# Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 1985 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537 "2015-02-24T18:28:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/21 "2015-02-25T23:43:29Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > _God dammit_ > > Anyone who has not voted yet - please consider a vote for “Part Time Lover” to be equivalent to casting a vote for the #52 song of the year - “Suddenly” by Billy Ocean. > > (No Boys of Summer still, I’m afraid - that was #53.) No worries, you can always check the number 1 songs and see if there is a mutual song that shows up on both lists. You have only done this mistake only twice, in 1978 with Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” which like this Stevie Wonder song was a #1 single. No big deal though. I do agree with your assessment of Prince, I voted for “Raspberry Beret” because I find it a good song, and there are only a handful of his songs I like. One being “Erotic City”, “1999” being chief among them. Of his five #1 singles, I don’t care for a single one of them. Essentially Prince is an artist(no pun intended) that I don’t really care for. He sure does have talent, for writing music, playing guitar, and crafting songs for other artists, but I don’t “get” him. He is no better than many others from his era I feel. I also hate the fact that he does not allow any of his videos to stay up on YouTube or any site for that matter, making is music hard to find. That is like a writer not allowing any of his/her books to be sold. Prince thinks he is “something”, and I feel he is not. Sure he can sue if another artist uses his songs without permission, but in this case he has gone too far. Michael Jackson is head and shoulders above Prince. Oh and one last thing, his associated artists such as Sheila E and Vanity 6 sucked, though “Nasty Girl” was catchy. From this list I also dislike Pat Benatar, throw in there Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Maybe I don’t like short haired rock chicks of the 80’s. Give me Madonna any day of the week. Rant over. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/22 "2015-02-26T00:40:36Z")
Ahhh… 1985, good pickings, this is a chart I could put on the playlist and set to repeat (OK, except for Jack Wagner. No way no how. And maybe skip _You’re My Inspiration_ after the first replay). Had it included _Boys of Summer_ that would have been my choice but that was not to be. Still I must disagree those who say this was overall a bad year, prime example of the relativity of tastes. My admiration for the Great Purple One (no, not Barney you smartasses…) in his 80s incarnation is undimmed by his later turns of puzzling high concept eccentricity. But Pat’s track definitely “belongs” among the top of this poll. Glenn Frey had two good turns here, while the Honeydrippers upheld the worth of “supergroups” (not an easy thing). My much younger and rougher self and his younger, rougher buds did re-title Whitney’s song something rude; and one of them changed the lyrics on \*Nightshift _to something disrespectful(_), but that was just us being crass, both were great pieces. I may give it another day to see how things go, right now for me it’s between the headgear you’d find in a secondhand store, the sound of the words we’ve both fallen under, and the concrete under my feet. (\*\* “Marvin… Marvin You wuz a friend of mine… …Yo’ daddy shot you dead. He shot you in tha head…”\*) ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/23 "2015-02-26T03:20:54Z")
Teena Marie is a very underrated performer. I’m going with “Lovergirl.” ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/24 "2015-02-26T03:25:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Our survey now returns to 1985. I had to go to #51 to compile this list of 25, which, at the risk of poisoning the well, I’m gonna say is not as utterly amazing as the last few years have been. (“Boys of Summer” and “One Night in Bangkok” all just barely missed the cutoff point, alas.) “Boys of Summer” would have been an easy pick for me. As it was, I took “You Belong to the City.” I guess I like former Eagles. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/25 "2015-02-26T05:52:05Z")
I also voted for Vanilla Child (Teena). She gots a special place in the feels for me. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/26 "2015-02-26T07:33:11Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > Mistake Alert: “Part Time Lover” was a #1 song in 1985, so should have not been on this list. Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer” belonged here. Aargh!! Henley gets my vote, if only I could vote for it. Would be a strong contender if listed. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/27 "2015-02-26T09:57:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > His stuff just sounds too overproduced and artificial to me, and even when he’s trying to be erotic it just sounds synthetic and fake. I’d tend to agree with that except for one song: _Girls & Boys_. French lyrics in an English song almost always fall flat for me. Tacky, artificial, unintelligible or just plain ridiculous. But in this song? Pure hotness. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/28 "2015-02-26T12:59:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I don’t think you read the update thoroughly. Depends. How did it read before you edited it? ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537/29 "2015-02-26T14:05:49Z")
Good year for music. Several there I could have voted for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1985/713537.md?page=1)