100 Greatest New Wave Artists

New Wave music artists Talking Heads and Elvis Costello
Background 'New Wave' evolved from 'Punk' in the late 1970s being less anti-social and more radio (and MTV) friendly, hitting it's high in 1983 and faded around 1987. It can be best described as mixing the energy of Punk with a bit of 'Glam', 'Pop', 'Art-Rock' & 'Dance' and relied heavily on synthesizers.

Criteria: These music artists were chosen and ranked based on thier popularity, originality, impact, and influence in "New Wave" music.

Last Updated: 2023-11-16
New Wave Artists
  1. Talking Heads
  2. Elvis Costello
  3. The Police
  4. Blondie
  5. Eurythmics
  6. Duran Duran
  7. Tears for Fears
  8. Depeche Mode
  9. The Cars
10. Frankie Goes To Hollywood
11. a-ha
12. B-52's
13. The Psychedelic Furs
14. The Pretenders
15. Men at Work
16. INXS
17. The Fixx
18. Devo
19. Bananarama
20. Culture Club
21. A Flock of Seagulls
22. Simple Minds
23. Thompson Twins
24. XTC
25. Spandau Ballet
26. Pet Shop Boys
27. ABC
28. Thomas Dolby
29. Modern English
30. The Human League
31. Squeeze
32. Adam Ant
33. Howard Jones
34. Soft Cell
35. Berlin
36. Talk Talk
37. Level 42
38. The Jam
39. Gary Numan
40. New Order
41. OMD
42. Joe Jackson
43. Ultravox
44. Erasure
45. Midnight Oil
46. Naked Eyes
47. Nik Kershaw
48. Boomtown Rats
49. Dexy's Midnight Runners
50. The Motels
51. Missing Persons
52. The English Beat
53. Madness
54. Split Enz
55. General Public
56. Animotion
57. The Call
58. Paul Young
59. The Go Go's
60. Wall of Voodoo
61. Til Tuesday
62. The Vapors
63. Heaven 17
64. The Dream Academy
65. Falco
66. Dead Or Alive
67. Men Without Hats
68. Big Country
69. Bronski Beat
70. The Hooters
71. Graham Parker & the Rumour
72. Real Life
73. The Buggles
74. Bow Wow Wow
75. The Tubes
76. Peter Schilling
77. Oingo Boingo
78. Kajagoogoo
79. Swing Out Sister
80. Planet P Project
81. Timbuk 3
82. Wang Chung
83. The Members
84. Mr. Mister
85. Frida
86. Gene Loves Jezebel
87. The Power Station
88. The Specials
89. The Plimsouls
90. Information Society
91. Arcadia
92. Haircut 100
93. The Church
94. China Crisis
95. Icehouse
96. Tom Tom Club
97. The Sisters of Mercy
98. Ian Dury & The Blockheads
99. Echo & the Bunnymen
100. Visage


New Wave rock band Talking Heads
Talking Heads

New Wave rock band Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
New Wave rock band The Police
The Police
New Wave rock band Blondie
Blondie
New Wave rock band Eurythmics
Eurythmics

New Wave rock band Duran Duran
Duran Duran








Spotify New Wave Songs link image



Sade, Bryan Ferry, Swing Out Sister, Wet Wet Wet
  Some Artists that brushed the edges of the 'New Wave' sound.
U2
Peter Gabriel
The Clash
Billy Idol
The Cure
Siouxsie & The Banshees
Stray Cats
Big Audio Dynamite
David Bowie
The Greg Kihn Band
Romantics
Joy Division
Gang of Four
Roxy Music
Kinks
Public Image Ltd.








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