Quoted from loneacer:Isn't that kind of the definition of pop song? Pop as in popular? Popular because it's played all the time? A perfect song would be one that you liked on the 10,000th listen just as much as on the first. My first two immediate thoughts have already been mentioned. Billie Jean and In The Air Tonight are perfect pop songs.
I agree with you 100 percent on definition, but I think the original poster was trying to find perfect pop songs that aren't played all the time. If you are over the age of 30 and don't know Billie Jean then you have been living under a rock, or playing far too much pinball...
So far, the songs that have grabbed me on this thread are the ones I didn't know, or have become reacquainted with, like The Dictators "Stay With Me", Oingo Boingo "Just Another Day", Simple Kid "Lil King Kong", The Kinks "Sweet Lady Genevieve" and Spirit's "I Got a Line on You"
Not a number one among them, and none of them even charted in Australia.
Here's a nice slice of early 70s British bubblegum pop that is probably unknown in the States, but charted in places like Australia, Germany and South Africa. The band put together to tour this song included a later member of Split Enz, New Zealand's greatest band
Kincade - Dreams Are Ten a Penny: