@Franco Molero

Power chords and pillowy synths set the mood.

The biggest worship anthems being sung around the world.

The era when angsty rock turned into pop and the Top 40 got weird.

Our favorite alternative tracks of the decade.

A classic playlist full of favorites of the 80s! Featuring hits from Queen, Tears For Fears, The Go-Go's and many many more!

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

Whether it’s a weekday morning or Saturday night, get going with this personalized mix of upbeat music. Refreshed every Monday.

Songs to help you relax and unwind. Updated every Sunday.

Christian songwriters and worship leaders represent a diverse range of musical styles, but they’re all unified in their faith. This playlist is a testament to their creativity—a selection of essential anthems being performed around the world right now, both fresh expressions of adoration and time-honoured favourites. Our editors regularly update this collection with new music. If you like a song, add it to your library.

Memes don’t lie: Hair really was that big in the ’80s. And so was the rock. Dive into the decade’s classic tunes, and you’ll find yourself lost in an ocean of soaring choruses, in-your-face production values, humongous drums, and epic synthesizers. Just about every A-lister—Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, Tom Petty, Journey, Guns N’ Roses, U2, you name it—conquered the charts and MTV with larger-than-life anthems. But it wasn’t just size that mattered; in contrast to the earthy introspection that dominated the ’70s, the ’80s were all about fun. Joan Jett raised her fists to rock ’n’ roll, while heartland icon John Mellencamp howled about sucking down chili dogs. Even R.E.M., the toast of the college-rock scene at the time, were having a blast proclaiming the end of the world. Of course, the world didn’t end, and the ’80s gave way to the much more angsty ’90s, but not before leaving behind some of rock’s most colourful and energetic jams.

The line between alternative and mainstream rock was especially blurry in the ’90s. Chalk that up first to Nirvana: The Seattle trio shook commercial rock out of its doldrums and brought underground punk into the spotlight with their gleefully noisy 1991 major-label debut, <I>Nevermind</I>. However, it’s clearer today how much the ’90s modern-rock explosion owed to traditional classic rock. Grunge-associated artists such as Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden took cues from Led Zeppelin’s blues-oriented heft; mischievous punks Green Day loved more melodic British Invasion fare such as The Beatles and The Kinks. In hindsight, it's also no wonder so many veteran bands connected with a younger generation of fans. Seventies rockers Aerosmith and Tom Petty embraced big-budget MTV videos and vibey, laidback folk-rock, respectively, while ’80s-era bands favoured reinvention: Metallica polished their trademark thrash into menacing hard rock on their blockbuster 1991 self-titled album, and both R.E.M. and U2 toyed with new sounds and slippery identities.

The ‘80s maximalist ideal helped make its softer songs a little more grandiose. Hard rockers, synth-poppers, and soul singers all released ballads and meditations that accompanied their deep feelings with dramatic musical gestures—sparkling pianos, weepy guitar solos, slick saxophones, vocals that went the extra octave. While some artists, like Bruce Hornsby and Phil Collins, used their pop-star platforms to take on social issues, and others like The Police and Don Henley examined humans’ darker sides in their biggest soft-rock smashes, the inspiration for a lot of the decade’s best mellow gold was love. It didn’t always result in happy endings, as the wrenching vocals laid down by the likes of George Michael and Heart’s Wilson sisters showed. But no matter the emotion being conveyed, the soft rock dominating playlists often led to pure pop bliss.