# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1986 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928 "2014-10-20T16:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/1 "2014-10-20T16:30:21Z")
Our survey brings us now to 1986, and as I alluded to in the last thread, this period from here to 1989 is another of the must active periods in the history of the #1 spot. With “Say You Say Me” carrying over from last year, we have 31 songs at #1 to choose from, including one of the few #1s that’s a cover of a song that had previously been a #1 for another group, dueling Genesis/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel singles, one of the only German-language songs to ever chart in the US, and possibly one of the only #1s ever by a contemporary Christian singer. There’s something for pretty much everyone on this list. You know the drill. What’s your favorite? Previous polls: [1955-56](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731649) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731871) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732021) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732199)[1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732526) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732691) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732872) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733112) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733297) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733526) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733750) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733958) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734168) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734331) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734535) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734741) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735107) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735304) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735502) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735659) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735871) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736076) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736316) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736501) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736957) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737099) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737315) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737488) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737732) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/2 "2014-10-20T16:32:52Z")
First to post! 😛 … he says, waiting for the poll. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/3 "2014-10-20T16:36:35Z")
Went with “Kiss” - would like to show some love to the Pet Shop Boys, but “West End Girls” is one of their weaker songs, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/4 "2014-10-20T16:40:31Z")
Another year of meh, but “Sledgehammer” is definitely votable. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/5 "2014-10-20T16:43:12Z")
Bizarre… many of the songs I’m considering, I _hated_ when they were popular. “Rock Me Amadeus”, “Holding Back the Years”, “True Colors”, “The Way It Is”. However, when “Stuck With You” was big, at the time I thought the brunette in the video was the HOTTEST THING EVER, especially when they landed on the “abandoned” island. But, really, gonna have to go with Madonna here. While “Papa Don’t Preach” is, possibly, a more significant song, I have always thought “Live to Tell” was one of her best songs, which is why it gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/6 "2014-10-20T16:44:17Z")
I was barely born in this year, just barely at the last two weeks of December 1986 though I round off and say 1987. I most likely going to go with Madonna but I’ll abstain for now and decide later. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/7 "2014-10-20T16:46:34Z")
Wow. Another great year. I wasn’t feeling it for 1985, but this is more like it. So many to choose from. I went with Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” here. “Sledgehammer” was my other main contender. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/8 "2014-10-20T16:48:16Z")
Nothing really sanding out. Of a sprinkle of songs that I have put on the car MP3 USB stick, I picked Simply Red. Could just as well have gone for Madonna (LTT), Peter Gabriel, Bangles, etc. There’s a reason why I started exploring classical music from this year onwards. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/9 "2014-10-20T16:52:05Z")
Has to be The Bangles. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/10 "2014-10-20T16:54:08Z")
It’s either Madonna, Peter Cetera, Peter Gabriel, Human League, Falco or Janet Jackson or Bruce or Berlin.Those are the ones I will vote not that I dislike others. I’ll vote at break time. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/11 "2014-10-20T16:58:26Z")
Human League it is. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/12 "2014-10-20T17:00:01Z")
Wow, was this the worst year for music so far or what? Usually I have to choose between a couple of songs I really like. Here I had to pick the lesser of evils. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/13 "2014-10-20T17:00:24Z")
I went with Bruce Hornsby and the Range. That piano melody was a breath of fresh air amidst the pop music of that year. There was really nothing on the radio like it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/14 "2014-10-20T17:01:42Z")
The ones that jump out to me are Kiss and Sledgehammer, with Addicted to Love not too far behind, simply because of the phenomenon it was at the time. I will go with Peter Gabriel, because I have already picked Prince and PG’s video and song were all over MTV for a long time - back when that mattered! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/15 "2014-10-20T17:02:04Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Wow, was this the worst year for music so far or what? At this point, I think _every_ year has been the worst year for somebody. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/16 "2014-10-20T17:08:14Z")
Some good stuff in there. I went with Simply Red over Bruce Hornsby, even though I think Bruce is brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/17 "2014-10-20T17:13:25Z")
I voted for “True Colors”, but this was the most difficult year so far for me to choose my favorite. There were three other songs I could have voted for. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/18 "2014-10-20T17:16:19Z")
This was the year kiddoeaddi was born so I had to pick something. Bruce Hornsby for me. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/19 "2014-10-20T17:21:03Z")
I have to admit, I somehow missed Bruce Hornsby. I like that song and would have voted for it had I seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928/20 "2014-10-20T17:28:43Z")
Clearly, the winner this year is Prince’s “Kiss”. The funk is _strong_ with this one. (Plus it’s on my favorite Prince LP of all time, so there’s that, too.) Other possibilities were: “Live to Tell”, “West End Girls”, “Holding Back the Years”, “Human”, “Sledgehammer”, “The Way It Is”, “Rock Me Amadeus”, and “Say You, Say Me”. (Yes, I said, “Say You, Say Me”, and I was being serious. Because I had a dream, and it was an AWESOME dream.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1986/701928.md?page=2)