Tina Turner or Stevie Wonder?
Pat Benatar or Joan Jett?
Waylon Jennings or Eddie Rabbit?
Eddy Grant or Billy Ocean?
Metallica or Slayer?
The B 52s or Devo?
Howard Jones or Wang Chung?
The Human League or Soft Cell?
The Pixies or The Sugarcubes?
The Damned or Sisters Of Mercy?
The Beastie Boys or Run DMC?
Kenny Loggins or Rick Springfield?

Tina Turner
Pat Benatar or Joan Jett - both are ok
Waylon Jennings or Eddie Rabbit - both the same
Eddy Grant
Metallica
The B 52s or Devo  - both the same
Howard Jones
Soft Cell
I'll skip on the rest.

Tina Turner - Stevie Wonder would win if the 60s and 70s were factored in, but his 80s output isn't as powerful as what Tina Turner performed in the mid-80s.

Pat Benatar - Not even close. Joan Jett mostly just covered a bunch of generic glam rock songs from the 70s, and "Little Lies" is the only song of hers that impresses me to a significant degree. Pat Benatar, on the other hand, is one of my favorite solo pop artists of the 80s. Her best album, In the Heat of the Night was actually released in 1979, but "Heatbreaker" and "We Live for Love" were hits in early 1980. Benatar's studio albums got progressively weaker as the decade continued, but even as she became less consistent, she still put out some incredible singles, like "Love Is a Battlefield."

Eddie Rabbit - I don't know much about Waylon Jennings, though.

Billy Ocean - Ocean just has a far more enticing vocal style. I love "Electric Avenue," but Eddie Grant was a one-hit wonder in the United States for good reason, as the rest of his 80s material is nothing to write home about.

Metallica - Metallica in the 80s were symphonically melodic and not just brutally aggressive like Slayer.

Devo - Devo is a bit more wholesome in their wackiness, if that makes any sense.

Howard Jones - I really like Wang Chung's hit singles, but Howard Jones is much more memorable for his full albums and not just killer singles like "Life in One Day" and "Everlasting Love."

The Human League - I'm not really sure why Soft Cell was so popular in their native UK. I don't even care that much for their cover of "Tainted Love," an already dated original song with new electronic elements and vocals that don't suit it. The Human League were the real kings of synthpop in the 1980s, even though I personally find Japan, Gary Numan, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark more artistic.

Pixies - You really can't compete with this untouchable alternative band that played such a pivotal role in shaping the grunge/alt movement of the 1990s.

Sisters of Mercy - Again, I don't know too much about either group, but "Temple of Love" is a pretty darn cool song, while the only songs I know by The Damned are just okay.

Run-DMC - The Beasties were much better in the 90s, but not only did Run-DMC come first, they frankly did the mid-late 80s rock/rap style better than anybody else. Licensed to Ill and Paul's Boutique are both somewhat overrated albums.

Kenny Loggins - Honestly, these two are super close. Kenny Loggins has one of the best male vocals of any pop artist and it really adds a ton of kick to his numerous soundtrack hits such as "Footloose" and "Nobody's Fool," but also his early 80s solo work like "Keep the Fire" and "Heart to Heart."

Tina Turner - Stevie Wonder would win if the 60s and 70s were factored in, but his 80s output isn't as powerful as what Tina Turner performed in the mid-80s.

Pat Benatar - Not even close. Joan Jett mostly just covered a bunch of generic glam rock songs from the 70s, and "Little Lies" is the only song of hers that impresses me to a significant degree. Pat Benatar, on the other hand, is one of my favorite solo pop artists of the 80s. Her best album, In the Heat of the Night was actually released in 1979, but "Heatbreaker" and "We Live for Love" were hits in early 1980. Benatar's studio albums got progressively weaker as the decade continued, but even as she became less consistent, she still put out some incredible singles, like "Love Is a Battlefield."

Eddie Rabbit - I don't know much about Waylon Jennings, though.

Billy Ocean - Ocean just has a far more enticing vocal style. I love "Electric Avenue," but Eddie Grant was a one-hit wonder in the United States for good reason, as the rest of his 80s material is nothing to write home about.

Metallica - Metallica in the 80s were symphonically melodic and not just brutally aggressive like Slayer.

Devo - Devo is a bit more wholesome in their wackiness, if that makes any sense.

Howard Jones - I really like Wang Chung's hit singles, but Howard Jones is much more memorable for his full albums and not just killer singles like "Life in One Day" and "Everlasting Love."

The Human League - I'm not really sure why Soft Cell was so popular in their native UK. I don't even care that much for their cover of "Tainted Love," an already dated original song with new electronic elements and vocals that don't suit it. The Human League were the real kings of synthpop in the 1980s, even though I personally find Japan, Gary Numan, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark more artistic.

Pixies - You really can't compete with this untouchable alternative band that played such a pivotal role in shaping the grunge/alt movement of the 1990s.

Sisters of Mercy - Again, I don't know too much about either group, but "Temple of Love" is a pretty darn cool song, while the only songs I know by The Damned are just okay.

Run-DMC - The Beasties were much better in the 90s, but not only did Run-DMC come first, they frankly did the mid-late 80s rock/rap style better than anybody else. Licensed to Ill and Paul's Boutique are both somewhat overrated albums.

Kenny Loggins - Honestly, these two are super close. Kenny Loggins has one of the best male vocals of any pop artist and it really adds a ton of kick to his numerous soundtrack hits such as "Footloose" and "Nobody's Fool," but also his early 80s solo work like "Keep the Fire" and "Heart to Heart."


That's a great post. It's a shame that Pat's first two CDs weren't firmly in the '80s. She had that '80s rock sound and style. Like you say, she's way ahead of Joan in her output of original material.

Eddie Grant got some airplay with some other songs, but they weren't big hits. "Romancing The Stone" was on MTV and the radio for a bit. He's still known for his signature song, though. He's a bit like A-Ha in that regard.

Sisters of Mercy - Again, I don't know too much about either group, but "Temple of Love" is a pretty darn cool song, while the only songs I know by The Damned are just okay.


You might like the Damned. The critics and the experts claim that they aren't a goth band like Sisters Of Mercy are. I think that they have some goth material, though. "Phantasmagoria" comes to mind. It has one or more goth songs on it. "Sanctum Santorum" is the epitome of a romantic goth selection, and it's the centerpiece of the CD. It sounds like something the actual historical figures, from the Romantic era, would create if they were alive today. It sounds like a vampire's love song.

That's a great post. It's a shame that Pat's first two CDs weren't firmly in the '80s. She had that '80s rock sound and style. Like you say, she's way ahead of Joan in her output of original material.

Eddie Grant got some airplay with some other songs, but they weren't big hits. "Romancing The Stone" was on MTV and the radio for a bit. He's still known for his signature song, though. He's a bit like A-Ha in that regard.


Electric Avenue is his most popular song from 1983, his other songs didn't get much airplay.

Electric Avenue is his most popular song from 1983, his other songs didn't get much airplay.


That's right. It's a "good MTV" favorite.

Kenny Loggins or Rick Springfield?

Love them both, but Kenny's music and voice have the edge.