Top artists of the 80's

[KillerGremlin]

Beastie Boys - These guys had a major influence on pop culture.

Queen - Can you find Queen in bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X? I can. They were an important band in influencing a lot of moder day metal.

Kansas - Again, Kansas played a major roll in influencing modern day metal.

Iron Maiden - More Metal influencing

Metallica - The kings of thrash metal, up until ...And Justice For All, which wasn't a bad album, but was to progressive to keep the rank "thrash"

The Cure - Their goth sound helped shape a lot of modern day bands.

And some others.......The Police, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen and Dio.

There are plenty more, but those are just some bands that come to my mind.

Oh, and how about Death? I'm not sure they had an album out int he 80's, but they were like the first Death Metal band. Good stuff too.