Visit a year for 6 minutes: The Eighties (Spirit of the time analysis)

Below follows every year of the 80s decade (click on the year to watch the respective youtube video):

1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989

Some early observations: The 80s saw the appearance of electronic music and electronic instruments. It is also the decade that saw the appearance of early rap hits, even if they were quite scarce. Also notable the appearance of some 'south-hemisphere' influenced songs in the mainstream, which would later contribute to the 90s jungle scene and to the drum & bass genre and subgenres, despite these scenes not manifesting themselves during the 90s (with some exceptions). The 80s also saw the first hits and rise of the commonly labed Pop Queen: Madonna

In a subjective analysis of the general feel of the decade, it almost sounds as if there is a certain intense and precise sound that made the 80s so characteristic. Part of the reason is the well-known 80s drum beat (with a deep snare) which allows many of the tracks made during that decade to be recognized as being from that decade. This drum beat appears in the early 80s (1980-1985) and becomes more common towards the late 80s (1985-1989)

An interesting observation is to note that 80s music was generally far less complex than contemporary music, even though many 'purists' would have you believe the opposite, by denouncing the simplicity of modern music. The truth is that the range and quantity of tones used in 00s and 10s music is overwhelming when comparing to older decades.