Best-Selling Cassette Tapes of 1981

Pop in the tape, hit play and let’s take a ride back to the golden age of the Walkman.

Before iTunes, before CDs, hell, before most of us could afford decent speakers, there were cassettes. In 1981, they ruled your glovebox, your boombox and your bedroom. These weren’t just albums they were life soundtracks, and the top sellers of that year? Pure gold.

1. REO Speedwagon – Hi Infidelity
This one dominated 1981. If you didn’t have this tape in your car, were you even living? With tracks like “Keep On Loving You” and “Take It on the Run,” REO gave arena rock its emotional power ballad moment. It spent 15 weeks at No. 1. Your older sister definitely made out to this tape.

2. Journey – Escape
“Don’t Stop Believin’” dropped this year and it’s been stuck in our heads ever since. Journey turned every cassette player into a mini arena. Steve Perry’s vocals? Untouchable. This album was massive and if you didn’t rewind “Open Arms” at least ten times, were you even heartbroken?

3. AC/DC – Back in Black
OK, technically released in mid-1980, but this beast blew up in ’81. That opening riff? Iconic. This was your go-to pre-party, post-breakup, get-pumped, flip-side banger. It made black T-shirts cool and cassette decks dangerous.

Honorable Shoutouts:
Rick Springfield’s Working Class Dog gave us “Jessie’s Girl” and major airplay and Phil Collins’ Face Value yes, the one with “In the Air Tonight”, turned emotional pain into cassette gold.

1981 wasn’t just a year, it was a vibe. And these tapes? They were the soundtrack of a generation who lived loud, rewound often and fast-forwarded through the BS.