Apologies if this has been done recently, but I’m curious, especially among those Dopers who were teens during the 80’s, and can hear a song that immediately transports them back to high school. My picks:
In no order:
I Melt With You - Modern English
Always Something There to Remind Me - Naked Eyes
Careless Whispers - Wham
People Are People - Depeche Mode
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Our Lips are Sealed - The Go-Gos
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
Hold Me Know - Thompson Twins
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Sometimes I miss the 80s–then I remember the clothes.
In no particular order:
Take On Me - Aha
Shout - Tears for Fears
Whip It - Devo
Nasty (was that late 70’s or early 80’s?) - The Damned
Burning Down the house - Talking Heads (?)
Sweet Child O’ Mine - GnR (That whole album really)
With or Without You - U2 (That whole album too)
Melt With You - Modern English
Crazy for You - Madonna (So…ummm…do you…ummm… wanna… dance? :D)
Livin On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
ahhh…memories! Time to go turn on VH1 classic!
Now, where are my parachute pants?
Take on me… deffinatly…
Jenny(867-530 ni—e---ine)
anything by the squeeze…
tainted love
and
Talk dirty to me
Eh, I’ll probably change my mind about these when more people weigh in with songs I’ve forgotten (age, you know). But right off the top of my head . . .
PYT – Michael Jackson
Is There Something I Should Know – Duran Duran
Purple Rain – Prince
Big Country – Big Country
She’s Blinded Me With Science – Thomas Dolby
In no real order:
Take on Me - A-ha
Raspberry Beret - Prince
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (pity he is such a joke now)
Swet Child O Mine - Guns n Roses
Heart of Rock and Roll - Huey Lewis and the News
Men without hats - Safety Dance
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded me with science
Kajagoogoo - Too shy shy
Oingo Boingo - Weird Science / Dead Man’s Party
Prince - 1999
Walkin’ on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
Alive and Kicking - can’t remember
Sweet Child o’ Mine - G n’ R
Peace of Mind - Grapes of Wrath
We Built This City - Starship
I can’t wait to compile these, and make a great 80s party… now where did I put those acid washed jeans…
Psychadelic Furs - Heaven
Icicle Works - Whisper to a scream
The Suburbs - Love is the law
Thomas Dolby - One of our submarines
Dead Kennedys - Kill the Poor
There are songs from the '80s that I like better than these, but that I don’t really think of as “'80s songs” – especially stuff by artists like Elvis Costello and Talking Heads.
Top 5 '80s songs:
Melt with You (Modern English) – one of my favorite songs, period; I was dismayed when it showed up in a Burger King commercial
Let’s Go Crazy (Prince)
One Night in Bangkok (Murray Head)
Karma Chameleon (Culture Club) – from one of the first albums I owned!
99 Luftballoons (Nena) – definitely prefer the German version
Peter Piper - Run DMC
Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
Fall on Me - REM
How Soon is Now? - The Smiths
Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil
BTW, Simple Minds did Alive and Kicking, and for me, Whisper to a Scream needs to be the remix version.
I Wanna Be A Cowboy - Boys Don’t Cry
Tempted - Squeeze
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) - Glass Tiger
Africa - Toto
And a special salute to Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart 
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Every Breath You Take
Little Red Corvette
With Or Without You
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
[ul][li]Hell and Back - D.O.A.[/li][li]Up the Neck - Pretenders[/li][li]Talking to Myself - Let’s Active (strangely enough, and it might be torture to hear this song now)[/li][li]Tied to the Tracks - Soul Asylym[/li]Greatest Gift - Scratch Acid (I don’t think these guys were really known outside of Texas, but I had to add something really psychedelic and really scary.)[/ul]
Oh crap. Every song from that era takes me back to a particular memory, so it would be hard to choose just 5. However, the OP said “immediately transports them back to high school,” so I’d have to say:
Hazy Shade of Winter- Bangles
Hands to Heaven - Breathe
Straight Up - Paula Abdul
Welcome to the Jungle - GNR
Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White
These aren’t necessarily my favorites (although I do like them) but they have the ability to transport me back to high school.
Off the top of my head:
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Senses Working Overtime - XTC
Gigantic - The Pixies
Almost With You - The Church
Map Ref. 41N 93W - Wire