Music
The Top 100 Rock Songs from the 1980s
Published by Raynor Perreau
25 May 2026
If you're hunting down the ultimate list of the top 100 80s rock songs, your search ends here.
The 1980s was a decade defined by pure musical excess, massive stadium production, and unforgettable hooks. Whether you are craving the gritty Sunset Strip riffs of Guns N' Roses or the driving, synth-heavy rock of Van Halen, this era delivered pure adrenaline.
We curated this top 100 list based on your Rock 2000 votes, global radio airplay, streaming data, single sales, and ultimate fan favorites. Plus, you can listen to our playlist of the top 20 songs from each decade.
Get ready for heavy distortion and soaring guitar solos as we rank the greatest anthems of the decade, in the next chapter of our ultimate countdown series: Let there be Rock.
Top 100 rock songs from the 80s:
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
AC/DC - Back In Black
Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar on Me
Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Van Halen - Jump
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
Metallica - One
U2 - With or Without You
Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
Metallica - Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
AC/DC - Hells Bells
Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
Guns N' Roses - Paradise City
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Prince - Purple Rain
Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills
Th' Dudes - Bliss
Mötley Crüe - Kickstart My Heart
Queen - Another One Bites the Dust
Mötley Crüe - Home Sweet Home
Jimmy Barnes - Working Class Man
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
Guns N' Roses - Mr. Brownstone
Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
Faith No More - Epic
U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name
Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
Joan Jett - I Love Rock 'N Roll
Europe - The Final Countdown
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Queen - Radio Ga Ga
Dragon - Rain
Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In the Dark
Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane
Split Enz - History Never Repeats
Judas Priest - Breaking the Law
Living Colour - Cult of Personality
Billy Idol - White Wedding
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive
Dave Dobbyn - Slice of Heaven
INXS - Need You Tonight
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
Skid Row - 18 and Life
Whitesnake - Here I Go Again
Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down
Alice Cooper - Poison
Steve Earle - Copperhead Road
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood
INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
Icehouse - Great Southern Land
Iron Maiden - Wasted Years
Dio - Holy Diver
Talking Heads - Burning Down The House
Guns N' Roses - Patience
Split Enz - I Got You
Iron Maiden - The Trooper
Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight
Mötley Crüe - Girls Girls Girls
Australian Crawl - Boys Light Up
Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It
Tom Petty - Free Fallin'
Dave Dobbyn - Loyal
Aerosmith - Janie's Got a Gun
INXS - New Sensation
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground
Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly
Cold Chisel - Flame Trees
Toto - Africa
Van Halen - Panama
AC/DC - Heatseeker
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
Iron Maiden - Can I Play With Madness?
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Lita Ford & Ozzy Osbourne - Close My Eyes Forever
Pink Floyd - On The Turning Away
Bryan Adams - Run to You
U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love)
Crowded House - Better Be Home Soon
Skid Row - Youth Gone Wild
Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
The Exponents - Victoria
Mötley Crüe - Wild Side
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
Guns N' Roses - Rocket Queen
Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
If you enjoyed this list, have a look back of the best 100 songs from the 70s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s til now.
Published by Raynor Perreau
25 May 2026