'80s Anthems

The '80s is proving to be the decade that refuses to die: From supermarket to shoe shop, its anthems are piped in everywhere in the 21st century, so we've channelled a load of them into this Essentials collection. Kick off with chalk and cheese: Survivor's ode to pugilism, "Eye of the Tiger" (a.k.a. Rocky's tune), followed by a plea for compassion: the Live Aid signature track, "Drive", by the Cars.

Run more standards up your '80s flagpole in Next Steps.

At the time it was mind-blowing, a testament to the power of space-age visual witchcraft . . . but now the video for Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" looks a bit clunky. Still, the song (with Sting on backing vocals) remains a classic. As does "Love Will Tear Us Apart", by Joy Division, the band that would evolve into New Order after the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis.

For more tunes that carry the heft of a decade, venture to Deep Cuts.

Some of the tracks here are timeless (Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday", the Proclaimers' "Letter from America"); others bear the indelible mark of the decade that spawned them. Cue up Duran Duran's "Rio" and an entire palate of tropical pastels washes before your mind's eye; an earful of Yazz's vocal on "The Only Way Is Up" and you're instantly transported to a universe of ludicrous hair gel.

It was a decade of loadsamoney greed and yuppie excess; a time when the Berlin Wall came down and the information age kicked in; when the first space shuttle went up and Chernobyl blew up; and when music shot off in myriad spectacular directions, from house to rap and indie rock. All of these songs somehow crystalised a feeling or a moment and rose above the pack: Michael Jackson's dance epic "Thriller"; Dexy's Midnight Runners' perennial wedding-dance favourite, "Come on Eileen"; the costume drama of "Antmusic"; the slick, mawkish caterwauling of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is". It's time to twist your Rubik's Cube of sound.