Music has the power to transport us through time and space. Popping on a pair of headphones and pressing play on a single song can instantly make you feel like you’re falling through a portal to another dimension, almost like Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) vanishing into the Upside Down. The Duffer brothers are well aware of that and have used each season’s soundtrack to build the eerie and emotional world of Stranger Things over its nearly decade-long run.
Throughout the series, the 1980s are resurrected with needle drops from that era and before with iconic bands like Wham!, Duran Duran, and Journey, and legendary artists including Peter Gabriel and Madonna. Hits from the past like “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash and “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush even become important plot devices.
In time for the launch of the series’ fifth and final season, Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5, Volume 1 is available digitally Nov. 28. Volume 2 will debut online Dec. 26, and Volume 3, featuring the previous two volumes plus additional music, drops on Jan. 1. Fans can also put the finale season’s full soundtrack in their permanent collection by purchasing it in a variety of formats on Jan. 30. Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is releases it across digital, CD, vinyl, and red-colored cassette formats — so you can really channel life the 1980s vibes. You can pre-order each here.
Even with the series coming to a close, you can easily return to Stranger Things’ nostalgia-fueled universe anytime by listening to all the songs featured in the series. Read on for the show’s full soundtrack list so far, including the music from the first four episodes of Stranger Things 5, and check back here for more songs as the final season continues to unfold over three volumes.
Season 1
Episode 1
“Africa” Toto
Episode 2
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” The Clash
“Hazy Shade of Winter” The Bangles
Episode 3
“Heroes” Peter Gabriel
Episode 4
“Atmosphere” Joy Division
Episode 5
“Elegia” New Order
“Nocturnal Me” Echo and the Bunnymen
Episode 6
“Sunglasses at Night” Corey Hart
Season 2
Episode 1
“Whip It” Devo
“Talking in Your Sleep” The Romantics
“Rock You Like a Hurricane” (Rerecord) Scorpions
Episode 2
“Girls on Film” Duran Duran
Episode 3
“You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” Jim Croce
“The Ghost in You” Psychedelic Furs
Episode 7
“Runaway” Bon Jovi
“Back to Nature” Fad Gadget
Episode 9
“Twist of Fate” Olivia Newton-John
“Time After Time” Cyndi Lauper
“Every Breath You Take” The Police
Season 3
Episode 1
“Never Surrender” Corey Hart
“Moving in Stereo” The Cars
“Workin’ for a Livin’” Huey Lewis and the News
“She’s Got You” Patsy Cline
Episode 2
“Material Girl” Madonna
“My Bologna” “Weird Al” Yankovic
“Cold as Ice” Foreigner
Episode 3
“Lovergirl” Teena Marie
“Things Can Only Get Better” Howard Jones
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” Wham!
Episode 4
“We’ll Meet Again” Vera Lynn
Episode 6
“Neutron Dance” The Pointer Sisters
Episode 7
“R.O.C.K. in the USA (A Salute to ’60s Rock)” John Mellencamp
Watch the NeverEnding Story Scene from Stranger Things Season 3
Episode 8
“Never Ending Story” Limahl
Season 4
Episode 1
“California Dreamin’” The Beach Boys
“Object of My Desire” Starpoint
“Running Up That Hill” Kate Bush
“I Was a Teenage Werewolf” The Cramps
“Chica Mejanita” Mae Arnette
“Play with Me” Extreme
“Detroit Rock City” KISS
Watch Max Hear Her Favorite Song, ‘Running Up That Hill,’ in Stranger Things Season 4
Episode 2
“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
Episode 4
“Pass the Dutchie” Musical Youth
“Dream a Little Dream of Me” Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Episode 5
“Travelin’ Man” Ricky Nelson
Episode 6
“Pass the Dutchie” Musical Youth
Episode 8
“Fire and Rain” James Taylor
“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” Rick Derringer
“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” Journey
Episode 9
“Master of Puppets” Metallica
“When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” Moby
“Spellbound” Siouxsie and the Banshees
Season 5
Episode 1
“Rockin’ Robin” Michael Jackson
“Pretty in Pink” Psychedelic Furs
“Upside Down” Diana Ross
“Running Up That Hill” Kate Bush
Episode 2
“Fernando” ABBA
“Running Up That Hill” Kate Bush
“Mr. Sandman” The Chordettes
Episode 3
“To Each His Own” Freddy Martin & His Orchestra
“I Think We’re Alone Now” Tiffany
“Oh Yeah” Yello
Episode 4
“Premature Plans” Elmer Bernstein
“Sh-Boom” The Chords
“Running Up That Hill” Kate Bush
Need a refresher before returning to Hawkins one last time? Check out our Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, and Season 4 recaps.
The first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 are streaming now on Netflix, followed by three more episodes on Christmas Day, and the finale on New Year’s Eve. Find out when new episodes arrive in your part of the world here. And test your knowledge of Stranger Things with our superfan quiz.
