The best audiobooks of and about the 1980s

If you love the '80s teen dramedies, like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and, of course, Pretty in Pink, then you'll love listening to Passable in Pink, a totally radical '80s “prom-com” written by Mike Sacks and narrated by a full cast of talented actors and comedians, including Gillian Jacobs, Adam Scott, Bobby Moynihan, Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, and Emily Woo Zeller. Addy is just your typical 1980s teen, trying to make it through her sophomore year at suburban Chicago’s Northridge High. Then she meets Roland McDough, the most attractive and popular guy at school. Is it possible Roland is interested in Addy? Or is he just playing a game? This Audible exclusive audiobook is told in the tradition of your favorite John Hughes movie, and it will take you back to a time when everyone wore Members Only jackets and synth-rock was king.

On October 2, 1985, actor Rock Hudson died in his sleep due to complications from AIDS. During his life, Hudson had kept his diagnosis a secret. Upon the disclosure of Hudson's diagnosis, all of America suddenly became alerted to the danger of the AIDS epidemic. But it was many years too late. The disease had already spread across the nation, killing thousands. How did this happen? Why did it take so long for AIDS to be taken seriously? Randy Shilts's And the Band Played On is a comprehensive look at the AIDS epidemic, pointing out how the medical world, the political world, and the media failed us during a time of crisis. This is also the triumphant story of the individuals who struggled to fight against this disease and alert the nation to its dangers.

The world first got to know Sting as the frontman of The Police, a popular UK rock band that was a part of the English new wave scene in the 1970s and '80s. But that was only the beginning for this iconic artist. In Upon Reflection, Sting looks back on his career, the choices he made that got him to where he is today, and the successes and struggles he's had along the way. This Audible exclusive also includes brand new recordings of classics such as "Roxanne," "Message in a Bottle," and "Fields of Gold."

Hard rock was a musical movement that truly captured the excess of the '80s. Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock's Nöthin' But a Good Time looks at the rise of bands like Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe, and Guns N’ Roses. These bands were fueled by the success and attention that MTV brought them, and they filled out stadiums with their anthems and power ballads. Then the '90s came along with grunge chart-toppers like Nirvana, completely changing the name of the music business game. But for one glorious decade, it was all about hard rock and big hair. Drawing from over 200 new interviews with members of Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Winger, Warrant, Cinderella, Quiet Riot, and others, Beaujor and Bienstock tell the story of this unforgettable time music explosion.

Remember The Pink Parrots? How about Sleepover Friends or The B.Y. Times? If you were a tween in the '80s, you probably devoured wildly popular paperback preteen series like these. They weren't the serious issue-focused young adult novels of the 1970s, and they weren't the blockbuster hit YA books of the 2000s. Spurred by the success of Sweet Valley High and The Baby-Sitters Club, these series landed somewhere in between, featuring flimsy hot pink covers and an assortment of heroines (including an enterprising teen guardian angel named Cisco). Coming out in stacks, they were quick. breezy reads with empowering messages for girls. In Paperback Crush, Bustle features editor Gabrielle Moss dives into the bygone world of girl-centric fiction. Emily Woo Zeller narrates this fun and nostalgic listen.

You probably recognize Andrew McCarthy for his roles in '80s film staples like Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Weekend at Bernie's, and Less Than Zero. He was a member of a group dubbed the "Brat Pack," cool and hot young actors that included Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore. In Brat: An '80s Story, McCarthy looks back at what it was like coming of age in Hollywood during the '80s. His story is filled with personal revelations and examinations of the iconic moments of pop culture in which he played a role. The actor narrates his memoir, adding a deeply personal touch.

Films of Endearment is an audiobook about movies in the 1980s, yes, but it's also so much more. It's Michael Koresky's poignant memoir, looking back at his relationship with his mother and the movies they enjoyed as a family. Years after they initially drank tea and watched these movies together, Koresky has made a career as a film critic. And so, he returns to the movies of his past with his mother, looking back on them with fresh eyes. Together, they watch 10 movies from the 80s, one from each year of the decade, all featuring women as leads. Movies covered include a wide variety of genres, with blockbuster titles such as 9 to 5, Terms of Endearment, The Color Purple, and Aliens.

During their time in power in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were close allies. For eight years, the US president and the UK prime minister worked together to promote lower taxes, deregulation, and free trade. They also agreed on fighting aggressively against the Soviet Union. But according to this audiobook from Nicholas Wapshott, the Reagan/Thatcher relationship went beyond a strong political alliance. Drawing from new interviews and recently declassified private letters and telephone calls, Wapshott paints a picture of a relationship that was much more personal and complex than previously revealed.

Yes, this dystopian novel is about a speculative version of the 1980s, and it was published decades before, in 1949, to be exact. Still, it’s hard to discuss books about the ‘80s without giving a nod to 1984. George Orwell’s terrifying vision of the decade—a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies, and where Big Brother is always watching—is just as compelling as when it was written. Narrated by a stellar full cast, starring Andrew Garfield as Winston, Cynthia Erivo as Julia, and Andrew Scott as the mysterious O’Brien—and featuring Tom Hardy as Big Brother, along with a haunting original score—this immersive Audible Original adaptation will keep you riveted and leave you thinking about the power of technology and the precariousness of freedom.

Alice Walker's The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and it's one of the most important novels to come out of the 1980s. It is still widely read, and the second big screen adaptation of the novel—this time, based on the musical adaptation—was released in 2023. Through letters, The Color Purple tells the story of Celie, a woman in rural Georgia who has grown up poor, oppressed, and accustomed to making sacrifices to protect the people she loves—especially her younger sister. But when she meets Shug Avery, a jazz musician with a zest for life, Celie begins to see the possibility of life as something to be enjoyed rather than simply suffered through. This audiobook edition is narrated with heart and empathy by actress Samira Wiley, whom you might recognize from Orange Is the New Black and The Handmaid's Tale.

William Gibson's Neuromancer is a triumph of science fiction that completely changed the way people viewed the genre. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, this novel practically created the "cyberpunk" genre and along the way, somehow predicted technology that exists today. The novel follows the story of Henry Case, a washed-up hacker who gets hired for one last job. But the job turns out to be much more dangerous than anything Henry Case could have anticipated, forcing him to face off against a powerful artificial intelligence.

Published in 1985, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel received critical acclaim and became a bestseller that defined the decade but has become even more relevant and chilling today. Set in a near-future patriarchal state known as the Republican of Gilead, located in the former New England, the story unfolds through its central character, Offred. Like all “handmaids,” Offred—literally, “of Fred”—has been stripped of not only her individual rights but also her very identity to fulfill her assigned role: bearing children for the ruling class Commanders and their infertile Wives. Yet, not even an oppressive regime can stop Offred from remembering, from feeling, and from envisioning a way to escape. Award-winning actress Claire Danes gives a stirring perfomance of this literary classic with staying power.

Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove is a classic story of love and adventure set against the backdrop of the closing years of the Old West. When several retired rangers embark on a journey with a cattle herd from Lonesome Dove, Texas, to Montana, they're forced to come to terms with the changing world around them, their old age, unrequited love, and more. This newly remastered audiobook edition is read by actor Lee Horsley, best known for his roles in Nero Wolfe, Matt Houston, and Paradise.

Many Toni Morrison novels have won awards and received accolades. Yet, of all her works, there is perhaps none as significant as her 1987 classic, Beloved. It tells the heartbreaking story of a woman named Sethe, who is haunted by the years of her life she spent enslaved, the measures she had to take to escape, and her baby who died nameless but whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. This lyrical and haunting audiobook is beautifully read by the author.

First published in 1981, Midnight's Children is the story of Saleem Sinai, a boy who was born on the stroke of India's independence and is thus given special powers, just like others in India born at that exact moment. Salman Rushdie's novel is frequently listed among the greatest books of the 20th century and distinguished as the winner of the prestigious Booker of Bookers. It's a story that feels both deeply personal and sweepingly universal, the story of a whole nation on the verge of independence.

Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club tells the story of four Chinese women who meet in San Francisco to play mahjong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and share stories with one another. When one of the women dies 40 years after they begin meeting, her daughter shows up to take her place. This novel, which made its debut in 1989, explores themes that continue to resonate with listeners: mothers and daughters, generational divides, cultural divides, and the things that keep us connected to one another. Gwendoline Yeo narrates the audiobook, putting her heart and passion into each of the women's voices, making their stories come alive.

The Remains of the Day is an acclaimed 1989 novel from Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro and the inspiration for the award-winning film of the same name. This novel is the story of Stevens, a man who is at the end of three decades of service as a butler at Darlington Hall. As his insular world serving as a butler is coming to an end, Stevens spends a day on a country drive, looking back at his past serving Lord Darlington and the things he regrets never having done.