Poptime

Herein, I collect and count down my favorite pop, rock, r&b and hip hop singles released between the time I was born (1/74) and right this minute. Ordering is pretty loose and arbitrary until I reach the top 10 or so, when rankings will really mean something.

I'm limiting myself to things that have actually charted in the Billboard Hot 100 (or Billboard subcharts or foreign equivalents when applicable). Otherwise, trying to narrow a list down to 101 songs would be border on impossible.

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  1. Artist: The Graces
    Song: Lay Down Your Arms
    Year: 1989
    Highest Chart Position: #56 (Billboard Hot 100)

    The Graces were an all-girl trio featuring former Go-Go guitarist Charlotte Caffey and future “Bitch” Meredith Brooks (and Gia Ciambotti too). They only hung around long enough to record a single album, ’89s Perfect View, but it included the rather wonderful single “Lay Down Your Arms”. As fierce as The Go-Go’s were reported to be live, they never sounded like a rock band on record. “Lay Down Your Arms” was finally Charlotte Caffey’s chance to do it—great bassline, amazing chorus, and perfect breakdown.

    This song also appeared on Belinda Carlisle’s 1993 album Real, but by that time she’d plummeted into a deep creative chasm and was only releasing sporadic platters of crap when a label saw fit to give her an advance. If it had been done for Heaven on Earth or Runaway Horses, it might have killed!

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