web analytics

1987 Music Hits: Big ’80s Pop, Dance Hits, Hair Metal, Hip-Hop, Freestyle, Alternative Rock, and MTV Favorites

1987 music sounded like the 1980s had reached full neon brightness. Pop radio was huge, MTV still shaped what songs looked like, hair metal and arena rock were loud, freestyle dance records were filling clubs, hip-hop was pushing further into the mainstream, and adult-contemporary ballads were smooth enough to qualify for their own yacht license.

The biggest 1987 music hits included Livin’ on a Prayer, With or Without You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), Faith, Bad, La Bamba, (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, Lean on Me, Oh Yeah, and Mony Mony. It was a year of giant choruses, big drums, glossy production, movie soundtrack hits, dance-floor energy, and guitar solos that were not shy about their feelings.

These 1987 music hits are not meant to be a Billboard reprint. The focus is cultural memory, recognizability, MTV impact, party usefulness, oldies and retro-radio durability, soundtrack value, and how strongly these songs still represent the sound of 1987.

How People Heard 1987 Music

In 1987, radio, cassette tapes, vinyl, CDs, MTV, movie soundtracks, and music video countdowns all shaped pop culture. The CD was becoming more important, but cassettes were still everywhere, especially in cars, boom boxes, and carefully labeled mixtapes.

MTV gave songs a second life through image, fashion, choreography, and attitude. A hit song could be remembered not only for its hook but also for its video, hairstyle, jacket, dance move, or dramatic fog machine budget. The 1980s did not whisper; it used reverb.

1987’s Biggest Artists and Songs

1987’s Grammy and pop-culture landscape showed how broad the mainstream had become. Rock, pop, adult contemporary, R&B, dance, hip-hop, and world-influenced pop all had room in the year’s music story.

  • Bruce Hornsby & The Range won Best New Artist for the 1986 Grammy year, with the award presented in 1987. Their piano-driven sound brought thoughtful adult pop and heartland storytelling into the mainstream.
  • Paul Simon won Album of the Year for Graceland, one of the decade’s most important and widely discussed albums.
  • Steve Winwood won Record of the Year for Higher Love, a polished, uplifting pop-rock record that became one of his signature solo hits.
  • Bon Jovi became one of the biggest arena-rock bands in the world with Livin’ on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive.
  • U2 reached a new level of mainstream rock success with With or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and Where the Streets Have No Name.
  • Whitney Houston delivered one of the year’s biggest dance-pop vocal showcases with I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).
  • Michael Jackson returned with the Bad era, keeping him at the center of global pop culture.
  • George Michael moved fully into solo superstardom with Faith and I Want Your Sex.

New Artists and Breakthrough Acts in the 1987 Pop Charts

Several artists broke through or reached wider pop visibility in 1987. Some became major long-term names, while others became forever linked to one very specific corner of late-1980s pop memory.

  • LL Cool J helped bring hip-hop charisma and radio-ready rap further into the mainstream.
  • Patty Smyth continued moving from Scandal’s rock success into solo visibility.
  • Pepsi & Shirlie brought British pop energy to the charts after their Wham! connection.
  • New Order crossed further into American alternative and dance awareness with True Faith.
  • Will to Power became part of the freestyle and dance-pop world that helped define late-1980s club radio.
  • The Fat Boys brought hip-hop comedy, personality, and crossover appeal to a wider audience.
  • Beastie Boys exploded into mainstream pop culture with party-rap attitude and rock-radio energy.
  • Poison became one of hair metal’s major MTV-era bands with Talk Dirty to Me.
  • Samantha Fox brought dance-pop and tabloid-era celebrity energy to the U.S. charts.
  • Suzanne Vega gave pop radio one of its most distinctive singer-songwriter voices with Luka.
  • Tiffany became one of the year’s biggest teen-pop arrivals with I Think We’re Alone Now.

1987’s Retro Top 10 Hits

These 1987 retro hits capture the year’s mix of movie-friendly hooks, dance-pop, adult ballads, freestyle, funk-pop, and art-pop oddities. Some were chart monsters, some became soundtrack staples, and one basically became the official sound of a slow-motion rich guy entrance.

  1. Oh Yeah – Yello
  2. At This Moment – Billy Vera & The Beaters
  3. Shake You Down – Gregory Abbott
  4. The Lady in Red – Chris de Burgh
  5. Catch Me (I’m Falling) – Pretty Poison
  6. Shake Your Love – Debbie Gibson
  7. Lost in Emotion – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
  8. I Want Your Sex – George Michael
  9. La Isla Bonita – Madonna
  10. Sign o’ the Times – Prince

1987’s One-Hit Wonders

1987 had one-hit wonders and near one-hit wonders in dance-pop, alternative pop, novelty-flavored rock, freestyle, blue-eyed soul, and MTV-era pop. Some of these songs became bigger later because movies, commercials, and retro playlists kept them alive.

  1. Oh Yeah – Yello
  2. Heart and Soul – T’Pau
  3. Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room) – Paul Lekakis
  4. Serious – Donna Allen
  5. The Honeythief – Hipsway
  6. Keep Your Hands to Yourself – The Georgia Satellites
  7. Fascinated – Company B
  8. Don’t Leave Me This Way – The Communards
  9. Right on Track – Breakfast Club
  10. Montego Bay – Amazulu

1987 Dance Top 10 Hit List

In 1987, dance music featured freestyle, pop-R&B, hip-hop party records, club tracks, and glossy MTV pop. It was energetic, electronic, and very comfortable with big beats, big hair, and very dramatic keyboard stabs.

  1. I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston
  2. It’s Tricky – Run-D.M.C.
  3. Bad – Michael Jackson
  4. Fascinated – Company B
  5. Lean on Me – Club Nouveau
  6. Come Go with Me – Exposé
  7. Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys
  8. Serious – Donna Allen
  9. Looking for a New Love – Jody Watley
  10. Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room) – Paul Lekakis

More 1987 Dance Hits

These additional 1987 dance hits helped keep club radio, pop radio, and mixtapes moving.

  • Living in a Box – Living in a Box
  • Show Me – The Cover Girls

1987 Pop Rock Top 10 Hit List

Pop rock in 1987 was huge, polished, and built for arenas, cars, MTV, and sing-along choruses. This was guitar rock with big hooks and enough confidence to stare directly into a wind machine.

  1. Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
  2. (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) – Beastie Boys
  3. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2
  4. Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi
  5. Keep Your Hands to Yourself – The Georgia Satellites
  6. Faith – George Michael
  7. Brilliant Disguise – Bruce Springsteen
  8. Midnight Blue – Lou Gramm
  9. La Bamba – Los Lobos
  10. Right on Track – Breakfast Club

1987 Alternative Pop Rock Top 10 Hit List

Alternative pop rock in 1987 included college-radio favorites, synth-pop, art-pop, new wave holdovers, and thoughtful singer-songwriter records. It was the side of 1987 that was a little less hairspray and a little more record-store conversation.

  1. True Faith – New Order
  2. The One I Love – R.E.M.
  3. Don’t Give Up – Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush
  4. Why Can’t I Be You? – The Cure
  5. Funky Town – Pseudo Echo
  6. Heart and Soul – T’Pau
  7. Since You’ve Been Gone – The Outfield
  8. Luka – Suzanne Vega
  9. Don’t Leave Me This Way – The Communards
  10. World Shut Your Mouth – Julian Cope

More 1987 Alternative Pop Songs

  • I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You) – Grace Jones

1987 Album Rock Top 10 Hit List

In 1987, album rock was a mix of arena rock, hair metal, heartland rock, blues-rock, classic-rock veterans, and progressive pop-rock. If the song had a giant chorus, a guitar solo, or a dramatic black-and-white video, it probably had a home here.

  1. Girls, Girls, Girls – Mötley Crüe
  2. Talk Dirty to Me – Poison
  3. Where the Streets Have No Name – U2
  4. I’m No Angel – Gregg Allman Band
  5. Touch of Grey – Grateful Dead
  6. Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
  7. Back in the High Life Again – Steve Winwood
  8. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight – Genesis
  9. The Final Countdown – Europe
  10. Land of Confusion – Genesis

More 1987 Album Rock Hits

  • Rock Me – Great White
  • Smoking Gun – The Robert Cray Band
  • The Boy in the Bubble – Paul Simon

1987 Bubblegum Pop Music Top 10

Bubblegum pop in 1987 had teen idols, glossy dance-pop, radio-friendly ballads, and upbeat songs that were easy to remember after one listen. It was clean, catchy, and often designed for malls, school dances, and bedrooms with posters taped very seriously to the wall.

  1. Lean on Me – Club Nouveau
  2. Only in My Dreams – Debbie Gibson
  3. I Think We’re Alone Now – Tiffany
  4. Faith – George Michael
  5. C’est la Vie – Robbie Nevil
  6. You Got It All – The Jets
  7. We Connect – Stacy Q
  8. You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon
  9. Head to Toe – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
  10. Somewhere Out There – Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram

Hip-Hop and Rap Crossover in 1987

Hip-hop was still fighting for wider mainstream respect in 1987, but the breakthrough was clearly happening. Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, The Fat Boys, and others brought rap into more homes, more radios, and more MTV programming.

  • It’s Tricky – Run-D.M.C.
  • (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) – Beastie Boys
  • Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys
  • I Need Love – LL Cool J
  • Go See the Doctor – Kool Moe Dee
  • Wipeout – The Fat Boys & The Beach Boys
  • Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Soundtrack and Movie-Connected Hits of 1987

Movie soundtracks were a major part of 1987 music culture. A song could become bigger because it was tied to a film, a dance scene, or a montage that absolutely believed in itself.

  • (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
  • La Bamba – Los Lobos
  • Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship
  • Somewhere Out There – Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram
  • Shakedown – Bob Seger
  • Who’s That Girl – Madonna
  • Oh Yeah – Yello

Freestyle, Club Pop, and Late-’80s Dance Radio

Freestyle and club-pop records gave 1987 a bright, rhythmic sound that still feels very late-1980s. These songs leaned into drum machines, synths, emotional vocals, and choruses built for dance floors and radio countdowns.

  • Come Go with Me – Exposé
  • Point of No Return – Exposé
  • Fascinated – Company B
  • Show Me – The Cover Girls
  • Catch Me (I’m Falling) – Pretty Poison
  • Head to Toe – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
  • Lost in Emotion – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
  • Looking for a New Love – Jody Watley

Artist Spotlight: Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi had one of the biggest rock years of 1987. Livin’ on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive helped turn the band into arena-rock giants and gave the decade two of its most durable sing-along rock songs.

Livin’ on a Prayer became bigger than a hit single. It became a karaoke test, a bar anthem, a wedding reception lifeline, and proof that a talk box could earn its keep.

Artist Spotlight: U2

U2 reached a new level of mainstream success in 1987 with The Joshua Tree. With or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and Where the Streets Have No Name gave the band a massive rock-radio presence.

Their sound was big, serious, atmospheric, and built for arenas without losing its emotional center. In 1987, U2 sounded like a band trying to make rock music feel enormous.

Artist Spotlight: Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) was one of the year’s biggest pop moments. The song was bright, joyful, and vocally powerful, showing how dance-pop could still put the singer front and center.

Whitney did not need to choose between vocal performance and pop accessibility. She gave 1987 both, then made it sound easy.

Artist Spotlight: Paul Simon

Paul Simon’s Graceland era gave 1987 one of its most distinctive album stories. You Can Call Me Al became the most widely recognized pop single from the project, while The Boy in the Bubble showed the album’s sharper lyrical and musical ambition.

The album helped bring South African musical influences into a much wider American pop conversation. It was catchy, sophisticated, and unusual enough to stand apart from the year’s heavier MTV gloss.

Artist Spotlight: Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys helped bring hip-hop, rock attitude, comedy, and youth rebellion together in 1987. (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) became a cultural grenade, while Brass Monkey kept the group’s party-rap energy moving.

The joke was loud, but the impact was real. The Beastie Boys helped widen hip-hop’s mainstream reach while making parents wonder what exactly had happened to the stereo.

Artist Spotlight: Debbie Gibson and Tiffany

Debbie Gibson and Tiffany helped define teen pop in 1987. Only in My Dreams, Shake Your Love, and I Think We’re Alone Now brought mall-pop energy, youthful vocals, and bright production to the year’s charts.

This was teen pop before the late-1990s boy-band and Disney waves took over. The mall was the stage, the cassette single was the souvenir, and the hair was working overtime.

PCM’s 1987 Top 10 Hit List

These 1987 songs best represent the year’s long-term pop-culture memory, radio durability, soundtrack power, dance value, retro appeal, and big-1980s identity.

  1. Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
  2. Mony Mony – Billy Idol
  3. (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
  4. Lean on Me – Club Nouveau
  5. Songbird – Kenny G
  6. Always – Atlantic Starr
  7. Oh Yeah – Yello
  8. La Bamba – Los Lobos
  9. You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon
  10. With or Without You – U2

Mony Mony was first released by Billy Idol in 1981, but the live version became a major 1987 hit and a lasting party record. That makes it a strong 1987 cultural memory song, despite its earlier origin.

More Must-Have 1987 Songs

These additional 1987 songs help round out the year’s pop, rock, dance, hip-hop, adult contemporary, soundtrack, and MTV-era identity. Some were massive hits, some became retro staples, and some simply sound like 1987 walking into a mall with confidence and a Members Only jacket.

  • I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston
  • Bad – Michael Jackson
  • The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
  • Faith – George Michael
  • Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship
  • Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
  • Alone – Heart
  • Is This Love – Whitesnake
  • Open Your Heart – Madonna
  • Who’s That Girl – Madonna
  • Big Time – Peter Gabriel
  • Something So Strong – Crowded House
  • Don’t Dream It’s Over – Crowded House
  • Mandolin Rain – Bruce Hornsby & The Range
  • Big Love – Fleetwood Mac
  • Little Lies – Fleetwood Mac
  • Heart and Soul – T’Pau
  • Shattered Dreams – Johnny Hates Jazz
  • We’ll Be Together – Sting
  • Need You Tonight – INXS

Why 1987 Music Still Matters

1987 music still matters because it captured the 1980s at full strength. MTV image, big pop vocals, arena rock, hair metal, freestyle dance, early hip-hop crossover, soundtrack ballads, and adult-contemporary polish all existed side by side.

The year’s range was enormous. Livin’ on a Prayer, Oh Yeah, With or Without You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), Songbird, Brass Monkey, La Bamba, and (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life all belonged to the same pop-culture moment. That is not a playlist; that is a mall, a movie theater, a gym dance, and a rock arena sharing one cassette case.

1987 was bright, dramatic, rhythmic, glossy, loud, and very comfortable being extra. It gave us major rock anthems, dance-floor favorites, teen-pop beginnings, hip-hop breakthroughs, movie songs, and some of the most instantly recognizable sounds of the decade.