1.
First of all, you still couldn't rewind your old 8-tracks.
2.
And if albums didn't come with lyric sheets, you resigned yourself to never knowing all the words.
3.
Mimicking your idols, like Olivia Newton-John, required an endless supply of hair spray and headbands.
4.
To skip a track, you had to blindly fast-forward or rewind — or flip the cassette over.
5.
You actually had to, like, leave the house to buy music at a record store...
6.
...and if the one song you wanted wasn't a single, you had to buy the whole album.
7.
This was considered a portable music player:
8.
Your knowledge of upcoming concerts and albums depended entirely on posters and newspaper ads.
9.
Navigating the FM dial was way finicky.
10.
Mom and Dad were always wiggin' out about the wall art in your room.
11.
Same with your totally stellar clothes.
12.
If you forgot to tape Headbangers Ball, you would never see that episode again, ever.
13.
Recording songs off the radio demanded expert timing...
14.
...and mixtapes took hours to prepare and assemble.
15.
Finally, concert venues charged exorbitant admission fees — like, sometimes over $15, OK?
But as Salt-N-Pepa prove, at least it was a golden age for hip-hop.
