1985
27 different songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985, starting with Like A Virgin by Madonna. No single song ran away with the year: Like A Virgin (Madonna) and We Are The World (USA For Africa) shared the longest stay at the top, 4 weeks each within 1985.
Prices rose 3.5% over 1984. One dollar in 1985 buys about what $2.99 buys in 2025.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $1.20, down 1% from 1984. In 2025 dollars that is $3.60, against an actual 2025 average of $3.26.
Mailing a letter took a 22¢ stamp (it is 73¢ in 2025), and the federal minimum wage was $3.35 an hour.
Every #1 hit of 1985
| Song | Artist | First week at #1 | Weeks at #1 in 1985 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Like A Virgin | Madonna | Jan 5 | 4 |
| I Want To Know What Love Is | Foreigner | Feb 2 | 2 |
| Careless Whisper | Wham! Featuring George Michael | Feb 16 | 3 |
| Can't Fight This Feeling | REO Speedwagon | Mar 9 | 3 |
| One More Night | Phil Collins | Mar 30 | 2 |
| We Are The World | USA For Africa | Apr 13 | 4 |
| Crazy For You | Madonna | May 11 | 1 |
| Don't You (Forget About Me) | Simple Minds | May 18 | 1 |
| Everything She Wants | Wham! | May 25 | 2 |
| Everybody Wants To Rule The World | Tears For Fears | Jun 8 | 2 |
| Heaven | Bryan Adams | Jun 22 | 2 |
| Sussudio | Phil Collins | Jul 6 | 1 |
| A View To A Kill | Duran Duran | Jul 13 | 2 |
| Everytime You Go Away | Paul Young | Jul 27 | 1 |
| Shout | Tears For Fears | Aug 3 | 3 |
| The Power Of Love | Huey Lewis & The News | Aug 24 | 2 |
| St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) | John Parr | Sep 7 | 2 |
| Money For Nothing | Dire Straits | Sep 21 | 3 |
| Oh Sheila | Ready For The World | Oct 12 | 1 |
| Take On Me | a-ha | Oct 19 | 1 |
| Saving All My Love For You | Whitney Houston | Oct 26 | 1 |
| Part-Time Lover | Stevie Wonder | Nov 2 | 1 |
| Miami Vice Theme | Jan Hammer | Nov 9 | 1 |
| We Built This City | Starship | Nov 16 | 2 |
| Separate Lives | Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin | Nov 30 | 1 |
| Broken Wings | Mr. Mister | Dec 7 | 2 |
| Say You, Say Me | Lionel Richie | Dec 21 | 2 |
Weeks are counted within 1985; a song that carried over from 1984 or into 1986 shows only its 1985 weeks.
What things cost in 1985
| Item | 1985 price | In 2025 dollars | Actual 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon of regular gas | $1.20 | $3.60 | $3.26 |
| Dozen large eggs | $0.80 | $2.41 | $4.25 |
| Loaf of white bread (per lb) | $0.55 | $1.66 | $1.87 |
| Ground beef (per lb) | $1.24 | $3.71 | $6.09 |
| Whole chicken (per lb) | $0.76 | $2.28 | $2.06 |
| Bacon (per lb) | $1.94 | $5.81 | $7.02 |
| Ground coffee (per lb) | $2.58 | $7.72 | $8.18 |
| Bananas (per lb) | $0.37 | $1.10 | $0.65 |
| Sugar (per lb) | $0.35 | $1.06 | $1.02 |
| Flour (per lb) | $0.21 | $0.63 | $0.56 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.08 | $0.24 | $0.18 |
| Federal minimum wage (per hour) | $3.35 | $10.03 | $7.25 |
| Median new home sale price | $84,275 | $252,231 | $415,400 |
| First-class stamp | 22¢ | 66¢ | 73¢ |
Compare 1985 prices with any amount → · Find the #1 song on any day in 1985 →
The internet in 1985
- January 1985.com and friends are created — The first generic top-level domains — .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .net and .org — go into service. source
- March 15, 1985symbolics.com: the first .com — Symbolics, a Massachusetts computer maker, registers the very first .com domain. By the end of 1985 there are only six. source
- November 20, 1985Windows 1.0 — Microsoft ships Windows 1.0, a graphical shell that runs on top of MS-DOS. source
6 of the first 100 .com domains were registered in 1985: symbolics.com, bbn.com, think.com, mcc.com, dec.com, northrop.com.
