1987
30 different songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. The year opened with Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles at the top, and Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi held #1 the longest — 4 weeks in 1987.
Prices rose 3.7% over 1986. One dollar in 1987 buys about what $2.83 buys in 2025.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $0.95, up 2% from 1986. In 2025 dollars that is $2.69, 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 1987
| Song | Artist | First week at #1 | Weeks at #1 in 1987 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk Like An Egyptian | The Bangles | Jan 3 | 2 |
| Shake You Down | Gregory Abbott | Jan 17 | 1 |
| At This Moment | Billy Vera & The Beaters | Jan 24 | 2 |
| Open Your Heart | Madonna | Feb 7 | 1 |
| Livin' On A Prayer | Bon Jovi | Feb 14 | 4 |
| Jacob's Ladder | Huey Lewis & The News | Mar 14 | 1 |
| Lean On Me | Club Nouveau | Mar 21 | 2 |
| Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now | Starship | Apr 4 | 2 |
| I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) | Aretha Franklin & George Michael | Apr 18 | 2 |
| (I Just) Died In Your Arms | Cutting Crew | May 2 | 2 |
| With Or Without You | U2 | May 16 | 3 |
| You Keep Me Hangin' On | Kim Wilde | Jun 6 | 1 |
| Always | Atlantic Starr | Jun 13 | 1 |
| Head To Toe | Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam | Jun 20 | 1 |
| I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) | Whitney Houston | Jun 27 | 2 |
| Alone | Heart | Jul 11 | 3 |
| Shakedown (From "Beverly Hills Cop II") | Bob Seger | Aug 1 | 1 |
| I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For | U2 | Aug 8 | 2 |
| Who's That Girl | Madonna | Aug 22 | 1 |
| La Bamba | Los Lobos | Aug 29 | 3 |
| I Just Can't Stop Loving You | Michael Jackson With Siedah Garrett | Sep 19 | 1 |
| Didn't We Almost Have It All | Whitney Houston | Sep 26 | 2 |
| Here I Go Again | Whitesnake | Oct 10 | 1 |
| Lost In Emotion | Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam | Oct 17 | 1 |
| Bad | Michael Jackson | Oct 24 | 2 |
| I Think We're Alone Now | Tiffany | Nov 7 | 2 |
| Mony Mony | Billy Idol | Nov 21 | 1 |
| (I've Had) The Time Of My Life | Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes | Nov 28 | 1 |
| Heaven Is A Place On Earth | Belinda Carlisle | Dec 5 | 1 |
| Faith | George Michael | Dec 12 | 3 |
Weeks are counted within 1987; a song that carried over from 1986 or into 1988 shows only its 1987 weeks.
What things cost in 1987
| Item | 1987 price | In 2025 dollars | Actual 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon of regular gas | $0.95 | $2.69 | $3.26 |
| Dozen large eggs | $0.78 | $2.22 | $4.25 |
| Loaf of white bread (per lb) | $0.55 | $1.55 | $1.87 |
| Ground beef (per lb) | $1.31 | $3.71 | $6.09 |
| Whole chicken (per lb) | $0.79 | $2.22 | $2.06 |
| Bacon (per lb) | $2.14 | $6.07 | $7.02 |
| Ground coffee (per lb) | $2.79 | $7.89 | $8.18 |
| Bananas (per lb) | $0.36 | $1.03 | $0.65 |
| Sugar (per lb) | $0.35 | $1.00 | $1.02 |
| Potatoes (per lb) | $0.28 | $0.78 | $0.96 |
| Flour (per lb) | $0.20 | $0.58 | $0.56 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.08 | $0.22 | $0.18 |
| Federal minimum wage (per hour) | $3.35 | $9.49 | $7.25 |
| Median new home sale price | $104,700 | $296,655 | $415,400 |
| First-class stamp | 22¢ | 62¢ | 73¢ |
Compare 1987 prices with any amount → · Find the #1 song on any day in 1987 →
The internet in 1987
- April 23, 1987datacube.com becomes the 68th .com — Datacube Inc., an image-processing company in Massachusetts, registers datacube.com — the 68th .com domain ever registered. source
40 of the first 100 .com domains were registered in 1987: cgi.com, cts.com, spdcc.com, apple.com, nma.com, prime.com, philips.com, datacube.com, kai.com, tic.com, vine.com, ncr.com, cisco.com, rdl.com, slb.com, parcplace.com, utc.com, ide.com, trw.com, unipress.com, dupont.com, lockheed.com, rosetta.com, toad.com, quick.com, allied.com, dsc.com, sco.com, gene.com, kccs.com, spectra.com, wlk.com, mentat.com, wyse.com, cfg.com, marble.com, cayman.com, entity.com, ksr.com, nynexst.com.
