What are some of the best things about the 1980s?

Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Punk rock. Before "alternative" radio was sponsored and co-opted by Coors LIght there was an actual punk rock scene. Dead Kennedys, Hüsker Dü, Butthole Surfers, Circle Jerks, Minor Threat and a solid scene of local acts like Neon Christ and DDT here in Atlanta. Sporty cars that weighed ~2000 pounds. Such lightweight cars handled and braked well and made good use of smaller ~-70-120hp engines. Ecstacy/MDMA. It was legal until 1985. We're talking about pharmacy quality good times here. Amazing. Rise of the Republicans. I'm actually center left, but... Republican dads made great daughters and they came with new mall clothes, new cars and swimming pools. The greatest generation delivers one last time! Video Games. Defender. Tempest. Pac-Man. Walkman. Not any Walkman. The miniature ones with the Dolby B and C and these funky in ear earphones. These made the previous ones seem like they were from the 70s with their over the ear foam headphones and there considerable size. These models were barely bigger than a cassette. I will never ever know how it was not Sony who developed the iPod. Maxell II-S. I only used one brand of cassette tape. Hip-hop. I was punk. I liked metal as well. For a long time, I was the only person in my circles who thought rap was no fad and the "beat" was every bit the equal to the "riff." There was nothing like Hard Times, Rock Box, or Sucker MCs. and just ~4 years later the whole scene blew up with NWA and Public Enemy.

The birth of cyberpunk. Even those of us who didn't have a personal computer till the '90s could see the future...and it was bleak. And let's not forget Rick Astley, without whom the rick-rolling meme would never have been possible...

- the music - everything from A-ha to Whitesnake.   - the fact that a certain cheesiness was actually kind of fun and sweet. - the fashion - 80s hair wasn't always great, although Duran Duran did it pretty well. - John Hughes' movies - all the teenager movies, actually.  Top Gun.  Oh, there were so many!   - a lot of new technology arrived in the 1980s - personal computers, voicemail, cell phones, VCRs, MTV - it gave us a lot of new delights and freedoms.

Goodbye Berlin Wall.

The Cold War was on, but overall it was a much simpler time. I was 6 to 16 in the 80's and a pretty perceptive kid. I was scared of the USSR, but felt secure knowing Reagan was in charge. The guy could give a speech and had an aura of grandeur. I guess that is because he was, of course, an actor. A local girl, my age, met him when we went to this Polish shrine near my home. I burned with jealousy, lol. Better...well MUCH better music. That is what I miss the most. Great movies. Karate Kid, Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future. And SO many more!!! Loved the Brat Pack and Pretty in Pink...sigh, it sums up the 80's. Now this is the 80's to me: Loved the TV shows, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Head of the Class. And this beautiful gem of a show: No computers :) Well...sort of. I went to computer camp in 1985!!!! James Spader was STUNNING We played outside constantly AND THIS: An overall flashiness that does not exist today, at all. See below Better airline experience...bigger seats for sure GLASNOST! Malls were SO much better. Trees, plants, fountains. I used to go to the mall and smell the chlorine and soil. They also had great department stores. Malls were such an experience. Shoes stores that actually FIT you. Like someone would sit down and fit you for your shoe with care. Now in days you are LUCKY if someone comes out of the back to get your correct size and then tosses it at you. Testing was not as extreme in school nor were all these special ed "labels" Better playgrounds with bigger equipment AWESOME music videos Fried McDonald apple pies instead of those inferior baked things Cheaper Better economy More farm land, less houses and big box stores WOOLWORTHS! Best store ever. You could get lunch there or buy a hamster or a BB gun! NO Walmart or Target!!! Only K Mart and they also had other K Mart like stores like Bradlees, Caldor, Jamesway, Ames... More significantly historical people alive, like WW1 and WW2 vets...the Lost Generation was still on the planet, people born between 1883-1900. Now there are literally 4 people from 1899/1900 as of Aug 2015  left on the Earth and the Greatest/ GI Generation is dying by thousands a day. In the 80's they were in their late 50's and 60's! The more time moves on, the more history becomes the past. Below are WW1 Vets, alive in 1985. No 9-11 which caused, I think, an overall distrust and gloom over the USA that still lingers. This last scene from the movie The Secret of My Success, that I saw in a movie theater the summer of 1987, sums of the beauty that was the 80's! <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CYkOvQAcGAU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> .

As some one stated, growing up in the 80's we were the first who had access to tech on a large scale. We grew up with walkmans, PC's and were tech savy enough to handle the leap to the 21st century. So here are some 80's memories. The good ole Sony Walkman. Indiana Jones, the hero we all idolized and wanted to be E.T. Go Home Grew up watching most movies in the 80's on VCR, before cable killed it off in the 90's. Doordarshan, the only TV channel we had in India during the 80's, and still produced some great content. Some awesome TV series on Doordarshan, that are still favorites to day. Way better than the crap we get of late. And yes we had our own Desi Sci fi TV series in India too then. Space City Sigma Milind Soman in Capt Vyom Madonna setting the trend Never seen Pele live, but then I was fortunate enough to watch Diego Maradona Steffi Graf was the reason why I took to watching Tennis And this picture is why I began to take an interest in cricket as well, Kapil Dev was our icon.

I love Saint Seiya, it was an important part of my childhood. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Seiya http://saintseiya.wikia.com/wiki/Gold_Saints