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Year-end countdown · WLIR / WDRE · 1987

WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987

The year-end countdown for 1987 from WLIR / WDRE in Long Island, NY ranks 99 songs, with “Why Can't I Be You?” by The Cure at number one. The list features 53 different artists; U2 has the most entries with eleven songs. Position 99 is missing from the source list.

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# Song ListsBest
1 Why Can't I Be You? The Cure 54 #1
2 Strangelove Depeche Mode 58 #2
3 With or Without You U2 123 #3
4 True Faith New Order 69 #3
5 Need You Tonight INXS 52 #5
6 Girlfriend in a Coma The Smiths 57 #2
7 Lips Like Sugar Echo and the Bunnymen 60 #2
8 Alex Chilton The Replacements 46 #8
9 Just Like Heaven The Cure 82 #1
10 Seattle Public Image Ltd. 13 #10
11 Dear God XTC 76 #1
12 Where the Streets Have No Name U2 77 #5
13 It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) R.E.M. 69 #2
14 Never Let Me Down Again Depeche Mode 51 #7
15 The Promise When in Rome 21 #11
16 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For U2 69 #16
17 Hot! Hot! Hot! The Cure 38 #17
18 No New Tale To Tell Love and Rockets 47 #13
19 Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) U2 1 #19
20 Jesus on the Payroll Thrashing Doves 2 #20
21 The Body Public Image Ltd. 4 #21
22 I Go Crazy Flesh for Lulu 22 #21
23 It's a Sin Pet Shop Boys 22 #11
24 Panic The Smiths 51 #5
25 The Sweetest Thing U2 27 #3
26 New Sensation INXS 38 #6
27 Can't Hardly Wait The Replacements 26 #27
28 Behind the Wheel Depeche Mode 19 #19
29 1963 New Order 14 #15
30 The Motion of Love Gene Loves Jezebel 6 #15
31 The One I Love R.E.M. 91 #5
32 All in My Mind Love and Rockets 9 #32
33 Song from the Edge of the World Siouxsie and the Banshees 3 #33
34 Catch The Cure 4 #34
35 Bullet the Blue Sky U2 37 #35
36 What Have I Done To Deserve This? Pet Shop Boys 17 #36
37 New Direction Echo and the Bunnymen 5 #37
38 A Rush And A Push and the Land is Ours The Smiths 3 #38
39 Mary's Prayer Danny Wilson 2 #39
40 We Care A Lot Faith No More 29 #29
41 We'll Be Together Sting 11 #24
42 I Wanna Live The Ramones 2 #34
43 Never Let Me Down David Bowie 4 #43
44 In God's Country U2 27 #44
45 Pleasure Little Treasure Depeche Mode 2 #45
46 Hazy Shade of Winter The Bangles 15 #12
47 Touched by the Hand of God New Order 6 #8
48 Sheila Take a Bow The Smiths 3 #34
49 Hourglass Squeeze 7 #11
50 The Great Commandment Camouflage 14 #10
51 Lazy Love and Rockets 3 #51
52 Open and Revolving Public Image Ltd. 1 #52
53 Pump Up the Volume M/A/R/R/S 4 #46
54 Kick INXS 21 #10
55 From Head to Toe Elvis Costello & the Attractions 1 #55
56 Glad I'm Not a Kennedy Shona Laing 5 #35
57 Animal Magic Belouis Some 2 #57
58 One More Time The Cure 2 #58
59 Rain in the Summertime The Alarm 36 #19
60 One Tree Hill U2 20 #58
61 Deep & Wide & Tall Aztec Camera 3 #61
62 Pop Goes the World Men Without Hats 4 #32
63 Shoplifters of the World Unite The Smiths 9 #20
64 Trip Through Your Wires U2 6 #64
65 Mirror People Love and Rockets 6 #65
66 Weak in the Presence of Beauty Alison Moyet 1 #66
67 Finest Worksong R.E.M. 20 #67
68 The Passenger Siouxsie and the Banshees 10 #33
69 Victim of Love Erasure 5 #49
70 How Beautiful You Are The Cure 3 #20
71 La Bamba Los Lobos 5 #26
72 20 Killer Hurts Gene Loves Jezebel 2 #72
73 Heart Pet Shop Boys 4 #33
74 Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before The Smiths 16 #12
75 Rollercoaster Echo and the Bunnymen 1 #75
76 No Memory Scarlet Fantastic 1 #76
77 Devil Inside INXS 34 #42
78 Hit The North The Fall 2 #78
79 Rules and Regulations Public Image Ltd. 2 #25
80 Sacred Depeche Mode 1 #80
81 Certain Things are Likely K.T.P. 1 #81
82 Don't Kill the Animals Nena Hagen and Lene Lovich 1 #82
83 Spanish Eyes U2 6 #40
84 Love Removal Machine The Cult 40 #13
85 Half a Person The Smiths 6 #24
86 Always the Sun The Stranglers 27 #16
87 Infected The The 23 #75
88 Heart and Soul T'Pau 1 #88
89 Jane's Getting Serious Jon Astley 12 #52
90 The Right Stuff Bryan Ferry 5 #76
91 Is It Really So Strange The Smiths 8 #16
92 The Right Thing Simply Red 1 #92
93 Ahead Wire 2 #55
94 Mandinka Sinéad O'Connor 50 #5
95 Silver And Gold U2 19 #50
96 Happy When It Rains The Jesus and Mary Chain 14 #43
97 Don't Let's Start They Might Be Giants 47 #39
98 Luka Suzanne Vega 25 #10
100 I'm Supposed To Have Sex With You Tonio K 2 #100

Position 99 is missing from the source list.

More 1987 countdowns

Best songs of 1987 →

About this countdown

WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987 was broadcast by WLIR / WDRE (Long Island, NY). Positions are shown exactly as the station ranked them; artist and song names have been standardized so that every entry links to that song’s complete chart history across all stations. It counts toward the Alternative & Modern Rock rankings.

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