Can we talk about the year 1984 for a moment?
Posted by MountainAlive@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 397 comments
For our generation I cannot think of a single year better than 1984 for movies and music. I mean just look at this list and this isn’t even everything! - ….Movies in theatres in 1984…. - Beverly Hills Cop - Ghostbusters - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - Gremlins - The Karate Kid - Police Academy - Footloose - Romancing the Stone - Revenge of the Nerds - The Terminator - A Nightmare on Elm Street - Sixteen Candles - This Is Spinal Tap - Red Dawn - ….Top songs of 1984…. - “When Doves Cry” — Prince - “What’s Love Got to Do with It” — Tina Turner - “Say Say Say” — Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson - “Footloose” — Kenny Loggins - “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” — Phil Collins - “Jump” — Van Halen - “Hello” — Lionel Richie - “Owner of a Lonely Heart” — Yes - “Ghostbusters” — Ray Parker Jr. - “Karma Chameleon” — Culture Club - “All Night Long (All Night)” — Lionel Richie - “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” — Deniece Williams - “Dancing in the Dark” — Bruce Springsteen - “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” — Cyndi Lauper - “Time After Time” — Cyndi Lauper - “Let’s Go Crazy” — Prince and the Revolution - “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” — Wham - “Somebody’s Watching Me” — Rockwell - “I Just Called to Say I Love You” — Stevie Wonder - “Hard Habit to Break” — Chicago - “The Heart of Rock & Roll” — Huey Lewis and the News - “Drive” — The Cars
MaximumJones@reddit
1984 was absolutely peak 80s. I had the time of my life that year.
exscapegoat@reddit
Graduated high school and got to experience freedom as a college freshman. It was a magnificent year, one of my favorites. Hoping the best is still yet to come. And I’ve had some very good years throughout the decades.
classicsat@reddit
First year of high school (or last of middle school), for me.
But here was something magic that year that formed the rest of the 80s. It might have been MTV hit some critical mass that year. It might be Purple Rain, Tina Turner, or Bryan Adams. Or all three individually (the next year, Tina and Bryan had a hit, although I think it was on his '84 Reckless album).
Yes most of those movies. Some of those songs were 82/83
paintballteacher@reddit
Samey same!!!
el_smurfo@reddit
Just started high school....4 of the worst years of my life
ImpossibleMove2@reddit
I was a sophomore who transferred from a tiny class of 13 to a mind-blowing 250. Years of bad anxiety ensued.
exscapegoat@reddit
I hear you, 1977 to 1978 was rough for me. Mean girl bullies at school and family falling apart at home.
theski25@reddit
Same. And no social media evidence of what we did
UrMomsKneePads@reddit
Oh, and we did.
Soledaddy873@reddit
oh boy did we did
According_Turn_3473@reddit
Same
klumberg@reddit
Same
thickener@reddit
Peak western civ I’d say. Middle class hadn’t quite been decimated yet, people were healthy and could afford things.
tfaboo@reddit
Now I've...had ....the tiiiiime of my liiiiiife...
I'm a younger GenX and your post reminded me of that song from Dirty Dancing. I was 5 in 1984 but I love so many of the songs and movies from that year, which I found when I was older.
MaximumJones@reddit
JRMc5@reddit
NOBODY, puts Baby in a corner ...!
Jagged_Rhythm@reddit
And you never felt that way before.
MaximumJones@reddit
I do. And I owe it all to youuuuuuu.
Timmy12er@reddit
Yes, they swear
hdhdhgfyfhfhrb@reddit
The punk albums released in 1984 are ridiculous. Double Nickels on the Dime, Zen Arcade, Meat Puppets II, Let it Be (replacements), Bad Music for Bad People, Slip it in, Never Again, Hyaena, When in Rome, Violent Pacification, Repo Man soundtrack, Gone Fishin, The Crew, Out on the Wasteland, Joyride, Die Kreuzen, Minor Threat, the More I See, To the Ends of the Earth. There may be better years for punk but not while i was conscious and into it and sucking it up.
Certain_Television53@reddit
A full list
https://www.discogs.com/search/?style_exact=Punk&decade=1980&year=1984&srsltid=AfmBOoogHS85qQqGfCH_DKu0IahZrz5U0U6AdUTZdWAPP5iC7BJwkmrc
Red0nTop@reddit
Hyaena❤️
edorhas@reddit
Not to mention Repo Man the actual movie. Still in my top five.
UrbanPanic@reddit
And more Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas.
brezhnervouz@reddit
And Blue Velvet, is all that same vibe (though that was 86)
gonzo_thegreat@reddit
Add in Skinny Puppy. On the alt-rock side there was also Siouxsie and the Banshees, INXS, and Ultravox
334078@reddit
Love that you led with Minutemen, still love them!
hdhdhgfyfhfhrb@reddit
Same. That album is epic. And like most of us punks back then we all feel ‘punk rock changed our lives’
OE2KB@reddit
It did- made us better people today I think. Hippy types turned mean with age, mostly.
chontzy@reddit
great list!
Casual_Observance@reddit
The year I turned 18 and graduated high school.
1984 was indeed epic!
Livininthinair@reddit
My wife and I (both Gen Xers) always agree that 1984 was one of the best years for movies in modern history. So many classic movies came out in one year it’s hard to believe.
wjpell@reddit
And this list missed Neverending Story, Starman, Last Starfighter and Star Trek 3
FBS351@reddit
And The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, an admittedly goofy film that was like my id projected onto a movie screen
mburke6@reddit
What's that watermelon doing there?
redditwinchester@reddit
I'll tell you later.
FBS351@reddit
I say "will somebody shut off that goddam klaxon!" every chance I get
0limits@reddit
“No matter where you go, there you are.” One of my favorite lines.
BabadookOfEarl@reddit
What is he, making fun of me?
MirSydney@reddit
The Swamp of Sadness ended my childhood though 😭
Zealousideal-Still80@reddit
You need to see this …
https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveTrash/s/Pstcp94Yty
MirSydney@reddit
Nooooooh! What are you doing to me!
NorCalNavyMike@reddit
This ad appeared in the feed when I viewed this thread 😂
weirdsandy@reddit
lol. they sensed it
Evil_Bear@reddit
Oh man, thanks for reminding me… and now I’m wondering… was it Artax or Old Yeller that was the final nail for mine haha
ConversationFlaky608@reddit
Artax was unexpected. Ole Yeller came at the end of the movie. The only thing worse than Artax was the death of Optimus Prime.
GoodDoctorZ@reddit
Optimus… 😢
traverse6@reddit
Also Ice Pirates, Bachelor Party, Dreamscape and Conan the Destroyer.
emdubl@reddit
Last Starfighter is an underrated classic.
Novel_Commercial_434@reddit
I just got the DVD and watched it yesterday. It is a classic.
Elegant-Republic4171@reddit
And Racing with the Moon
Vastly underrated
HHSquad@reddit
Great movie, just saw Elizabeth McGovern in the new Downton Abbey movie.
LessCoolThanYou@reddit
Was it any good, my friend? (Hope you are well!)
HHSquad@reddit
Hello my friend, I thought about while posting recently.
I enjoyed it, those Downton Abbey movies were quite fun for me. I tend to be a bit of an Anglophile anyways.
LessCoolThanYou@reddit
Glad to hear you liked it. I've missed our chats - so very happy to see you around!
Odditeee@reddit
And David Lynch’s adaptation of Dune.
xMyDixieWreckedx@reddit
Star Trek 3 sucked (I only saw it when I was under 10).
Science670@reddit
And here’s the thing: every Xer of a certain age knows every single one of those movies and songs, even if they aren’t favorites. I feel bad for younger people that don’t or won’t have so many unifying experiences.
In twenty years they will all know Minecraft and 6-7, but that’s about it.
Michaelbirks@reddit
The skibidi is strong with this comment.
weirdsandy@reddit
I still don't know what skibidi and 67 is
untetheredgrief@reddit
That's a great point. I feel like our generation had a far more cohesive social experience even if there were fewer social experiences.
Equivalent-Stable347@reddit
Agree. But think 6-7 will go to the same place as last month's thing that nobody remembers.
trev0r_0chm0nek@reddit
This is spot on. We GenX have many unifying experiences.
And OP is right, 1984 was peak time in Movies and Music.
justheretohelpyou__@reddit
I tell my college age kids that their generation got ripped off on music, movies, and TV. That 84 list is impressive, but each year in the 80s is much better than current times. Modern superstars like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran would have been decent radio contributors back then, but not standouts.
LowVacation6622@reddit
frfr
Traditional_Fan_2655@reddit
I've shown my (grown) kid almost all of them. I loved them all.
xMyDixieWreckedx@reddit
1999 is strong as hell for movies.
justheretohelpyou__@reddit
99 was awesome, but go look at what came out in 1994. That was the apex of Hollywood, imo.
t_huddleston@reddit
'84, '94, '99 - probably the best individual years for movies in my lifetime. We've had some big years over the last decade or so, but it's all just franchise stuff. Not that I don't enjoy a good Marvel film or whatever, but it's not like you had a year with 4 all-time classics like Pulp Fiction, Shawshank, Forrest Gump and Quiz Show. (Quiz Show is very underrated and kind of gets lost in the '94 discussion behind those other 3 titans, but go watch it if you haven't seen it - brilliant film.)
justheretohelpyou__@reddit
100% agree. Even the book adaptations were awesome (Interview with a Vampire, Clear and Present Danger) or the cheesy film (Speed).
Suspicious-Yogurt480@reddit
There’s actually a book about 1999 as a kind of wunderjahr for films, something like How 1999 blew up the screen
xMyDixieWreckedx@reddit
I've read it.
Suspicious-Yogurt480@reddit
Why do so many movies suck compared to that era I wonder? Maybe the studios aren’t willing to invest in the more adventurous scripts?
CockroachNo2540@reddit
Arguably one of the best years since the 1970s.
Kettle_Whistle_@reddit
And Purple Rain
Baronhousen@reddit
wife and I are both HS class of 84. it was a most excellent year, for sure for sure
NorCalFrances@reddit
Like, totally
brezhnervouz@reddit
Final high school year here too. Made especially significant in that we had to study Orwell's 1984 lol
My1point5cents@reddit
84 was the summer before my sophomore year. I was just starting to “grow up” and sort of date. You and hubby would have been getting ready for college. The kids in your class seemed like full grown adults to me, like the difference between The Geek and Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles lol. Funny how perspectives change.
kalelopaka@reddit
1984 was a great year, definitely one of the best in my life. It was the year I turned 18, graduated high school and moved out on my own.
FrostnJack@reddit
THAT is one hell of a list!
1984—Best and worst year of my life.
• HS's end, social/fam conflicts off the f'in scale,
• struggling to keep my very own car (1968 VW Fastback--dual carbs not FI!) on the road,
• a lot of weirdass jobs (getting paid for what would become "Extreme sports" was pretty cool, & the $ was great),
• a romantic relationship crash that nearly broke me, & a lot of rebound hookups (discovered monogamy can be seriously overrated),
• playing in a buttload'a dive bars & shitty, piss-fumed clubs all over the NE.
I survived that fuckin' year—best parts were all the things I got to do on my own after being disowned by my male parental unit. I played a shit ton of music and most of it was really good—the music, not the situations in which it dropped). Most of '84 launched major life altering things in '85. Not the best things, but I was a different human come '85 because of 1984.
I think if I could have a do-over year... '84 would be in the top three.
FeistyTicket7556@reddit
Hands down 1984 was peak life. Absolutely no comparison!
sourceInfinite@reddit
I was twelve and excited by all the great music. I can barely remember my parents at all because they were in the background of life, maybe. It was all riding my bike around the streets, going to the public swimming pool and hanging out with all the neighborhood kids. Cyndi Lauper and Culture Club were the soundtrack to my life that year.
jsindal@reddit
I remember being on a vacation in New Hampshire as an 8-year old that year, and we were excited because the motel had CABLE. I vividly remember staying up late to watch the world premiere of the videos for “When Doves Cry” and “If this is it” back to back on MTV.
EpponneeRay@reddit
No Madonna, really?
Imaginary_Office1749@reddit
Borderline is #35 for the year and Like A Virgin debuted in late 1984 so yes it is worth noting that 1984 is the year she broke out. But dominating the charts didn’t happen until 1985.
EpponneeRay@reddit
Very true.
PistolCowboy@reddit
Peak humanity.
cassette1987@reddit
I really was. A little vapid but so much fun
-Economist-@reddit
My wife was born that year. :)
cassette1987@reddit
Pervert.
.
.
I kid
ImFromDanforth@reddit
Cool list, love it
SweetTricky3684@reddit
Preach! What a year it was!!
montanawildcat@reddit
No truer words have been broadcast into the universe. I didn’t have the boom box with the strap but that sounds dope! Congratulations on winding down your career! Ferris had it right
DynamiteWitLaserBeam@reddit
You need to add The Last Starfighter to that list of movies.
cvcpres12@reddit
My sister and wife were both born in 84....one I love, the other I rarely talk to.
XeroValueHuman@reddit
Blood is thicker than water
llamamystic@reddit
100% Agree! I have always held that ‘84 was Peak 80’s!
Left_Guess@reddit
Sophomore year! Great times!
PsychWitch72@reddit
How old were you in 1984? There is a theory that a person’s favourite movies and music come from the years between the age of 18 to 21.
XeroValueHuman@reddit
Makes sense
DeadManAle@reddit
I hated every one of those songs. I hate pop music. The movies were good.
XeroValueHuman@reddit
Edgy
Lou_Hodo@reddit
If you go one year back and forward, and cover 1983-1985, you have 3 of the best years in entertainment history.
XeroValueHuman@reddit
Agree
TripleJ_77@reddit
The 80's ruled. Of course, it didn't hurt that we were young... Still think the women were just hotter then. Men were men and women had big aquanet hair and spandex. No internet making everyone paranoid.
TheFoxsWeddingTarot@reddit
Apparently 1983 was a bigger year for me, these are the first concerts I attended and they all happened in 1983:
Berlin, The Fixx, Flock of Seagulls. Santa Barbara County Bowl
The Stray Cats with Roman Holiday. Hollywood Palladium
Talking Heads Stop Making Sense (with Tom Tom Club) Santa Barbara County Bowl (same week they shot the movie in LA)
Workerchimp68@reddit
Don’t forget the rock and metal that came out as well!
cranberries87@reddit
All of OP’s list, AND the 1984 Olympics too! I remember 1984 very fondly. I was a second grader. I remember hearing the songs on the list at the skating rink, or on MTV.
amodsr@reddit
Personally I would say 89 is better as that has more of my favorite movies in it.
Back to the future 2 which is my most favorite movie on this list as well as uncle buck, loverboy and little mermaid as well as some other really good movies in general.
Now some of these might not the best in their movies list but you have
Batman
indiana jones and the last crusade
lethal weapon 2
look whos talking
honey i shrunk the kids
back to the future 2
ghostbusters 2
the fly 2
bill and teds excellent adventure
heathers
major league
pet sematary
teen witch
loverboy
earth girls are easy
see no evil hear no evil
road house
dead poets society
vampires kiss
karate kid part 3
weekend at bernies
uhf
when harry met sally
friday 13th jason takes manhattan
nightmare on elm street 5
uncle buck
puppet master
halloween 5 revenge of michael myers
all dogs go to heaven
little mermaid
national lampoons christmas vacation
Sure not all of them are "winners" to some people but I don't hate any of the movies like some people do.
KintsugiExp@reddit
I remember watching an ALIEN congratulating earth for their unity during the Olympics.
I actually felt proud for humanity at that point. I can’t put it more succinctly than that.
GustoEater@reddit
Sure, looks good until you do the same for 1985.
Routine_Mortgage_499@reddit
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I was 16 and just wanted to get as far away from New England as possible. I worked hard and saved enough to leave in the spring of '88 for California. I went from constant chaos and drama to an incredibly laid back lifestyle in a California beach town.
genuinely the best decision I've ever made.
DreadGrrl@reddit
I’m totally having Casey Kasem flashbacks looking at that list of hits.
untetheredgrief@reddit
I wish there was a downloadable collection of American Top 40. They got that shit locked up in a vault somewhere.
snoopygizmo@reddit
love it - weren’t the la olympics that year - different strokes , facts of life , webster - vhs
CynfullyDelicious@reddit
Summer games were in LA (and boycotted by the Soviet Union)
Winter Olympics were in Sarajevo - OGMs for Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt’s 1st of 2 Golds, Torvill & Dean, whose iconic Bolero program received 12 6.0’s and completely revolutionised Ice Dance, skier Bill Johnson….
untetheredgrief@reddit
John Williams' Olympic theme!
bearinfw@reddit
They were, and staying with my grandparents that summer, we ate A LOT of free McDonalds!
davekva@reddit
One of my lifelong friends and I still talk about 1984 being the summer of free McDonald's. We were there just about every day. I remember they had a big board that showed which Olympic sports the U.S. got medals in, which was almost every sport, lol. Almost every scratch-off card was a winner. It was great!
Junior_Lavishness_96@reddit
Yep. I was a 10 year old kid growing up in LA
irishgator2@reddit
And Santa Barbara the soap opera was debuted after Games coverage and I was introduced to Robin Wright. Was a great summer to be 13.
Severe_Sky8700@reddit
And the Tigers won the World Series!
lngfellow45@reddit
Ummmm you forgot THE REFLEX….
untetheredgrief@reddit
Gosh this post makes me feel old. I was a freshman in high school in 1984.
Man, so many possibilities back then.
I tell my kids all the time: "Every door is open for you right now. All the possibilities are there for you. The old you get - the more choices you make, those doors slowly start closing."
Calamitous_Waffle@reddit
For me personally:
Tigers won the World Series Summer Olympics Apple McIntosh Ghost Busters and Terminator and This is Spinal tap
SubieGal9@reddit
The Rock Hall has an entire exhibit on just 1984.
one4wonder@reddit
Footloose was a song and a movie!
rdldr1@reddit
You forgot Nineteen Eighty Four (1984)
shiner_bock@reddit
Just FYI, if you add a carriage-return after your first sentence and then 2 spaces to the end of each line in your list, it'll show up the way you intended:
For our generation I cannot think of a single year better than 1984 for movies and music. I mean just look at this list and this isn’t even everything!
SmellyBaconland@reddit
Van Halen's "1984" album
Eurythmics "1984" album
1984, the movie
vhalember@reddit
Twisted Sister and their crazy music videos was 84 as well.
SmellyBaconland@reddit
They got me interested in geology with the song I thought was "I Want a Rock."
Ischmetch@reddit
The movie starring John Hurt, with the soundtrack by the Eurythmics, is a masterpiece.
brezhnervouz@reddit
I was beside myself with excitement as it was such a wonderful rendition of the book, which is one of the relatively few which changed my life. I took my Mum along to see it (a fact which she never let me forget lol), and afterwards I could not stop saying how amazing it was...the rest of the audience just sat there in stunned silence 😂
blackpony04@reddit
1984 the book, not so much.
Plastic-Molasses-549@reddit
That would be 1948.
KhunDavid@reddit
The Apple commercial introducing Macintosh.
https://youtu.be/ErwS24cBZPc?si=eH7F-px2wTbHnw49
DSWYO@reddit
Can't leave out "Hot Dog... The Movie". Classic ski bum inspiration.
azhockeyfan@reddit
I was born in 76 and Romancing the Stone was the first movie I saw in the theater without a parent. Looking back, that's a bit crazy.
zip-a-dee_doo-dah@reddit
Also 1984 is when the transformers came out.
snoopygizmo@reddit
he’ll yes - freaking awesome toys - voltron, heathcliff, gijoe cartoons ….michael Jackson’s thriller , madonna’s jelly bracelets
zip-a-dee_doo-dah@reddit
Gi joes were the best toys ever for a kid. I mean they're still awesome even today as of 50-year-old lol
The_Phantom78@reddit
Came here to shout out Transformers. That alone made it a phenomenal year, on top of everything else.
slaxked@reddit
Graduated HS in 84 and had our own Van Halen album named after us. What a time to live. Can’t believe its been almost 40 yrs ago. Also: Metallica Ride the Lightning Iron Maiden Powerslave Dio Last In Line JP Defenders of the Faith Scorpions Love at first sting Ratt Out of the Cellar Rush Grace Under Pressure Twisted Sister Stay Hungry Billy Ocean Suddenly
lastofthefinest@reddit
I saw every one of those movies in the theater back then with the exception of Sixteen Candles, This Is Spinal Tap, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Great times they were!
Aurochbull@reddit
Hey OP. If you're into podcasts, I can recommend a relatively new one called "Raised by VHS". I'm not affiliated in any way but I've been listening to these dude on a different podcast for years and think they're hilarious.
DrunkenMidget@reddit
Every decade has a year that defines its peak, and this was the 80s without a doubt.
handsomeape95@reddit
We're not here to start no trouble,
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.
Street-Quail5755@reddit
The glory days of Hollywood. How far we have fallen!
MassCasualty@reddit
I'm not inclined to put up a competing list.
I only as that you add Splash. It took me year to get the joke "Allen, they printed my letter"
ericamutton@reddit
Splash is priceless.
It gave us Tom Hanks singing a version of Zip-a-Dee-do-Dah that included the lyric, "Mister Mango on my shoulder."
It also gave us Daryl Hannah's character learning to speak English by watching TV. I can still hear, "Anne Klein... Bloomingdale's" as clear as day.
MassCasualty@reddit
I know that ENTIRE movie. We taped it off HBO and watched it so many times. Bocce Balls! The Little Boat!
One thing that always bothered us was the "Take me to Cape Cod, the Island" You would be going to either Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard or taking a Ferry to Ptown. There is no "the island"
drsfmd@reddit
Cape Cod actually is an island. Look at a map-- zoom in on the area around Bourne and Sandwich. There's a bridge on Rt 28, and a bridge on Rt 6 that connect Cape Cod to the mainland.
MassCasualty@reddit
Yes, they dug a canal which technically means it's an island but nobody refers to it as an island. Geographically it's defined as a peninsula. Just like Gloucester and Cape Ann is also technically an island but actually a peninsula.
It's actually referred to as "The Cape and the Islands" colloquially.
German_PotatoSoup@reddit
What a week I’m having!
Dr_Feelgoof@reddit
"Hej älskling, jag har en stor pen$$" - John Candy
AlwaysOptimism@reddit
I'm not going to put up a competing list but it's 1986
orthogonius@reddit
Both excellent years
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/1984/
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/1986/
AlwaysOptimism@reddit
Not just the movies, but the music too and I'm from MA and you had 3 of the teams make the championship that year plus the Bruins traded for Cam Neely.
tilt-a-whirly-gig@reddit
I distinctly remember one of those games. 46-10, iirc.
We're so bad, we know we're good
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would
MassCasualty@reddit
Fumble recovery, field goal!!! Top of the world!!!
Hilarious thing is how small the Fridge would be in today's NFL.
YEAH, got the reference. I've had 6 since then to appease me ;)
AlwaysOptimism@reddit
My high school hockey team played Catholic Memorial in the State tourney once. We scored first and the roof blew off the garden. Then CM scored 13 in a row. Made me think a lot about that Super Bowl
tilt-a-whirly-gig@reddit
I saw the Fridge at the grocery store a few times (I grew up about 20 min from halas hall and saw many players all over town), and to an 11 year old he was fucking huge.
MassCasualty@reddit
I vividly remember Temple of Doom at Marlboro 1-2-3 and Back to the Future at the Scituate movie house. Waiting in line for 1+ hours.
lucifrier@reddit
Song of the south rerelease (my grandparents strangely took me) and soul man have me questioning 86 a bit, but it’s a killer year
MassCasualty@reddit
Soul man could be seen as very prescient. Foreseeing the impact preferential characteristics had with college admissions.
MassCasualty@reddit
Omg my brain almost azploded!! I thought you meant splash was 86. But yes, awesome years that's why I wasn't going to challenge it. I really feel like the mid 80s was probably the best grouping of movies in the history of history.
TruckFudeau22@reddit
That’s the exact moment that people started naming their daughters Madison.
Acceptable-Buy3424@reddit
I know they didn’t come out in 84, but you can’t forget the Cheech & Chong movies or Conan the Barbarian. Life was good!
Overall-Avocado-7673@reddit
Sadly, it's also a testament to the state of movies and music today. Were any songs or movies made this year that will be on a classic level like many of them on your list? I doubt it.
General_Spite3074@reddit
There was a 3 year period that just rocked. 83-85. Every other year of the 80s was a banger, but these 3 years just have so many memorable things that feel like they just got released. Just the songs and movies from 84 though.
allaboutaphie@reddit
It was a leap year too, lol, I know this because I joined the Army 29Feb1984. And The Detroit Tigers won the world series.. ughh are last game this year, like 16 innings that was wild. I definitely remember 1984.
Press-74@reddit
It was sad for me, I lost my great grandmother
AEM7694@reddit
As a later stage Gen-Xer, I’d also put 1994 up for consideration here too. Especially in the movies competition. Both had a ton of great stuff though. Just off the top of my head for movies:
Pulp Fiction Shawshank Clerks The Crow Reality Bites Speed True Lies Forrest Gump Natural Born Killers Dumb and Dumber
And I’m sure plenty of other solid or culturally influential ones I’m missing. If I start throwing songs in, I’ll be up doing this all night as more stuff pops into my head.
IdaDuck@reddit
I’m a late stage GenX too and this thread is why I identify more as a Xennial. I was 5 for most of 1984. I had no awareness of any of this stuff at the time.
Your list? Yeah I recall all of that in my formative years. Graduated from HS in 96 and college in 00.
Ok_Chipmunk_7968@reddit
Late x'er as well and I'd challenge OP with mid to late 90's . I'm assuming a lot of us feel the same way about our teens.
The_Burghanite@reddit
I’m an early Xer, not a late Xer, and I’d take 1994 over 1984 in a heartbeat. Most of the movies and songs on the OP’s list absolutely suck. Huey Lewis? “I Just Called…”? “Sixteen Candles”? That shit has not aged well.
brezhnervouz@reddit
Yup, early Xer here too...as much as I appreciated 80s post punk and other random obscurities, the 90s were my musical decade for sure
RevereTheAughra@reddit
omg I feel like I have to turn in my GenX card, but Revenge of the Nerds? Really? and most of that music *is* crappy and super dated.
I like 1999 for movies: The Sixth Sense, the Matrix, Magnolia, the Mummy, American Beauty (Kevin Spacey be damned, I loved that movie), Office Space, the Blair Witch Project... these things were groundbreaking.
The music wasn't terrible either, 1999 brought us All Star, lol
zoeybeattheraccoon@reddit
Yep. I disliked most of it even back then. And there are some good artists in that list but the songs from that year are not their best work.
ComedianStreet856@reddit
Ok thank you. I was 9 in 1984 and I loved a lot of those movies and saw a lot of them in the theater. Most of them do not hold up at all. I'm not even getting into how problematic Sixteen Candles and Revenge of The Nerds are in today's world. Bill Murray's character is so unlikable in Ghostbusters that I just can't watch it as an adult. Such a gross guy and the fact that Sigourney Weaver didn't throw him out made me squirm. Plus the jokes and the acting and the "plots" of these movies are so awful. 80s nostalgia is weird to me. We liked this stuff because the stuff before it was even worse.
Ok_Chipmunk_7968@reddit
They were on my elemtary school "mix tapes" I gave girls in elementary though!
Sumeriandawn@reddit
Older GenX graduated high school around the middle 80s
Younger Gen X graduated high school around the late 90s
Pop culture changed a lot between those years
Just look at how Metallica dressed, mid80s vs mid90s
hopelesscaribou@reddit
'91 for music
spintool1995@reddit
100%. Not even up for debate.
DrHarryWolper@reddit
Agreed: 1994 is also an excellent year for movies.
exscapegoat@reddit
That was an excellent year too
Saint909@reddit
Absolutely! So much good music came out that year.
Puffpufftoke@reddit
‘83 and ‘84 are IMO the greatest years of Heavy Metal. Where the genre became defined. The list of amazing Metal albums that were released, would be a mile long. Ok perhaps several inches, but still.
Sumeriandawn@reddit
1986
Master of Puppets: Metallica
Reign in Blood: Slayer
Peace Sells But Who's Buying: Megadeth
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus: Candlemass
Somewhere in Time: Iron Maiden
Pleasure to Kill: Kreator
Awaken the Guardian: Fates Warning
Darkness Descends- Dark Angel
vhalember@reddit
Yup, this was my thought as well: 84 was very good, 86 was the best.
Hell, the first three you mentioned are all-time best metal albums.
HuckleberryDizzy2364@reddit
but how tall would they be all stacked up?
FartomicMeltdown@reddit
Are they stacked end to end or horizontally?
MoonageDayscream@reddit
It does not matter if both go to 11.
HuckleberryDizzy2364@reddit
i'd like to know both
SillyCygnet@reddit
Powerslave, Ride the Lightning, Defenders of the Faith, W.A.S.P some faves from '84
Puffpufftoke@reddit
Powerslave, Tooth & Nail, Rising Force, The Last In Line, The Warning…. This could go on and on and…..
disinterested_a-hole@reddit
1991 would like a word.
Also - "Hard Habit to Break???" I almost feel like this is trolling.
RelevantMention7937@reddit
A lot of that music is horrible. Horrible.
Weak_Employment_5260@reddit
I was a junior in hs. The only bad part for where I lived was the Colts sneaking out for Indy under cover of snow that year.
Chingachgook1757@reddit
I was on active duty in the USN, quite an eventful year for me.
ToasterBath4613@reddit
1984 was one of the most memorable years in my life. It just felt like this country was firing on all cylinders and the future was bright.
geodebug@reddit
80s had a lot of golden years for movies, music, and pop culture.
It may have marked America’s peak creativity.
I wouldn’t say the 80s was the overall best decade, more whatever the US was headed for creatively, by the 2000s and beyond, it all seemed to flatten out into today’s endless rehashes, reboots, and tomorrow’s AI-generated slop.
An argument could be made for the 90s, but while there was plenty of originality (the rise of hip hop as a dominant American pop art form, for example), I still see it as the beginning of the end of … something.
Hope? Joy? Community? Belief that even when things are messy, that over time it will improve?
Dunno.
Obviously, there are still individual flashes of true creativity. You can stifle a movement, but you can’t stop individuals or small groups from shining.
Safe-Towel-3695@reddit
1000% best year ever
Downtown-Tackle-9219@reddit
2008 was peak humanity
techdevjp@reddit
My favorite bit of 1984 trivia is that Van Halen named the album 1984 because it was a leap year.
Mach5Driver@reddit
You forgot the movies, "1984" (don't know how, LOL) and "Class of 1984"
BMisterGenX@reddit
I think other than alternative music like REM, The Cure, The Replacements etc 1984 was pretty terrible. Most music sounded like video games and culture was way to plastic and day glo. I like the late 80's much better. Like 87-89
Sudden-Damage-5840@reddit
‘91 was a great year
The music that was dropping was insane.
Movies
PersonOfInterest85@reddit
Here's a book people might want to read:
Glory Days
New-Preference-430@reddit
Agreed. The Rock and Roll hall of fame in Cleveland has a room devoted entirely to 1984. Not to “gen x” music. Not to the 80s. To the single year 1984, with music industry critics and observers being quoted essentially mirroring this post (except for the movie part, obviously)
OutsidePattern6491@reddit
It was a great year, I preferred 85 for fashion and music, but was a freshman in 84 and loved it.
greevous00@reddit
First movie I went to as a date was in 1985 (I was 13, which seems awfully young in the rear view mirror). The movie was "The Explorers." All my friends were full of advice on "moves" I needed to try, lol. We held hands and kissed a little. Life seems so intense and consequential at that age. Such highs and such lows.
MikeisET@reddit
Police Academy was such a fun movie
I loved Revenge of the Nerds at the time because of titties but it definitely has not aged well
greevous00@reddit
I cannot believe they left what amounts to a rape scene in the script and just played it off as good old fashioned college fun. That scene should never have been shot at all.
No_Brush_6873@reddit
I’m a 77 kid and not till recently did I realize the sound track to my childhood was so great ! Look 👀 up 1984 best of music. It will re enforce why I’m so critical of good music.
Niveno143@reddit
List is missing Duran Duran... : )
CatWranglingVet678@reddit
I was 11. Couldn't watch some of the movies until a few years later, but the music?
Sublime.
BhamBossfan@reddit
Summer Olympics being in LA making this one of the best summers ever
montanawildcat@reddit
In 1984 I was ten years old and rocking VH 1984 on my Walkman everywhere I went. What a time to be alive!
greevous00@reddit
I was 12, and trying to figure out a way to get my hair to look grown up...
Got a boom box for Christmas that year and a cassette case with a shoulder strap.
I also talked my parents into buying a computer at a garage sale (Atari 400). I didn't realize at the time, but would become the spark that lit my eventual career -- a career I am just a few years from laying down now. Ferris Bueller was right. Life moves pretty fast.
SeismicFrog@reddit
Dude… no Star Trek III?
First film I saw alone? The film I quoted 2 years later as the plane lifted off while I ran away from home?
“My god, Bones. What have I done?”
“What you had to do. What you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live.”
year, banging year
Sumeriandawn@reddit
You never heard of the "Star Trek Movie Curse"?
SeismicFrog@reddit
Started with V. Fight me bro…
WilliePullout@reddit
DavePHofJax@reddit
GenX, we had the best music and movies. Not to mention TV shows. For example, MASH, Cheers, Dukes of Hazzard, Taxi, WKRP in Cincinnati, T.J. Hooker, Alf...just to name a few.
FabAmy@reddit
"Like A Virgin" was released in 1984, too.
devilsgrimreaper@reddit
I got my first mohawk and combat boots...I was 11...lol
SamWhittemore75@reddit
Can't forget we were introduced to these guys:
MountainAlive@reddit (OP)
Omg how I could I miss this!
Sh1tbrake@reddit
Man, I grew up in a very rural area and was only 8 in 1984. Had access to the music, largely from Casey Kasem and the weekly top 40 on the local AM radio. The movies I had to rent from a gas station over the years (we didn’t get a VCR until 1988), but I have seen them all and yes they were great.
I was in first grade and got paddled almost every day. I DO miss paddling in school.
I miss ordering Troll book club at school. I miss the awesome toys. I would choose to relive 1984 over the entire 2000’s decade.
Happy_Cat_3600@reddit
1984 is the apex year for music and film. Full stop. Nothing has come remotely close since.
Sumeriandawn@reddit
1994
Movies:Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, Speed, Clerks, Interview with the Vampire, Fist of Legend, Leon the Professional, True Lies, Natural Born Killers, Drunken Master 2, Shawshank Redemption, Lion King, Three Colors: Red, The Crow, Reality Bites
Music:
Dookie: Green Day
Ready to Die: Notorious BIG
Downward Spiral: Nine Inch Nails
Illmatic: Nas
Superunknown: Soundgarden
MTV Unplugged in New York: Nirvana
CrazySexyCool: TLC
Weezer: Weezer
Definitely Maybe: Oasis
Grace: Jeff Buckley
Ill Communication: Beastie Boys
Dummy: Portishead
Smash: Offspring
Live Through This: Hole
Korn: Korn
Mellow Gold: Beck
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: Pavement
No Need to Argue: the Cranberries
Sixteen Stone: Bush
Under the Pink: Tori Amos
Jar of Flies: Alice in Chains
Purple: Stone Temple Pilots
Welcome to Sky Valley: Kyuss
When the Kite String Pop: Acid Bath
In the Nightside Eclipse: Emperor
Transylvanian Hunger: Darkthrone
MountainAlive@reddit (OP)
1994 too!
fyodor_mikhailovich@reddit
notice the extreme difference in tone of the two decades listed like that? very interesting.
Decestor@reddit
What can explain it?
The 84 things are somewhat spoonfed pop culture, the 94 things may be a reaction to that.
gonzo_thegreat@reddit
I have to give movies to 1984 and music to 1994. 1984 had good songs, but there were a lot of pretty meh songs for some top artists.
On the personal side, both were great years.
Kurse71@reddit
Ummmm, nope
Rikers-Mailbox@reddit
1999 was great for movies, but not for music
94 was good, but still….. 1984 was outrageous
Red0nTop@reddit
Streets of Fire and Purple Rain?
Dougallearth@reddit
My folks split that year and then I had to learn 2 party fascistic ways of existence from each of their new partners. Uggh
Weird-Opportunity-20@reddit
Wow that movie list is insane! Didn’t realize those were all in 1984.
brezhnervouz@reddit
You literally forgot one of the best films of 1984 (and all time) - Orwell's 1984 with John Hurt lol
TheDjSKP@reddit
I was thirteen and oh my god everything was so exciting.
Chalice_Ink@reddit
THIS!!!
We must not neglect the juggernaut that was his Royal Badness!
xantub@reddit
That's what you get when studios don't focus 90% of their budgets in the same theme (superheroes).
walter_grimsley@reddit
1984 also gave us Transformers, Gobots, peak GI Joe and He-Man, and many shows either premiered or were hitting their stride
ObiWanKnieval@reddit
1982 was better.
Guardsred70@reddit
I also remember our English teachers ominously making us read 1984.
Fuck_Yeah_Humans@reddit
86 was better
kuzism@reddit
Ride the Lightning
Metallica, 1984
Mjhandy@reddit
I was 15. I used to babysit a baby girl. Turns out she likes Van Halen and Huey Lewis better than Rubber Ducky by Bert and Ernie.
Demonae@reddit
Amazing year for METAL as well.
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal
Bon Jovi - Bon Jovi
Dio - The Last in Line
Great White - Great White
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force
Queensrÿche - The Warning
Quiet Riot - Condition Critical
Ratt - Out of the Cellar
Rush - Grace Under Pressure
Scorpions - Love at First Sting
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
Spinal Tap - This Is Spinal Tap
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry Van Halen - 1984
Whitesnake - Slide It In
S1nnah2@reddit
Movies throughout the 80s were arguably better. You could make a decent movie that made a huge return for a few million dollars and studios were prepared to take a punt on all sorts of projects.
You also had crazy studios like canon who would make any old crap and sometimes it would just stick.
Teen music movies were huge. Cheap stuff like footloose and breakin' but they were exciting movies when I was a kid in the UK.
I wanted to live in those John Hughes films and thought every American kid lived like Ferris, went to breakfast club and made Kelly le Brock while their parents were away.
zoeybeattheraccoon@reddit
If that's the best music from 1984, please give me another year. Sorry.
Some pretty good movies though.
-BigDaddyTex@reddit
I don’t remember things like some of u. And I’m always wrong. Ask my wife. But for me, 1983 was epic and idk why. Reading the comments 84 looks like I remembered wrong. 😬
Good thread though.
Emergency-Nobody8269@reddit
Nah…didn’t have Back to the future
emdubl@reddit
Tank was also 1984.
MeteorOnMars@reddit
Macintosh
ontime1969@reddit
My wife and I just watched Beverly Hills Cop on Sunday while it was raining.
Shh... You take those bananas.
Kurse71@reddit
Ride the Lightening from Metallica came out in '84, arguably their best album
spintool1995@reddit
1991 was peak music for Gen X. Debut albums by Nirvana and Pearl Jam. GnR's double album. Chili Peppers, Metallica got good (sorry I wasn't a hair metal fan), Ozzy had a good album, REM, several major hip rap albums like 2Pacalypse, NWA.
The best year in movies was 2001, the year the first Lord of the Rings came out. If that was the only movie released that year it would still be the best movie year ever. But it also had the first Harry Potter, the first Shrek, the first Fast&Furious, the first Monsters Inc., the first Oceans 11, the first Tomb Raider. 2001 birthed so many film franchises. Then there were other good stand-alone films like Blow, a Beautiful Mind, Moulin Rouge, AI, Training Day, Donnie Darko, Zoolander, Vanilla Sky, the Royal Tenenbaums, Blackhawk Down.
AntiauthoritarianSin@reddit
It was all downhill after that year.
NetZeroSun@reddit
I actually remember seeing ghostbusters and had a T-shirt of the logo as a kid. Wow 84 was a real banger for movies and songs.
So much iconic media at the time.
Twotricx@reddit
Finally someone that agrees with me !!!
Historical-Gap-7084@reddit
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a special song to me. I don't know if it was my dad's favorite, but I remember being in the car with him one time when it had just come out, and the song came on. He turned the volume up a little and said, "I really like this song," so every time I hear it I think of him.
He passed away in 1990 when I was 21, and I miss him every day.
PatMagroin100@reddit
How do you brag about 1984 movies without mentioning Breakin’ or Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo?!?!
HHSquad@reddit
Saw all but 2 of those movies at the theatre back in the day.
I remember the songs like yesterday.
Puzzleheaded_Side_50@reddit
Met some musicians and we are working on a set list to perform of songs from 1984. Billy Idol, the boss, prince etc. fun and challenging.
drtaekim@reddit
As an Angeleno, 1984 was also a significant year because of the L.A. Olympics; come on, there was a dude with a frickin' jetpack!!
seagulledge@reddit
I read 1984 for the first time that year. In December, so I was cutting it close.
zenjensan@reddit
My senior year <3
Tired8281@reddit
But, 1992, tho
someolbs@reddit
Transformers, The Movie.
ScabieBaby@reddit
Although Madonna's first record came out in 1983, "Lucky Star" and its video hit in '84. Add that to the list of incredible things that came out of that year!
SusannaG1@reddit
Yeah, the main soundtrack of my senior year in high school was Van Halen's 1984, and a recurrent note to my Freshman year in college was Madonna's Lucky Star (in part because one of the girls in the dorm room next to mine played it at least five times a day).
OperaBunny@reddit
1980's decade generally had a great diverse selection of music and musical artists. Go on those Youtube 80's hits clips, and see all the great music from that decade. The 90's by contrast imho, only had a few great songs, and it was pretty much limited to two sounds, r&b or grunge rock, with some memorable pop artists (Dion, Spice Girls). But the thing I'll remember most from 1984, the Summer Olympics in LA. Retton, Lewis, patriotism, and just having a good time cheering athletes from every country on, except the USSR, back then, cause of the boycott.
War-Square@reddit
My Mom and dad were separating during this year and my Mom would take us kids to almost every movie as a sort of revenge, but also an escape. This list is spectacular, but I would add "Iceman". For whatever reason, it really stuck with me.
No_Drink_6989@reddit
1984 was a Hella fun year. I was 18 and I fit a good 5 years worth of debauchery into that one year
Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit
You don’t say?
worm0316@reddit
So much good punk came out this year.
Aromatic_Revolution4@reddit
I'm sure I'll get tons of down votes but as much as I liked the movies the majority of the songs are somewhere between not good and meh.
realPoisonPants@reddit
Temple of Doom was crap, as were all Indiana Jones movies after the first one. The birth of a thousand mediocre, money-grabbing sequels...
Immediate_Formal_252@reddit
I was there. It was epic. It still is. I still return to it often \m/
JoeSpart@reddit
1984 was a great year. Definitely!
discussatron@reddit
I tend to agree, but you got a lot of shitty music in there.
Th3R00ST3R@reddit
You forgot Ride The Lightening - Metallica
What a time to be 14
OpeningFuture6799@reddit
How did you forget Footloose which of course had Almost Paradise with Ann Wilson and Mike Reno
I_Am_Mandark_Hahaha@reddit
Ahh 1984, when our elders elected Ronald Reagan and started the enshittification of america.
FUWS@reddit
The movies are top notch for1984 but 1999 is not far from it.
Pretty-Care-7811@reddit
It would be pretty hard to argue that any other year had more classics in the box office.
MonadicSingularity@reddit
Best year ever. It also predicted the future.
Mulliganasty@reddit
Are you just confining us to the 80s here cuz just focusing on movies, way better ones in the 90s?
hbsboak@reddit
Those are some fun, but mid ass films. If you want great cinema, 1974 is where it’s at.
Disastrous-Group3390@reddit
My first concert was Van Halen, February 1984. Jump was number 1 on the country, and I, at 14, was on the floor at the Omni in Atlanta. It. was. incredible.
Artistic_Half_8301@reddit
I squeezed my first boob in 1984!
niff007@reddit
Great year for movies. 1986 was better for music IMO.
CaTcHaScAtChCaN06@reddit
My house was surrounded by cornfields when children of the corn came out. I didn’t play in them as much lol a couple more good movies, fire starter, bachelor party hardbodies angel, which I probably watched on HBO 30 times beat Street breakin,breakin’2 electric Boogaloo we all wore parachute pants and walked around with a roll of linoleum, the good old days lust in the dust another HBO repeat rhinestone. I just talked about this the other day. My coworker didn’t believe me that Sylvester Stallone played a country music singer. swing shift I was in love with Goldie Hawn. Hot dog the movie a lot of skiing movies in the 80s. oh God you devil George Burns always hilarious the river rat, oddballs there’s no doubt that the 80s had a lot of great movies. I’m not even getting started on the music lol
SillyPuttyGizmo@reddit
One of or possibly the best concert movie ever Stop Making Sense
solvraev@reddit
1987 would like a word.
UnhappyBreakfast5269@reddit
Graduated HS in 84… it was the best year ever!
I’ve had some great years since (1994 got married; kids came in 99 and 2000; survived heart attack in 2018), but can look back on 1984 as when life started to get really good.
“We’ve got more in 84”
DogsoverLava@reddit
My first concert - May 1st, 1984 - Van Halen. I’m a grad 87. 1984 might have been the best year of the 80s. 1988 was pretty awesome too.
Bored_Dad_Bod@reddit
I lived in LA and we had all the excitement of the Olympics too
grahsam@reddit
84 through 86 was peak 80s.
aluminumnek@reddit
There is so much music from ‘84 that wasn’t a “top hit” that’s better.
Separate-Succotash11@reddit
I was only in the 4th grade in 84 so I wasn’t able to fully appreciate and live that stuff.
I sure do now and think fondly of those movies and songs.
Upbeat_Shock5912@reddit
Guess who has a new Spotify playlist
hglndr9@reddit
Living in the LA area at the time. We had the '84 Olympics, the hype around it was fantastic for 12 year old me. My dad saved up, and we were able to go and watch a day of Track and Field. One of the single greatest experiences I got to be a part of. The torch came through the City of El Monte, where my dad lived, so we were also able to witness that as well. 1984 was a great year for sure.
Panem-et-circenses25@reddit
Amazing year. Bought my first cassette—Van Halen 1984 and wore it out. Had a great summer riding around on my new Redline bike and in the fall saw my Tigers win the World Series. Man I’d kill to be 10 again in’84.
MoonageDayscream@reddit
You must add Amadeus to the movie list. Still holds up.
Pilotsfan@reddit
It really is a flawless film. They don't make them like that anymore.
The_Observatory_@reddit
It would end up being the best movie on the list, except for maybe Spinal Tap or the Terminator.
mmoonbelly@reddit
An entire list that doesn’t mention the 1984 classic starring John Hurt, Richard Burton and Suzanna Hamilton…
Serious_Degree6099@reddit
I'm close to the end of our generation (1977!) So I was 6/7 in 1984... but I agree wholeheartedly! This was an awesome year, for all the reasons listed. What a great time to live through!
warrior_poet95834@reddit
I realize it wasn’t a “top song” of 1984 but very few top songs of 1984 hold up quite like this.
https://youtu.be/z92bmlcmyq0?si=Aio3tYSZXz1plZHN
stableos@reddit
My dad used to beat me to the Ghostbusters song, particularly liked to enunciate "Who you gonna call?"
CockroachNo2540@reddit
1984 was a solid year, but 1986 was a stronger year for me. I lived in Houston and we had the Rockets and Astros surging. It was the Texas Sesquicentennial and Jean Michele Jarre did his Rendevous Houston performance.
Movies were not as good as 1984, but we did have Top Gun. Music was definitely better.
Maybe it just depends on the age you are. I was 12 in 1986 and 10 in 1984. Maybe that makes the bigger difference.
CockroachNo2540@reddit
And fucking Hands Across America was 1986. Suck it 1984.
SuperLowBudge@reddit
You’re right!
looselyhuman@reddit
8-9 years old and even I knew 1984 was badass.
Ancient_Composer9119@reddit
I could not disagree more.
But i appreciate your effort. I made it through the first 3 on the list and quit. Looked like a long list.
IllustratorSudden221@reddit
My Celtics won the championship over the Lakers (again) and my favorite player Larry Bird won the first of three consecutive MVP awards, something that hasn’t been done since! 1984 was one of the greatest years in history!
Jdog2225858@reddit
1984 Olympics were also fun
Medical-Literature50@reddit
I agree!
NeverBetter2024@reddit
I lived this as a 1987 HS grad...no argument here.
root_fifth_octave@reddit
Solid.
946stockton@reddit
Metallica: Ride the Lightning, July 27, 1984.
root_fifth_octave@reddit
I listen to that all the time now, to get me through my bullshit work days.
Ifyouonlyknew1967@reddit
1984-1985 junior into senior year of HS for me. The last best year of my life. All my friends were getting along, I was dating my wonderful boyfriend, classes were fun, made All State Choir, rode RAGBRAI that summer for a magical week with my guy…the BEST! Awesome movies and music! Soundtrack of my life. Things kind of started a long shit spiral my freshman year of college, alas.
Tadpole_Heavy@reddit
I graduated in 1984. It's nostalgic now.
SC_Scuba@reddit
And even though it was not movies or music, the 84 Olympics and all the free big Mac’s were amazing.
GladiatorWithTits@reddit
The Breakfast Club came out in Feb 85, so I'm lumping it in to the 84 list.
Jefafa326@reddit
Also an amazing year for cartoons, Challenge of the Go Bots, Transformers, Voltron, it was an amazing year
piney@reddit
1983-84 were the best years ever for pop singles. Eat it 65-66!
Koolmidx@reddit
I like the video showing the sounds of our childhood. It's hard to believe how quiet technology is these days without the sound of constantly ramming a plastic thing into a metal thing or hearing crap motors all the time.
Kimber80@reddit
It was a tremendous year for entertainment
Dr_Gimp@reddit
I consider the decade of 1984-1994 to be the best of the best.
SaturnSociety@reddit
1984 had a particular vibe all around.
PahzTakesPhotos@reddit
I met my eventual husband in 1984. Of course, we were just high school kids, but still.
The_Observatory_@reddit
Aces High- Iron Maiden
Fight Fire With Fire- Metallica
Freewheel Burning- Judas Priest
The Same Thrill- Scorpions
NM 156- Queensryche
Deathrider- Anthrax
Night on Brocken- Fates Warning
A Dangerous Meeting- Mercyful Fate
Live at the Inferno- Raven
Chemical Warfare- Slayer
Stonehenge- Spinal Tap
Little Green Men- Steve Vai
War and Pain- Voivod
Skadforlife2@reddit
First music video I ever saw was ‘Wake me up before you go-go’ on ‘Friday Night Videos’ in Canada.
Prospectorjack@reddit
1984 was a great year. The early part of that year I was in Kiel Germany, Arhus Denmark and Helsinki Finland them made it back to the State's to catch spring break in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Saw all of those movies, danced to a lot of those songs if not all of them.
mashed_pajamas@reddit
I was only 8, and thus I’m more in my element in the 90s, but yes 1984 was peak.
TruckFudeau22@reddit
I’ve often said that the 6-year period starting when Star Wars was released (May 1977) and ending when Return of the Jedi was released (May 1983) is unequaled by any other 6-year period, as far as movies are concerned.
After reviewing this post, I might have to stretch that out to include 1984.
LineImpossible3958@reddit
In the sports world the Lakers and Celtics met in the finals, the first of back to back finals meetings between Magic and Bird, the Cubs made the playoffs for the first time since World War 2, Michael Jordan is selected by the Bulls, Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers win the first of their 5 Stanley Cups they would win over the next 7 seasons, the Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games featuring Carl Lewis, Mary Lou Retton, Jackie Joyner Kersee and others, and the 49ers beat the Dolphins in the SB.
Nofanta@reddit
Cubs had a great season too.
Naysayer68@reddit
Every year in the 90s was better for music and movies than 1984.
MaisieDay@reddit
Username checks out 😀. Having said that, I fully agree with you.
NYCDreams2018@reddit
There is a podcast from Slate about 1984 being pop’s greatest year.
heretik77@reddit
For me it was not only the pop culture aspect, but being an LA native and getting to experience the Olympics in my city. What really set the bar for me for this year is that a ton of my extended family from back east to stay with us and it was like a 2 week sleepover with all the cousins staying with us. One of my Aunts and Uncles drove cross county in an RV 4 of their 9 kids(Irish Catholic heritage on my moms side) and we would take turns staying out in the RV. They were all teenagers and I was the youngest at the age of 7 so i was definitely doted upon and spoiled by all of them. My next oldest cousin is coming out with his family in ‘28 to do it all again(that is if the rest of the world decides to show up)
BreyerChick@reddit
I graduated HS in May of 1984. I gave birth to my only in May of 1985.
My parents had a nasty divorce my senior year of HS. My 18 yr old brain coped by getting pregnant right after I graduated
I raised a kid and then got a degree when he was a teenager
Ok_Researcher_9796@reddit
I was too young to really enjoy 1984. I turned 7 that year.
MeanHovercraft7648@reddit
Please edit your list to add Purple Rain to the movie list. Please & thank you. 💜☂️🎶
CelticSensei@reddit
This YouTube channel is good. Just did a video about 1984!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAXaZH8WlSw
quietlumber@reddit
Sometime last year my wife started asking the Alexa to play music from a specific year while making dinner. After several weeks of picking years from the 70s through the 90s we came to this same conclusion. Some other years kinda suck, and there are other years that are very good, but 1984 has nothing but banger after banger after banger.
pintofendlesssummer@reddit
The year i left school. I'm just going to cry in the corner somewhere and hide...only 40 odd years ago
Under_the_Milky_Way@reddit
I used to say I was stuck in the past, then I listened to the top 100 songs for every year in the 80. Now my "getting old dad joke" is:
I'm not stuck in the past, I'm stuck in 1984 specifically!
Designer_Advice_6304@reddit
Also love that Reagan had a complete landslide over Mondale. 49 states voted for Ronald Reagan! We’ll never see dominance like that again
honeybabysweetiedoll@reddit
I graduated in 1984. Van Halen had been my favorite band, and their 1994 album was huge. I played guitar in rock bands. I had my first long-term girlfriend too. The best friends I’ve ever had as well.
1984 was magic to me as a 17-18 year old.
Moose-Public@reddit
You forgot Wonder Woman 1984
joelav@reddit
1992
AbsentThatDay2@reddit
Looking back I think the movie list is a lot more impressive than the music list.
zsreport@reddit
Don’t forget the summer Olympics in LA
Braincloud@reddit
I always say that summer of 84 was peak 80s. The whole year was the best, but that summer in particular we had so many great movies, the Olympics, the best music. For me it was the summer of all things Prince and Purple Rain. ☺️💜☔️
used2B3chordguitar@reddit
Loved it then, miss it now.
FartomicMeltdown@reddit
Agreed. Screw those haughty people who look down upon those with nostalgic tendencies.
OgreHombre@reddit
Take me back to 1984…
https://youtu.be/wZteC1Ids0A?si=_eRyaWrwD5g_8Bcc
Formal_Plum_2285@reddit
1991 was pretty great too.
FartomicMeltdown@reddit
Damn. Yeah, freaking great year for sure. I do remember some of that year because of these things you mentioned.
charleslennon1@reddit
My young life never recovered. Now that I'm in my early 50s, retired, and somewhat well off, I'm surprised I've made it this long.
biosfearmag@reddit
The Olympics being in Southern California, where I was living at the time, definitely made that summer special.
Noodnix@reddit
Epic year!
Double Nickels on the Dime - Minutemen
Zen Arcade - Hüsker Dü
Meat Puppets II - Meat Puppets
Slip It In, Family Man, & My War - Black Flag
Repo Man – Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Let It Be - The Replacements
HeadParking1850@reddit
Throw in the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.... It was a heck of a year
Guidance-Still@reddit
Don't forget the first Macintosh was released by apple in 1984 as well
inigo_montoya@reddit
For music it was 1983.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1983
Annoyed21@reddit
We are in a dystopia, are is very suppressed compared to my 70’s and 80’s childhood and adolescence
inigo_montoya@reddit
For music it was 1983
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1983https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1983https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1983
wrm340@reddit
Last Van Halen album, last year in high school. Kind of punctuated everything for me.
sljxuoxada@reddit
1992 kicked 1984's ass so hard.
KhunDavid@reddit
One of the greatest commercials came out that year from Apple.
https://youtu.be/ErwS24cBZPc?si=eH7F-px2wTbHnw49
GArockcrawler@reddit
I agree with you completely about the music. I could take it or leave it about the movies. 1985 had some great movies too.
Ill_Test822@reddit
Yeah. That was a great year. We had it good.
lancerreddit@reddit
Yup
poop_on_you@reddit
For me it was 1986 but I agree with your argument that 1984 was also amazing.
I think it comes down to movies and music just got...bad
Waschaos@reddit
Yeah, the year was better than the book.
TransportationNo8300@reddit
Never 81 rules
Ok_Material_5634@reddit
The movie "1984."
DetectiveBlackCat@reddit
Revenge of the Nerds and This is Spinal Tap win for movies. Owner of a Lonely Heart is 1983
LawnStar@reddit
Video games rocked too.
Yum_Kaax@reddit
I agree with the movies, not the music
ccc1942@reddit
I’m with you 100%
DumbScotus@reddit
Very much this. A lot of sub-par singles by top-tier musicians.
MetalTrek1@reddit
In 1984 I graduated from Catholic grammar school and attended public high school with my friends (I hated Catholic school and was glad it was over). It's also the year I got into Metal. My favorite year.
ggoptimus@reddit
I have said this in the past. 84 had so much pop culture!
willingzenith@reddit
Agree with all of this.