# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1989 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584 "2014-10-26T17:39:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 26, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/21 "2014-10-26T20:19:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Not that I necessarily expect any of these acts to score a #1 single. I really have no idea – I’m not “cheating” by looking ahead (I find it fun to see what, ahem, rises to the top…or should that be sinks to the bottom?). Well, since you’re not cheating, i’ll spoilertext this; [SPOILER] Nirvana came the closest, and only then long after the fact. “Pennyroyal Tea”, the planned single release of which was cancelled due to Kurt’s death, was rereleased in April of this year and reached #1 on the sales chart, and would have been #1 on the Hot 100 if not for the fact that its rerelease didn’t net it any significant airplay. Other than that, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” peaked at #6. In Beck’s case, “Loser” peaked at #10. RHCP’s “Under the Bridge” peaked at #2, though it made it to #1 in Australia and the Netherlands; “Dani California” made #1 in Canada, but peaked at #6 in the US. Radiohead peaked at #37 with “Creep”. “Knives Out” and “There There” made #1 in Canada. None of the rock bands of the grunge generation ever scored a #1 in the US - by that time, alternative rock and mainstream pop had become so completely divorced that the former had no chance of reaching the latter. The closest thing I can find is “Some Might Say” by Oasis, which reached #1 in the UK in 1995. [/SPOILER] ---
**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 26, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/22 "2014-10-26T21:00:19Z")
Milli Vanilli as a protest vote. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/23 "2014-10-26T21:01:56Z")
I can definitely tell from the last few installments in this series where I stopped listening to pop radio. At least half the songs from the last two years are completely unfamiliar to me from the titles, although I might recognize a few more if I heard them. It’ll be interesting as we go forward on these to see just how much more out of touch I get. For this year, I really liked both of the FYC tunes and I voted with a slight preference for Good Thing. ---
**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 26, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/24 "2014-10-26T21:12:19Z")
“Like A Prayer” was the relatively easy choice for me,but there’s a good number of songs on this list I like but aren’t necessarily great. I like the Roxette, the Janet Jackson, the Paula Abdul (particularly "Straight Up "), the Milli Vanillia (too bad about the scandal, the songs were decent.) But none of those I find great, while I think the Madonna is a perfect late 80s dance dong, and I e never gotten sick of hearing it. ---
**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 26, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/25 "2014-10-26T21:23:28Z")
Not really a great year for albums either, other than Doolittle. ---
**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 26, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/26 "2014-10-26T21:35:27Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Not really a great year for albums either, other than Doolittle. The Stone Roses, Disintegration, Paul’s Boutique and 3 Feet High and Rising also immediately comes to mind. ---
**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 26, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/27 "2014-10-26T21:42:24Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Not really a great year for albums either, other than Doolittle. Paul’s Boutique and The Stone Roses, but agreed, not a vintage year. There’s a lot bubbling under the surface in 1989 though, guitar-wise and dance-music-wise. Edit: 3 Feet High and Rising, too Edit lol: pulykamell read my mind ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/28 "2014-10-26T21:59:03Z")
I will out myself as a _Batdance_ voter, as I was completely obsessed with the song and movie that year, and I still enjoy listening to the song from time to time. It was likely going to be We Didn’t Start The Fire otherwise. ---
**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 26, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/29 "2014-10-26T22:03:50Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Paul’s Boutique and The Stone Roses, but agreed, not a vintage year. There’s a lot bubbling under the surface in 1989 though, guitar-wise and dance-music-wise. > > Edit: 3 Feet High and Rising, too Also Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Vol One was this year. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/30 "2014-10-26T22:10:30Z")
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” because this is my only chance to vote for a Billy Joel song I actually like. ---
**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 26, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/31 "2014-10-26T23:13:12Z")
Thanks for the spoil tagging, Smapti. I admit I sneaked a peek…confirmed my suspicions. How pathetic! I think there will be few #1s I’m familiar with in the 90s. With Latin America’s top hits, where I lived from 1996 to 1999, I’d have better luck – Ricky Martin, Cafe Tacuba, Maná, Shakira, Lynda… ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/32 "2014-10-26T23:26:32Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Not really a great year for albums either, other than Doolittle. It wasn’t a bad year: Soundgarden - _Louder than Love_ The Sugarcubes - _Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!_ Nirvana - _Bleach_ (ya know, the good record) Ministry - _The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste_ Melvins - _Ozma_ NOMEANSNO - _Wrong_ - the best record of the year, maybe the decade ---
**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 26, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/33 "2014-10-26T23:42:56Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > “We Didn’t Start the Fire” because this is my only chance to vote for a Billy Joel song I actually like. Except for _She Drives Me Crazy_, it’s the only title I recognize. Is this a road sign pointing in the direction of Old Fartsville? ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/34 "2014-10-26T23:46:00Z")
“Like a Prayer” is the only song I can vote for in good conscience. What an awful year. ---
**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 26, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/35 "2014-10-26T23:47:23Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Except for _She Drives Me Crazy_, it’s the only title I recognize. Is this a road sign pointing in the direction of Old Fartsville? This year was so long ago that one of the biggest pop singers of the past decade, who has already scored one #1 this year, [has an album dropping tomorrow which is named after it because it was the year in which she was born.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_(Taylor_Swift_album)) So, in short, yes. 🙂 ---
**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 26, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/36 "2014-10-26T23:50:30Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Paul’s Boutique and The Stone Roses, but agreed, not a vintage year. There’s a lot bubbling under the surface in 1989 though, guitar-wise and dance-music-wise. > > Edit: 3 Feet High and Rising, too > > Edit lol: pulykamell read my mind Camper Van Beethoven, Shinehead… ---
**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 27, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/37 "2014-10-27T00:09:55Z")
I’m gobsmacked: seven votes for Eternal Flame? For a singer who can’t hit the required high notes without somebody booting her in the ass? Sheesh. ---
**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 27, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/38 "2014-10-27T00:52:36Z")
This is the first year since 1962, even after I YouTubed some songs, had no memory of hearing them at any point in my life - especially that Sheriff song. Also the first year where nothing really stands out… even in some years where the songs were weak, there was usually one or two that leaped at me as an obvious choice. This year? Not really. So I’m going to vote for Madonna one more time, with “Like a Prayer” getting the vote as it’s one of the better songs in her catalog… and there’s the entire Pepsi fiasco, which adds some interest in it. I almost (shockingly, for me) voted for Billy Joel until common sense took over and I remembered that I hated this song because it seemed like a ripoff of “It’s the End of the World…” by REM. Is it me or are there a lot of covers on this list? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/39 "2014-10-27T01:11:46Z")
Geez, what a terrible year. I voted for Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted”, purely because 1989 was the year I hooked up with the best girlfriend I ever had, and she liked that song. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584/40 "2014-10-27T01:34:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It is perhaps a testament to the huge pop culture sensation the 1989 “Batman” movie was, that you could release a song that is pretty much a totally random collection of samples, slap the “Bat” label on it, and have it hit #1. A random collection of samples from Prince’s library of unreleased music. Not quite the same as a totally random collection of samples. Still, I voted for Like a Prayer. One of my favorite Madonna songs. FYC and the Bangles were the only other real contenders. > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Also Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Vol One was this year. Great album. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1989/702584.md?page=3)