There are so many great songs from the 80's... who could really say which is the best.

I'd think Van Halen's Jump would be up there somewhere.

"Livin' on a Prayer", hands down.

We saved that for the last song at our wedding reception. Having that many (drunk) people singing along on the dance floor was awesome.

I'll give honorable mention to "Pour Some Sugar on Me" as I'll stop whatever I'm doing to rock out to that song until it's over.

"In the Air Tonight" by phil collins

I still start banging the air drums like a lunatic when the drums kick in about halfway through. It terrifies women and children.

@unclefrog: The "xoxo" was slipped in without my cognizance. Damn interns.

@packman711: I think you meant @tarasadies... ;-)

I was so afriad that I was going to get RickRoll'd when I clicked on this question...

Honestly, I don't know how this question can be answered. I just lost 20 minutes going through just my Van Halen collection. When I thought I had a winner another good one came up. Let's just say there was a lot of really great music in the 80's.

I voted up this question, even though part of me wanted to downvote it simply because now I will have all these great songs stuck in my head all day!

West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys. It had it all: a great dance beat, fashion and style, and rap. It was tame enough for everyone to enjoy but the lyrics still had a bit of an edge to them. A song that begins with "Sometimes, you're better off dead / there's a gun in your hand and it's pointed at your head" certainly stands out among the usual teen fare.

That said, a bit surprising nobody's mentioned Michael Jackson or Madonna yet.

@morriea: If I'm not mistaken, that was released in 1979.

Brain just popped sorting through all the music and trying to rank them.

@benyust2: Released 12/79....so was popular in 1980. I remember listening to it that year quite a bit. I think that counts. It is the "best songs of the 80s" and that is when it was on the charts.

gran duo concertante - bottesini.

Oh, you mean 1980's... too many to mention, but livin on a prayer is a favorite bar song, but come now... anything from the police, devo, madonna, MJ, u2, hair metal anything, etc etc can easily be considered the penultimate 80's song.

for me - it was loudness' "crazy nights" that did it, in 85/86. 3 of the most memorable events in my younger life are tied somehow to that song... and the ridiculousness of an asian hair band was completely lost on me at that age lol.

Tom Sawyer -- Rush

@greatgazoo: According to VH1 you nailed the number 1 and 2 with your comment. I can't disagree with your choices, but as mentioned before there was so much great music in that decade that it's impractical to choose one song. Here's a link to that list, and I didn't see Rick Astley in there anywhere. :)

My vote goes with Sweet Child O' Mine.

Can't pick the "best" song". I agree with some of the above. One of my favorite bands formed in the late '80's, sadly short lived, was The Traveling Wilburys. "End of the line", "Tweeter and the Monkey man" and "Last Night" come to mind. If Roy Orbison had lived and they toured, they would have been too much fun.

Cure Love Song

@crivit: I agree. You've chosen the best.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears

@morriea: Technically a 70's song but most 80's stations play it so I will allow this

What, no white drunken college kids' anthem?? I really thought I'd see more mentions and upvotes for this:
Journey- Don't Stop Believing
No other song/group adequately expresses the alleged angst and excesses of the decade, but EVERYBODY thinks they can sing it. Heck, I can probably sing it still.

Beastie Boys: You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party

@thefenst: I have an 80's playlist with nearly 1000 songs, and almost every song mentioned here is easily on the list. That said, without even looking at the list, this was one of the first to pop in my head. Excellent choice ♥

@conanthelibrarian: Many thanks for your private-in-secret link! I'd forgotten that little bit of fun, and since I can't decide among 20 or so other choices, I'd agree with that one as my fave, in secret or not. I'm old enough to feel fine selecting a bit of whimsical fluff as a favorite. And I love the illustrations in this particular vidclip, especially O'Malley's

And did you look at the most recent comments on its site? Apparently a lot of folks are just discovering the song this week.

Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire is the one that stands out to me. My 5th/6th-grade social studies teacher had us listen to it, and IIRC he also had the lyrics posted on his bulletin board.