It was the final decade of the prominence of the vinyl 45 rpm record (surpassed by the cassette single in 1990) and pop music was thriving ...

- popularity of MTV and music videos led to an explosion of new artists on the charts, such as Men At Work, Duran Duran, Culture Club, and Tears For Fears

- most popular artists of the decade included Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Hall & Oates, and George Michael

- mainstream breakthrough of once-alternative bands The Police, U2, INXS, and R.E.M.

- rap's ascendance, spearheaded by Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J, and the Fat Boys

- renown of hard rockers Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen, and Poison

- fundamental American rock and roll sound of Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Tom Petty, and Bryan Adams

- career comebacks by Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Steve Winwood, Alice Cooper, and Roy Orbison

- emergence of new female artists such as Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, the Go-Go’s, and the Bangles

- from the ashes of disco, new dance sounds by Madonna, Janet Jackson, Expose, Jody Watley, and Paula Abdul

Watch this exciting era unfold across 520 weekly charts!