I was right where you are now about eight or nine months ago. After much deliberation and speaking with a lot of Pinsiders I went with Sorcerer as my 80's game (now that I have it I want a second 80's game as it is awesome).

My final list was composed of the following (I was looking for a machine with good looks and a challenge):

1) Sorcerer
2) Black Hole
3) Catacomb
4) Gorgar
5) Paragon

I also considered Centaur, Strange Science and Haunted House closely.

By the way, I am moving this to the Buying Advice Sub Forum for you, seems to kind of fit as I think you were looking for some dialog.

Taxi is an excellent choice, I love mine, I feel that game is just pure pinball. Then again High Speed is at the very top of my WTB list so thats a good one too.

Pinbot or High Speed are excellent choices from that era.

Cyclone, nothing says 80's like Ron and Nancy.

Yeah, you can't go wrong with Taxi. Great game. Sorcerer would be a good choice as well and maybe even Diner.

Of those you listed, here's another vote for High Speed. Great game with fast flow, ramps, multi-ball - and love it when the siren goes off. "PULL OVER!!"

PINBOT......and nothing else.

So many out there, get one thats clean and working 100% at a median price. Don't overpay, you WILL need to fix *something* at some point.

If you end up with a System 11 game, make sure you thoroughly inspect for battery acid damage. Just went through this and it's a pricey one to fix.

Centaur is pretty stunning if you can find one. Gorgeous artwork and lots of multiball on that machine. Sort of a knockoff H.R. Giger look to it.

Black Hole is a classic! She packs some unique features, although getting to mulltiball on her is pretty rare.

Black knight. A little early, but what a great game if its nice.

Another vote for Sorcerer. Fits your desires nicely--a little multiball and a ramp, but still simple rules. I've got a Sorcerer, a Cyclone, and a Getaway. If I were to add another 80s machine, it'd be Space Shuttle.

I have a collection heavy on highly rated DMD games. But HS gets a lot of play.

I've always been a big Cyclone fan.

Hey! You, with the face! Just buy it!

PINBOT! Best 80's game there is. That is one that will NEVER leave my house.

nobody's mentioned Mousin' Around yet. criminally underrated game. several ramps, a crazy risky loop shot in the middle of the playfield, neat ball locks, and of course multiball. great flow on that game. the theme / art is the only reason this game's not rated more highly, in my opinion.

Space Shuttle is the quintessential 80s game. Also Firepower or any of the games that have the Joust sound effects (i.e. Blackout).

-Wes

+1 for TAXI. Paragon is a good choice. Cyclone is another good 80s coaster pin.

I agree. Great pin, yet you hardly see it mentioned.

You hardly see it period. Never seen one before, but always hear how much fun it is. One of these days...

I have a black hole for sale in Milwaukee. It's not that far away from you and if you're going to expo in chicago you won't be far from my house.

Dave

I've been also looking at an 80's pin and I have been doing some intensive research through a couple of different threads I started in the past couple of weeks. Go through these threads and I'm sure you will find some useful info.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-pins-are-2-ball-multiball-only
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whats-your-favorite-non-multiball-ss-pin-and-why
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/best-pre-1985-ss-pins-whats-your-opinion
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-happened-to-pins-in-the-mid-80s

Sorcerer is one of the best and most fun games ever made. It will be the last pin I part with. By far the best pre dmd pin ever made. Sure Funhouse and Whirlwind are great pins, but Sorcerer for reasons unknown even to myself is just so satisfying.

Top three questions to answer to narrow down your search (After figuring out your budget) are:

* Do I care about having a DMD?
* Do I have to have multiball?
* Do I want music playing while I play pinball?

My answers are:
* No DMD
* Must have multiball
* No music soundtrack, so I can enjoy my own music

This narrows down my era of desired games to roughly 1980-1985.
Thus my top desired games are Centaur, Fathom, Black Hole, Black Knight, Barracora, Space Shuttle, Sorcerer.

In a way, I'm blessed that I'm this picky about pinball, it means I don't want to own every machine ever made. =)
-mof

Remember that in a lot of the machines you can turn off the background or music but still leave the electronic "chimes". That may add a few more to the list.

If you do this things could change dramatically (In a good way) with your collection. When you own 80's pins there is a tendency to try to own 100's of them. If you look over my collection you will see about 45 games. They are all fun in their own way. They are all different and some hold some unique challenges. Some of them are better then the other but for most part I can find qualities I like from most of them.

And by the way. Centaur and Fathom are not what I would consider best of the bunch. I own both of them but in no way would those be the first 2 out of the 80's titles I would choose.

I love Taxi and I've got two.. If you're interested in buying one let me know..

The 80s cover the widest variety of game style and mechanicals of any decade. From the earliest SS just coming out of the EM era and gameplay with classics like EBD, Firepower, Seawitch to mid-decade pinball renewal with Space Shuttle, Pinbot, High Speed to the great late 80s System 11s. Flat, single ball play to ramps, multiball and more ramps.

Get out and play. Have fun working your way through.

Black Hole, Haunted House, Pink Panther, to mention a few.

Joining the majority votes, High Speed or Pinbot. 2 games that in 1985 or so pulled me back from the video games in the arcades and kept me in "the back" area with the other pins. I now have both and they will not leave, also picked up HS2, and Jackbot due to their connection so consider those too. Have to say though the one that got most of my money those years was F14, nothing like lighting all 3 beacons on top....

BK2K and BH. Although you could argue that BK2K is so advanced and ahead of its time it barely counts as an 80s machine.