From Atari to ZZ Top: The Ultimate ’80s A-to-Z

I fancy myself an ’80s expert, and that’s for one simple reason: I loved it. I wore the parachute pants, carried around my Trapper Keeper, and wore out the batteries on my Walkman more times than I can count.

Even at the time, I knew the ’80s felt different from the ’70s, and by the time the ’90s rolled around, I knew that decade felt different from the ’80s too. I’ve even written extensively about the decade, from ’80s TV theme songs to the places from ’80s TV shows and movies I desperately wanted to visit, to the coolest features on ’80s cars and the ways we used to listen to music that we all still kind of miss.

Actor Gene Kelly, singer Olivia Newton-John and actor Michael Beck attend the

These three co-starred in the movie we picked for X on our ’80s A-to-Z list. Any guesses?

So I’m always looking for different ways to slice and dice the most awesome decade in American history, and this time I decided to challenge myself.

EVEN MORE ’80s: TV Shows From the ’80s and ’90s – Did Anyone Watch Them?

The challenge? Choose one iconic ’80s person, place, thing, or trend for each letter of the alphabet. You know what? It wasn’t easy.

Some Letters Were Easy. Some Weren’t.

Some letters had a plethora of options. C meant choosing between dolls and bears, and Q came down to a real debate between quintessential rockets and a video game character. Other letters were shockingly thin — I’m looking at you, U. You’d think X would be the hard one, but as an Olivia Newton-John superfan with a love for roller skating, it was probably the easiest pick on the whole list. Was that too much of a hint?

So let’s get started. As you already know, we’re starting with a video game system and ending with some of the best rockers in history. That’s a range! I’ve even thrown in some of my runners-up in case you disagree with any of my picks.