1. Poison: "Nothin' But a Good Time"
   Robert Palmer: "Simply Irresistible"
2. Dire Straits: "Money For Nothing"
   The Cars: "You Might Think"

Dire Straits made an impact beyond that of the music video. They actually brought in the idea that people were addicted to television, and thus when music was introduced to television, not much else was necessary. If you wanted your MTV, you related to this song.

1. Peter Gabriel: "The Book of Love"
   Prince: "1999"
2. Aerosmith: "Angel"
   Sting: "We'll Be Together"

Prince was all about freedom of self and freedom of personality. He didn't mind expressing himself, and he really brought the heat with his 1982 classic, "1999." He brought it to the world, and 18 years later, we were obsessed with it again. Now we look at it like a time capsule.

1. Men at Work: "Down Under"
   DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: "Parents Just Don't Understand"
2. George Michael: "Faith"
   Janet Jackson: "When I Think of You"

The 1980s were a golden age for Will Smith (actually, his whole career was pretty golden). Back then he was at the top of his game with a hit single and a hit television show. He's come pretty far, but he still loves to sing.

1. Teena Marie: "Toy Soldiers"
   Janet Jackson: "Nasty"
2. Cyndi Lauper: "Time After Time"
   Heart: "Alone"

Not only does Janet Jackson show off her girl power, but she also delivers some of the coolest dance moves around (all while wearing a blazer). She shows us that women can have an opinion, and those nasty boys don't mean a thing.

1. Herbie Hancock: "Rockit"
   Sting: "We'll Be Together"
2. Cyndi Lauper: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
   Madonna: "Papa Don't Preach"

Madonna made some intense waves in the pop world in the 1980s. While the majority of the masses couldn't get enough of her, some wanted her banned from the airwaves for her style and the topics of her songs.

1. Bon Jovi: "Never Say Goodbye"
   Heart: "Alone"
2. Madonna: "Like a Virgin"
   Run DMC and Aerosmith: "Walk This Way"

While some might call this the most annoying song of the 1980s, it was ahead of its time. It mixed rap and rock, giving us a new sound (granted, we weren't looking for a new sound at the time, but it was still nice to see).

1. Bon Jovi: "You Give Love a Bad Name"
   Robert Palmer: "Addicted to Love"
2. Aerosmith: "Angel"
   Prince: "1999"

Bon Jovi somehow bridged heavy metal and pop music, but this wasn't really defined back in the 1980s. As a matter of fact, he was considered a rock star ... though if you've read "The Dirt" by Motley Crue, you probably know how Nikki Sixx felt about him.

1. Simple Minds: "Don't You (Forget About Me)"
   UB40: "Red Red Wine"
2. David Bowie & Mick Jagger: "Dancing in the Street"
   INXS: "Devil Inside"

We aren't sure how this even happened. One would think that pairing these two rock legends would give us something unbelievably grand, but what we really got was something completely unbelievable.

1. Whitney Houston: "I'm Every Woman"
   Madonna: "True Blue"
2. Teena Marie: "Toy Soldiers"
   Tina Turner: "What's Love Got to Do With It"

This song has quite a bit of backstory, but before we knew about all of that, the song itself was just perfect for the time and how love and life changed with 1980s culture. Besides, there's nothing like watching Tina walk down the street in a leather skirt with a jean jacket on.

1. Bryan Adams: "Summer of '69"
   Billy Idol: "White Wedding"
2. Living Colour: "Cult of Personality"
   ZZ Top: "Gimme All Your Lovin'"

Tight leather pants, big hair and motorcycles — who could ask for more in an '80s video? Of course, watching the bleach blonde with Elvis lips was always entertaining; he didn't need everything in this video, but we got it all, really.

1. Robert Palmer: "Addicted to Love"
   Peter Gabriel: "Sledgehammer"
2. Bruce Springsteen: "Born in the U.S.A."
   Genesis: "Land of Confusion"

Not only did this music video have special effects that were next to unheard of at the time, but it also gave us a really odd way to look at how things were done. Of course, looking back at it, we might laugh, but it was an amazing video nonetheless.

1. Michael Jackson: "Thriller"
   A-Ha: "Take on Me"
2. Cyndi Lauper: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
   Dire Straits: "Money For Nothing"

What happens when you mix the king of pop with one of the most famous directors of the 1980s? The "Thriller" video showed us that music and movies could be one ... as long as you had the right choreography.

1. Genesis: "Land of Confusion"
   Dire Straits: "Money For Nothing"
2. INXS: "Need You Tonight"
   Robert Palmer: "Addicted to Love"

The '80s had plenty of artsy videos, but this one wanted to make a statement, and it did. With layered playback and visual effects that may have looked like mistakes, this video was pretty genius.

1. Aerosmith: "Dude Looks Like a Lady"
   Don Henley: "The Boys of Summer"
2. A-Ha: "Take On Me"
   Bruce Springsteen: "Born in the U.S.A"

This is one of the most celebrated music videos of all time. It's a song about love and passion, and the black and white animation in the video delivers those feelings as you enjoy the music.

1. Motley Crue: "Home Sweet Home"
   Bon Jovi: "Wanted Dead or Alive"
2. ZZ Top: "Le Grange"
   Guns 'N' Roses: "Sweet Child O' Mine"

Bon Jovi made a lot of songs about cowboys, but that wasn't until later. "Wanted Dead or Alive" gave us a taste of his country-rocker start, and he looked really good in tight jeans on the back of a motorcycle.

1. Don Henley: "The Boys of Summer"
   Van Halen: "Jump"
2. Def Leppard: "Hysteria"
   ZZ Top: "Sharp Dressed Man"

The 1980s were both an excellent and terrible decade for Van Halen. They had some great hits and some massive flops. While many like "Jump," there are others who really find it to be a black eye on the band's history.

1. ZZ Top: "Sharp Dressed Man"
   Bruce Springsteen: "Dancing in the Dark"
2. George Michael: "Freedom"
   Robert Palmer: "Simply Irresistible"

How's about some old cars and stiff dancing? While "Sharp Dressed Man" may have been a great song, the music video left quite a bit to be desired. Additionally, we had tons of questions, like "How did they get their beards so long?"

1. Guns 'N' Roses: "Welcome to the Jungle"
   Motley Crue: "You're All I Need"
2. Skid Row: "18 and Life"
   Aerosmith: "Angel"

Everyone thought LA was all glitz and glamour ... well, everyone who didn't live there and had never been there. This video showed us that the cops were brutal, the industry was corrupt and nothing was easy in the jungle.

1. Peter Gabriel: "Sledgehammer"
   Duran Duran: "Hungry Like the Wolf"
2. Robert Palmer: "Addicted to Love"
   U2: "Pride"

The makeup ... the clothing ... the guitars ... they were all so serious while this was going on, and these days, you can't help but laugh. However, back then, it really spoke to a generation.

1. INXS: "Devil Inside"
   Talking Heads: "Burning Down the House"
2. Devo: "Whip It"
   Madonna: "Borderline"

Talking Heads was a quintessential '80s band that gave us one of the most memorable synthesized songs that we still love today. Who doesn't belt out this song when it pops on a random playlist?

1. "Opposites Attract"
   "Cold Hearted Snake"
2. "Straight Up"
   "On or the Other"

These two were direct opposites, as one of them was a live-action human and the other was a cartoon cat. It was a nice throwback to the Disney films in which animation was mixed with live-action. However, the subject matter was a little different than Disney.

1. Cyndi Lauper: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
   Paula Abdul: "Straight Up"
2. Pebbles: "All Shook Up"
   Madonna: "Open Your Heart"

The signature pointy nipple bra that we all remember Madonna wearing is front and center in this video. It caused rage across the conservative world, but if you watch the video, you realize there's a little more to this song.

1. Peter Gabriel: "Shock the Monkey"
   Elton John: "Tiny Dancer"
2. Bonnie Tyler: "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
   Steve Winwood: "Higher Love"

"Braaaaang me a higher love, oh oh" ... eh hem, sorry about that. This song is basically half of an argument about higher love existing. It begins by asking the audience to "Think about it."

1. Duran Duran: "Rio"
   George Harrison: "Got My Mind Set on You"
2. Heart: "Alone"
   David Lee Roth: "California Girls"

He's wearing overalls, no shirt ... and an ascot (when he's talking about those Midwest girls). Need we say more? Oh, and every other outfit he's got on in this video. We bet the Beach Boys were regretting sharing the rights to that song. Whoa. This goes down in history as one of the biggest mistakes of the 1980s.

1. Bryan Adams: "Summer of '69"
   Don Henley: "Boys of Summer"
2. Peter Gabriel: "Shock the Monkey"
   Eddie Money: "Take Me Home Tonight"

This video may have some of the worst lip-syncing in the entire world, but it was made during a time when people actually sang their songs, so we kind of understand that Henley thinks he's supposed to talk the lyrics rather than fake sing them.

1. Beastie Boys: "Licensed to Ill"
   Bruce Springsteen: "Glory Days"
2. Steve Winwood: "Roll With It"
   Def Leppard: "Photograph"

The young rockers of the '80s stole our hearts. They were gorgeous, young and British ... and they made some pretty kick-butt music. When they shared a microphone in this video, life just got better for us all.

1. Michael Jackson: "Black or White"
   Michael Jackson: "Smooth Criminal"
2. Michael Jackson: "Billie Jean"
   Michael Jackson: "Bad"

If you ever want to see some amazing choreography, watch anything with Michael Jackson in it. This music video showed what it's like when two rival gangs meet up in the subway ... but when it's between Michael Jackson and Wesley Snipes, life just gets so much better.

1. "True Blue"
   "Like a Virgin"
2. "Like a Prayer"
   "Papa Don't Preach"

The sound of the song strayed from Madonna's norm, but burning crosses, self-inflicted stigmata and making out with black Jesus enraged some people. This video even led to Madonna losing a deal with Pepsi.

1. Guns 'N' Roses: "November Rain"
   Motley Crue: "Home Sweet Home"
2. Poison: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
   Skid Row: "I'll Remember You"

Poison had some of the most emotionally compelling ballads of any rock band, and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" reminded us that nothing was perfect ... even if we were talking about love.

1. Toto: "Africa"
   Journey: "Worlds Apart"
2. The Police: "Every Breath You Take"
   Duran Duran: "Hungry Like the Wolf"

If you could pick one song that defined the '80s, you'd probably go with "Thriller" (1982), but if you could pick two songs, the second one would be Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" (1982).

1. The Rolling Stones: "Start Me Up"
   Eazy-E: "Eazy Duz It"
2. Tone Loc: "Wild Thing"
   The Beastie Boys: "Paul Revere"

When it came to dance music and rap in the 1980s, music videos were a great way to spread the music far and wide to audiences who might not have heard it. They made Tone Loc a famous face in those days.

1. ZZ Top: "Legs"
   Def Leppard: "Pour Some Sugar On Me"
2. Whitesnake: "Here I Go Again"
   U2: "Pride"

Sweaty rock stars on stage, dancing jumping and one heck of a song (you could both dance and rock out to) were all ingredients in this perfect 1980s video. Oh, and did we mention the killer mullets?

1. Scorpions: "Wind of Change"
   Michael Jackson: "Billie Jean"
2. Mike and The Mechanics: "The Living Years"
   U2: "With or Without You"

This song is all about not getting along with a parent, and realizing what kind of mistake that was. However, it's more about hindsight and regret than it is about making amends later in life.

1. U2: "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
   The Bangles: "Walk Like an Egyptian"
2. Def Leppard: "Love Bites"
   Cheap Trick: "The Flame"

Of all the rock ballads that made their way into '80s music videos, Cheap Trick's "The Flame" is probably the most underrated. "You were the first to be the last," are some of the most impactful lyrics of the decade.

1. Skid Row: "Youth Gone Wild"
   Twisted Sister: "We're Not Gonna Take It"
2. Poison: "Nothin' But a Good Time"
   Steve Winwood: "Higher Love"

Poison was the kind of band that everyone loved to watch and hear. They mixed some deep country sounds with rockin' lyrics and fun topics. This song was perfect for the average worker who wanted to let loose.

1. "Pride"
   "Helter Skelter"
2. "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
   "With or Without You"

U2 had some excellent music videos. While Bono's political stance can be seen peppered throughout everything, this one focuses on the artistic aspect. It's shot mostly in black and white and moves slowly, much like the song.

1. Eurythmics: "Sweet Dreams"
   Whitesnake: "Is This Love"
2. Def Leppard: "Love Bites"
   Yes: "Owner of a Lonely Heart"

Def Leppard gave us young rockers that we loved to see on stage and on MTV. "Love Bites" was an excellent ballad about how difficult it was to be in love during the decade and the aftermath of the sexual revolution.

1. "I'm Every Woman"
   "How Will I Know"
2. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"
   "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

Funhouse mirrors, bright pink lipstick and the comically huge bow in her hair should tell you that this video is straight out of the 1980s. If that doesn't help, just listen to the synthesized sounds in the song.

1. The Rolling Stones: "Start Me Up"
   Richard Marx: "Don't Mean Nothing"
2. INXS: "Devil Inside"
   Tears for Fears: "Everybody Wants to Rule The World"

This song may have been overplayed on the radio and on MTV, but the fun cutaway shots in the video were nice to have around. Tears for Fears showed us that it was cool to wear a salmon-colored polo while singing on stage.

1. "You're All I Need"
   "Home Sweet Home"
2. "Dr. Feelgood"
   "Kickstart My Heart"

This music video had sound effects and Tommy Lee listening to his own music. While the beginning of the video is funny, the song itself is quite the ballad and shows the range of his rock bands.