Instant ’80s Box Set!

Hey kids! Now that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed and digested that big heaping TV dinner of our Instant 70’s Box Set, it’s time for you to dig in to the 80’s! We know it’s a strain on the finances to obtain every single one of these fantastic albums, which is why we’re giving you the chance to download our choices for the best of the best in our `Make Your Own Box Set” feature that accompanies our “Best of the 80’s.” In some cases, a great hit single was an obvious choice (i.e. “Billie Jean”), but sometimes that’s not always the best song on the album (i.e. “The Chauffeur,” a little gem buried at the end of Duran Duran’s Rio). Sometimes, as is the case with our choices for 1983, one song can, if not musically, thematically blend into the next song seamlessly. Download each for your own instant box set, make yourself a pick mix, or use it merely as a starting point for your own 80’s extravaganza! Enjoy!

1980
1. Joy Division- “Isolation”
2. Talking Heads- “Once in a Lifetime”
3. X- “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline”
4. Elvis Costello- “High Fidelity”
5. David Bowie- “Ashes to Ashes”
6. The Jam- “That’s Entertainment”
7. Echo & the Bunnymen- “Villiers Terrace”
8. The Clash- “Somebody Got Murdered”
9. The Dead Kennedys- “Holiday in Cambodia”
10. AC / DC- “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”

1981
1. Elvis Costello- “Big Sister’s Clothes”
2. Gang of Four- “Paralysed”
3. Black Flag- “TV Party”
4. The Psychedelic Furs- “Pretty in Pink”
5. The Police- “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”
6. X- “White Girl”
7. The Cure- “All Cats are Gray”
8. The Gun Club- “Sex Beat”
9. Kraftwerk- “Pocket Calculator”
10. The Raincoats- “Dancing in My Head”

1982
1. Bruce Springsteen- “State Trooper”
2. The Cure- “The Hanging Garden”
3. Michael Jackson- “Billie Jean”
4. Elvis Costello- “Shabby Doll”
5. Mission of Burma- “Einstein’s Day”
6. The Clash- “Rock the Casbah”
7. Duran Duran- “The Chauffeur”
8. Prince- “Little Red Corvette”
9. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five- “The Message”
10. X- “Blue Spark”

1983
1. New Order- “Age of Consent”
2. R.E.M.- “Talk About the Passion”
3. Tom Waits- “16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six”
4. U2- “Two Hearts Beat as One”
5. Talking Heads- “Girlfriend is Better”
6. The Violent Femmes- “Kiss Off”
7. The Police- “Wrapped Around Your Finger”
8. Echo & the Bunnymen- “Back of Love”
9. Aztec Camera- “Oblivious”
10. David Bowie- “Let’s Dance”

1984
1. The Smiths- “This Charming Man”
2. Prince- “Baby I’m a Star”
3. The Replacements- “Androgynous”
4. Hüsker Dü- “Turn on the News”
5. The Minutemen- “It’s Expected I’m Gone”
6. Echo & the Bunnymen- “The Killing Moon”
7. R.E.M.- “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)”
8. Bruce Springsteen- “I’m on Fire”
9. The Talking Heads- “Life During Wartime (live)”
10. U2 “Bad”

1985
1. Tom Waits- “Clap Hands”
2. The Jesus & Mary Chain- “Just Like Honey”
3. The Smiths- “What She Said”
4. The Cure- “Close to Me”
5. The Replacements- “Bastards of Young”
6. The Fall- “Spoilt Victorian Child”
7. New Order- “The Perfect Kiss”
8. Hüsker Dü- “Celebrated Summer”
9. The Pogues- “A Pair of Brown Eyes”
10. The Mekons- “Hard to Be Human Again”

1986
1. The Smiths- “There is a Light that Never Goes Out”
2. XTC- “Dear God”
3. Sonic Youth- “Expressway to Yr Skull”
4. Paul Simon- “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”
5. Beastie Boys- “Paul Revere”
6. Depeche Mode- “New Dress”
7. R.E.M.- “Swan Swan H”
8. Billy Bragg- “Wishing the Days Away”
9. Run-D.M.C.- “It’s Tricky”
10. New Order- “Bizarre Love Triangle”

1987
1. U2- “With or Without You”
2. Dinosaur Jr.- “Poledo”
3. The Smiths- “Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me”
4. Sonic Youth- “Tuff Gnarl”
5. R.E.M.- “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
6. The Pixies- “The Holiday Song”
7. Depeche Mode- “Never Let Me Down Again”
8. The Jesus & Mary Chain- “April Skies”
9. Guns n’ Roses- “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
10. Big Black- “Bad Penny”

1988
1. Pixies- “Gigantic”
2. Sonic Youth- “Teen Age Riot”
3. Public Enemy- “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”
4. My Bloody Valentine- “Feed Me With Your Kiss”
5. Sugarcubes- “Motorcrash”
6. Nick Cave- “The Mercy Seat”
7. Dinosaur Jr.- “Freak Scene”
8. Talk Talk- “I Believe in You”
9. R.E.M.- “Orange Crush”
10. Jane’s Addiction- “Ocean Size”

1989
1. Pixies- “Hey”
2. The Cure- “Fascination Street”
3. The Stone Roses- “I Wanna Be Adored”
4. Beastie Boys- “Shake Your Rump”
5. De La Soul- “Say No Go”
6. New Order- “Round & Round”
7. The Jesus & Mary Chain- “Head On”
8. Nirvana- “About a Girl”
9. They Might Be Giants- “Kiss Me, Son of God”
10. N.W.A.- “Express Yourself”

Optional Personal Best Mix
1. Bauhaus – “In the Flat Field”
2. Prince “Head”
3.Teardrop Explodes “Treason”
4. U2 “Stories for Boys”
5. Duran Duran “Planet Earth”
6. Echo & the Bunnymen “All I Want”
7. Brian Eno and David Byrne “Help Me Somebody”
8. The Birthday Party “The Dim Locator”
9. English Beat “Save it for Later”
10. Tears for Fears “Mad World”
11. The Alarm “Sixty Eight Guns”
12. Spinal Tap “Big Bottom”
13. The Waterboys “Whole of the Moon”
14. Scritti Politti “Perfect Way”
15. Peter Gabriel “Big Time”
16. Echo & The Bunnymen “Lips Like Sugar”
17. Robbie Robertson “Broken Arrow”
18. Silencers “Painted Moon”
19. Nine Inch Nails “Sin”

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