I'd say 92, although 87 and 90 were both sharp declines.  By 1993 synth-pop simply wouldn't work, even if it was a powerhouse band like Depeche Mode or the Cure.

New Wave, on the other hand was dead by 1987.  Then hair metal came in  >:(

Good topic!

I would say 1986. Sure, synthesizers were still used in music after that (heck, they're used today even, just to a much smaller extent), but the general synth-laced pop was faded away by then. The musical climate from '85 to '86 was a somewhat noticeable change IMHO.

The peak years for this style was about 1979-83. I heard a guy say somewhere that Bruce Springsteen's BORN IN THE U.S.A. from '84 was the album that began to shift the 80's music scene away from synth pop to a more classic/hard rock sound later in the decade. I never would've thought of that myself (as that album is definitely an 80's sound itself), but that categorization makes sense, now that I think about it.

I think 1984 and '85 were "transitional" years with a mix of these two styles. New wave and synthpop were still on the charts, but fading, and the hair metal & classic rock-styled artists were beginning to become popular, but not as much as from 1986 on. Also, starting in the mid 80's, alot of older artists started having comeback hits.

Of course, bands like Starship with "We Built this City" could technically be classified as all three, LOL! :D

1992.

early 90s with the introduction of grunge. grunge killed off 80s music, synth pop and hair metal included.

listen to depeche mode's album that was released in '93, 'songs of faith and devotion'. it had guitars and more traditional rock sound with barely a synth to be heard.

Good topic!

I would say 1986. Sure, synthesizers were still used in music after that (heck, they're used today even, just to a much smaller extent), but the general synth-laced pop was faded away by then. The musical climate from '85 to '86 was a somewhat noticeable change IMHO.

The peak years for this style was about 1979-83. I heard a guy say somewhere that Bruce Springsteen's BORN IN THE U.S.A. from '84 was the album that began to shift the 80's music scene away from synth pop to a more classic/hard rock sound later in the decade. I never would've thought of that myself (as that album is definitely an 80's sound itself), but that categorization makes sense, now that I think about it.

I think 1984 and '85 were "transitional" years with a mix of these two styles. New wave and synthpop were still on the charts, but fading, and the hair metal & classic rock-styled artists were beginning to become popular, but not as much as from 1986 on. Also, starting in the mid 80's, alot of older artists started having comeback hits.

Of course, bands like Starship with "We Built this City" could technically be classified as all three, LOL! :D


I agree, although I think there still was some synth pop in '86 like OMD.  '87-'92 had some scattered synth music, but by '93 there wasn't a trace left. 

By 1992 synth pop was 100% gone.

'84 and '88 both seemed pop oriented, with all the Dance and Latin music. 

A good example of how synth pop became less acceptable in '86 is a-ha's Scoundrel Days.  Their '85 album was all synth pop and truly a legit New Wave album but Scoundrel Days started to sound more like rock. 

Well, Eurythmics seemed to leave behind their synth-pop roots in 1985, with the release of the "Be Yourself Tonight" album. Some say that this is partly because synth-pop was losing popultrity.
Dee :-*