Billboard Top Hits 1985

If there's anything the Billboard Top Hits compilations documenting 1985 through 1989 indicate, it's that the period covered wasn't exactly pop music's most glorious era. Not only was there a lot of rock music being made that aged almost instantly; the mainstream had yet to fully embrace rap music, and a lot of the production qualities infiltrating nearly every genre of music ? the overbearing use of mid-range and the blazing guitar solos, for two ? haven't aged well at all. Still, these cheap and concise compilations function as accurate scrapbooks of the years being covered, and they're especially fascinating for pop fans who like to keep tabs on trends, changes, and developments. Nothing on Billboard Top Hits: 1985, save for Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila," has much hope for being included on any list of great enduring singles. In fact, the likes of Starship's "We Built This City," Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings," Glenn Frey's "The Heat Is On," John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," and REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" are some of the most reviled chart hits of all time. Nephews, nieces, sons, and daughters who are tired of their elders whining about the current state of pop music should bring up this disc as proof that things weren't so hot in the late '80s either.