MTV Era Quiz Collection

When MTV launched on August 1, 1981, with the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” it didn’t just create a new television channel—it fundamentally changed how music was consumed, marketed, and even composed. Within two years, the Billboard Hot 100 had been transformed: acts that might never have gotten radio airplay suddenly had a visual platform that could turn a catchy synth-pop track and a memorable video concept into a No. 1 hit.

The MTV era created entirely new categories of stardom. Duran Duran became global superstars largely through their exotic, cinematic videos shot in exotic locations. A-ha’s “Take On Me” spent months languishing on the charts until its revolutionary rotoscoped pencil-sketch animation video gave it a second life, propelling it to No. 1. Madonna understood the visual medium better than almost anyone, turning each video into a cultural event that drove both controversy and sales. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video effectively turned music videos into short films, raising production values and expectations across the industry.

But the MTV era wasn’t just about the mega-stars. It created a vast middle tier of artists—many of them new wave and synth-pop acts from the UK—who achieved chart success primarily through video exposure. These are the “forgotten MTV hits” that you’d instantly recognize if you saw the video but might struggle to name the artist. Thomas Dolby, Kajagoogoo, Haircut One Hundred, and dozens of other acts rode the MTV wave to brief but memorable chart appearances.

This collection brings together our best MTV-era trivia resources. Whether you’re testing your knowledge of MTV’s first broadcast day, exploring the forgotten video hits that defined the channel’s golden age, or working through daily quiz archives that feature questions about music videos and their impact on chart success, you’ll find it all here. The quizzes below were selected because they include questions directly connected to music video history, MTV culture, or the visual revolution that made the 1980s the most exciting decade in pop music history.