100. Madonna – “Holiday” (1983)
The saga of Madonna’s pop superstardom begins here with her first worldwide hit coming from a Pure Energy demo produced by Jellybean.
99. Boogie Down Productions – “South Bronx” (1986)
KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock only made one album together (BDP would continue on after La Rock’s murder in ’87), but its sound and mentality rippled through New York hip-hop and helped form gangsta rap.
98. Motörhead – “Ace of Spades” (1980)
For a few years, the English speed metal band perfected hard rock with their definitive anthem being an ode to the gambling wild-west spirit Lemmy and co. embodied.
97. The Jesus and Mary Chain – “Just Like Honey” (1985)
Through the use of the classic “Be My Baby” drum intro, the Scottish band brought a comforting pop backdrop to the abrasive squall of noise and dreamy guitars.
96. David Bowie – “Ashes to Ashes” (1980)
As Bowie entered the eighties, he reflected on his own image and wondered if he too would end up an adrift junkie like the Major Tom of his breakthrough hit.
95. U2 – “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983)
U2 found their voice on this percussive political torcher about English troops killing 14 Irish civil rights protestors in 1972.
94. Violent Femmes – “Blister in the Sun” (1983)
The kinetic ragamuffin energy of this drug anthem is unmatched and was the perfect collab of singer/songwriter Gordon Gano and newly-added drummer Victor DeLorenzo.
93. Eric B. & Rakim – “Follow the Leader” (1988)
When people say Rakim is the greatest rapper of all time, the title track to their second classic album is the first piece of evidence.
92. Zapp – “Computer Love” (1985)
Roger Troutman’s band was born from the dissolution of Parliament/Funkadelic, and his talk box vocal approach created some of the most lasting hooks of his era, especially on this heavily-digitized R&B hit.
91. Janet Jackson – “Rhythm Nation” (1989)
For the Control follow-up, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Janet envisioned a bolder approach to dance music, not just sonically where they made New Jack Swing sound tame, but by also promoting racial harmony first and foremost.
90. Talk Talk – “Life’s What You Make It” (1986)
The bridge between their synth pop early days and art rock peaks was The Colour of Spring with this single included at the last minute because the label needed a hit (reached number 16 in the UK).
89. Cherrelle & Alexander O’Neal – “Saturday Love” (1985)
Before their Janet Jackson heyday, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis wrote and produced this addictive R&B duet that gives a shout out to every day on the calendar.
88. New Order – “Age of Consent” (1983)
Kicking off their most notable album was this high-octane new wave display of why the trio of Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris were all the greatest musicians of their era.
87. Tears for Fears – “Head over Heels” (1985)
Songs from the Big Chair is one of the best new wave albums of the eighties, and this underrated single has grown in stature over the years with the help of its Donnie Darko inclusion.
86. Frankie Knuckles & Jamie Principle – “Your Love” (1986)
The true credits on this Chicago House classic are a mess with Jamie Principle composing and writing the track, Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper editing and maybe even rerecording it, and finally professional remixer DJ Mark “Hot Rod” Trollan changing the intro.
85. Prince – “Little Red Corvette” (1982)
His first top ten hit was a metaphor as clever as it was unsubtle about casual sex with Prince straddling the line between promoting and chastising it.
84. Evelyn “Champagne” King – “Love Come Down” (1982)
The collaboration between King and musician Kashif generated some of the best R&B music of the early-’80s, as danceable as it is silky smooth.
83. INXS – “Never Tear Us Apart” (1987)
The Australian band’s signature song is this waltz-like ballad featuring one of the greatest saxophone solos of the decade.
82. Dinosaur Jr. – “Freak Scene” (1988)
A vital aspect of American rock music is lost without Dinosaur Jr. — the quintessential balance of slacker and technical virtuosity that defines indie music to this day.
81. Bronski Beat – “Smalltown Boy” (1984)
The openly-gay synth pop band debuted with their defining anthem written about young gay men ostracized from their hometowns.
80. Neneh Cherry – “Buffalo Stance” (1988)
Cherry’s aesthetic and influences are far and wide, but her most notable musical achievement is her debut single, a freestyle romp with incredible Bomb the Bass production and a sort of feminine swagger rarely heard before.
79. Fleetwood Mac – “Everywhere” (1987)
The band’s last major hit is Christine McVie’s pop masterpiece featuring a twinkly multi-guitar intro from Buckingham that beautifully sets the scene.
78. Sade – “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” (1988)
The quasi-title track to Stronger Than Pride is the band’s most impressive slice of sophisti-pop, with flecks of guitar dispersed in a heavy breath of synth backdrops.
77. The Church – “Under the Milky Way” (1988)
Five albums in, the Australian band finally found their perfect composition, where lyrics of existential longing are emboldened by a dreamy 12-string acoustic guitar and synth washes.
76. Bob Marley & the Wailers – “Could You Be Loved” (1980)
One of Marley’s most universally-beloved anthems — a tasteful reggae/disco mash-up — happened to come from his final album.
75. Bruce Springsteen – “Dancing in the Dark” (1984)
Springsteen’s US radio takeover in the mid-’80s with Born in the U.S.A. was a stunning breakthrough, and it started with this massive hit featuring an inspired addition of synths to one of his best vocal turns.
74. The Cure – “In Between Days” (1985)
The Cure’s move from gothic rock to jangle pop/new wave territory was seamless as Robert Smith composed with a peppy earnestness that contrasted with the dejected lyrics.
73. U2 – “Bad” (1984)
Now being produced by Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois, U2 had the sonic backing to their most ambitious compositions, none more so than this 6-minute non-single fan favorite about heroin addiction that features Bono saying every word ending in -ation he can think of.
72. Slick Rick – “Children’s Story” (1988)
Oft considered the greatest storytelling rap single of all time, Rick offers a tale of a seventeen-year-old on a ill-fated run from the cops.
71. Rhythm Is Rhythm – “Strings of Life” (1987)
Derrick May is the most influential act in Detroit techno, and alongside Michael James, he crafted a sped-up piano ballad with piercing digitized strings that is pure euphoria.
70. The Replacements – “I Will Dare” (1984)
With R.E.M.’s guitarist Peter Buck offering a solo, the debut single for the Replacements not only helped define the band’s stature in American rock but also defined the college radio aesthetic.
69. Cyndi Lauper – “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983)
Lauper’s defining anthem is also a fun powerful feminist statement perfectly crafted for everyone to chant in perpetuity.
68. Kate Bush – “Hounds of Love” (1985)
The title track to Bush’s greatest album is a baroque pop terror with overwhelming emotions oozing from every phrasing, word and string note.
67. Gang Starr – “DJ Premier in Deep Concentration” (1989)
Buried in the middle of Gang Starr’s first album is an instrumental from DJ Premier that is the greatest sample mix in the history of hip-hop.
66. Grover Washington Jr. (ft. Bill Withers) – “Just the Two of Us” (1980)
Bill Withers’ last major hit comes as a feature on this saxophonist’s single, oft-credited as the impetus of the smooth jazz explosion through the ’80s and ’90s.
65. Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon” (1984)
This band’s crowning achievement is grandiose pop music as envisioned by the over-dramatic gothic post-punk working class of ’80s Liverpool.
64. Mr. Fingers – “Can You Feel It” (1986)
The full synth introduction in this song is one of the greatest moments in electronic history, where Larry Heard’s playful synth plinking is enveloped in a dreamy cosmic wash where gravity has vanished.
63. Bruce Springsteen – “Atlantic City” (1982)
Nebraska began and ended as a set of acoustic demos with Springsteen’s tales of failed blue-collar workers getting no relief in the form of a big brass band.
62. R.E.M. – “Radio Free Europe” (1981)
Arguably the most impactful American band over the next 15 years starts here with this punky ode to the American state-funded broadcasts set up around Soviet satellite states.
61. The Specials – “Ghost Town” (1981)
Two-tone’s defining anthem came in the waning days of its signature band, and the single itself describes the end of the club scene that once thrived.
60. New Order – “Temptation” (1982)
The post-Joy Division collective were searching for their own corner in music after Ian Curtis’ passing, and they found it with this cathartic new wave anthem that brought them to the dancefloor.
59. De La Soul – “Me Myself and I” (1989)
This laid-back funky number-one hip-hop hit brought De La Soul and the Native Tongues aesthetic to the forefront of rap culture contrasting heavily with their counterparts.
58. Pixies – “Debaser” (1989)
Inspired by the Luis Buñuel short film Un Chien Andalou, Francis Black created a new term to describe the artistic freedom of forgoing the standard morality of the time, which the Pixies themselves also represented.
57. Laurie Anderson – “O Superman” (1981)
UK DJ John Peel singlehandedly willed this avant-pop masterpiece into a UK top five hit, which then earned Anderson a seven-album contract with Warner Bros.
56. Sister Nancy – “Bam Bam” (1982)
The greatest dancehall song of the ’80s features incredibly addicting nonsense lyrics which have sampled repeatedly for the last 40 years.
55. Stevie Nicks – “Edge of Seventeen” (1981)
Like Joan Cusack in School of Rock, you must jolt awake at the first seconds of this 16th-note guitar intro and sing along with Nicks’ fiery emphatic vocals.
54. The Cure – “Close to Me” (1984)
Built around an iconic bassline and the softest of keyboards and crescendoing into a full brass section, this single proved the Cure were capable of pop perfection before the US began to recognize so.
53. Eric B. & Rakim – “Paid in Full” (1987)
Both get to flex on this title track with Rakim offering one of the most iconic and referenced verses in hip-hop and Eric B. doing some scratching on the long outro.
52. Don Henley – “The Boys of Summer” (1984)
Henley’s former band never quite achieved this sort of pop bliss found here, which started as a demo from Tom Petty’s guitarist Mike Campbell after Petty declined to work on it.
51. Prince & the Revolution – “When Doves Cry” (1984)
The summer of ’84 was owned by this song, the funk rock masterpiece that was the thematic heart of the film Purple Rain.
Bitter Melodies 