With the rise in the popularity of cassette tapes, there was a decline in vinyl ownership. Music lovers who sought portability exchanged their vinyl for store credit at the trade-in counter without knowing its actual value. collectors went on the hunt for these gems to expand or enhance their collections as record stores became flooded with used albums.

The Totally Awesome 80's edition features popular genres present during the great decade — the 80's. The edition also adds a new mechanism to the game — trading at the Trade Counter. Players can trade unwanted or low-value records to collect a desired and higher-valued album. Collections max out at four. To earn a Collection Reward Token, the players have to meet a minimum quality level and maintain a specific number of matched attributes across all of the albums in the collection. To further enhance a collection, Loyalty Cards will increase the number of victory points earned at the end of the game.