.

36. Bryan Adams

Broke through with Heaven and Summer of ’69.

37. Van Halen

Topped the charts with Jump and rocked with Panama.

38. Genesis

Phil Collins-led group scored with Invisible Touch and Throwing It All Away.

39. Heart

Achieved No.1s with These Dreams and Alone.

40. Janet Jackson

Breakout success with What Have You Done for Me Lately and Miss You Much.

41. Steve Winwood

No.1 hits included Higher Love” and “Roll With It.

42. The Police

Global success with Every Breath You Take and Don’t Stand So Close to Me.

43. Stevie Nicks

Solo hits like Edge of Seventeen and collaborations like Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.

44. Bon Jovi

Rock anthems like Livin’ on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad Name.

45. Miami Sound Machine (Gloria Estefan)

Scored with Conga, Bad Boy, and the No.1 Anything for You.

46. The Rolling Stones

Maintained relevance with Start Me Up and Emotional Rescue.

47. Foreigner

Known for Urgent and their chart-topping ballad I Want to Know What Love Is.

48. The Cars

Synth-driven hits like Drive, Magic, and You Might Think.

49. Survivor

Eye of the Tiger defined the decade, with Burning Heart also charting.

50. Christopher Cross

Grammy-winning ballads Sailing and Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).

51. Debbie Gibson

Teen pop sensation Debbie Gibson became the youngest female artist to write, produce, and perform a No.1 hit with Foolish Beat (1988). She scored five Top 10 hits, including Only in My Dreams and Lost in Your Eyes.

52. Richard Marx

Known for polished pop-rock ballads, Marx debuted in 1987 and earned multiple hits, including Hold On to the Nights and Right Here Waiting, both of which reached No.1 by the decade’s close.

53. Gloria Estefan

Initially fronting Miami Sound Machine, Estefan earned No.1 hits like Anything for You and Don’t Wanna Lose You, blending Latin pop with adult contemporary appeal.

54. Don Henley

The Eagles’ drummer/singer found solo success with hits like The Boys of Summer and Dirty Laundry,charting multiple Top 10s and winning critical acclaim.

55. Kim Carnes

Her signature hit, Bette Davis Eyes, spent nine weeks at No.1 in 1981 and became the biggest hit of that year. She followed with More Love and Voyeur.

56. Juice Newton

Juice Newton blended country-pop with crossover success through hits like Queen of Hearts (No.2) and Angel of the Morning (Top 5, 1981).

57. Laura Branigan

Branigan’s powerful vocals propelled hits like Gloria (No.2, 1982) and Self Control (No.4, 1984), both of which became dance-pop classics.

58. Barbra Streisand

Though best known for 1970s success, Streisand had several ’80s hits, including Woman in Love (No.1, 1980) and Guilty with Barry Gibb.

59. David Bowie

Bowie’s Let’s Dance topped the Hot 100 in 1983, and other hits like China Girl and Modern Love cemented his mainstream U.S. success in the decade.

60. Wham!

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley scored three No.1 hits, including Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Careless Whisper, marking Wham! as an ’80s pop juggernaut.

61. Bobby Brown

A pioneer of New Jack Swing, Brown’s solo career took off in the late ’80s with the chart-topping My Prerogative and Top 10 hits from the Don’t Be Cruel album.

62. Aretha Franklin

The Queen of Soul had a late-’80s resurgence with the George Michael duet I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (No.1, 1987) and Freeway of Love.

63. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Petty’s blend of heartland rock yielded hits like Don’t Do Me Like That and Refugee, with Free Fallin’ arriving just outside the decade (1989).

64. New Kids on the Block

One of the biggest late-decade teen pop groups, they scored hits like I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) and Hangin’ Tough, both reaching No.1 in 1989.

65. Exposé

This female dance-pop trio had seven Top 10 hits, including Seasons Change (No.1, 1988), making them one of the most successful girl groups of the decade.

66. Howard Jones

A key figure in British synthpop, Jones charted with No One Is to Blame and Things Can Only Get Better,” each achieving Top 10 success.

67. Glenn Frey

Former Eagles member, Frey had solo hits like The Heat Is On (from Beverly Hills Cop) and You Belong to the City, both Top 10 entries.

68. INXS

Australian rockers INXS broke through in the U.S. with Need You Tonight (No.1, 1988) and Devil Inside,merging funk, pop, and rock.

69. The Jets

This family band scored Top 10 hits such as Crush on You, You Got It All, and Make It Real, dominating late-’80s teen pop.

70. Loverboy

Known for Working for the Weekend, Loverboy had five Top 40 hits and was a fixture on rock radio and MTV.

71. U2

Though their biggest U.S. singles came later, U2 entered the U.S. Top 40 with With or Without You (No.1, 1987) and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

72. Jody Watley

Watley won the 1987 Grammy for Best New Artist and scored hits like Looking for a New Love and Real Love, both reaching the Top 10.

73. Taylor Dayne

With a powerful voice and dance appeal, Dayne had seven Top 10 hits including Tell It to My Heart and Love Will Lead You Back.

74. Billy Idol

The punk-pop rocker scored multiple Top 10s like Eyes Without a Face and Mony Mony (live), the latter reaching No.1 in 1987.

75. Men at Work

This Australian band hit No.1 with Who Can It Be Now? and “Down Under,both 1982 smashes, before fading by mid-decade.

76. Corey Hart

Canadian artist best known for Sunglasses at Night and Never Surrender (No.3, 1985), Hart scored several U.S. Top 40 hits.

77. .38 Special

Southern rock band .38 Special saw major hits with Caught Up in You and Second Chance, both Top 10 entries.

78. Irene Cara

Cara topped the charts with Fame and Flashdance… What a Feeling, the latter spending six weeks at No.1 in 1983 and winning an Oscar.

79. Smokey Robinson

Veteran Motown singer Smokey Robinson scored one of his biggest solo hits with Being with You (No.2, 1981) and continued charting well into the decade.

80. Little River Band

Though their peak was in the late ’70s, they had early ’80s hits like The Night Owls and Take It Easy on Me.

81. Barry Manilow

Though mostly associated with the ’70s, Manilow’s 1980s hits included I Made It Through the Rain and Somewhere Down the Road.

82. Thompson Twins

British New Wave group known for Hold Me Now (No.3) and Doctor! Doctor! (No.11), both big U.S. hits in 1984.

83. Jackson Browne

Browne’s hit Somebody’s Baby (from Fast Times at Ridgemont High) reached No.7 in 1982, his biggest ’80s single.

84. Night Ranger

With hits like Sister Christian (No.5) and Sentimental Street, Night Ranger became a mainstay of ’80s rock radio.

85. Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

In the early ’80s, ELO scored Top 20 hits like Hold On Tight and Calling America, capping off a string of success from the previous decade.

86. Eddie Money

Known for Take Me Home Tonight (No.4, 1986) and Think I’m in Love, Money was a staple of rock charts and MTV.

87. Poison

Glam metal band Poison hit No.1 with Every Rose Has Its Thorn and had several other Top 10 hits before the decade’s close.

88. Sting

Breaking from The Police, Sting began his solo career in the mid-’80s with hits like If You Love Somebody Set Them Free and We’ll Be Together.

89. Pet Shop Boys

This British synthpop duo topped the charts with West End Girls (No.1, 1986) and followed with It’s a Sin and What Have I Done to Deserve This?

90. Belinda Carlisle

Former Go-Go’s frontwoman Belinda Carlisle went solo and hit No.1 with Heaven Is a Place on Earth (1987), plus other Top 10 hits.

91. Queen

Although their peak was earlier, Queen had ’80s success with Another One Bites the Dust (No.1, 1980) and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

92. Kenny G

Instrumentalist Kenny G broke through in the late ’80s with smooth jazz-pop, notably Songbird (No.4, 1987).

93. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

They had several Top 10 R&B-pop crossovers including Head to Toe and Lost in Emotion, both of which hit No.1 in 1987.

94. Kajagoogoo

Best known for Too Shy (No.5, 1983), they were quintessential one-hit wonders of the New Wave era.

95. Berlin

The band’s sensual ballad Take My Breath Away (from Top Gun) was a No.1 hit in 1986 and won an Academy Award.

96. Deniece Williams

Her 1984 hit Let’s Hear It for the Boy topped the Hot 100 and became one of the biggest singles from a movie soundtrack (Footloose).

97. Sheena Easton

In addition to early hits like Morning Train (Nine to Five), Easton reached No.1 with the Prince-produced “Sugar Walls” on the R&B chart.

98. Paul Young

Known for the No.1 single Everytime You Go Away (1985), he blended blue-eyed soul with pop accessibility.

99. Fine Young Cannibals

Although they peaked in early 1989 with She Drives Me Crazy, their blend of rock and soul brought them chart success late in the decade.

100. Deniece Williams

A Flock of Seagulls – Known for their unique visual style and the hit I Ran (So Far Away), which reached No.9 in 1982, they remain symbolic of early-’80s synthpop.