The Top 100 Hits of 1984

“When Doves Cry” by Prince was the biggest hit of 1984, finishing at No. 1 on the year-end Hot 100 ahead of “What's Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner and “Say Say Say” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. The year-end chart ranks the songs that performed best across the whole year, not just in a single week.

17 acts placed more than one song on the list, led by Lionel Richie (4), Culture Club (3), Cyndi Lauper (3), Duran Duran (3), Pointer Sisters (3). Every song on the list was new to the year-end chart; none carried over from 1983.

The 1980s: the sound of the era

MTV launched in 1981, and the decade's charts reflect it: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and Whitney Houston became global stars, synth-pop and new wave arrived from the UK, and power ballads and hair metal filled out the year-end lists by the late '80s.

Born in 1966? This was the year you turned 18. Play your senior-year soundtrack, or try today’s Name That Year game.

The full 1984 year-end Top 100

Source: the year-end Hot 100 published by Billboard, as compiled on Wikipedia. Hey DJ 4U is an independent fan site. ▶ plays a preview in Hey DJ 4U; ♪ opens the song on Apple Music. Spotted an error? Tell us.