1986 Hit That Reached No. 1 Named 'Best Song of the 1980s'

It's impossible to say which decade was strictly the "best" for music, but very few have a style and aesthetic quite as immediately recognizable as the 1980s. Whether it's the emergence of heavy rock, the endurance of disco-inspired dance pop, or the early years of grunge and alt-rock, the '80s were a decade filled with innovation and influence.

One of the leading voices in this musical evolution was Prince, who rose to fame in the '70s with his unique sound that bridged the gap between funk, R&B, and disco with mainstream pop.

While Purple Rain is typically considered Prince's greatest album, the single "Kiss" from his album Parade was ranked by Rolling Stone as the greatest song of the 1980s.

The song was an immediate success for Prince coming off the hells of Purple Rain, climbing to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping charts across the world. It stayed in the top spot for two weeks.

Following Prince's death in 2016, the song re-entered the charts and remains one of the artist's most enduring songs. It's a playful, funky pop song that blends harsh guitar solos with a gentle, melodic guitar sound that begs to get listeners dancing.

Rolling Stone writes: "Prince has a couple dozen songs that could top this list, but “Kiss” is the sound of Prince showing off, his most playful and perverse hit, proving he’s six or seven of the planet’s best singers.

There’s no bass at all, giving him room to peacock all over the avant-purple electro-slither. He coos “You can’t be too flirty” in the flirtiest falsetto imaginable, saving his sex-crazed screams for the end."

There were very few artists pushing mainstream pop forward as forcefully as Prince, and "Kiss" is a perfect example of how he was able to blend genres so effectively to create an entirely new sound. His music still infects pop today, with many of the industry's greatest songwriters clearly drawing inspiration from his work.