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~13.0M artists · ~39.4M recordings indexed

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The Groove

The greatest artists of the 1980s

333 artists ranked by the Groove — music.nw’s own measure of renown. Not an opinion, a fact computed from the record. Why?

No. 1

Metallica

United States of America · 1981– · heavy metal

251.080

Why this number?

The full board

2

Iron Maiden

United Kingdom · 1975– · heavy metal 204.050

3

U2

Ireland · 1976– · rock 133.550

4

The Cure

United Kingdom · 1977– · new wave 120.200

5

Rush

Canada · 1968– · progressive rock 105.670

6

Queen

United Kingdom · 1970– · rock 94.100

7

AC/DC

Australia · 1973– · hard rock 93.130

8

Depeche Mode

United Kingdom · 1980– · electronic 84.800

9

Pink Floyd

United Kingdom · 1965–2014 · progressive rock 69.370

10

The Smiths

United Kingdom · 1982–1987 · indie pop 64.320

11

Slayer

United States of America · 1981– · thrash metal 64.150

12

R.E.M.

United States of America · 1980–2011 · alternative rock 63.920

13

Dire Straits

United Kingdom · 1977–1995 · rock 63.560

14

Prince

United States of America · 1958–2016 · funk 63.040

15

Talking Heads

United States of America · 1974–1991 · new wave 59.800

16

Michael Jackson

United States of America · 1958–2009 · pop 58.140

17

Genesis

United Kingdom · 1967–2022 · progressive rock 58.020

18

Judas Priest

United Kingdom · 1969– · heavy metal 56.970

19

Black Sabbath

United Kingdom · 1968–2025 · heavy metal 51.010

20

Peter Gabriel

United Kingdom · 1950– · rock 48.028

21

The Alan Parsons Project

United Kingdom · 1975–1987 · progressive rock 47.810

22

Bruce Springsteen

United States of America · 1949– · rock 46.120

23

Kate Bush

United Kingdom · 1958– · art rock 44.750

24

Ozzy Osbourne

United Kingdom · 1948–2025 · heavy metal 43.920