Listen to a playlist of every song ever played on ‘Stranger Things’

Posted On January 13, 2026January 13, 2026

At first, the great soundtrack to Stranger Things was something to bob your head to, but quickly, music wasn’t just there to set the energy; instead, songs were characters, vital plot points and important clues as the Duffer brothers didn’t just use music, but wrote it into the script as a cornerstone.

It’s impossible to overstate the impact of Stranger Things, launching in 2016 as one of Netflix’s first real, true, original hits. Instantly gripping the world, the sci-fi tale of the mysterious Eleven, the disappearance of Will Byers, and the strange goings on of a town seemingly connected to a dark underworld had everyone hooked, with over 14million people binging it just the first few weeks.

If that was big, what was to come in later seasons would more than exceed even the team’s expectations. The brothers behind it all were banking on that as they’ve had the entire story etched out from the beginning. “We’ve been dreaming about the final ten minutes of the show for years,” Ross Duffer said to Backstage, “That gave us our North Star. We learn every season what the strengths of the show are, and we like to allow it to continue to evolve.”

Developing and building towards an end, the show’s audience luckily grew too, unlocking more budget and unlocking a level of interest even they couldn’t have expected. By now, it has amassed over 1.2billion views, its cultural impact immeasurable as the series’ fandom is overwhelming.

But its impact is broad too, and as the music in Stranger Things became more and more important to the plot, it seemed to change things off-screen too. Set in the 1980s, its use of songs from the period, or even just its synth-laden soundtrack, seemed to seep into modern music, inspiring the pop world to bring in more ‘80s influences.

It’s not just that the cast themselves brought it into their various musical projects, like Joe Keery’s clear ‘80s influence on the Djo track ‘End Of Beginning’, but the biggest names of our time all seem to have leaned more towards the synths and the guitar effects since the show premiered.

Stranger Things even had a grip on the chart as the powerful needle drops throughout the seasons were so impactful that they could shake the dust off and bring an old track back to the top, such that after the iconic scene where Max manages to escape Vecna, thanks to her love for Kate Bush, ‘Running Up That Hill’ landed back in the charts.

When thinking about the show’s best musical moments, there are too many; the use of ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ throughout season one, Eddie Munson’s epic final guitar battle where he’s shredding ‘Master of Puppets’, and the ominous drop of ‘Every Breath You Take’, suggesting Eleven and Mike weren’t as safe as they thought. From Bowie to Prince, to Madonna, to one of the most striking uses of a Moby track ever heard, the soundtrack was broad and powerful, start to end.

Now, as the show has come to a close, and people’s theories about a final secret episode seem to have fallen flat, relive the almost decade-long reign of Stranger Things through its music.

Every song used in Stranger Things:

• ‘Africa’ – Toto
• ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ – The Clash
• ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ – The Bangles
• ‘Heroes’ – Peter Gabriel
• ‘Atmosphere’ – Joy Division
• ‘Elegia’ – New Order
• ‘Nocturnal Me’ – Echo and the Bunnymen
• ‘Sunglasses at Night’ – Corey Hart
• ‘Whip It’ – Devo
• ‘Talking in Your Sleep’ – The Romantics
• ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane (Rerecord)’ – Scorpions
• ‘Girls on Film’ – Duran Duran
• ‘You Don’t Mess Around with Jim’ – Jim Croce
• ‘The Ghost in You’ – Psychedelic Furs
• ‘Runaway’ – Bon Jovi
• ‘Back to Nature’ – Fad Gadget
• ‘Twist of Fate’ – Olivia Newton-John
• ‘Time After Time’ – Cyndi Lauper
• ‘Every Breath You Take’ – The Police
• ‘Never Surrender’ – Corey Hart
• ‘Moving in Stereo’ – The Cars
• ‘Workin’ for a Livin’’ – Huey Lewis and the News
• ‘She’s Got You’ – Patsy Cline
• ‘Material Girl’ – Madonna
• ‘My Bologna’ – “Weird Al” Yankovic
• ‘Cold as Ice’ – Foreigner
• ‘Lovergirl’ – Teena Marie
• ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ – Howard Jones
• ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ – Wham!
• ‘We’ll Meet Again’ – Vera Lynn
• ‘Neutron Dance’ – The Pointer Sisters
• ‘R.O.C.K. in the USA (A Salute to ’60s Rock)’ – John Mellencamp
• ‘Never Ending Story’ – Limahl
• ‘California Dreamin’’ – The Beach Boys
• ‘Object of My Desire’ – Starpoint
• ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’ – Kate Bush
• ‘I Was a Teenage Werewolf’ – The Cramps
• ‘Chica Mejanita’ – Mae Arnette
• ‘Play with Me’ – Extreme
• ‘Detroit Rock City’ – KISS
• ‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’ – Dead or Alive
• ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ – Falco
• ‘Tarzan Boy’ – Baltimora
• ‘Wipe Out (K-Tel Version)’ – The Surfaris
• ‘Psycho Killer’ – Talking Heads
• ‘Pass the Dutchie’ – Musical Youth
• ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’ – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
• ‘Travelin’ Man’ – Ricky Nelson
• ‘Fire and Rain’ – James Taylor
• ‘Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo’ – Rick Derringer
• ‘Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)’ – Journey
• ‘Master of Puppets’ – Metallica
• ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die’ – Moby
• ‘Spellbound’ – Siouxsie and the Banshees
• ‘Rockin’ Robin’ – Michael Jackson
• ‘Pretty in Pink’ – Psychedelic Furs
• ‘Upside Down’ – Diana Ross
• ‘Fernando’ – ABBA
• ‘Mr. Sandman’ – The Chordettes
• ‘To Each His Own’ – Freddy Martin & His Orchestra
• ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ – Tiffany
• ‘Oh Yeah’ – Yello
• ‘Premature Plans’ – Elmer Bernstein
• ‘Sh-Boom’ – The Chords
• ‘Heart and Soul’ – Cast / Floyd Cramer
• ‘Running Up That Hill Instrumental Cover Version’ – Rob Simonsen / London City Orchestra
• ‘Human Cannonball’ – Butthole Surfers
• ‘When Doves Cry’ – Prince
• ‘Purple Rain’ – Prince
• ‘Landslide’ – Fleetwood Mac
• ‘Here Comes Your Man’ – Pixies
• ‘The Trooper’ – Iron Maiden
• ‘Sweet Jane’ – Cowboy Junkies
• ‘Heroes’ – David Bowie

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