50. Luther Vandross – “Never Too Much” (1981)
The greatest male R&B vocalist of his day debuted with this disco-indebted love song where Vandross’ emotions refuse to be contained.
49. Beastie Boys – “Shake Your Rump” (1989)
The quintessential track from the trio will always be this chaotic Paul’s Boutique opener where samples fly as fast and furious as the comedic shit-talking tag team bars.
48. Paul Simon – “Graceland” (1986)
At a crossroads in his life and career, Simon went on a pilgrimage to Elvis Presley’s home where its heavenly aura contrasted with the grim realities of his dissolving marriage.
47. Madonna – “Into the Groove” (1985)
Its awkward release history prevented it from charting on the Billboard Hot 100, but this high-octane dance anthem made for Desperately Seeking Susan is the defining work of her mid-’80s career.
46. New Order – “Bizarre Love Triangle” (1986)
New Order excelled in every genre they took a stab at, and this cathartic synth-pop dance classic might be the greatest of its kind.
45. The Smiths – “How Soon Is Now?” (1984)
From the first of Marr’s guitar swells, everyone should be swept up in the dark regal dance magic of the Smiths’ most grandiose single.
44. U2 – “With or Without You” (1987)
U2’s greatest and most lasting song finds Bono at a tipping point, stuck where the fork in the road just leads to the same dead end.
43. Prince & the Revolution – “I Would Die 4 U” (1984)
Just another one of the greatest songs ever made crammed into Purple Rain, this single features Prince bouncing around one of the most brilliant up-tempo R&B instrumentals ever crafted.
42. Kraftwerk – “Computer Love” (1981)
There’s an irony in that the loneliest of Kraftwerk’s many great songs has ‘love’ in the title, but it’s that space and distance felt in every note and word that greatly conveys our contemporary struggle with human connection in a computer world.
41. Diana Ross – “I’m Coming Out” (1980)
Written after seeing drag queens dressed as Diana Ross in a NYC club, this jubilant and freeing worldwide disco hit has become the definitive LGBTQ+ anthem.
40. Pet Shop Boys – “West End Girls” (1985)
The synth-pop duo’s debut single was inspired by T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” where a simple stroll in the inner city is a cavalcade of anxieties.
39. Tom Tom Club – “Genius of Love” (1981)
The Talking Heads’ side project with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth produced this hip-hop and funk-indebted curiosity that surprisingly connected with the masses, later being sampled for one of Mariah Carey’s most-revered singles.
38. Janet Jackson – “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” (1989)
The fourth single from Rhythm Nation 1814 to top the Billboard charts, this endearing love song is the most impressively crafted of them all swinging from the soft dreamy intro to quite possibly the hardest snare hits ever recorded in a pop song.
37. Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force – “Planet Rock” (1982)
This seminal hip-hop classic brought Kraftwerk to America (without their permission) and created a new version of dance music where P-Funk, rap and German techno were all one and the same.
36. Depeche Mode – “Never Let Me Down Again” (1987)
The synth-pop band wasn’t exactly struggling to make an impact with their first five albums, but the version that would become a global sensation began here with booming production, guitar work and a Led Zeppelin sample.
35. David Bowie – “Modern Love” (1983)
Wanting a commercial record, Bowie sought out Nile Rodgers and crafted this Little Richard-indebted dance-rock anthem that features Bowie wondering what love and religion are all for anyway.
34. Salt-N-Pepa – “Push It” (1987)
The barriers for women in hip-hop were broken when this effervescent party-starter climbed the charts and made them the first female act to achieve gold and platinum certification.
33. Prince & the Revolution – “Kiss” (1986)
The strange and complex minimalist production of this number one hit made Warner Bros. question if it should even be a single, but the public saw the digi-acoustic funk masterpiece for what it was.
32. Pixies – “Where Is My Mind?” (1988)
Far and away the band’s most acclaimed and popular song, this single was humbly inspired by Francis Black scuba diving in the Caribbean and seeing a little fish.
31. Fleetwood Mac – “Gypsy” (1982)
Almost made for Stevie Nicks’ debut solo album, this single has her reminiscing on the pre-Fleetwood days, where her carefree, spare bohemian lifestyle was more desirable.
30. Eurythmics – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (1983)
This breakthrough hit for the British duo was one of the biggest synth-pop singles of the era with Annie Lennox’s orange buzzcut look becoming an iconic androgynous style for the MTV era.
29. Madonna – “Like a Prayer” (1989)
Madonna’s most ambitious pop hit featured sexual innuendos interspersed with liturgical phrasing to get a reaction, which was made more direct with the dark and controversial music video that was condemned by the Vatican.
28. Roxy Music – “More Than This” (1982)
Roxy Music’s denouement was maybe the best work of all with their last top-ten UK hit being a serene sophisti-pop ballad where the instrumental outro nearly takes up the final two minutes.
27. New Order – “Ceremony” (1981)
The last recording of Joy Division features Ian Curtis singing this song four days before his suicide, and the other members — now with a new name — re-recorded the incredible and uplifting post-punk anthem to keep the music alive.
26. Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean” (1982)
From the music video to its radio dominance, this single came to define the Thriller takeover thanks to some of the tightest session work and most expensive studio production magic put to tape.
25. N.W.A. – “Fuck tha Police” (1989)
Ever-present in our political lexicon is this Compton classic which eviscerates the LA police department for its profiling and anti-drug crusade.
24. Talking Heads – “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” (1983)
With a sparse keyboard arrangement and David Byrne’s desire to craft a love song, the band caught lightning in a bottle with this earnest synth-pop gem that has no contemporary.
23. Fugazi – “Waiting Room” (1988)
Leading the charge for post-hardcore was this D.C. supergroup who defined the indie punk sound heading into the ’90s with this mission statement of ‘fighting for what I want to be.’
22. Marvin Gaye – “Sexual Healing” (1982)
Gaye was finally free of Motown and was curbing his drug addiction when he released this smooth R&B classic about the need to let off some steam, but we unfortunately never saw what the rest of the ’80s would be for Gaye.
21. Bruce Springsteen – “I’m on Fire” (1984)
Rockabilly had never sounded like this, wound tight ready to burst and bathed in ethereal synths with Springsteen lustfully singing of sweating in his sleep.
20. Daryl Hall & John Oates – “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” (1981)
Blue-eyed soul reached its peak with this impeccably groovy number one single featuring the most wonderfully-cheap sounding drum machine around and an unmatched saxophone performance.
19. Public Enemy – “Bring the Noise” (1988)
The wall of sound abrasiveness of the Bomb Squad’s production is on full display for the It Takes a Nation… opener as Chuck D cuts through with the greatest boasts and lyrical gymnastics of his career.
18. Sade – “The Sweetest Taboo” (1985)
The band’s greatest work is this Latin-jazz inflected quiet storm ballad that beautifully glides with the most pristine instrumentation and vocal work ever put to tape.
17. David Bowie – “Let’s Dance” (1983)
Adhering to the repeating call of the song’s title, this worldwide number one hit got everybody moving but not without some typical Bowie eccentricities like a tumultuous horn section, some woodblocks and congas in the percussion and phrases like “the serious moonlight.”
16. Prince & the Revolution – “Let’s Go Crazy” (1984)
Opening with a spare funeral organ and acting as emcee, Prince then launches into a synth-funk-rock extravaganza that displays Purple Rain at its maximalist best.
15. Madonna – “Borderline” (1983)
One of the most euphoric pop songs ever made, this Reggie Lucas-produced top ten hit further solidified Madonna as a massive pop star.
14. The Smiths – “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (1986)
Now widely-accepted as the definitive Smiths’ song, this The Queen Is Dead highlight finds Morrissey at his most brilliant, making teenage love as important and climactic as getting hit by a bus.
13. Sonic Youth – “Teen Age Riot” (1988)
Daydream Nation is the magnum opus of ’80s indie rock, and it begins on its highest note with this constantly-churning call-to-arms.
12. Joy Division – “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
Inspired by Frank Sinatra’s crooning, Ian Curtis delivers his warmest and most-direct vocals becoming the defining song of his all-too-short life.
11. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five – “The Message” (1982)
The measuring stick for which all socially conscious hip-hop is measured against, this classic truly took hip-hop to the streets without rose-tinted glasses.
10. Janet Jackson – “When I Think of You” (1986)
Jackson’s first number-one hit is also her greatest, a jubilant synth-heavy love song that endeared the world to her.
9. Prince & the Revolution – “Purple Rain” (1984)
Prince closes out the greatest album of the ’80s with the most straightforward rock ballad of his career which features one of the best vocal performances and guitar solos of any era.
8. N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton” (1989)
The entirety of hip-hop’s first decade built to this moment where the legendary Compton crew officially kicked the door down for booming gangsta rap and had everyone “witness the power of street knowledge.”
7. Tears for Fears – “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (1985)
The greatest new wave synth-pop single, this worldwide smash hit is constantly exhilarating with a new keyboard riff or guitar solo around every corner.
6. Talking Heads – “Once in a Lifetime” (1980)
The defining paranoid art pop centerpiece of the band’s greatest album, this endlessly-quotable single finds Byrne as a doomsday preacher on the fritz.
5. Public Enemy – “Fight the Power” (1989)
The summer of ’89 will forever be defined by Do the Right Thing and its co-sponsoring anthem from Public Enemy which is the most long-lasting and important political hip-hop single to-date.
4. Michael Jackson – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” (1982)
What makes Thriller potentially the greatest pop album of all time is all contained in the opener, the magnum opus of the Jones/Jackson collab where guitar solos, nonsense chants and a rapturous horn section all find space.
3. New Order – “Blue Monday” (1983)
For anyone wondering if the post-Joy Division band had new ground to cover, you were silenced when this alternative dance classic started dominating the European club scenes and became the biggest-selling 12-inch single of all time.
2. Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” (1985)
Even before its Stranger Things inclusion and becoming a worldwide hit in 2022, the definitive Kate Bush single held a spiritual clasp over its listeners where her plea to exchange places became your own.
1. The Cure – “Just Like Heaven” (1987)
When discussing the greatest pop song ever made, the Cure’s most lasting work has to be considered featuring a wondrous 50-second intro where each glorious melodic arc is shown leading into Robert Smith singing of love and sea cliffs, both causing you to fall head over heels inevitably to drown.
Bitter Melodies 