Top Songs — 1986
▶ Spotify PlaylistIn 1986, my sister and I were brought to a memorable extended family gathering with relatives we hadn't seen in years. This wasn't just a social visit, though. My mom's Uncle Stanley was a senior executive at IBM, and she was convinced that if we showed enough enthusiasm for computers, we might score a free PC.
In the end, I didn't succeed in figuring out which guy at the gathering was Uncle Stanley (although fortunately my sister did and a shiny new PC did indeed arrive at our house soon after). In hindsight, though, I actually made better use of my time that night by hanging out with Anna, a distant cousin about a year older than me. We clicked immediately, especially over music.
What I didn't realize at the time was that Anna was way cooler than me. While I was name-dropping Top 40 pop bands, she was talking about The Smiths. I'd never heard of them, and kept asking if she meant The Smithereens.
I didn't actually get into The Smiths until the summer of 1994, when I was recovering from a breakup and spent four weeks doing nothing but jigsaw puzzles and listening to their greatest hits — basically the most Smiths-core activity imaginable.
Looking now at my top songs from 1986, I can't help but wonder what might've happened if I'd taken Anna's advice and bought "The Queen Is Dead" back then.
1.⭐ The Smiths — There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
2.⭐ The Smiths — The Queen Is Dead
3.⭐ R.E.M. — Fall On Me
4.⭐ The Smiths — Panic
5.⭐ R.E.M. — The Flowers Of Guatemala
6.⭐ Bon Jovi — Livin' On A Prayer
7.⭐ The Smiths — Cemetry Gates
8.⭐ Metallica — Master Of Puppets
9.⭐ New Order — All Day Long
10.⭐ Metallica — Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
11.⭐ The Cleaners From Venus — The Mercury Girl
12.The Smiths — Bigmouth Strikes Again
13.They Might Be Giants — Don't Let's Start
14.The Lucy Show — Part Of Me Now
15.Peter Gabriel — In Your Eyes
16.New Order — Bizarre Love Triangle
17.The Smiths — Ask
18.Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark — If You Leave
19.Julian Cope — World Shut Your Mouth
20.Poison — Talk Dirty To Me
21.Van Halen — Love Walks In
22.Public Image Ltd. — Rise
23.Elvis Costello;The Attractions — I Hope You're Happy Now
24.Hüsker Dü — Sorry Somehow
25.R.E.M. — These Days
26.Cyndi Lauper — True Colors
27.The Bangles — Manic Monday
28.Beastie Boys — Fight For Your Right
29.The Go-Betweens — Head Full of Steam
30.The Go-Betweens — In the Core of a Flame
31.Primal Scream — Velocity Girl
32.Run-D.M.C. — It's Tricky
33.The Moody Blues — Your Wildest Dreams
34.R.E.M. — Superman
35.Madonna — Live to Tell
36.Alphaville — Afternoons in Utopia
37.Volcano Suns — White Elephant
38.Love and Rockets — All in My Mind
39.Run-D.M.C.;Aerosmith — Walk This Way
40.Stacey Q — Two of Hearts
41.Bon Jovi — You Give Love A Bad Name
42.Talking Heads — Wild Wild Life
43.The Feelies — Let's Go
44.Hüsker Dü — Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely
45.Prince — Kiss
46.R.E.M. — Begin The Begin
47.Erasure — Oh l'amour
48.New Order — Paradise
49.Iron Maiden — Wasted Years
50.Cocteau Twins — Love's Easy Tears
51.Bon Jovi — Never Say Goodbye
52.Billy Bragg — Levi Stubbs' Tears
53.The Wedding Present — Once More
54.The Housemartins — Happy Hour
55.New Order — Shellshock
56.R.E.M. — I Believe
57.Game Theory — Erica's Word
58.The Saints — Just Like Fire Would
59.Madonna — Open Your Heart
60.Howard Jones — No One Is to Blame
61.The Bangles — Walk Like an Egyptian
62.Van Morrison — In the Garden
63.Cutting Crew — (I Just) Died In Your Arms
64.Beastie Boys — No Sleep Till Brooklyn
65.Paul Simon — You Can Call Me Al
66.Peter Gabriel — Red Rain
67.Van Halen — Dreams
68.Berlin — Take My Breath Away
69.Iggy Pop — Real Wild Child (Wild One)
70.Belinda Carlisle — Mad About You
71.Samantha Fox — Touch Me (I Want Your Body)
72.Madonna — La Isla Bonita
73.The Psychedelic Furs — Heartbreak Beat
74.The Bangles;Susanna Hoffs — If She Knew What She Wants
75.Bon Jovi — Wanted Dead Or Alive
76.The Go-Betweens — To Reach Me
77.Pretenders — Don't Get Me Wrong
78.Metallica — Disposable Heroes
79.Bananarama — Venus
80.R.E.M. — Hyena
81.Van Halen — Why Can't This Be Love
82.The Go-Betweens — Spring Rain
83.Shop Assistants — I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You
84.The Smithereens — Behind The Wall Of Sleep
85.The Human League — Human
86.The Smiths — Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
87.Madonna — Papa Don't Preach
88.Metallica — Battery
89.The Smithereens — Blood And Roses
90.Billy Joel — This Is the Time
91.Daryl Hall — Dreamtime
92.Eric Clapton — It's in the Way That You Use It
93.Nu Shooz — I Can't Wait
94.The Cleaners From Venus — Victoria Grey
95.Bruce Hornsby and the Range — The Way It Is
96.Eddie Money — Take Me Home Tonight
97.AC/DC — Who Made Who
98.Run-D.M.C. — You Be Illin'
99.Depeche Mode — Stripped
100.New Model Army — 51st State