Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course.
I consider "pop" mainstream radio music. And I don't really like mainstream radio music. I mostly stopped listening to it in the summer of 1982, when I discovered hardrock and heavy metal. Trying to find music from friends (tapes yes, we don't apologise for that), music from the library, of course also buying music.
Digitisation of music opened more avenues, moving and discovering other libraries also expanded my views (Muse, Korn and Napalm Death, stoner rock), also more into jazz, but also heavy metal and hardrock bands that I didn't know.
Spotify even opened up more avenues, and there are many very good bands which range from obscure to mostly unknown, that produce better music than what is available on radio.
So, best pop song? That is a difficult one. But there are some numbers that stand out in my memory.
- Dillinger - Cocaine in my Brain
- Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
- Chicago - If You Leave me Now
Don't talk about the 80's. Musically, that is a period I like to suppress. For me the best albums of that period are "Breaker" by Accept, and "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden.
I did like grunge, but it suppressed here other styles like stoner rock, and I am not altogether convinced by the label "alternative <whatever>".