# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1988 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357 "2014-10-24T15:10:30Z")\ **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 24, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/1 "2014-10-24T15:10:30Z")
The year is now 1988. This year and 1989 are second only to 1974-1975 in terms of the number of songs in the poll; with “Faith” carrying over, we have 33 songs to choose from. Michael Jackson’s multiple chart-toppers this year made him the first artist to ever score five number-ones off a single album, and one of only two ever to achieve that feat (Katy Perry is the other), while George Michael joined the slightly larger group of artists with four number-ones off an album. We also have the final #1 by a Beatle (appropriate enough as we’re pretty much at the tail end of the ‘classic rock era’ here) and a #1 with a rap verse (though it’s going to take us until 1991 to get a full-fledged rap at #1). It’s a pretty mixed bag, and I honestly have no idea where this poll is going. 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) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737957) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738178) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/2 "2014-10-24T15:24:20Z")
Damn, there were a lot of #1 hits this year. I had to go with Guns n’ Roses. While there’s a lot of sentimental favorites on this list, Guns n’ Roses kicked the ass of all those hair metal bands with _Appetite for Destruction_, and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is just a great song. Runner up is INXS. Michael Hutchence was probably my first rock n’ roll crush. ---
**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 24, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/3 "2014-10-24T15:32:56Z")
Ewwwwwwwwwwww. Terrence Trent D’Arby - “Wishing Well” is the only one of that bunch that made my 32 gB USB stick for the car… I don’t care for the rest, and really hate some of them. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/4 "2014-10-24T15:35:31Z")
Nothing in this year’s group really stands out for me. I voted for “Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car” because it’s just a fun song. I couldn’t help noticing that Rick Astley had a couple of #1’s this year (including, of course, “Never Gonna Give You Up”). I guess you could say he was on a Rickroll. (\*\*: **D&R:** ) ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/5 "2014-10-24T15:40:31Z")
Wow. What a pitiful year. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/6 "2014-10-24T15:49:48Z")
I was sorely tempted to vote for Rick Astley so I could say I rickrolled the SDMB, but I think that is agin the rules. So I went with _Every Rose Has Its Thorn_, which is as close as this list comes to something memorable. For a year with so much Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and George Michael in it, it seems to have faded from memory rather soon. _Kokomo_ was fun, _Got My Mind Set on You_ is good, but nothing jumps out and gets incorporated into memory. I was thirty one at that point - probably explains it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/7 "2014-10-24T15:57:53Z")
Have to say, after slagging G n’ R in that thread about big artists that really only had one great album, Sweet Child jumped out to me. I really love George Michael’s album. Haven’t listened to it in 15 years - I can look at the CD case and get a hit off it. Really love Need You Tonight - just a great groove. More of a groove than an actual song 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/8 "2014-10-24T16:01:13Z")
Ok, this one was a bad 80s year too. But Sweet Child O Mine is the best of the bunch… ---
**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 24, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/9 "2014-10-24T16:02:25Z")
Went with INXS, though I imagine Guns ‘n’ Roses will win the poll. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/10 "2014-10-24T16:06:50Z")
Not a good year, IMHO. I went with the Beach Boys, though I was tempted to click on either of Rick Astley’s songs. Nothing else jumped out at me. I _loathe_ “Got My Mind Set on You.” The bookstore where I worked in grad school had it on the loudspeakers _constantly_, until I snipped the cord on the tuner with a pair of long-nosed scissors one day when no one else was around. Blissful silence for the rest of my tenure there! :o ---
**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 24, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/11 "2014-10-24T16:07:21Z")
Yeah, kind of a weak year. GnR for me, with INXS close behind. Besides the George Michael, not much else is really sticking out for me, though I do enjoy “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Had no idea George Michael did this well on the charts in one year. ETA: oh, and I do like the Rick Astkey, too. I’m with the poster above. “Got My Mind Set On You” is annoying as hell. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/12 "2014-10-24T16:08:07Z")
…and, by the way, as a native SF Bay Area person: man, did Starship just lose its way. We Built this City, Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now. They’d come a long way from Surrealistic Pillow. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/13 "2014-10-24T16:10:19Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Wow. What a pitiful year. Ditto. New Wave had run its course,…bands like The Police, The Cars had broken up college rock and bands like REM would dominate for a few short years until Grunge took over. In the meantime, industrial and ‘club industrial’ (Ministry, Front 242…that sort of thing) would carve out a niche. ---
**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 24, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/14 "2014-10-24T16:18:47Z")
I went back and forth on this one several times before I ultimately decided what I wanted to vote for, because there are several songs on this list that are, in my opinion, _the best song_ by the artist that recorded them. - “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. One of the best guitar riffs ever, GnR’s best track, and eminently rock-out-to-able. Didn’t go with it because, let’s face it, the lyrics are mediocre at best and don’t make a lot of sense. “Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I’d hide - _what?_” - “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. Poison’s best song, and one of the best power ballads ever, IMO. It’s a good enough song that [even Miley Cyrus wasn’t capable of ruining it for me.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_RwnQC_vQ) Still a little too cheesy to vote for, though. - “Red Red Wine”. One of those great examples of how you can take a sad song and make it sound happy based on how you arrange it. The rap section is groundbreaking, though it doesn’t really make a lot of sense. and doesn’t really fit with the rest of the song. - “One More Try”. George Michael’s best song, and my runner-up. This is a song that comes across as personal and vulnerable, and Michael puts a lot of soul into it. It’s nearly six minutes long, but doesn’t feel like a long song - it takes exactly as long as it needs to to say what it needs to say. This one I almost voted for, but decided not to in favor of the one I did pick… - “Man In The Mirror”. MJ’s best solo effort IMO - and not surprisingly, like the two above, it’s a song about personal desperation and sadness. MJ puts his heart and soul into the lyrics and comes off as heartbroken about the state of the world, but optimistic for a better day. The production is slick, and, well, no message could have been any clearer. It’s worth noting that when Jackson died in 2009, this song made it all the way back up to #2 on the Hot 100, and was within a hair’s breadth of making it to #1 again - that’s how much this song meant to people. (It got shut out by the Black Eyed Peas, which is just plain tragic, though it saves the 2009 poll from being a complete slam dunk.) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/15 "2014-10-24T16:27:43Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I _loathe_ “Got My Mind Set on You.” The bookstore where I worked in grad school had it on the loudspeakers _constantly_, until I snipped the cord on the tuner with a pair of long-nosed scissors one day when no one else was around. Blissful silence for the rest of my tenure there! :o _This song’s got nothing to say But I’m recording it anyway I know if I put my mind to it I know I could find a good rhyme here_ -“(This Song’s Just) Six Words Long,” words by Weird Al Yankovic ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/16 "2014-10-24T16:35:40Z")
There isn’t a single song on the list I would voluntarily listen to. Pass on the whole year. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/17 "2014-10-24T16:41:11Z")
Fortunately, I must not be very picky because I think there are a bunch of great songs here. _Sweet Child_, _Every Rose_, the MJ songs…but I’m the sole vote for _Look Away_ because I absolutely love it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/18 "2014-10-24T16:46:04Z")
Red Red Wine – a Neil Diamond song (circa 1970?), recorded by some reggae band in Jamaica (circa 1975?), then by the British/Jamaican band UB40 for their covers album, \*Labour of Love \*(circa 1982?). What on God’s green earth is it doing on our 1988 list? ---
**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 24, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/19 "2014-10-24T16:47:55Z")
_Kokomo_ is good enough to get my vote, but the rest of this is really awful. _Red, Red Wine_ may be in my top 10 most hated songs of all time. Of all time! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357/20 "2014-10-24T16:48:35Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > What on God’s green earth is it doing on our 1988 list? I was wondering the same thing. Wiki just says it was re-released in 1988 but doesn’t say why. Was it used in a movie, perhaps? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1988/702357.md?page=2)