5 College Hits That Will Stir Up Emotions In Generation X

Hey there, Gen Xer. Close your tired, jaded eyes for a few seconds, and pause for a bit as you go back in time and revisit college, that phase of your life when being an adult was nothing more than just an abstract concept in the distant and still-bright future. No stressing over employment, taxes, existential crises, or the near-constant threat of nuclear warfare — just you, the classes you barely paid attention to, and all the free time in the world to sleep, hang out with friends, or listen to some really good music. Being born between 1965 and 1980 means that your college years fell within the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. And based on the Billboard Hot 100 rankings during those years, the five songs on this list were most likely the hits that you heard on the radio or played on your Walkman or Discman. 

It wasn't easy selecting the entries; if you think about it, it's hard to imagine a song becoming a hit if it doesn't resonate with audiences on an emotional level. With that said, these are the five that we felt were the best representatives of the different emotional highs and lows of a college-age music lover: two songs about heartbreak and painfully pining for a former partner who abruptly broke off the relationship, two songs about passionate attraction that could barely keep itself from exploding, and a song about the thrill of a new love comparable to a magic carpet ride.

Originally performed by Laura Branigan in 1983, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" was co-written by Michael Bolton, who would later release his own version of the song in 1989. And while it's likely that anyone who was in college in 1989 would be familiar with both takes on the song, it's probably the Bolton version that first comes to mind. After all, judging from its performance on the Billboard Hot 100 — claiming the top spot for three weeks that same year — music fans clearly felt that the singer-songwriter did the song justice.

Hearing "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" now will almost certainly dig up memories of failed romances (if you had any). Naturally, with the benefit of hindsight, you could confidently tell your younger self that your seemingly world-shattering college heartbreaks would eventually be revealed as nothing more than formative experiences that actually weren't all that serious. 

Regardless, staying in love with someone who has already fallen out of love stings like hell, and Bolton captured that feeling in this power ballad perfectly. There's an unabashed rawness to how Bolton stresses the lyrics — compounded by the classic-hard-rocker-turned-cornball-crooner's unmistakable voice — that leaves the song brimming with an overwhelming level of emotional pain. It really embodies the reality that when it comes to loving someone, it's hard, if not impossible, to just decide to simply stop.

The Queen of Pop, Madonna, continues to be a well-known presence in the performing arts (while still living up to her reputation as one of the rock stars who live unbelievably lavish lives). But it's hard to deny that some of Madonna's most iconic hits came from the '80s and '90s: "Like A Virgin," "Papa Don't Preach," "Material Girl," and of course, "Crazy For You."

Released in 1985, "Crazy For You" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart following its release. With its beautifully poetic lyrics, slow and steady beat, and Madonna's strong yet sensitive vocals, "Crazy For You" encapsulates the explosion of emotions that comes with impetuous teenage love. The song also doesn't hold back on the intimate imagery, referencing deep kisses, heavy breathing, and so much more. It is made abundantly clear that the singer cannot (and does not want to) keep her hands off the object of her affection, with love bordering on obsession dripping out of every syllable. Listening to "Crazy For You" is like witnessing a broken faucet failing to contain the water bursting out of it.

It's hard to picture any Gen Xer — especially a Gen Xer who has experienced being in a relationship full of wild, youthful passion — hearing this song and not feeling it tugging at their heartstrings or bringing up sweet, steamy memories of a time when nothing else in the world mattered except for them and their partner.

It's 1992, and you've just finished watching Disney's newest animated film, "Aladdin." You sit through the credits out of courtesy; half a minute into reading the scrolling names on the big screen, the catchy trumpets of the "Friend Like Me" instrumental give way to a mellow melody. Upon listening to the song, you realize that it's a familiar one. That's because you heard it performed a bit differently in the middle of the movie.

In their version, Lea Salonga and Brad Kane (the singing voices of Jasmine and Aladdin) injected "A Whole New World" with a level of barely-contained excitement that perfectly matched their respective characters. But when Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle turned the princess and pauper's carpet joyride anthem into a slow, smooth ballad, it became much more personal. Hearing Aladdin and Jasmine sing about unbelievable sights and indescribable feelings makes you want to root for their love; hearing Bryson and Belle swoon about the same things makes you want to fall in love.

"A Whole New World" could just as easily be a high school hit from the '90s that will stir up emotions in Generation X kids who were born in the late '70s. With that said, there's something both universal and timeless about the emotional impact and appeal of this song — which topped the Hot 100 chart for a week — that pretty much any generation would be able to relate to it.

By now, the world knows the truth about Milli Vanilli's lip-sync scandal, and how the duo's records were actually performed by ghost singers. Regardless, that revelation does not erase the fact that "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" is an emotional powerhouse of a pop song. Hitting No. 1 on the Hot 100 after it was released in 1989, "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" is one of Milli Vanilli's most instantly recognizable songs, for more reasons than one.

Anyone who has ever loved and lost would find something relatable about this song. The accompanying instruments fill the song with a somber yet soothing atmosphere, and having different voices singing different parts is simultaneously discordant and harmonious, to the point where it all just works.

Granted, "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" isn't exactly a master class on writing lyrics ("Like a honey bee you took the best of me" — really?), and its rhymes sometimes feel forced. Still, the line "It's a tragedy for me to see the dream is over" is just so heartbreaking that it more than makes up for all of the song's poetic shortcomings.

As recently as 2024, "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" experienced a renewed surge in popularity, thanks to the Netflix true crime drama "Monsters" ... partially due to the strange (and surprisingly true) fact that this song was played at their parents' memorial service.

Ending a list about songs that stir up emotions with a song whose title specifically talks about stirring up emotions may seem too on the nose, but hear us out. 

Filled to the brim with finger-snapping, fancy footwork, and falsettos, the King of Pop's 1988 banger "The Way You Make Me Feel" spun, kicked, and skipped its way to the top of the Hot 100 chart, and it's hardly a mystery why. Michael Jackson, in his signature style, infused this song with high-pitched notes and high-energy dancing (and let's be honest: It's hard to listen to a Michael Jackson song without wanting to watch him dance to it). And yet, none of it detracted from the sincerity of the sentiment expressed in the lyrics: This is a man who is clearly in love, and will stop at nothing just to make the woman of his dreams understand the way she makes him feel.

Ultimately, this song won't just make you feel things; it will also make you want to get up and get moving. Emotional and infectious, "The Way You Make Me Feel," will either remind you of romantic memories from your youth, have you screaming "Hoo!" and "Hee hee!" in no time, or both. (Now, if only that were enough to make us all dance as well as Michael Jackson.)