The musical landscape of 1980
Synthesizers, electronic percussion and visually distinctive performers moved toward the centre of popular music while rock, R&B and adult contemporary remained commercially powerful.
The Top 20 is spread across 20 different credited artists, giving the year an unusually broad cast of performers.
What to listen for
Notice the brighter electronic textures and the strong contrast between tightly programmed pop and guitar-driven records.
This list contains 20 different credited artists. The number gives a quick indication of whether the year was concentrated among repeat hitmakers or spread across a wider field.
Billboard Year-End Top 20 songs of 1980
| Rank | Song | Artist | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call Me | Blondie | Spotify ↗ |
| 2 | Another Brick in the Wall | Pink Floyd | Spotify ↗ |
| 3 | Magic | Olivia Newton-John | Spotify ↗ |
| 4 | Rock with You | Michael Jackson | Spotify ↗ |
| 5 | Crazy Little Thing Called Love | Queen | Spotify ↗ |
| 6 | Coming Up | Paul McCartney | Spotify ↗ |
| 7 | Funkytown | Lipps Inc | Spotify ↗ |
| 8 | Its Still Rock and Roll to Me | Billy Joel | Spotify ↗ |
| 9 | The Rose | Bette Midler | Spotify ↗ |
| 10 | Cars | Gary Numan | Spotify ↗ |
| 11 | Cruisin | Smokey Robinson | Spotify ↗ |
| 12 | Lady | Kenny Rogers | Spotify ↗ |
| 13 | Lost in Love | Air Supply | Spotify ↗ |
| 14 | Little Jeannie | Elton John | Spotify ↗ |
| 15 | Ride Like the Wind | Christopher Cross | Spotify ↗ |
| 16 | Upside Down | Diana Ross | Spotify ↗ |
| 17 | Please Dont Go | KC and the Sunshine Band | Spotify ↗ |
| 18 | Do That to Me One More Time | Captain and Tennille | Spotify ↗ |
| 19 | Working My Way Back to You | The Spinners | Spotify ↗ |
| 20 | Escape | Rupert Holmes | Spotify ↗ |
Build a 1980 playlist
Start with “Call Me” by Blondie, then alternate familiar high-ranking records with contrasting selections from the lower half of the list.
How this page should be used
Year-End charts summarize performance across an extended chart year. They are not simply a list of songs that reached number one, and historical methodology has changed. Treat this page as a guided listening resource and compact chart-history reference rather than a mathematical comparison with other eras.