1986
The year in music, movies, TV, fads & memories
In 1986, “That's What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 and Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi and Raising Hell by Run-DMC were on every turntable. Top Gun, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Aliens were in theaters, and ALF, Pee-wee's Playhouse and L.A. Law were on TV.
The headlines: Challenger disaster (Jan 28). New that year: Pixar founded. Fads of the year: Garbage Pail Kids cards and Transformers: The Movie. Gas was 93¢ a gallon, a stamp was 22¢ and a movie ticket ran ~$3.71. On the shelf: a handful of Runts, a can of New Coke and a Cabbage Patch Kid, with Inspector Gadget on Saturday morning.
🎂 What music raised you?
Drop your birthday and we'll rewind to your golden era — the years the songs imprinted for life.
🔙 Backtrack — 1986
The world around the music — what was on screen, and what was on the shelf.
🎬 Set the scene
That 1986 feeling: Alvin and the Chipmunks in the background, an Orange Julius on the counter, a Push Pop in reach, and no one texting to ask where you were.
🎬 At the movies
📼 Saturday cartoons
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe👕 tee →
- ThunderCats👕 tee →
- G.I. Joe👕 tee →
- The Smurfs👕 tee →
- The Real Ghostbusters👕 tee →
- Inspector Gadget
- Voltron👕 tee →
- Muppet Babies
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- Jem👕 tee →
📰 Headlines
- Challenger disaster (Jan 28)
- Chernobyl disaster (Apr 26)
- Iran-Contra affair breaks
- Statue of Liberty centennial
- Hands Across America
💡 Tech & Firsts
- Pixar founded
- IBM PC Convertible laptop
- Nintendo's nationwide US launch
- The Legend of Zelda released
- Honda's Acura debuts in US
🏆 Sports
- Mets win the World Series
- Celtics win the NBA title
- Bears win Super Bowl XX
- Canadiens win the Stanley Cup
- Tyson youngest heavyweight champ
🤪 Crazes & fads
- Garbage Pail Kids cards
- Transformers: The Movie
- Nintendo mania
- Pee-wee's Playhouse
- Aerobics craze
👖 Clothes
- Acid-wash jeans peak
- Members Only jackets
- Big hair & perms
- Slap bracelets emerge
- Cosby sweaters
💵 What it cost
- Gas: 93¢/gal
- Stamp: 22¢
- Movie ticket: ~$3.71
- New car avg: ~$12,000
- Median home: ~$80,300
🧸 Toy chest
🍬 On the shelf
🥤 In the fridge
Billboard Year-End Hot 100
📊 Full chart →- 1
That's What Friends Are ForDionne Warwick - 2
Say You, Say Me (feat. Jason Aldean)Lionel Richie - 3
I Miss YouKlymaxx - 4
On My OwnMichael McDonald & Patti LaBelle - 5
Broken WingsMr. Mister - 6
How Will I KnowWhitney Houston - 7
Party All the TimeEddie Murphy - 8
Burning HeartSurvivor - 9KyrieMr. Mister
- 10
Addicted to LoveRobert Palmer - 11
Greatest Love of AllWhitney Houston - 12
Secret LoversAtlantic Starr - 13
Friends and LoversCarl Anderson - 14
Glory of LovePeter Cetera - 15
West End GirlsPet Shop Boys - 16
There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)Billy Ocean - 17
Alive And KickingSimple Minds - 18
NeverHeart - 19
KissPrince & The Revolution - 20
Higher LoveSteve Winwood - 21
Stuck With YouHuey Lewis & The News - 22
Holding Back the YearsSimply Red - 23
SledgehammerPeter Gabriel - 24
SaraStarship - 25
Don't You Want MeThe Human League
More from 1986
🎤 Big in 1986
🎚️ 1986 genres
🎛️ Behind the boards & the pen — 1986
The hands behind 1986 — the producers and songwriters who actually shaped that year's records. Rick Rubin was on 4 of them.
🎬 Movies of 1986
All soundtracks →The soundtracks that scored 1986 — every song and where it played.
🎚️ Related vibes
All themes →Themed rooms that lean on the sound of 1986.
🌀 Things 1986 remembers wrong
All Glitch Files →Mandela-effect cases that were on the shelf, the screen or the radio in 1986. Which do you remember?
What does 1986 remind you of?
The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of 1986.
Community Memories
How well do you remember 1986?
7 quick questions — the songs, the artists, the year. No cheating. 😏
📼 Take this tape with you
Build this in your own Spotify in two taps — free, no account needed here. (For Apple Music or YouTube, open songs one-by-one below.)
Then open the free helper
🎵 1986 albums on vinyl
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📻 80s gear
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