#20 Shame - The Motels
A perfectly listenable AOR track, but not one that really caught my attention while I was ranking. It's got some catchy synth work though.
#19 All You Zombies - The Hooters
The music gets a little repetitive in the early goings, but the instrumental bridge is solid and the somewhat darker approach to heartland rock definitely made it stand out a bit.
#18 Why Can't I Have You - The Cars
Judging by my rankings so far, you'd probably assume I don't like The Cars, but I generally do. This one just didn't do much for me. Much like Ric Ocasek's hit from last year, the tempo feels plodding and the hook isn't particularly interesting. The 99 rank feels pretty cruel, but much like last year, the worst music was generally bland instead of outright bad, so this track sank to the bottom.
#17 And We Danced - The Hooters
A highly fun, celebratory heartland rock track that manages to seamlessly integrate folk and AOR influences. The songwriting doesn't aim for anything too grand, but the high energy and unpretentious delivery make this one extremely likable.
#16 Money for Nothing - Dire Straits
As stated in the modern rock rankdown, Mark Knopfler's excellent guitar riff is the key to this one. The song does feel more natural here than on modern rock though.
#15 Broken Wings - Mr Mister
I knew going in that I may be the only person putting this one in their bottom half. If I try to look at it objectively, there are definitely elements of this song that are good - the production is solid for the era, and it sets a unique mood. However, this track was an extremely popular recurrent on seemingly every other radio station in my area, and I just got absolutely sick of hearing it. I haven't listened to much radio over the past several years, so I've recovered from the burnout from plenty of overplayed tracks, but this one remains an instant change-the-station track for me to this day.
#14 You Belong to the City - Glenn Frey
It feels like the former Eagles really went out of their way to distance themselves from their legacy this year. This slick, slightly jazzy piece goes in a completely different direction than the upbeat pop of Glenn Frey's other hit this year, but it works out fine for him. The music here certainly matches the theme of night time in the big city.
#13 I'm on Fire - Bruce Springsteen
This is the most understated of Springsteen's Born in the USA era hits, foregoing any big stadium rock hooks in favor of a fairly minimalist backing track with lots of focus on the vocals. This generally wouldn't be my sort of thing, but Springsteen sounds good here and the band comes through with just enough small flourishes to keep things from getting repetitive.
#12 Would I Lie to You? - Eurythmics
Annie Lennox was certainly making the most of the duo's soul phase on this track. Solid vocals get complimented by punchy production here, though I feel like this one fit better on modern rock.
#11 Don't Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
The somewhat psychedelic sound and period production values (especially with the drums) make this a bit of an outlier in Tom Petty's career, but it's still a great track with plenty of his usual charm and a nice accelerated ending. Not that it factored into my ranking any, but I personally like the creativity of the music video. There are some rock music trends from this era that I don't like, but I am glad that bands were starting to move away from the "film ourselves awkwardly miming in a warehouse" phase of music videos, which I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of over these next few years.
#10 Easy Lover - Philip Bailey & Phil Collins
A pretty rare R&B/rock crossover, and one that works surprisingly well. The two Phils gel well with each other, with Collins bringing some tight pop production and Bailey nailing some high vocals.
#9 Run to You - Bryan Adams
Didn't think I'd see Bryan Adams this high on a Pulse Rankdown, but I'm fine with it for this song. Great vocal performance from Adams here, and the chorus may be the best he wrote.
#8 Fortress Around Your Heart - Sting
One of the many alt crossovers in this top 10. Some unconventional progressions and a solid vocal performance add a lot of musical interest to this subtle Sting track.
#7 And She Was - Talking Heads
Another one I've already talked about during the modern rock rankdown. This is best track from Little Creatures in my opinion - plenty of quirky Talking Heads charm but with enough pep and straight-forward fun value to appeal to pop audiences.
#6 Shout - Tears for Fears
More alternative crossovers. This is easily my least favorite of Tears for Fears three hits this year. As I stated over in modern, I feel the album version drags on too long and their other huge pop hits from this year have held up much better through years of radioplay in my opinion.
#5 Invincible - Pat Benatar
While I only really liked the chorus of We Belong, this one delivered the complete package. The verses here have some definite umph to them, Pat Benatar sounds great on vocals, and the chorus hooks hard.
#4 Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears
Yet another entry I wrote about previously in the modern rock rankdown. This one really grew on me - especially that majestic chorus - so I ended up ranking it higher in this rankdown.
#3 Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
This made the top 3 in three different rankdowns in three different formats, and I bet an adult contemporary rankdown could make it four. The immense crossover appeal Tears for Fears found with this hit is truly something.
#2 The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
I was pulling for this one since it's the only song in my top 3 that I thought had a shot at the #1 spot. Looks like I'll have to settle for #2 though. This song manages to perfectly capture the bittersweet, semi-delusional nature of nostalgia and does so in a more introspective manner than Springsteen's Glory Days, which was a more playful track on the same subject. The production here is flawless as is Don Henley's vocal delivery, and the guitar work by Heartbreakers member Mike Campbell elevates things even more.
#1 Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
It hit #4 in alternative, but it managed to float above Tears for Fears and Henley on this rankdown for the #1. I feel like the style of this track was a bit more appropriate for modern rock, but it's unarguably one of the year's most iconic hits regardless.