Our second entry by this artist in this 1995 countdown is also our last.  While she may appear again in next year’s countdown, this song helped deliver a solid foundation for her career.  This song would prove that she was an enduring artist to be reckoned with, and its lyric continued to be quoted today.  Appearing at #16 is Hand in My Pocket by Alanis Morissette.

Rounding out the first quarter of the 1985 countdown we come to a surprising entry in this list.  This artist almost hit his zenith during this year for reasons we’ll get to a little later.  But somehow this song manages to find its way into this list, and when you hear it, you’ll understand why.  Arguably one of the power ballads that set the template going forward, coming in at #16 is Heaven by Bryan Adams.

My 1984 countdown had so many heavy hitters that this group sadly failed to make it with one of their biggest songs.  Fortunately, that will be made up now with this track breaking into the list.  It’s amazing how much this song and its anthemic outro has stood the test of time.  Anthemic intro, A/B song, followed by anthemic outro – a simple premise and such a great song.  At #17 it’s Head Over Heels by Tears For Fears.

Here’s a shocker – I completely forgot this group released some popular tracks in 1995, and as a result knocked two songs out of the list (as you can guess now, this is only their first entry).  This song arguably started the craze of frat boys picking up the acoustic and wanting to serenade pretty ladies, and it has remained one of this band’s biggest songs today. Coming in at #17 is Satellite by The Dave Matthews Band.

Anybody knows me knows I dig dance music, and now we hit our first dance number of the countdowns.  This song is still popular today, and you’ll be surprised to hear how many hooks are in it.  It’s one of those rare dance tracks that manage to produce such a thing and do it well.  At #18 it’s Be My Lover by Le Bouche.

Our next 1985 entrant had the privilege of being at the top of a prior countdown, and they found themselves back here again with another song that is considered an 80s R&B classic.  Listening to similar songs in their catalog, you can tell they had found their winning formula and still managed to deliver another hit record years later.  At #18 it is Cherish by Kool & The Gang.