Number 1 Songs Of 1987
All the #1 Songs of 1987 — Pop, Rock & Pure 80s Magic
Take a trip back to 1987 — the year cassette tapes ruled, MTV still played music videos, shoulder pads somehow made sense, and the Billboard Hot 100 #1 songs sounded like a jukebox fight between pop, rock, R&B, movie soundtracks, and full-blown arena drama.
This Smells Like Gen X music rewind counts down every Billboard #1 hit from 1987 in the order they topped the chart — from The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”, U2’s “With or Without You”, Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now”, and George Michael’s “Faith.”
This was the year arena-rock choruses, glossy pop vocals, MTV-ready hooks, soundtrack ballads, big hair, bigger feelings, and mall-pop hysteria all crashed into the same radio dial.
Read the Full 1987 Songs Breakdown
Want the year-end Billboard view too? Read the complete Top 10 Songs of 1987 breakdown, then jump into the weekly flashback with Top 5 Songs This Week in 1987.
Keep Rewinding 1987
Do not stop at the #1 hits. 1987 was stacked with massive albums, blockbuster movies, Saturday morning cartoons, comfort-TV giants, toy aisle crazes, fashion fads, headline-making world events, and late-80s pop-culture overload.
A few chart-toppers from the 1987 lineup
Why this 1987 playlist still feels massive
All the Billboard #1 hits featured in this 1987 countdown
- Walk Like an Egyptian — The Bangles
- Shake You Down — Gregory Abbott
- At This Moment — Billy Vera & The Beaters
- Open Your Heart — Madonna
- Livin’ on a Prayer — Bon Jovi
- Jacob’s Ladder — Huey Lewis & The News
- Lean on Me — Club Nouveau
- Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now — Starship
- I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) — Aretha Franklin & George Michael
- (I Just) Died in Your Arms — Cutting Crew
- With or Without You — U2
- You Keep Me Hangin’ On — Kim Wilde
- Always — Atlantic Starr
- Head to Toe — Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
- I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) — Whitney Houston
- Alone — Heart
- Shakedown — Bob Seger
- Who’s That Girl — Madonna
- La Bamba — Los Lobos
- I Just Can’t Stop Loving You — Michael Jackson
- Didn’t We Almost Have It All — Whitney Houston
- Here I Go Again — Whitesnake
- Lost in Emotion — Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
- Bad — Michael Jackson
- I Think We’re Alone Now — Tiffany
- Mony Mony — Billy Idol
- (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life — Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
- Heaven Is a Place on Earth — Belinda Carlisle
- Faith — George Michael
More 1987 Rewinds Are Waiting
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Topics: 1987 Billboard Hot 100 #1 songs, 1987 number one hits, All the #1 Hits of 1987, 1987 in Review, Top 5 Songs This Week in 1987, Top 10 Songs of 1987, Top TV Shows of 1987, Top 10 Movies of 1987, Top 10 Toys of 1987, Top 6 Biggest Fads of 1987, 80s music countdown, Bon Jovi Livin on a Prayer, Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance with Somebody, George Michael Faith, U2 With or Without You, Tiffany I Think We’re Alone Now, The Bangles Walk Like an Egyptian, Madonna Open Your Heart, Michael Jackson Bad, Whitesnake Here I Go Again, Bill Medley Jennifer Warnes Time of My Life, Gen X nostalgia, Smells Like Gen X.