Walkman

Sony Sports Walkman WM-F5, early 1980s The first Sports Walkman took the cassette player outdoors, into the kind of weather and activity that would have ruined an ordinary one. Sony fitted soft rubber seals around every opening to make it splash proof, and it added a built-in FM radio. Its loud yellow case became the standard livery for the Sports models that followed, which is why a yellow Walkman still reads as the 1980s at a glance. For anyone who ran or cycled with music, this is the model that showed a player could be rugged as well as small. Sources date its debut to 1983 or 1984, so expect both years in listings.