Season 3: Legends Song Voting, Michael Jackson Region

The 80s-est gives song choice to its listeners

This season, on The 80s-est, we’re doing things a little differently. In the past, we chose songs we thought really represented the sound of the decade, many from artists who did not last beyond said decade. We wanted songs that belonged firmly in the Reagan era.

This time, we’ve chosen–with your help–artists who defined the decade. Many of these artists were huge before the 80s and many of them started in the 80s and remained relevant for many, many years after.

We’ve chosen these artists, but we haven’t chosen their songs. Instead, we’ve selected four of each artist’s biggest hits. And we’re asking you, listeners, to decide which song will represent each artist in our bracket.

Another change: gone are our standby regions. This time, we’re not shoehorning these songs into categories. We won’t have a Movie Region that creates a desperate search for film songs, culminating in people ragging on “Iko Iko.” We won’t have a Foreigners (without Foreigner) region…and Foreigner is actually in this bracket!

So put on your choosing hat, shine up your opinions and let us know which songs should make up…

THE LEGENDS BRACKET.

THIS IS THE MICHAEL JACKSON REGION!

Is Michael Jackson problematic? Yes. Oh my god, yes. He was also one of the defining artists of the decade. So, feel free to skip all four of his songs, if you must. You’ve heard them all anyway. And move on to artists you can enjoy with a clear conscience. Artists like REM. Like Stevie Wonder. Like Miami Sound Machine. Like Aerosmith. Well, there’s probably statutory rape allegations against members of Aerosmith out there somewhere, but you can skip them, too.

In case you don’t remember every single one of these songs, we have included, at the end of this page, a Spotify playlist of every song on this page, in the order presented!

(Due to poll item length restrictions, some titles are truncated or abbreviated.)