GitaartabsPlaylist · 28 songs
The 28 best guitar songs of the 80s
The eighties were the last decade in which the guitar stood up front as a matter of course. Twenty-eight songs in order of year, from Back in Black (1980) to Wicked Game (1989), with Dutch pop from Doe Maar and Klein Orkest in between. Each entry gives the year and what it trains technically.
1980. The riff that opened the decade, and still the best lesson in timing.
1980. Built on a bass line; the guitar deliberately does almost nothing.
1980. Rockabilly from Queen, and surprisingly simple to play.
1980. Randy Rhoads brings classical phrasing into metal.
1981. Three chords whose lyrics an entire country knows.
1981. The offbeat strum that gave Dutch pop its own sound.
1982. Ska on the offbeat — strike short and mute immediately.
1982. Van Halen's guest solo on a pop record; the riff underneath is very doable.
1982. Guitar as a rhythm instrument: short, tight, not one note extra.
1982. That staccato intro is a perfect rhythm exercise.
1982. Punk rock with three chords and a groove that keeps pushing.
1983. Andy Summers plays add9 arpeggios instead of chords.
1983. Texas blues with a shuffle you play with your whole arm.
1984. Everyone knows the sax line; the chords underneath are a joy to play.
1984. Four chords, and then one of the finest solos ever recorded.
1984. Power chords and a chorus that lifts any party.
1984. Synth pop that works surprisingly well on acoustic guitar.
1984. A story in a song; the accompaniment deliberately stays in the background.
1985. Playing that synth hook on guitar is an excellent alternate picking exercise.
1985. The rawest intro riff of the decade, with simple chords underneath.
1986. And that key change in the final chorus teaches you modulation.
1986. The solo sprints across the whole neck — start at half speed.
1987. Slash's opening riff: a finger exercise that accidentally became a hit.
1987. That opening figure with delay, and then nothing but throttle.
1987. The Edge plays few notes and lets the delay do the rest.
1987. Four chords, one pattern, and tension that builds by itself.
1987. Gospel in a rock coat. Simple shapes, huge effect.
1989. Three chords with tremolo and reverb — a moody way to close the decade.
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