Personally, I prefer the music from the FIRST half of the 80's.  8)

actually it was 84-86 when the best came out for pop and late 80's for hair metal( which is my fav).  OF course, thats my opinion on it

Yes, first half takes it...everything started getting a tad too dance oriented toward the end of the decade...

...well, in Britain it did...!

actually it was 84-86 when the best came out for pop and late 80's for hair metal( which is my fav).  OF course, thats my opinion on it
I also liked the middle part as well. But mine would span 83-86, lots of good DD and other new wave, not to mention the Tina Turner, Cindy Lauper Madonna and Michael Jackson in their primes.

having turned 14 in 1985, i'd say the last half. only recently have i discovered all the cool new wave acts that i missed in the early part of the 80s because i was too much into being a kid.

The first half was great, but I voted for the second half.

Tanya

*Bump* (Can't let this move over to Page 2 just yet!)

Right now...the second part.  8)

The first part of the decade was great, but IMO, there's more diversity in the second part of the decade with hair metal, new wave/alternative, rock, pop, hip hop, R&B, etc.  8)

It was a very tough vote, but I went for second half (purely because I remember it a little more fondly perhaps . . .)

First Half (1980-1984)

Definitely the first half of the 80's! New Wave and electropop were great, and all my favourite artists were at their best! (Although Depeche Mode would still be great later on...) :)

Absolutely Vile

First Half (1980-1984)


Agreed ! :)

I'm going to go with what I know better and recognzie as more "my 80s", which is the 2nd half of the 80s.  I was ages 4 to 9 in 1980-1984, but 9 to 14 in 1985-1989.  The 1st half of the 80s is actually more of the "real" or core part of the 80s, the part that is often represented in carcitures of the decade, (leg warmers, breakdancing, Pac-Man, Members only jackets) but I feel more comfortable in the 2nd part of the 80s.  And as someone else pointed out, the 2nd half of the 80s seemed more diverse in it's musical options. 

It's all about what you know better. I'm sure some kid 10 years younger then me would prefer the teen pop of the 2nd half of the 90s if we did this question for that decade.  An 18 or 19 year old kid likely thinks the early 90s is as campy (or perhaps even more campy) as I used to think the early 80s were. 

Second half  :)

DEFINATLY the first half for me..we even got what was left of the 70's artists and tunes as well and welcomed the new and best era in music... but i also included the 'optional' extra year in this poll for good measure  :P  1980-1985..i think it started to sink in about 86  :\'(

Second half.

second half  :)

I'd have to say the second half as well, unbiased as I can't remember either half too well, as I was six when the decade ended.

In particular, 1987-1989 was great.  I think every one of my favorite artists put an album out in 1987: Deborah Gibson (Out Of The Blue), Tiffany (Tiffany), Depeche Mode (Music For The Masses), Prince (Sign 'O' The Times), R.E.M. (Document), Belinda Carlisle (Heaven On Earth), Husker Du (Warehouse), etc.  What a great musical year.  I tend to orient myself towards the dance production of the late decade.  It wasn't quite perfected yet in the early 80s yet was overperfected with a switch to digital technology in the 90s.

Still love new wave, though.

absolutely the first half.  it was when the new wave started.  even u2 was considered new wave!!  cool songs, great style, FUN FUN FUN!! :D

1st 1/2lf because it was so new and modern and saved me from how sick I was of the empty music that til then was all there was (except for the obscure punk and glam that was rarely aired on the radio in the po-dunk places I lived at the timw).

They are both good, but I voted for the second half of the decade, alot of my favorite songs come from that period.

First half, for sure. I always pegged '85 as the end of the "High Eighties".

I prefer early 80's.  It's just has that nice, ugly sound that I love.  The synths are terrible, yet good, and the songs are just a bit less colorful than the later 80's.

Without a shadow of doubt, the first half....................................

Good question.

If I went with just the halves listed here, I'd definitely say the first half (80-84).

In fact, 1984 itself is probably my alltime favorite year for two reasons. (1), that it actually is the year I have the faintest first memories, of being 2-3 years old and hearing songs on the radio or whatnot, and (2), the music itself of course! It was right at the tail end of new wave and the very beginning of the classic rock semi resurgence later in the decade. Dance, arena rock and all around "happy" music was abundant - Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, "Owner of a Lonely Heart", Van Halen, just to name a few. :)

However, that in mind, I think the 80's had three distinct musical phases:

1. 1980-82 - A mix of 70's styles (singer-songwriters, love songs, classic rockers) that were still around, blending with the burgeoning new wave and other "80s" styles, such as synthesizers, to follow.

2. 1983-86 - My favorite overall era. In fact, I'd say these years (with '82 and '87 on the border too) are the bulk of where the culture had the highest impact. The movie, the Wedding Singer is a perfect example. Even though we know it took place in '85, it "felt" at times it could've been as early as '83 (i.e. Rubix Cubes) or late as '86 (the $700 CD player Glen buys!). New wave and synth pop, Madonna, and other 1984 artists I mentioned were making the biggest splash on MTV.

3. 1987-89 - The "later" years where hair metal and the onset of what would become 90's Alternatve styles were co-existing. Rap was also starting to come into its own (alot was still underground or urban, but bands like the Beastie Boys were beginning to make it suburban-ish). Same could be said for the first wave of teen pop.

First! By FAR! In fact I'd rank the years being my favorites as follows.

1. 1984
2. 1982
3. 1981
4. 1983
5. 1980
6. 1988
7. 1985
8. 1986
9. 1987
10. 1989

I'm gonna go with the 1st half, though like RubixGirl, 83-36 was when most of my my favourite music happened. 8)

First half is in the lead by 1/3 or so - as Homer would say, "Wo-hooo!" ;D

Long story really short, I prefer the early and mid 80's because it just seemed more "fun", not to mention the further into the decade you go, the closer it gets to the 90's styles.

(For the record, the 90's has alot of good music too, but also some not so good -- whereas the 80's was pretty much all good as far as I'm concerned. In 1983 there was no trace of what would become the 90's sound, but there was by, say '88.)

The second half definitely. Because of the emergence of Guns N Roses. They completely changed the music scene. The first half was mostly innocent pop and then this Rock band comes along and sings about real life. Man I wish I could go back to that time. It was the best!

First half was great.  You had stuff like Christopher Cross, early Lionel Richie  anyone remember the Allan Parson Project?

First half is in the lead by 1/3 or so - as Homer would say, "Wo-hooo!" ;D

Long story really short, I prefer the early and mid 80's because it just seemed more "fun", not to mention the further into the decade you go, the closer it gets to the 90's styles.

(For the record, the 90's has alot of good music too, but also some not so good -- whereas the 80's was pretty much all good as far as I'm concerned. In 1983 there was no trace of what would become the 90's sound, but there was by, say '88.)


so beautifully said !! ...i thought it was only my fussyness/accidental biased opinion that made me think this way, but obviously not ! .....agree with your fine detail 100%  - no more explanation needed  !!!

* also agree with your post before that Quote i just did - except, my fav's was 80 - 84  ( and refining even more...80 - 82 ).

My vote goes to the first half of the Eighties.

Talking Heads, Prince, Eno, Pretenders, Japan, Kate Bush, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Kraftwerk, New Order, The Cure, The Jam, The Chameleons, Rush, Hüsker Dü, U2...

Some of these artists/bands released great albums in the second half of the eighties, but pound for pound, I'll take the music of the first half of this particular decade.  :)

First half (80-84) as after 84 more and more digital started being used,etc........

1980-1984.
I do think that time period was especially a miraculous one for metal.

For one, it was the zeitgeist of the Second Wave of British Heavy Metal.
In 1980 alone, Judas Priest released their 6th album, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard released their first albums, Motorhead released "Ace of Spades", and Saxon released "Wheels of Steel".
Throughout the rest of this time period, Judas Priest released three more albums, one of which contained the smash hit "You've Got Another Thing Comin". Iron Maiden released the phenomenal "Number of the Beast" and "Piece of Mind" albums.

For two, this was when thrash metal had emerged, in 1983 with Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" and Slayer's "Show No Mercy".
In 1984, Anthrax would make their debut, and Metallica would release the "Ride The Lightning" album.