Top Songs — 1989
▶ Spotify PlaylistIn today's world of streaming platforms, the process of unearthing new music has lost a lot of the thrill of the hunt — you just search, click, and there it is. Even buying vinyl now, as satisfying as it can be, is usually about nostalgia or collection-building. But what's missing is that moment of discovery — the elation of walking into a record store and walking out with music you didn't even know you needed. Back then, buying a used CD wasn't just a frugal move — it was a gamble with a high payout. Eight bucks could change your musical life.
The single greatest record store experience I ever had started with a sure thing: I'd gone in to pick up "Siamese Dream" right after it came out. But while flipping through the used bins, I struck gold. I walked away with "Nothing's Shocking" by Jane's Addiction, and "Doolittle" by the Pixies. Three albums — all in one trip — that are now on my personal all-time list. But of them, Doolittle stands out as the true revelation.
I knew almost nothing about the Pixies when I bought that CD. From the first listen, I was stunned. The weirdness. The urgency. The jagged beauty. That moment launched a fandom that led me to own everything they ever released and to eventually see them live four times (and counting?). Would I have eventually found them without that used bin? For sure. But I would've missed out on the high of that accidental discovery from a little bet that paid off big.
The tracks from Doolittle are all over my top songs of 1989, and the full list can be found at the link in my bio.
1.⭐ The Cure — Plainsong
2.⭐ The Cure — Pictures of You
3.⭐ Faith No More — Epic
4.⭐ N.W.A. — Express Yourself
5.⭐ Beastie Boys — Shake Your Rump
6.⭐ Pixies — Debaser
7.⭐ Indigo Girls — Closer to Fine
8.⭐ The Stone Roses — I Am the Resurrection
9.⭐ Galaxie 500 — Ceremony
10.⭐ The Stone Roses — She Bangs the Drums
11.⭐ The La's — There She Goes
12.⭐ The B-52's — Roam
13.⭐ Red Hot Chili Peppers — Taste The Pain
14.⭐ Julee Cruise — Falling
15.⭐ The Jesus and Mary Chain — Head On
16.⭐ Nine Inch Nails — Head Like A Hole
17.⭐ Mekons — Club Mekon
18.⭐ Nine Inch Nails — Sin
19.⭐ The Lightning Seeds — Pure
20.⭐ Love and Rockets — So Alive
21.Madonna — Like a Prayer
22.James — Sit Down
23.The B-52's — Love Shack
24.The Stone Roses — Made of Stone
25.Pixies — Here Comes Your Man
26.Elvis Costello — Veronica
27.Indigo Girls — Land Of Canaan
28.Neil Young — Rockin' in the Free World
29.Red Hot Chili Peppers — Knock Me Down
30.Pixies — Wave Of Mutilation - UK Surf
31.Tom Petty — Free Fallin'
32.Galaxie 500 — Blue Thunder
33.The Stone Roses — (Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister
34.Billy Joel — We Didn't Start the Fire
35.Tears For Fears — Sowing The Seeds Of Love
36.Pixies — Gouge Away
37.Pixies — Wave of Mutilation
38.The Wedding Present — Box Elder
39.The Replacements — I'll Be You
40.Morrissey — The Last of the Famous International Playboys
41.Mother Love Bone — Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns
42.Mekons — Memphis Egypt
43.The Cure — The Same Deep Water as You
44.Pixies — Monkey Gone to Heaven
45.Red Hot Chili Peppers — Sexy Mexican Maid
46.Guns N' Roses — Patience
47.Pale Saints — Sight of You
48.The Smithereens — A Girl Like You
49.Public Enemy — Fight The Power
50.Fine Young Cannibals — She Drives Me Crazy
51.Dinosaur Jr. — Just Like Heaven
52.Alannah Myles — Black Velvet
53.Mötley Crüe — Kickstart My Heart
54.Beastie Boys — Egg Man
55.Tom Petty — Runnin' Down A Dream
56.Squeeze — If It's Love
57.The Cure — Closedown
58.Billy Joel — The Downeaster 'Alexa'
59.Galaxie 500 — When Will You Come Home
60.The Darling Buds — Hit The Ground
61.Nirvana — About A Girl
62.Bob Mould — See A Little Light
63.Liza Minnelli — Losing My Mind
64.The Wedding Present — Kennedy
65.Morrissey — Interesting Drug
66.Nine Inch Nails — Something I Can Never Have
67.Aerosmith — Water Song/Janie's Got A Gun
68.Chris Isaak — Wicked Game
69.Electronic — Getting Away with It
70.Rush — Show Don't Tell
71.The Dead Milkmen — Punk Rock Girl
72.Elton John — Sacrifice
73.The Vaselines — Slushy
74.Guns N' Roses — Used To Love Her
75.Fastbacks — K Street
76.Red Hot Chili Peppers — Higher Ground
77.The Vaselines — The Day I Was A Horse
78.Red Hot Chili Peppers — Johnny, Kick A Hole In The Sky
79.Pixies — La La Love You
80.Tin Machine — I Can't Read
81.Elton John — Club At The End Of The Street
82.The Stone Roses — Bye Bye Bad Man
83.Bob Mould — Wishing Well
84.Pixies — There Goes My Gun
85.Guns N' Roses — One In A Million
86.Bad Religion — Sanity
87.Eric Clapton — Pretending
88.Jonathan Richman — Every Day Clothes
89.The Cure — Untitled
90.XTC — Mayor Of Simpleton
91.Depeche Mode — Personal Jesus
92.Ramones — Pet Sematary
93.Nine Inch Nails — Down In It
94.The Wonder Stuff — Don't Let Me Down, Gently
95.Inspiral Carpets — Move
96.Madonna — Express Yourself
97.Elton John — Healing Hands
98.The Vaselines — Monsterpussy
99.Bad Religion — I Want to Conquer the World
100.Galaxie 500 — Strange