So after three days of kicking it all around in my head I had reached the end of my journey…

Ladies and gentlemen?

Here are my top ten favorite Billboard #1 hits from the 1980s:

10. “Beat It” – Michael Jackson (1983)

This song will forever be associated with the first time my Mom discovered me embracing The James Brown Factor. I remember it vividly – I was a 12-year old kid standing in my bedroom doing my best impression of Michael Jackson doing that which he did best…and there was my Mom, across the hallway sitting on the edge of her bed watching me do that which I did not do best. The chill that raced down my spine when I realized she was watching is still sending shock waves through my body to this day. “Thriller” was one of my favorite albums as a child and this track was the undisputed king from it in my opinion. Did I mention that this song has an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo in the middle? I mean, come on! What’s not to love?!?

“Beat It” – Michael Jackson ( iTunes )

9. “Maneater” – Hall & Oates (1982)

From the first time I heard the opening bass line of this 1982 classic I was hooked. There’s just something about “Whoah-oh, here she comes…watch out boy, she’ll chew you up. Whoah-oh, here she comes…she’s a maaaan-eat-uh!” that has permanently etched itself into my brain. I wish I knew what it was but I simply don’t. The mere mentioning of “here she comes” by anyone around me will immediately kick start this tune in my head…without fail, it’ll start right up from the chorus. I’ve loved this song for more than twenty-five years now and it NEVER gets old. Hall & Oates put out a ton of greats hits throughout their career but this one about a beautiful gold digger tops them all.

“Maneater” – Hall & Oates ( iTunes )

8. “Don’t You Want Me” – Human League (1982)

When I think of ’80s synth-pop, Human League immediately pops into my mind. While the group had three hits that I loved, it was their 1982 #1 hit “Don’t You Want Me” that I felt led the pack. This haunting story about an older (I’ve always assumed he was older) lover’s unrequited and repeated demand to see his former love left me yearning for more. I’ve always wanted to know what laid behind his threat of “or we will both be sorry.” Her coldly delivered response to his egotistical plea was perfectly delivered and he’s left to forever wonder where things went wrong. Songs that tell a story seem to have fallen out of favor but this particular tune’s story is timeless. Who HASN’T asked this of a former lover at one time or another when the thrill is gone?

“Don’t You Want Me” – Human League ( iTunes )

7. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics (1983)

The first time I saw Annie Lennox decked out in her black suit standing before a large screen telling me that sweet dreams were made of this – whatever “this” was – in the video for this song, I thought to myself “why is this creepy woman dressed like a man?” My curiosity and initial dislike of her was extremely short lived as I quickly found myself mesmerized by both her sultry voice and stunning eyes. I’d never seen such a powerful woman in such a tiny form (Lennox looked like she weighed about a buck o’ five in the video) but her vocals grabbed me and, still to this day, have never let go. Her voice is just raw sexual energy.

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics ( iTunes )

6. “Call Me” – Blondie (1980)

Give me a short yet high-octane drum intro, an anticipation building guitar rhythm and then mist it with the purring sounds of Blondie and you’ll find yourself at the #6 spot on my all time favorite number one hits from the 1980s. What made this song for me was the sexy attitude that Blondie oozes as she throws herself out there for the object of her desire. She’s a woman that is living – and loving to the fullest – the excesses of the early ’80s. This song, more than most all the others, captured that time period perfectly as far as I’m concerned. Blondie? If I had your number, I’d gladly call you just so I could hear you sing this song.

“Call Me” – Blondie ( iTunes )

5. “Let’s Go Crazy” – Prince & The Revolution (1984)

Described at the time as “a modern day Mozart,” Prince Rogers Nelson came onto the scene in the late ’70s but it wasn’t until 1984 that he scored this first number one hit. “Let’s Go Crazy” was the second of four chart toppers during the decade and my favorite of the bunch. After the introduction – in which we are told by Prince, channeling his inner priest, that life is short – we are led on an incredible four minute musical journey with a simple edict — “go crazy!” Entertainment Weekly deemed the “Purple Rain” the greatest album in the past 25-years and I’m in no position to dispute that claim and I feel that this song is the best of the bunch. “Let’s Go Crazy” ends with one of the most intense guitar solos I’ve ever heard, with Prince taking us home with his instrumental genius. And let’s not forget what song was the b-side track on this song’s release – “Erotic City”. Gooooood stuff.

“Let’s Go Crazy” – Prince & The Revolution ( iTunes )

4. “Owner of a Lonely Heart” – Yes (1984)

If I had tasked myself with listing the top ten coolest intros to a #1 song from the 1980s, Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart” would have won by a landslide as far as I’m concerned. I mean, these guys laid it down in the first 20 seconds and had me glued to the screen when I heard (and saw) this song for the first time on MTV. Before this, I had never heard of Yes nor their ten previous albums. Although I did give their collective work a shot nothing truly struck me as profoundly as “Owner of a Lonely Heart”. This hit just instantaneously pumps me full of that energy I talked about in my criteria from beginning to end. It’s truly riveting. This song has the rare ability to be one of a few that the second I hear it I practically drop everything I’m doing just to listen. And while it doesn’t make me dance it most certainly forces me to drum, play the air guitar and pump my fist. I absolutely love this song.

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” – Yes ( iTunes )

3. “Rock Me Amadeus” – Falco (1986)

It was during early 1986 that I became aware of the version of this song that eventually went on to land in the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. Now, I’ll admit…it was not “love at first hearing.” I caught the video on MTV and liked it, giving it an “it’s okay” grade before seeing it and hearing it more often. Something with the song clicked within me and I rapidly found myself seeking it out on Kansas City’s radio stations. My absolute love with the track was cemented in the summer of that same year when the extended version, which I have featured below, hit my airwaves. I remember leaving my stereo’s cassette recorder set to do its thing – but with the pause button on – ready at any second to snag the song should it play. Finally, after I was supposed to be in bed, the song came on and I leapt ten feet straight out of my bed to take the pause button off. This level of excitement when hearing the song continues to this day…making it my third favorite #1 hit of the entire decade.

“Rock Me Amadeus” – Falco ( iTunes )

2. “The Way You Make Me Feel” – Michael Jackson (1988)

Whenever someone mentions Michael Jackson I immediately visualize him in his fully-sequined outfit standing next to Quincy Jones at the ‘84 Grammys, I believe it was. What I hear in my head, however, is from 1988…when he busted out his famous “eee-hee, whoo!” from the beginning of this very song. That, to me, epitomizes the summation of pleasure and – let’s be honest, now – straight up excitement I had growing up hearing his music. Michael Jackson was an amazing artist. Forgetting his personal life and incessant legal/financial troubles for the purposes of my statement, Michael Jackson’s onstage presence was second to none in my generation. In the 20th century when it came to the true musical luminaries, we had Frank Sinatra followed by the Beatles and then, lastly, Michael Jackson. And it was this song that, to me, summed up how I felt about Jackson’s entire discography. The way it makes me feel? It knocks me off of my feet, now baby. Whoooooo!

“The Way You Make Me Feel” – Michael Jackson ( iTunes )

And here we are at long last…my favorite #1 Billboard hit from the 1980s.

1. “Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor (1982)

While there are a number of songs that make me happy when I hear them, rare is the track that I can listen to that makes me feel like I could put my fist through a brick wall. Survivor’s lone #1 hit “The Eye of the TIger” is one of those rare songs. Being an extremely competitive person I find pleasure in gearing up for whatever event I’m going to be entering be it a game of Scrabble or even a bowling battle. To combat nerves I seek out a playlist on my iPod with songs like this one that not only soothe my jitters but replace them with confidence. This track has everything in abundance: it energizes me, it riles me up, it brings my mind into focus, it makes me self-assured and, more than anything, makes me want to work harder at whatever it is I am about to undertake. Consider this song to be the spinach to my inner-Popeye. I absolutely and emphatically love this song.

“Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor ( iTunes )

When I began this exercise I honestly had no idea what song was going to end up in the number one spot but as it progressed, “Eye of the Tiger” just couldn’t be topped.

So what are your top ten favorite #1 hits of the 1980s?

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