# List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1986

This is a list of the U.S. Billboard magazine Hot 100 number-one singles of 1986. The longest running number-one singles of 1986 are "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne and Friends and "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles, which each logged four weeks at number-one. "Walk Like an Egyptian" logged two weeks at number-one in 1986 and two more weeks at number-one in 1987, summing up to four weeks at the top. "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie concluded another four week run that began in 1985. 1986 is the year with the third largest number of number-one songs, with 30 songs reaching the #1 spot.
That year, 20 acts earned their first number one song, such as Heart, Falco, Robert Palmer, Pet Shop Boys, Simply Red, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Steve Winwood, Bananarama, Berlin, Janet Jackson, Boston, Bon Jovi, Amy Grant, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, and The Bangles. Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Michael McDonald, and Peter Cetera, already having hit number one with Gladys Knight & the Pips, Labelle, The Doobie Brothers, and Chicago, respectively, also earn their first number one songs as solo acts. Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Peter Cetera were the only acts to earn more than one number one song, with each of them hitting the top twice.

## Chart history

Key :
| † | Indicates best-performing single of 1986 |
An asterisk (*) by a date indicates an unpublished, "frozen" week, due to the special double issues that Billboard published in print at the end of the year for their year-end charts.
| No. | Issue date | Song | Artist(s) |
| 587 | January 4* | "Say You, Say Me" | Lionel Richie |
| 587 | January 11 | "Say You, Say Me" | Lionel Richie |
| 588 | January 18 | "That's What Friends Are For"† | Dionne and Friends |
| 588 | January 25 | "That's What Friends Are For"† | Dionne and Friends |
| 588 | February 1 | "That's What Friends Are For"† | Dionne and Friends |
| 588 | February 8 | "That's What Friends Are For"† | Dionne and Friends |
| 589 | February 15 | "How Will I Know" | Whitney Houston |
| 589 | February 22 | "How Will I Know" | Whitney Houston |
| 590 | March 1 | "Kyrie" | Mr. Mister |
| 590 | March 8 | "Kyrie" | Mr. Mister |
| 591 | March 15 | "Sara" | Starship |
| 592 | March 22 | "These Dreams" | Heart |
| 593 | March 29 | "Rock Me Amadeus" | Falco |
| 593 | April 5 | "Rock Me Amadeus" | Falco |
| 593 | April 12 | "Rock Me Amadeus" | Falco |
| 594 | April 19 | "Kiss" | Prince and the Revolution |
| 594 | April 26 | "Kiss" | Prince and the Revolution |
| 595 | May 3 | "Addicted to Love" | Robert Palmer |
| 596 | May 10 | "West End Girls" | Pet Shop Boys |
| 597 | May 17 | "Greatest Love of All" | Whitney Houston |
| 597 | May 24 | "Greatest Love of All" | Whitney Houston |
| 597 | May 31 | "Greatest Love of All" | Whitney Houston |
| 598 | June 7 | "Live to Tell" | Madonna |
| 599 | June 14 | "On My Own" | Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald |
| 599 | June 21 | "On My Own" | Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald |
| 599 | June 28 | "On My Own" | Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald |
| 600 | July 5 | "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" | Billy Ocean |
| 601 | July 12 | "Holding Back the Years" | Simply Red |
| 602 | July 19 | "Invisible Touch" | Genesis |
| 603 | July 26 | "Sledgehammer" | Peter Gabriel |
| 604 | August 2 | "Glory of Love" | Peter Cetera |
| 604 | August 9 | "Glory of Love" | Peter Cetera |
| 605 | August 16 | "Papa Don't Preach" | Madonna |
| 605 | August 23 | "Papa Don't Preach" | Madonna |
| 606 | August 30 | "Higher Love" | Steve Winwood |
| 607 | September 6 | "Venus" | Bananarama |
| 608 | September 13 | "Take My Breath Away" | Berlin |
| 609 | September 20 | "Stuck with You" | Huey Lewis and the News |
| 609 | September 27 | "Stuck with You" | Huey Lewis and the News |
| 609 | October 4 | "Stuck with You" | Huey Lewis and the News |
| 610 | October 11 | "When I Think of You" | Janet Jackson |
| 610 | October 18 | "When I Think of You" | Janet Jackson |
| 611 | October 25 | "True Colors" | Cyndi Lauper |
| 611 | November 1 | "True Colors" | Cyndi Lauper |
| 612 | November 8 | "Amanda" | Boston |
| 612 | November 15 | "Amanda" | Boston |
| 613 | November 22 | "Human" | The Human League |
| 614 | November 29 | "You Give Love a Bad Name" | Bon Jovi |
| 615 | December 6 | "The Next Time I Fall" | Peter Cetera and Amy Grant |
| 616 | December 13 | "The Way It Is" | Bruce Hornsby & the Range |
| 617 | December 20 | "Walk Like an Egyptian" | The Bangles |
| 617 | December 27 | "Walk Like an Egyptian" | The Bangles |

## Number-one artists

List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one :
| Position | Artist | Weeks at No. 1 |
| 1 | Whitney Houston | 5 |
| 2 | Dionne Warwick | 4 |
| 2 | Elton John | 4 |
| 2 | Stevie Wonder | 4 |
| 2 | Gladys Knight | 4 |
| 6 | Falco | 3 |
| 6 | Madonna | 3 |
| 6 | Patti Labelle | 3 |
| 6 | Michael McDonald | 3 |
| 6 | Huey Lewis and the News | 3 |
| 6 | Peter Cetera | 3 |
| 12 | Lionel Richie | 2 |
| 12 | Mr. Mister | 2 |
| 12 | Prince and the Revolution | 2 |
| 12 | Janet Jackson | 2 |
| 12 | Cyndi Lauper | 2 |
| 12 | Boston | 2 |
| 12 | The Bangles | 2 |
| 19 | Starship | 1 |
| 19 | Heart | 1 |
| 19 | Robert Palmer | 1 |
| 19 | Pet Shop Boys | 1 |
| 19 | Billy Ocean | 1 |
| 19 | Simply Red | 1 |
| 19 | Genesis | 1 |
| 19 | Peter Gabriel | 1 |
| 19 | Steve Winwood | 1 |
| 19 | Bananarama | 1 |
| 19 | Berlin | 1 |
| 19 | The Human League | 1 |
| 19 | Bon Jovi | 1 |
| 19 | Amy Grant | 1 |
| 19 | Bruce Hornsby & the Range | 1 |