100) Deniece Williams- “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”
The perfect blast of sugary, euphoric 80s pop to kick off our countdown, this track provided Deniece Williams with a mega-smash eight albums into her career, bolstered by its appearance on the blockbuster Footloose soundtrack. As Williams gleefully celebrates her lover’s attributes, she pairs her R&B vocals with barrage of post-disco, 80s dance beats that would serve as a template for the breakthrough classics on the way from up-and-comer Whitney Houston in the years ahead.
99) Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson- “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”
Easily among the campiest collaborations of all time, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” could have only passed the litmus test in the unique but capable combined heads of an unfettered stylist and artistic beacon like Willie Nelson, and a charming and debonair vocalist like Julio Iglesias. In anyone else’s hands, this would have been discarded to the crowded Urban Cowboy dumpster bin. Instead, Nelson and Iglesias transform it into one of the movement’s premier highlights.
98) Rod Stewart- “Infatuation”
Rod Stewart was not one of those 70s icons that got totally gobbled up by the new sounds and trends of the 80s, but his was definitely not the smooth transition that it was for some of his peers either. Successes were pretty hit and miss until he landed a solid groove at the end of the decade. “Infatuation”, with all of its excessively but joyously glamorous and dated pop-rock posturing, is definitely one of his rare triumphs prior to that comeback.
97) Lee Greenwood- “God Bless the USA”
Greenwood’s syrupy but undeniably proud career-song may have become nauseatingly bastardized for political reasons over the past two decades, but there is plenty of reason for its staying power, and eventual ascendance as a modern national anthem. The heart beating at the center of his guttural vocals and the sincere conviction of his lyrics still manage to rise above all the propaganda when played in the right setting.
96) Twisted Swister- “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
The glam-hair metal subgenre undoubtedly represents the ultimate excesses that defined pop and rock music in the 1980s, and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in tandem reigns as the song most representative of that statement. The best and most redeeming quality of this now-legendary rebel yell-turned-sports anthem is that lead vocalist Dee Snider and the band clearly are in on the joke. They know how ridiculous it all is, and indulge in it with reckless abandon and unmitigated fun.
95) Emmylou Harris- “In My Dreams”
A solidly straight-forward and no-frills country-rock performance, “In My Dreams” is a shining hit from a period of Emmylou’s career that is unfairly maligned, only for the sheer fact that it didn’t match the dizzying heights of her 1975-1980 run, which was always an impossible task anyway.
94) Judas Priest- “Some Heads Are Gonna Roll”
As the 1970s transformed into the 1980s, Judas Priest records made a deliberate pivot toward a more condensed, mainstream iteration of their ferocious, cathartic, and inarguably definitive brand of heavy metal. It resulted in memorable rock radio anthems like “Heads”, which was more digestible for a wide audience, without sacrificing the band’s central intensity.
93) Earl Thomas Conley- “Angel in Disguise”
Regrettably, ETC is a country music chart behemoth virtually unknown to an entire generation birthed after the Urban Cowboy era. The man charted thirty hits throughout the 80s, and with eighteen No. 1 singles, trailed only superstars Alabama and Ronnie Milsap for such stats that decade. As “Angel” demonstrates, Conley had a precise knack for maintaining the genre’s hallmarks for heart, honesty, and grit regardless of how many synthesizers were lingering in the background.
92) Wham!- “Last Christmas”
A bona fide Christmas standard for the MTV generation, “Last Christmas” finds George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley following in the footsteps of Phil Spector and laying the groundwork for acts like Amy Grant and Mariah Carey to take Christmas pop to new heights in the following decade. Like their entire catalog, this is a delectable pop feast for the ears, transforming the song’s sad story into something utterly infectious.
91) Ricky Skaggs- “Honey (Open That Door)”
Ladies and gentleman, these are the glorious sounds of new life being breathed into bluegrass music for a new generation, as well as the showcase of a virtuosic musician at the peak of his powers. Skaggs may have had trouble convincing his lady to let him in throughout this track, however he himself opened a pivotal door in keeping the sounds of traditional roots music alive in modern country music In the process he became one of the genre’s unlikeliest and most refreshing superstars of all time.
90) Diana Ross- “Missing You”
The murder of the great Marvin Gaye at the hands of his father in April of 1984 cast a grave and devastating cloud over the entire music world that year. This heartbreaking tribute written by Lionel Richie in the wake of the tragedy ranks among Diana Ross’ most powerful moments on record; the startling segue between the vocal climax and the song’s tender spoken-word finale is completely and utterly heartbreaking.
89) Judas Priest- “Love Bites”
Unapologetically morose and grim, “Love Bites” sounds like it should be the soundtrack to a 1980s slasher film. In reality, it’s merely illustrating how immensely painful, aggravating, and maddening the whole experience of love can be. So, a fairly accurate parallel in the end.
88) Bonnie Tyler- “Holding Out For a Hero”
Another smash culled from that Midas-touch of a record in the Footloose soundtrack. Few vocal performances in the lexicon of mainstream pop display a husky, blue-eyed soul showcase like Bonnie Tyler musters here. Jim Steinman’s melodramatic production pulls no punches, pairing Tyler’s battle cry with a wall of theatrical pop pageantry. It’s undeniable cheesy, but “Hero” remains an ultimate benchmark in the golden annals of power-pop.
87) Weird Al Yankovic- “Eat It”
In a hilarious footnote to Michael Jackson’s historic sweep of the 1984 Grammy Awards, there was in actuality a ninth award win tied to the legendary Thriller album that evening, when “Eat It” scored Weird Al the Best Comedy Recording honor. And by its own standards, “Eat It” was just as deserving of its win as Jackson’s own iconic recordings. This was one of Yankovic’s first great parodies, and it remains one of his very best. And don’t you make me repeat it.
86) Willie Nelson- “City of New Orleans”
The Steve Goodman standard will forever be most associated with Arlo Guthrie’s 1972 classic, but the Red Headed Stranger’s version is an essential offering as well. The endless amount of mileage on Nelson’s tour-bus has always informed his fabled voice, and hearing him sing the song’s chorus just feels like the very definition of Americana in one simple but legendary moment.
85)Olivia Newton-John- “Twist of Fate”
A dazzling and deliciously frenetic wave of synth-pop that ONJ sells brilliantly with the perfect balance of urgency and tenderness. It’s a haunting and euphoric highlight from her post-Physical era. Sadly, it became her final top ten hit, a real shame as the Aussie queen still had plenty of pop sparkle left in her tank, as her later 80s recordings would demonstrate.
84) Bob Dylan- “Jokerman”
A fascinating and vastly underrated moment within the context of Bob Dylan’s musical trajectory. His obtuse, mysterious lyricism remains on its A-game, which is no surprise as that’s a quality that has never really wavered throughout his prolific catalog. Hearing it backdropped against a breezy reggae-tinged soundscape may seem humorously jarring at the outset, but then Mark Knopfler’s warm and instantly recognizable guitar licks arrive and it all comes together in bizarre and marvelous fashion.
83) Lionel Richie- “Stuck On You”
An intentional crossover to the country charts, which was perfectly timed for home-stretch of the Urban Cowboy movement, “Stuck On You” today really sounds like just any other staple in Richie’s lucrative discography. His smooth deliveries, glossy production, and emotive lyrics are nicely tempered by a barely twangy but ever-resonant guitar backdrop. One of the many reasons that Richie was an unstoppable Adult Contemporary king during this period.
82) Thompson Twins- “Hold Me Now”
A brooding classic that helped define the moody and atmospheric identity of New Wave rock. It’s one of those records that instantly transplants you to a different dimension within the first few seconds it’s playing. It’s become one of those ubiquitous musical moments that feels like it has just always existed in the ether of the entire universe.
81) Billy Ocean- “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On the Run)”
What a smooth, funky, glitzy smorgasbord for pop fans anywhere and everywhere. Ocean’s silky R&B vocals are equally blissful and haunted, and the surrounding arrangement is one of those 1980s productions that feels like it has everything and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure, and it only elevates the proceedings to a new level of juicy pop goodness.
80) Sheena Easton- “Strut”
The definition of a 1984 ear-worm. I’m hooked from the moment I hear those dated percussive tricks that open the track, and am further paralyzed by the chaotic blend of brassy funk and synthy post-disco that follows in their footsteps. The true meat of the single however can be attributed to Easton’s fiery vocal, and her sexual awakening (at least in a musical sense) and the subsequent declaration of her own sexual agency and autonomy as well.
79) Corey Hart- “Sunglasses at Night”
“Sunglasses” is one of those pure 80s classics that works double-time as both a record and a moment. His vocal is both chillingly dark but effortlessly cool in the slickest, most-1984 of ways. There was plenty of shiny buzz to warrant those shades, though Hart never became the long-standing superstar that he seemed destined to. Nevertheless, with this iconic smash, the Canadian upstart forever etched his name into the pop-culture archive.
78) The Replacements- “I Will Dare”
As indisputably legendary as the 80s pop and rock of the MTV era was and remains, there’s also no denying that every truly great and healthy era of music needs an antithesis to the most popular trends of its time. Enter The Replacements and “I Will Dare”, a fresh and vibrant brand of jangly Heartland Rock-meets-rowdy punk that subverted all the commercial sounds of the time, in turn making the band an important flag-bearer for the era’s own alternative music universe.
77) Paul McCartney- “No More Lonely Nights”
As we’re currently observing in the homestretch of our ongoing Artist in Residence series on The Beatles, Paul McCartney has always allowed his creative inclinations and influences to evolve at his pace and his pace only. He operated this way as the Fab Four entered their more experimental period, and did the same as he navigated his solo career through the rapidly changing scenes of 70s and 80s pop/rock. “No More Lonely Nights” is a seemingly customary bout of soft-rock balladry. However, just as he did on key moments within those later Beatles albums where his creativity appeared to be too soft for its surroundings, he pulls out a hard-rock guitar solo here from David Gilmour himself, and once again reminds us that he’s just as creatively restless and diverse as his peers. He’s just less obvious and braggadocious about it.
76) Ronnie Milsap- “Prisoner of the Highway”
An underrated gem hidden within Milsap’s endless sea of classic singles, he sings the absolute fire out of this road-weary trucker’s lament, and sounds impressively alluring against the track’s persistently bluesy keys and rock-tinged guitar solos. A perfect companion to his equally juicy signature, “Stranger In My House”. On a side note, Aaron Tippin’s twanged-up reading of the song from 2009 is also very much worth seeking out.
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