My Top 100 Singles of 1984
Here's the Spotify playlist and the '84 albums list I posted last week:
1. Van Halen -
"Panama"
2. Wham! - "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
3. Madonna - "Borderline"
4. Don Henley - "The Boys Of Summer"
5. Prince - "When Doves Cry"
6. Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time"
7. Wang Chung - "Dance Hall Days"
8. General Public - "Tenderness"
9. Nena - "99 Luftballoons"
10. Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
11. R.E.M. - "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"
12. Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher"
13. Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell"
14. Suicidal Tendencies - "Institutionalized"
15. Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing In The Dark"
16. Madonna - "Like A Virgin"
17. Billy Joel - "The Longest Time"
18. John Waite - "Missing You"
19. Pretenders - "Middle of the Road"
20. The Cars - "You Might Think"
21. Culture Club - "Karma Chameleon"
22. T La Rock - "It's Yours"
23. Tones On Tail - "Go!"
24. UTFO – “Roxanne, Roxanne”
25. Face To Face - "10-9-8"
26. Run-DMC - "Hard Times"
27. Prince - "Let's Go Crazy"
28. Shannon - "Let The Music Play"
29. Cheryl Lynn - "Encore"
30. Depeche Mode – “People Are People”
31. The Go-Go's - "Head Over Heels"
32. Ray Parker, Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
33. Huey Lewis and the News - "I Want A New Drug"
34. Billy Idol - "Eyes Without A Face"
35. Bruce Springsteen - "Born In The U.S.A."
36. The Cars - "Drive"
37. The Police - "Wrapped Around Your Finger"
38. Pat Benatar - "We Belong"
39. Bon Jovi - "Runaway"
40. Run-DMC - "Rock Box"
41. Chaka Khan - "I Feel For You"
42. U2 - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)"
43. John Mellencamp - "Pink Houses"
44. ZZ Top - "Legs"
45. The Replacements - "I Will Dare"
46. Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It"
47. Eugene Wilde - "Gotta Get You Home Tonight"
48. Dennis Edwards f/ Siedah Garrett – “Don’t Look Any Further”
49. Newcleus - "Jam On It"
50. Jocelyn Brown – “Somebody Else’s Guy”
51. LL Cool J - "I Need A Beat"
52. Ashford & Simpson - "Solid"
53. Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life"
54. Cyndi Lauper - "She Bop"
55. Billy Idol - "Flesh For Fantasy"
56. Queen - "Radio Ga Ga"
57. Thompson Twins – “Doctor! Doctor!”
58. Deniece Williams - "Let's Hear It For The Boy"
59. Kenny Loggins - "Footloose"
60. Billy Joel - "Keeping The Faith"
61. The Pointer Sisters - "I'm So Excited"
62. R.E.M. - "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
63. Midnight Star – “No Parking (On The Dance Floor)”
64. Prince - "Purple Rain"
65. Tina Turner - "What's Love Got To Do With It"
66. Cyndi Lauper - "All Through The Night"
67. Dio - "The Last In Line"
68. Huey Lewis and the News - "If This Is It"
69. Sade - "Smooth Operator"
70. INXS - "Original Sin"
71. Elton John - "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
72. Van Halen - "Jump"
73. The Pointer Sisters - "Jump (For My Love)"
74. Queen - "I Want To Break Free"
75. Talking Heads - "Girlfriend Is Better (live)"
76. Echo & The Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon"
77. Thompson Twins - "Hold Me Now"
78. Twisted Sister - "I Wanna Rock"
79. New Edition - "Cool It Now"
80. Laid Back – “White Horse”
81. Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson - "To All The Girls I've Loved Before"
82. The Cars - "Magic"
83. Bryan Adams - "Run To You"
84. Duran Duran - "The Reflex"
85. Eurythmics - "Here Comes The Rain Again"
86. Van Halen - "I'll Wait"
87. John Lennon – “Nobody Told Me”
88. Def Leppard - "Bringin' On The Heartbreak (Remix)"
89. James Ingram and Michael McDonald - "Ya Mo B There"
90. Daryl Hall & John Oates - "Out Of Touch"
91. The Pointer Sisters - "Automatic"
92. Billy Ocean - "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)"
93. Corey Hart - "Sunglasses At Night"
94. Madonna - "Lucky Star"
95. Billy Squier - "Rock Me Tonite"
96. Lionel Richie - "Hello"
97. The Cars - "Hello Again"
98. Duran Duran - "The Wild Boys"
99. John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band - "On The Dark Side"
100. Bruce Springsteen - "Cover Me"
2. Wham! - "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
3. Madonna - "Borderline"
4. Don Henley - "The Boys Of Summer"
5. Prince - "When Doves Cry"
6. Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time"
7. Wang Chung - "Dance Hall Days"
8. General Public - "Tenderness"
9. Nena - "99 Luftballoons"
10. Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
11. R.E.M. - "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"
12. Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher"
13. Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell"
14. Suicidal Tendencies - "Institutionalized"
15. Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing In The Dark"
16. Madonna - "Like A Virgin"
17. Billy Joel - "The Longest Time"
18. John Waite - "Missing You"
19. Pretenders - "Middle of the Road"
20. The Cars - "You Might Think"
21. Culture Club - "Karma Chameleon"
22. T La Rock - "It's Yours"
23. Tones On Tail - "Go!"
24. UTFO – “Roxanne, Roxanne”
25. Face To Face - "10-9-8"
26. Run-DMC - "Hard Times"
27. Prince - "Let's Go Crazy"
28. Shannon - "Let The Music Play"
29. Cheryl Lynn - "Encore"
30. Depeche Mode – “People Are People”
31. The Go-Go's - "Head Over Heels"
32. Ray Parker, Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
33. Huey Lewis and the News - "I Want A New Drug"
34. Billy Idol - "Eyes Without A Face"
35. Bruce Springsteen - "Born In The U.S.A."
36. The Cars - "Drive"
37. The Police - "Wrapped Around Your Finger"
38. Pat Benatar - "We Belong"
39. Bon Jovi - "Runaway"
40. Run-DMC - "Rock Box"
41. Chaka Khan - "I Feel For You"
42. U2 - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)"
43. John Mellencamp - "Pink Houses"
44. ZZ Top - "Legs"
45. The Replacements - "I Will Dare"
46. Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It"
47. Eugene Wilde - "Gotta Get You Home Tonight"
48. Dennis Edwards f/ Siedah Garrett – “Don’t Look Any Further”
49. Newcleus - "Jam On It"
50. Jocelyn Brown – “Somebody Else’s Guy”
51. LL Cool J - "I Need A Beat"
52. Ashford & Simpson - "Solid"
53. Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life"
54. Cyndi Lauper - "She Bop"
55. Billy Idol - "Flesh For Fantasy"
56. Queen - "Radio Ga Ga"
57. Thompson Twins – “Doctor! Doctor!”
58. Deniece Williams - "Let's Hear It For The Boy"
59. Kenny Loggins - "Footloose"
60. Billy Joel - "Keeping The Faith"
61. The Pointer Sisters - "I'm So Excited"
62. R.E.M. - "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
63. Midnight Star – “No Parking (On The Dance Floor)”
64. Prince - "Purple Rain"
65. Tina Turner - "What's Love Got To Do With It"
66. Cyndi Lauper - "All Through The Night"
67. Dio - "The Last In Line"
68. Huey Lewis and the News - "If This Is It"
69. Sade - "Smooth Operator"
70. INXS - "Original Sin"
71. Elton John - "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
72. Van Halen - "Jump"
73. The Pointer Sisters - "Jump (For My Love)"
74. Queen - "I Want To Break Free"
75. Talking Heads - "Girlfriend Is Better (live)"
76. Echo & The Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon"
77. Thompson Twins - "Hold Me Now"
78. Twisted Sister - "I Wanna Rock"
79. New Edition - "Cool It Now"
80. Laid Back – “White Horse”
81. Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson - "To All The Girls I've Loved Before"
82. The Cars - "Magic"
83. Bryan Adams - "Run To You"
84. Duran Duran - "The Reflex"
85. Eurythmics - "Here Comes The Rain Again"
86. Van Halen - "I'll Wait"
87. John Lennon – “Nobody Told Me”
88. Def Leppard - "Bringin' On The Heartbreak (Remix)"
89. James Ingram and Michael McDonald - "Ya Mo B There"
90. Daryl Hall & John Oates - "Out Of Touch"
91. The Pointer Sisters - "Automatic"
92. Billy Ocean - "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)"
93. Corey Hart - "Sunglasses At Night"
94. Madonna - "Lucky Star"
95. Billy Squier - "Rock Me Tonite"
96. Lionel Richie - "Hello"
97. The Cars - "Hello Again"
98. Duran Duran - "The Wild Boys"
99. John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band - "On The Dark Side"
100. Bruce Springsteen - "Cover Me"
1984 has earned a reputation over time as sort of the peak year of '80s pop. An excellent writer I know, Michaelangelo Matos, even wrote a book about 1984 that I need to read at some point. And back in 2014 I actually contributed some blurbs (as did Matos) to a Rolling Stone piece ranking the top 100 singles of "pop's greatest year," so it was fun to look back at that and compare it to how I ranked many of the same songs in my personal list.