Golden age of music?

I really can't complain about the music of my high school and college years, especially after sniffing around in the blogosphere and seeing other bloggers taking the top 100 songs from their graduation years and letting loose a collective wail.

So here goes ... the top 100 of 1987, with the songs I liked in bold, the ones I didn't like in strikethrough and my favorite underlined. I've also put songs I don't remember in italic. Chances are I would've put those in strikethrough but have successfully blocked them from my mind.

1. Walk Like An Egyptian, Bangles -- not sure if I liked the song or had a Susanna Hoffs crush
2. Alone, Heart -- in this case, I'm sure it was just a Nancy Wilson crush and an otherwise forgettable song
3. Shake You Down, Gregory Abbott
4. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), Whitney Houston
5. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Starship -- well, something did
6. C'est La Vie, Robbie Nevil
7. Here I Go Again, Whitesnake
8. The Way It Is, Bruce Hornsby and the Range -- the winner in a narrow decision over U2's With or Without You and Springsteen's Brilliant Disguise. Hornsby nails political and social injustice with the righteous resignation of a bluesman and the musical dexterity of a jazzman.
9. Shakedown, Bob Seger -- say what now?
10. Livin' On A Prayer, Bon Jovi
11. La Bamba, Los Lobos
12. Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung -- hey, admit it -- this was a fun song
13. Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House -- simply a classic pop ballad
14. Always, Atlantic Starr
15. With Or Without You, U2 -- took me a while to warm up to this song, especially since I was in a Rush phase and didn't respect bass lines of four notes repeating endlessly, but I grew to appreciate the masterful slow build in this song
16. Looking For A New Love, Jody Watley
17. Head To Toe, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
18. I Think We're Alone Now, Tiffany
19. Mony Mony, Billy Idol -- I've never understood why Tommy James and the Shondells inspired so many cover versions. That would be like a band in the year 2015 doing Sublime covers.
20. At This Moment, Billy Vera and The Beaters
21. Lady In Red, Chris De Burgh -- actually sounded good at Live8.
22. Didn't We Almost Have It All, Whitney Houston -- not one of her worst
23. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2 -- not one of their best
24. I Want Your Sex, George Michael
25. Notorious, Duran Duran -- the slide had started
26. Only In My Dreams, Debbie Gibson
27. (I've Had) The Time Of My Life, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
28. The Next Time I Fall, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant
29. Lean On Me, Club Nouveau
30. Open Your Heart, Madonna
31. Lost In Emotion, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam -- borderline, but not atrocious
32. (I Just) Died In Your Arms, Cutting Crew -- atrocious
33. Heart And Soul, T'pau -- borderline
34. You Keep Me Hangin' On, Kim Wilde
35. Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Georgia Satellites -- the forerunner of Hayseed Dixie
36. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), Aretha Franklin and George Michael
37. Control, Janet Jackson
38. Somewhere Out There, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
39. U Got The Look, Prince
40. Land Of Confusion, Genesis -- yes, Phil Collins sounds like a simpleton when he starts talking politics, but this one rocked a bit and had a classic video
41. Jacob's Ladder, Huey Lewis and The News
42. Who's That Girl, Madonna
43. You Got It All, Jets
44. Touch Me (I Want Your Body), Samantha Fox
45. I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett -- what?
46. Causing A Commotion, Madonna
47. In Too Deep, Genesis -- dreary Collins ballad
48. Let's Wait Awhile, Janet Jackson
49. Hip To Be Square, Huey Lewis and the News
50. Will You Still Love Me?, Chicago
51. Little Lies, Fleetwood Mac -- I actually thought this would have been an appropriate final song for them
52. Luka, Suzanne Vega
53. I Heard A Rumour, Bananarama
54. Don't Mean Nothing, Richard Marx
55. Songbird, Kenny G
56. Carrie, Europe
57. Don't Disturb This Groove, System
58. La Isla Bonita, Madonna
59. Bad, Michael Jackson
60. Sign 'O' The Times, Prince
61. Change Of Heart, Cyndi Lauper
62. Come Go With Me, Expose
63. Can't We Try, Dan Hill
64. To Be A Lover, Billy Idol
65. Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
66. Breakout, Swing Out Sister -- just a cute pop song
67. Stand By Me, Ben E. King
68. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Genesis
69. Someday, Glass Tiger
70. When Smokey Sings, ABC
71. Casanova, Levert
72. Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
73. Rock Steady, Whispers
74. Wanted Dead Or Alive, Bon Jovi -- Bon Jovi got a lot better when he quit taking himself so danged seriously
75. Big Time, Peter Gabriel
76. The Finer Things, Steve Winwood
77. Let Me Be The One, Expose
78. Is This Love, Survivor
79. Diamonds, Herb Alpert
80. Point Of No Return, Expose
81. Big Love, Fleetwood Mac -- Lindsey Buckingham's solo version of this song at their reunion was amazing. Underrated guitarist
82. Midnight Blue, Lou Gramm
83. Something So Strong, Crowded House
84. Heat Of The Night, Bryan Adams
85. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You, Glenn Medeiros
86. Brilliant Disguise, Bruce Springsteen -- The Boss at his most perceptive
87. Just To See Her, Smokey Robinson
88. Who Will You Run Too, Heart
89. Respect Yourself, Bruce Willis
90. Cross My Broken Heart, Jets
91. Victory, Kool and The Gang
92. Don't Get Me Wrong, Pretenders -- kind of a placeholder on the Pretenders timeline, but a pleasant pop song from a band that deserved the occasional hit like this
93. Doing It All For My Baby, Huey Lewis and The News
94. Right On Track, Breakfast Club
95. Ballerina Girl, Lionel Richie
96. Meet Me Half Way, Kenny Loggins
97. I've Been In Love Before, Cutting Crew
98. (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right To Party, Beastie Boys
99. Funkytown, Pseudo Echo
100. Love You Down, Ready For The World

Of course, if it were my Top 100 of 1987, it would be all Rush, Husker Du, Yes and R.E.M., but I wasn't given that option. Still, the folks who came along after rock died (roughly the same day Kurt Cobain died -- not that rock revolved around Nirvana, but it just deflated everyone) had it much worse.