# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1985 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711 "2014-10-18T15:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/81 "2014-10-21T03:48:36Z")
I keep being surprised by songs on the list – for some reason, I had some of them pegged for much earlier or much later. But anyway, “Everyone Wants to Rule the World” gets my vote. Honorable mentions to a-ha for the coolest music video, Simple Minds and Dire Straits. Really like Dire Straits, but “Money for Nothing” isn’t lyrically as interesting as Romeo and Juliet or Tunnel of Love. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/82 "2014-10-21T14:17:03Z")
> [@notquitekarpov](#): > > Genesis died when Gabriel left. Yes, except I’ve always held that Genesis died when _Steve Hackett_ left. The first two post-Gabriel albums that still had Steve were quite good. The first pre-Hackett Genesis album, even with Gabriel, was a wash, and the second was OK, but classic Genesis didn’t truly take off until Steve joined. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/83 "2014-10-21T18:35:59Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > Well, this just confirms why 1985 was my choice for the [Worst Year for Music in the Last 50 Years](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=726102) Absolutely the worst. Even at 15 I knew this, watching the MTV year end countdown and thinking “I hate ALL\* of these songs!” I knew I would never want to hear any of them again, and 30 years later I was pretty much right. I loved '84 and '86, but '85 sucked. \*Except, of course, Duran Duran and Wham! I was a 15-year-old girl after all. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/84 "2014-10-21T22:04:56Z")
REO Speedwagon. Nothing whatsoever to do with the musical, historical, or cultural merits. It’s all about the time in my life this was. Did I really love her? Does she really love me? I couldn’t fight the feeling. 30 years later, I still can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/85 "2014-10-21T22:26:01Z")
> [@tenacious\_j](#): > > Absolutely the worst. Even at 15 I knew this, watching the MTV year end countdown and thinking “I hate ALL\* of these songs!” I knew I would never want to hear any of them again, and 30 years later I was pretty much right. I loved '84 and '86, but '85 sucked. > > \*Except, of course, Duran Duran and Wham! I was a 15-year-old girl after all. Aw:D ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/86 "2014-10-21T22:33:36Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > All right, confession time: I got tired of the unanswered poll popping up when I clicked on this thread, so I voted for WBTC as a joke. It’s really the most execrable of a bunch of crappy songs from that year. > > Now someone else needs to 'fess up. I guess that’s me. And, I’m sorry\*, but I just happen to _like_ that song. Especially in a lineup like this when none of the songs are exactly my taste. A lot of the songs on this list are nice songs, and I like hearing them on the radio now and then, but most of them are only scoring 6 or 7 out of 10 if I had to rate them. For me, We Built this City is clearly on the top of this heap. - No, actually, I’m not sorry. But I will use headphones if you ask nicely. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711.md?page=4)