Best band of the 80's

I can't believe nobody's mentioned Sonic Youth or R.E.M. or the Smiths! And let's not forget the Pixies. Surfer Rosa and Dolittle were two of the top ten albums of the decade.

Ben, The Smith's is an interesting and good choice. If you look at U2's work strictly from the eighties, don't you agree that the work was their most important and creative? This thread's criteria being "Best Band of the 80's", I don't think I can rate the Smith's above U2 or even REM as you also mentioned. I personally never got into REM as much as the rest of the world seems to have. In the early days of the band, I could never understand a word coming out of Micheal Stipe's mouth, and it ultimately turned me off to them.

Duran Duran
Men at Work
Culture Club
Spandau
U2

The impact of these bands defines the 80's....

Amandarae, I'm frightened to admit I respect your point.

I love also Jethro Tull in their 80's era!