The fourth season of Stranger Things continued the show's fantastic use of pop music, and these tunes stole the show.

Netflix is responsible for many groundbreaking television series that have gone on to become genuine pop culture phenomena, but few have generated the same enthusiasm as Stranger Things. Initially embracing the nostalgic 1980s energy of Amblin Entertainment movies and the works of Stephen King, with a touch of H.P. Lovecraft thrown in for good measure, the supernatural occurrences that have plagued the residents of Hawkins, Indiana reach a cataclysmic fever pitch in the show’s epic fourth season.

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Season 4 of Stranger Things is arguably the series at its most confident and mature, which helps it set up a satisfying showdown for its upcoming fifth and final season. Music has always been a crucial component of the series, but Season 4 of Stranger Things features some particularly effective needle drops over the course of its eight episodes.

Angela, a rude bully that sets her sights on Eleven at the start of the season, almost seems quaint compared to Vecna. Angela's petty attacks on Eleven at the roller rink are so hard to watch, especially once Mike is around to witness this behavior.

Angela already has enough confidence without a soundtrack boosting her ego even further, but her appearance at the roller rink is accompanied by Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus." The confrontational tune speaks to the shift in power that's about to take place.

A busy montage can be an effective way to bring the audience up to speed with what the characters have been doing in the interim time between seasons. The right music is paramount to set the montage's tone, and KISS's "Detroit Rock City" becomes the audience's introduction to these new versions of the characters.

"Detroit Rock City" is not only a song that the kids of Stranger Things would surely rock out to, but it's also got the right energy to get the season started on an exciting note. KISS also plays into the Satanic Panic aspects of the season, as the band was often used as evidence of "evil" music that influenced '80s teens.

Danger ramps up early on in Stranger Things, so it always resonates when there are any genuine moments of levity where the characters can take a minute to appreciate their youth and get a chance to act like kids. Sadly, everyone's trip to the roller rink morphs into a Carrie-esque disaster when Eleven is bullied and embarrassed.

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Before everything falls apart, Eleven and Mike get some genuine time together as they skate around to Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)." It's an upbeat song that matches the energy of the moment.

Jonathan's new friend Argyle becomes another great addition to Stranger Things' cast. Argyle becomes an important source of comic relief as the season goes on, and his slacker persona and pizza boy trade become personified by Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie."

The song is played the first time that Argyle shows up in his Surfer Boy Pizza truck, but it also marks his good fortune as he laters connects with Eden, Suzie's sister. Music is very important to Argyle, so any song that becomes his trademark sound needs to be perfect.

The characters in Stranger Things have enough to worry about when it comes to Vecna, the Mind Flayer, and the rest of the monsters in the Upside Down without also needing to worry about a power-hungry mob of vigilante jocks. But a show about nerds is sure to have some mean jocks show up sooner or later.

Head jock Jason is out for blood after Chrissy's death, and he convinces the rest of the basketball team that Eddie Munson is the culprit. The concentrated attack on Eddie is set to the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," which in this case is meant to take on a very literal meaning.

There's always so much promise and optimism at the start of each season of Stranger Things. The fourth season begins with some masterful self-deception as Eleven and the Byers pretend that they've found some sense of normalcy in California as they try to put their past behind them.

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There's no better song to represent the endless hope of California than the Mamas & The Papas’ "California Dreamin'." "California Dreamin'" is typically always going to make a scene better, but the hollow way in which it's used in the season premiere to reinforce the characters' fragile delusion is powerful.

Journey's "Separate Ways (World's Apart)" is poignantly used at the end of the eighth episode to tease the intense showdown that lies ahead, but Stranger Things first used the song in a trailer for the fourth season. The remixed track by Journey is just a solid song in its own right, but it also represents the ongoing battle that Hawkins has faced against the Upside Down.

In the final moments of the episode, the group of friends parts ways to execute their plan, which gives the music’s lyrics even more significance. Sadly, it would be the last time they were all together.

Stranger Things has always been a series that fits into the horror genre, but Season 4 is by far the most indulgent in this area when it comes to the tragic circumstances that surround the Creel family. Victor Creel is left in ruins, and Henry Creel goes on to become Vecna, but these heartbreaking flashbacks hit harder due to how they're accompanied by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's "Dream A Little Dream of Me."

This seemingly innocent piece of music turns into a way for the season to conjure dread whenever the audience hears a warped version of its notes begin to play. Fans will never be able to hear the classic song the same way again.

Eddie Munson is a new addition to Stranger Things' fourth season, and he manages to go out in a powerful blaze of glory as the Upside Down's biggest rock star in the season’s finale. The heroes are wildly outnumbered, and Eddie acts as a successful distraction as he rocks out to Metallica's "Master of Puppets" on his electric guitar.

It's an extremely fitting finish for the fan-favorite character and the only reason it's not the season’s standout use of music is that "Running Up That Hill" becomes a running motif throughout the season. Thanks to Stranger Things, it will be hard to listen to "Master of Puppets" without thinking of Eddie.

Kate Bush's music has been topping charts ever since the 1970s, but Stranger Things has helped introduce a whole new generation to her discography with "Running Up That Hill" acting as the gateway song. "Running Up That Hill" becomes the unofficial theme song to the fourth season of Stranger Things and it serves a vital purpose in the show's storyline as Max Mayfield's favorite piece of music that has the power to break her out of Vecna's hold.

"Running Up That Hill" is not only one of Kate Bush's better songs, but its lyrics parallel Max's tough lot in life. The inspirational music is now practically synonymous with her character.

NEXT: 9 Times Stranger Things 4 Made Us Laugh Out Loud

Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer, comedian, and critic, who lives in the cultural mosaic that is Brooklyn, New York. Daniel’s work can be read on ScreenRant, Splitsider, Bloody Disgusting, Den of Geek, and across the Internet. Daniel recently completed work on a noir anthology graphic novel titled, "Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Noir: A Rag of Bizarre Noir and Hard Boiled Tales" and he’s currently toiling away on his first novel. Daniel's extra musings can be found @DanielKurlansky on Twitter.

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