20 GREATEST Toy Lines of the 80s -- RANKED!

Like I tell my kids- the 80s was the greatest pop culture era of all time. TV, movies, music, fashion, toys, Nintendo vs Sega, cartoons…everything was hittin’!

Loved the list! Hard disagree about the lack of innovation with Star Wars figures, though. That series created the model for the 3 3/4 inch action figure. Without that size becoming the norm, toy vehicles would have been too large and expensive to produce. Without vehicles, GI Joes wouldn't have become the juggernaut they became.

I agree with the top two for sure. G.I. Joe was and is still the best toy line.

No Voltron(s), no Gobots...dude? loved Sectuars and Mask.

That's a good list. I think everybody's top 3 is transformers Gi Joe and he man. I agree Voltron and l am surprised you didn't mention robotech. Robotech is arguably one of the animation cartoons in that era hands down. The eighties was the best decade for animation 82-85. I was blessed to be alive.

Some honorable mentions. Secret Wars, Battle Beasts, Gobots, Wheeled Warriors, Dungeons & Dragons, Ghostbusters, Dino Riders, Bionic Six, Commando. There are a ton more that could be dug out of my head or looked up. I can't argue with who's on your top seven; though, I did blank on Mask until you mentioned them. 1 Joe, 2 Transformers, 3 Star Wars, 4 He-man, 5 TNMT, 6 Thundercats, 7 Mask.

I loved this! I’m definitely blessed to be an 80s kid. We truly had an unmatched childhood. I’m a Transformers guy first and foremost, but I loved GI Joe as well. When are we finally going up get a truly great crossover?

I agree with your ranking 100% except for one thing… TMNT should have a 5 for lore. The toys don’t really have much of a place in my heart because they were late 80s, and I was a little too old for them at that point, but the storyline has never really hit a lull with the countless ongoing comics and cartoons and movies and video games. Even heavy hitters like Star Wars and Transformers and GI Joe all had relatively long gaps where no new content was being released.

My personal top 5 in no particular order would be transformers,gi joe,he man,tmnt and power rangers( not from the 80s but to me just as iconic and popular)

Fun video as always. I definitely would have ranked MOTU higher, and was really surprised not to see Real Ghostbusters, Voltron, or Jace and The Wheel Warriors listed.

My Top Ten Most Played with Favorite Toy Lines: 1. G.I.Joe (no competition) - How many times did I send Tomax & Xamot down that zipline? It was never enough. I meticulously created various scenes inside handmade shoe box dioramas decorated inside with construction paper, complete with props. The cartoon was really pretty good.as.well. 2. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars - That red & blue Spider-Man figure of mine got so much play time. Difficult to pose with limited articulation, but very colorful figures. These were the only Marvel figures available and I was big into the comics at that time. Weapons were virtually nonexistent. They came with those lame shields with lenticular changing pictures. 3. DC Super Powers - Batman, Robin, the Batmobile, Penguin, Joker, Superman, even Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, all got a ton of play time from me. Weapons were very limited (Penguin's umbrella, Green Lantern's lantern), but the cloth capes were a nice touch. 4. Star Wars - Limited articulation, but it's Star Wars! The vehicles; landspeeder, snowspeeder, speeder bike, TIE fighter, AT-AT. The names; Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Ewoks, Max Rebo, R2D2 & C-3PO. Nuff said 5. The Real Ghostbusters - Colorful toys based on the haunting cartoon of the same name. The figures had limited articulation but came with cool photon blasters and colorful translucent ghosts. 6. Voltron - I hated everything about the Voltron cartoon. Admittedly, the toys were incredible. 7. Transformers - The toys I had were great with Starscream and Soundwave.and they had the cartoon to back them up. I just never understood how transformers came into existence or why they were fighting each other. 8. Muscle Men - Zero articulation, small, colorful, rubbery figures. I had so many of them and loved to play with them. Whatever happened to all the Muscle Men figures? Where did they all go? Hell if I know. 9. Mask - These little action figures with their masks and vehicles were too cool for school. I did not make much time for the cartoon. 10. Thundercats/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/He-Man - This 10th spot is a tie for me between these three separate but similarly bulky looking action figure lines. These three all had cartoons to back them up as well.

It's a legit list. GiJoe was by far the best toy line to come out in the 80's; like by a lot.I would argue Star Wars was number 2 but I digress. The Joes were so far in front its a non issue hahaha. I would've also mentioned the DnD figures although they had no affiliation to the cartoon and maybe the Bionic Six, but its a solid representation of the 80s for sure. Loved me some Sectaurs. They went south so fast I got all of mine cheap back in the day!

Glad you put in the Coleco Rambo toys sir. Was a favourite of mine along with Motu,Gijoe,,Mask,Super Powers,TMNT and Motu.

Cool list. Thanks for sharing andbrin ing back some memories. My top 20 would include the Dungeons and Dragons action figures. They had great sculpts, good articulation, good weapons, shields, armor. Why they hell did they leave out the main characters from the cartoon? I would have loved to get my hands on a Dianna back in the day, and Hank was my hero. I only had two of those D&D figures because they were pricey compared to GI Joes. But the top seven: How could you leave out WWF 8" action figures led by Hulk Hogan?!!! No add-ons, zero articulation, but almost every kid I knew had at least one. They were in virtually every house that had a male member present. I didn't have any; hated WWF and couldn't understand why those figures were so popular. Now I can see it's their pure simplicity that made them innovative. And don't tell me they had no real playability. They sparked imagination! Gotta swap Mask for WWF in the top seven. Never had one and never will, but they were iconic. Last, He-Man goes to second place on my list. They had an interesting comic that ran perhaps 3 issues. It was completely different from the cartoon and dialed in the Frazetta feel. The toys themselves were as creative as any ever made. And they were backed up by their own live-action film. Then again, Transformers the cartoon movie had the balls to kill Maximus Prime. Okay, they can keep second place.

I really enjoyed your list, it was a great childhood flashback. My top 20 would have included Voltron in the top 3.

My top ten would be 1. GI Joe, 2. Star Wars, 3. He-Man, 4. Transformers, 5. Thundercats, 6. Super Powers, 7. COPS, 8. Silverhawks, 9. Visionaries, 10. Spiral Zone

Great list, I think I would tinker with some of the order a bit. The only swap I'd make is personally I didn't know anything about Eagle Force and would swap that with Kenner's Real Ghostbusters.

I was born in ‘80, my brother 5 years earlier in ‘75. Safe to say, I was rocking some ‘80s toys. GI Joe and Transformers were my top two, as were most. A few of the lesser known I loved were Sectaurs, Wheeled Warriors, Sky Commanders, Robo Strux and the little pink M.U.S.C.L.E. Men.

I was all in on Joe after I discovered them. I had a couple of Eagle force (gotten before Joes), only two or three transformers (I liked them a lot but was focused on Joes, so I mainly got to play with them with friends who had em), same with He Man. I liked the idea of em, but my friend Robert had the whole first year or two of the line so I could play with them at his house. Mask looked cool, and like transformers I had one or two of the vehicles and that was it. Nice list.

For me it was Super Powers! Now, I didn't start Collecting until 1994, and I got the 1989 Toy Biz rerelease versions. But that was my start.