#38. "Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson (1988)

A few years ago I rediscovered "Smooth Criminal" while on vacation in the Mayan Riviera during an impressive 'Michael Jackson' tribute by the evening entertainment staff.

I'll argue this track is Michael Jackson at his creative peak.

"Smooth Criminal" borrows elements from Thriller's blockbuster singles: the groove of "Billie Jean", the attitude of "Beat It" and the production of "Thriller", mashing them into a delicious blend.

Jackson flies through the verses with such speed the lyrics can be challenging to discern in places. 

The energetic chorus, the brilliant bass line and the attention to detail in both song and video all add up to one epic work of pop art.

The only remaining question: is Annie still ok?

#39. "Africa" - Toto (1982)

Let's enjoy a throwback from the previous decade.

"Africa" by Toto is one of the best carryovers from the 70s: a timeless soul-stirring singalong anthem. The explosive, overblown chorus is irresistible and beckons your participation. 

Such a wonderful pop song from our childhood, bringing back memories of the neighbourhood kids spontaneously singing the lyrics in unison on weekends on our way home for supper.

#40. "Urgent" - Foreigner (1981)

"Urgent" by Foreigner is a classic rock tune that holds up after all these years; the track is still a solid addition to any road trip playlist.

I believe I was introduced to "Urgent" on the K-Tel album compilation Hit Express which also featured Loverboy, Journey and the like.

There is so much to like here. The pulsating intro. The irresistible beat. Lou Gramm's vocals about an impending hookup. The iconic neverending sax solo. 

I didn't realize until much later that it was a young Thomas Dolby on the keyboards (recall "She Blinded Me With Science"?).

#41. "It Doesn’t Really Matter" - Platinum Blonde (1983)

Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's begin.

Let's begin with Platinum Blonde's first single "It Doesn’t Really Matter", which is also their best.

That classic guitar riff, the iconic bridge, the drum solo...and some of best caterwauling this side of "Sweet Child 'O Mine".

Canada's answer to Duran Duran, Platinum Blonde enjoyed much success at home with a slew of catchy singles during the mid-80s. 

It doesn't really matter that the band didn't last for too long. Much like the UK's The Smiths and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Blondes packed in a lot of good stuff in 4-5 years. One of my other faves is "Situation Critical" from the 1985 album Alien Shores.

#42. "Relax" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984)

That fookin' bass line!

The debut single from Frankie Goes To Hollywood became one of the 80s most controversial songs. It was also among the most popular, staying the UK charts for 42 weeks. 

And tenacious: the single was released twice in both the UK and US as it under performed the first time around.

More than a tune about wanking or shagging, "Relax" filled the dance floors on both sides of the Atlantic with an anthem that influenced the club music boom to follow later in the decade.

I recall getting down to this one at Rosa's on Argyle with the fog machine in its full glory. 

#43. "Personal Jesus" - Depeche Mode (1989)

Think back to the early 80s for minute. Hands up if you thought back these guys would be sporting cowboy hats and playing guitars five years later?

The evolution of Depeche Mode from a light synth-pop act to filling stadiums in North America was quite impressive. Like U2 did a couple years prior with the The Joshua Tree, Depeche Mode captured the hearts and minds of America with an amped up, somewhat industrial form of dance music with the Violator album in 1989.

"Personal Jesus" is the best song from that period: a big beat that don't quit while twangy guitars and clinical keys keep things interesting. 

The badass video is a bonus. 

Well done boys, you've come a long way.

#44. "In Between Days" - The Cure (1985)

So these blokes aren't all doom and gloom as some might say.

"In Between Days" by The Cure is classic new wave and a staple at 80s parties. 

And one of the finest examples showing off the cardinal rules of new wave alt rock: melancholic lyrics and upbeat music. 

It's also one of the tightest songs of the decade at an economical 02:55.  

The intro is outstanding, immediately grabbing your attention with a wall of melodic guitars...and then come the synths. 

The lyrics allude to some sort of bizarre love triangle -- no, I'm not confusing this with New Order's tune although this song does have a New Order mid-80s kind of vibe...

In 1985, The Cure was still 'Indie pop' in North America where the mainstream wasn't ready for the likes of The Cure until a few years later...

#45. "She Sells Sanctuary" - The Cult (1985)

First things first: turn up the volume before clicking on the clip. 

Need an ice-breaker to liven up your house party / dance club / road trip? 

It's a rare sighting when headbangers, new wavers, preppies and rockers can all get down to the same groove. 

"She Sells Sanctuary" is one such song that crosses all the genres: an 80s "Kumbaya" for the feet if you will...

And how about that intro?

A ten-second tease and then lower the BOOM! A real rocker with a killer guitar riff that makes you wanna cut a rug.

#46. "What You Need" - INXS (1986)

One of Australia's favorite musical exports, INXS got more prolific as the decade went on culminating with the epic Kick album and a slew of singles. 

My fave is the first single from the Listen Like Thieves album: the rock groove "What You Need".

This is one seriously funked up tune, with killer bass and sax riffs driving the track. 

Lyrically, it's pretty vapid but who cares. Not to worry, Michael Hutchence would come to the forefront in the next album. 

"What You Need" is a solid all hands-on-deck group effort albeit a bit of an underrated masterpiece. 

If I had to make a fave 3 from INXS, "Need You Tonight" comes third, while "Original Sin" would be #2:

#47. "You Spin Me Round" - Dead Or Alive (1985)

I may not have been actually clubbing at the time but I was enamored with this club song. 

From the opening beats, "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive is a relentless assault on the senses. The dance inferno didn't sound like anything else charting in the spring of '85. 

The "You spin me round like a record, baby" chorus is equally inane and brilliant, the groove catchy and cheesy, and the whole production over the top. No wonder The Wedding Singer embraced it. 

I'll never forget Mom coming into the TV room while catching a glimpse of lead singer Pete Burns only to ask "What the hell is that?". 

I'll also always think of Corey Mock from our Dartmouth High days when I hear this iconic dance track. Corey absolutely loved this tune, the only guy I knew who enjoyed it more than I did! I can still see him grooving on the dance floor to it. RIP buddy.

#48. "How Soon is Now" - The Smiths (1985)

Full disclosure: The Smiths were a band I never got into during the 80s. It wasn't until I moved to Vancouver in the early-90s when I'd been properly introduced to them.  

But what a discovery. 

The chemistry between lead singer/songwriter/king of pain Morrissey and the genius of guitar wizard Johnny Marr is out of this world.

The majesty of the unique reverb guitar intro (best experienced on good headphones) in the opening to "How Soon Is Now" is enough alone for this track to make the list. 

Once Morrissey's lyrics of self-doubt kick in, you begin to understand why this has become the anthem of teenage angst and a big part of the trademark sound of The Smiths.

Fave lyrics: "I am the son and heir / Of nothing in particular" 

This 'alternative' sound in the 80s, now labelled as 'Classic Alternative' eventually became mainstream in the 90s thanks to Nirvana and the like.

#49. "Suburbia" - Pet Shop Boys (1986)

In spring 1986 after hearing the phenomenal "West End Girls", I immediately bought the debut album Please by The Pet Shop Boys. I wore out the cassette.

I grew up in a suburban neighbourhood full of barking dogs and bored teenagers similar to the one the Pet Shop Boys sang about in “Suburbia”. 

Back in the mid-80s most suburban kids I grew up with (including my brother) rebelled with metal. 

I preferred electronic tunes like “Suburbia” and dreamed of leaving the white picket fences and manicured lawns of Dartmouth. I always wanted to move to the city, not just Halifax, but somewhere even bigger. That became Vancouver and is another story.

“Suburbia” pulls me in with a yearning piano melody. The Boys admit to lifting the bassline from Madonna's "Into the Groove", so there's that too. The sample of dogs barking is particularly nostalgic.

The melody may sound somewhat whimsical but the bridge hints at resentment: "I only wanted something else to do but hang around". 

Fave lyrics: "Leeeeeeet's take a ride, and run with the dogs tonight"

An excellent live version from their 2009 tour is worth the view:

#50. "Private Idaho" - The B-52s (1980)

If we attempted to chart artists and music genres on a graph, I'd place The B-52s at the intersection of punk and new wave. With "Private Idaho" at the dead centre. 

The B-52's are my favourite all-American band (Fleetwood Mac makes things complicated!). They're just so cool and cooky.

Forget about the party anthem "Love Shack", it's tunes like "Rock Lobster" (1979) and "Private Idaho" that are the heart and soul of this quirky outfit. 

The track flat out grooves, led by the surf guitar and fueled by lead singer Fred Schneider's deadpan vocal delivery, while Cindy and Kate lay down some amazing harmonies. 

"Private Idaho" is undoubtedly my favorite song about the subject of paranoia: "Get out of the state" referring to state of mind, not the actual potato capital of the US. 

A close second in terms of 80s songs about paranoia would be this Rockwell classic:

#51. "Train in Vein" - The Clash (1980)

Proof that post-punk can produce pleasing pop, "Train in Vein" by The Clash is unbelievably catchy. (The Cure pulled the same trick in 1992 with the radio-friendly "Friday I'm in Love").

I'll argue this is the group's best-aged song; it still gets mucho airtime on my road trip playlist. 

The melody is perfect and the harmonica is a nice touch. The heartfelt vocals convincingly deliver the heartbreak. 

#52. "(Every Day is) Halloween" - Ministry (1985)

Although Ministry is more known as an industrial/metal sort of outfit, the group went through a synth phase in the mid-80s.

"(Every Day is) Halloween" is an underground dance floor anthem made for misfits.

The lyrics detail a rejection of those looking or acting differently from everyone else, “People seem to stop and stare they say/Why are you dressed like it’s Halloween/You look so absurd, you look so obscene.” 

Highlights include heavy beats, samples galore and a bouncing bass line. I love the "bop beep bop bop" that weaves in and out among the verses before the glorious chorus “Why can’t I live a life for me?/Why should I take the abuse that’s served?”

An instrumental bridge featuring deep scratching is a darker take on Herbie Hancock's "Rock It".

I've always wondered if Daft Punk got its inspiration for the innovative "Around the World" video from the cartoon characters from "Everyday is Halloween".

#53. "Fascinated" - Company B (1987)

I'm fascinated by how fresh this jam still sounds in 2019, making it 32 years since it was released in 1987.

Along with "Come Go With Me" by Exposé, Company B's "Fascinated" was an iconic Miami-based freestyle dance track that stormed the clubs in North America. 

The driving beat and relentless rhythm reels us in early and doesn't let go. 

It's also the sort of track I end up hitting repeat a few times.

The arrangement hints at 1984's "Axel F.", except "Fascinated" has those naughty lyrics. 

#54. "Thieves Like Us" - New Order (1984)

New Order does downtempo on the beautiful and epic "Thieves Like Us".

Recorded in New York with DJ Arthur Baker as a follow up to "Blue Monday", the song makes its mark with a sweeping cinematic opening, a full two minutes and twenty-five seconds of sonic bliss before the first vocal.

It's also New Order signature love song: the layered synths and Peter Hook's signature bass create captivating, dreamy melodies. Bernard Sumner often gets railed for his often out of tune vocals but his plaintiff style is especially fitting here. 

But that's part of the secret appeal of New Order, their imperfections make them perfectly human.

One of three New Order songs to be featured on the Pretty in Pink movie (although only "Shellshock" appears on the soundtrack), "Thieves Like Us" also appears on the Substance album that got me hooked on them back in 1986.

Fave lyrics: "I've studied the cracks and the wrinkles. You were always so vain"

#55. "Love on a Real Train" - Tangerine Dream (1984)

Fans of cinematic chill music will appreciate this one. So put on your headphones and be prepared to be transported to another world inside your mind.

I remember stumbling on "Love on a Real Train" after picking up a mixed chillout CD sometime in the early 2000s, and thinking I'd heard this sublime track before. 

Turns out it had been featured in the 1983 film Risky Business (during the love-making scene on the train between the Tom Cruise & Rebecca de Mornay). The tune has since been included on other film soundtracks and television series. 

Pioneers of early electronica, German artist Tangerine Dream has produced dozens of scores for soundtracks including more than 20 in the 1980s alone.

"Love on a Real Train" is an epic classic of the genre: a hypnotic song that demands replay. The track guarantees a magical entrancing ride of the mind through layers of synth that build, ebb and flow. Chills and goosebumps should follow.

In fact, it's been remixed several times, an obvious homage to its greatness. Check out this recent version that is equally mind-blowing:

#56. "Eurasian Eyes" - Corey Hart (1986)

Did you always notice Corey Hart is running away in his videos?

Let’s take a moment to flashback and reflect on the essential elements of the quintessential Corey Hart video from the heydays circa 1985-86:

1. Running away from home, work, girlfriend, power outage. Check.

2. Alone and troubled, hands planted on face. Uh-huh.

3. Cold and lonely, and all dressed up with nowhere to go. Yep.  

Usually by the time a 4th single from an album rolls around it's often a questionable number tossed out there in an attempt to keep the artist in the limelight. But this time it isn't a sappy ballad about never giving up: this time he's missing a woman.

I'd argue that "Eurasian Eyes" is not only the best song on the prolific Boy in the Box album, it's his top song period.

It's also long been one of my favourite songs to play in the winter. 

The atmospheric music is outstanding, a moody mid-tempo track with an exotic vibe (no wonder it made the 9 1/2 weeks soundtrack) that accompanies Corey's passionate ruminations perfectly.

Fave lyrics: "Now I'm the one that lacks the eloquence to say".

"Sunglasses at Night" had made an earlier version of the top 100. And on some days it probably would, so here it is for those of you that may feel cheated about this glaring omission: 

#57. "Kiss You (When it's Dangerous)" - Eight Seconds (1986)

I've always been mega-fond of this one-hit wonder from the Ottawa area and thought it deserved a higher ranking.

Looking back we may have gotten it wrong a few times. While sappier songs like "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" by Glass Tiger topped the charts, underrated melancholic gems like "Kiss You (When it's Dangerous)" barely cracked the top 20.

The keyboard-driven tune has an irresistible chorus and a fall vibe. Now over thirty years since its release, it's accurate to say that "Kiss You (When it's Dangerous)" is one of Canada's best contributions to the timeless new wave sound from the 80s.  

Fave lyric: "Of all things the thing that I want most, to catch you at the point where you don't have a clue."