#4. One-hit Wonders: "Rapper's Delight" - The Sugarhill Gang (1979)

How lucky were the teens growing up in NYC during the late 1970s? You would have lived first-hand and up close the birth of punk, new wave and rap...at the same time! 

The rhythm and rhyme anthem "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang skyrocketed rap into the mainstream. A strong bass line and snappy guitar riffs add a funky vibe to the mix.

Hard to believe the seminal rap track is 40 years old this year. Perhaps a 40 minute freestyle tribute is in order?

Even more hard to believe: the Sugarhill Gang never had another U.S. hit single, though it had multiple European hits.

Fave lyric: "hip-hop-to the hippitty-hop and you don't stop" 

#5. One-hit Wonders: "Bound for the Floor" - Local H (1996)

Detractors of "Bound for the Floor" by Local H will argue this post-grunge tune aka the copacetic song, is both repetitive and derivative. 

But I think the repetition is deliberate -- it is an anthem celebrating apathy after all.

The almost robotic and stoic delivery of the chorus creates a hypnotic vibe.

"And you just don't get it. You keep it copacetic. You learn to accept it. You know you're so pathetic." 

The intensity builds as the droning vocals become squeals as the guitars crash. Ultimately, it's the sort of tune best enjoyed cranked up. 

The single reached #5 on US Billboard in 1996. 

#6. One-hit Wonders: "Cars" - Gary Numan (1979)

Another iconic intro only bested by an even more mesmerizing outro. 

The track is among the most popular new wave anthems that paved the way for the 80s.

Numan's metaphorical lyrics of a car as a personal tank is pop genius. 

Influenced by Kraftwerk and David Bowie, the shiny synth classic "Cars" by Gary Numan sounded like the future in 1979. 

And in 2019 it still sounds like it could have been released last year.

#7. One-hit Wonders: "In the Meantime" - Spacehog (1996)

It's not hard to see the Bowie and Queen influences on the glam-grunge anthem "In the Meantime" by Spacehog. 

And what an amazing intro! The instantly likable tune opens with an engaging sixty second instrumental intro, complete with synths, simple bass line and falsetto tones from frontman Royston Langdon. Easily among my favourite top 20 intros of all-time. 

The chorus is memorable, and the track concludes with a nice piano solo. I'll always remember cranking it from the company van during my map sales gig Vancouver in spring 1996. 

Although the music gets a bit repetitive, "In the Meantime" nonetheless remains a powerful and iconic mid-90s track that left me begging for a follow-up that never happened. 

#8. One-hit Wonders: "Your Woman" - White Town (1997)

If you prefer your bass lines on the fat side then you'll love "Your Woman" by White Town.

The tune sounds simultaneously retro and futuristic. A vocal sample from the 1930s along with the black and white video are fused with a hip hop beat and electro. 

The song instantly brings me back to JJ's in Halifax while the song itself could be a prototype of the Gorillaz sound a few years later. 

While only peaking at #23 in the US, the single reached #1 in the UK and #4 in Canada.