Top songs of 1988

What was the number one song of 1988?

The number one song of 1988 was “Faith” by George Michael, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1988. It spent 4 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated December 12, 1987.

“Roll With It” by Steve Winwood was number one for the most weeks of 1988: 4 of the year's 53 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated July 30, 1988.

Born in 1988? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1988, year-end Hot 100 of 1988).

How many songs reached number one in 1988?

32 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1988. Counting “Faith”, which was already at number one when the year began, 33 songs held the top spot across the year's 53 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1988, “Roll With It” by Steve Winwood stayed there longest: 4 weeks in total, from the chart dated July 30, 1988.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1988. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1988?

4 acts had more than one number one in 1988, counting lead and featured credits. George Michael had the most, with 4: “Faith”, “Father Figure”, “One More Try” and “Monkey”.

• George Michael: “Faith”, “Father Figure”, “One More Try” and “Monkey”
• Michael Jackson: “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man in the Mirror” and “Dirty Diana”
• Rick Astley: “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever”
• Whitney Houston: “So Emotional” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”

What were the biggest songs of 1988?

The five biggest songs of 1988 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Faith” by George Michael, “Need You Tonight” by INXS, “Got My Mind Set on You” by George Harrison, “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley and “Sweet Child o' Mine” by Guns N' Roses.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Endless Summer Nights” Richard Marx
32. “Foolish Beat” Debbie Gibson
33. “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” Whitney Houston
34. “Angel” Aerosmith
35. “A Hazy Shade of Winter” The Bangles
36. “The Way You Make Me Feel” Michael Jackson
37. “Don't Worry, Be Happy” Bobby McFerrin
38. “Make Me Lose Control” Eric Carmen
39. “Red Red Wine” UB40
40. “She's Like the Wind” Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser
41. “Bad Medicine” Bon Jovi
42. “Kokomo” The Beach Boys
43. “I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That” Elton John
44. “Together Forever” Rick Astley
45. “Monkey” George Michael
46. “Devil Inside” INXS
47. “Should've Known Better” Richard Marx
48. “I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love” Chicago
49. “The Loco-Motion” Kylie Minogue
50. “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield
51. “Make It Real” The Jets
52. “What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)” Information Society
53. “Tell It to My Heart” Taylor Dayne
54. “Out of the Blue” Debbie Gibson
55. “Don't You Want Me” Jody Watley
56. “Desire” U2
57. “I Get Weak” Belinda Carlisle
58. “Sign Your Name” Terence Trent D'Arby
59. “I Want to Be Your Man” Roger
60. “Girlfriend” Pebbles
61. “Dirty Diana” Michael Jackson
62. “1-2-3” Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
63. “Mercedes Boy” Pebbles
64. “Perfect World” Huey Lewis and the News
65. “New Sensation” INXS
66. “Catch Me (I'm Falling)” Pretty Poison
67. “If It Isn't Love” New Edition
68. “Rocket 2 U” The Jets
69. “One Good Woman” Peter Cetera
70. “Don't Be Cruel” Cheap Trick
71. “Candle in the Wind” Elton John
72. “Everything Your Heart Desires” Daryl Hall & John Oates
73. “Say You Will” Foreigner
74. “I Want Her” Keith Sweat
75. “Pink Cadillac” Natalie Cole
76. “Fast Car” Tracy Chapman
77. “Electric Blue” Icehouse
78. “The Valley Road” Bruce Hornsby and the Range
79. “Don't Be Cruel” Bobby Brown
80. “Always on My Mind” Pet Shop Boys
81. “Piano in the Dark” Brenda Russell featuring Joe Esposito
82. “When It's Love” Van Halen
83. “Don't Shed a Tear” Paul Carrack
84. “We'll Be Together” Sting
85. “I Hate Myself for Loving You” Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
86. “I Don't Want to Live Without You” Foreigner
87. “Nite and Day” Al B. Sure!
88. “Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?” Steve Winwood
89. “One Moment in Time” Whitney Houston
90. “Can't Stay Away from You” Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
91. “Kissing a Fool” George Michael
92. “Cherry Bomb” John Cougar Mellencamp
93. “I Still Believe” Brenda K. Starr
94. “I Found Someone” Cher
95. “Never Tear Us Apart” INXS
96. “Valerie” Steve Winwood
97. “Just Like Paradise” David Lee Roth
98. “Nothin' But a Good Time” Poison
99. “Wait” White Lion
100. “Prove Your Love” Taylor Dayne

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1988, year-end Hot 100 of 1988).

What songs should go on a 1988 mix CD?

A 1988 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 17 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Faith” by George Michael and closing with “Wild, Wild West” by The Escape Club, for 78:03 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1988, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 78:37, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1988 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1988 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1980s?

Popular music in the 1980s was led by pop stars built for music video, with synth-pop, arena rock, dance-pop and big ballads sharing the top of the chart. MTV launched in August 1981, and acts such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and Whitney Houston became the decade's biggest names.

From 1980 to 1989, 231 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 1 song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 231, “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John spent the most weeks at number one: 10 in total. Michael Jackson had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 9. The typical number one of these years ran 4:13 (the median of the 202 with a known length).