According to RPM magazine, the biggest song of 1981 in Canada was Stars on 45’s “Medley”. The Dutch group joined snippets of songs in a common tempo to a dance beat. The 1981 medley included several Beatles’ songs plus “Venus” and “Sugar Sugar”. Ten songs from the year-end top 100 chart below are from Canadian artists which have been bolded in red. The top Canadian song was The Rovers’ “Wasn’t That a Party” at #11. The Canadian charts are an accurate reflection of Canadian tastes in music, and the Top 100 songs were determined both from nationwide sales and radio airplay data. The drawback with year-end charts is that songs charting from the end of one year through beginning of the next will have their chart performance split between the two years. More year-end and other Canadian charts can be found here.
| RANK | TITLE | ARTIST |
| 1 | Medley | Stars on 45 |
| 2 | Bette Davis Eyes | Kim Carnes |
| 3 | Endless Love | Diana Ross & Lionel Richie |
| 4 | The Friends of Mr. Cairo | Jon & Vangelis |
| 5 | Start Me Up | Rolling Stones |
| 6 | 9 to 5 | Dolly Parton |
| 7 | Urgent | Foreigner |
| 8 | Angel of the Morning | Juice Newton |
| 9 | Celebration | Kool and the Gang |
| 10 | The Tide Is High | Blondie |
| 11 | Wasn’t That a Party | The Rovers |
| 12 | Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic | The Police |
| 13 | Sausalito Summerlight | Diesel |
| 14 | Morning Train | Sheena Easton |
| 15 | Woman | John Lennon |
| 16 | Being With You | Smokey Robinson |
| 17 | Keep On Loving You | REO Speedwagon |
| 18 | Arthur’s Theme | Christopher Cross |
| 19 | The Best of Times | Styx |
| 20 | Shaddap Your Face | Joe Dolce |
| 21 | (Just Like) Starting Over | John Lennon |
| 22 | Passion | Rod Stewart |
| 23 | While You See a Chance | Steve Winwood |
| 24 | Rapture | Blondie |
| 25 | Hey Nineteen | Steely Dan |
| 26 | Whatching the Wheels | John Lennon |
| 27 | In the Air Tonight | Phil Collins |
| 28 | Gemini Dream | Moody Blues |
| 29 | My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) | Chilliwack |
| 30 | All Those Years Ago | George Harrison |
| 31 | Stop Dragging My Heart | Stevie Nicks |
| 32 | Kiss On My List | Hall & Oates |
| 33 | A Little In Love | Cliff Richard |
| 34 | Waiting for a Girl Like You | Foreigner |
| 35 | Take It On the Run | REO Speedwagon |
| 36 | For Your Eyes Only | Sheena Easton |
| 37 | Private Eyes | Hall & Oates |
| 38 | Hold On Tight | Electric Light Orchestra |
| 39 | Too Much Time On My Hands | Styx |
| 40 | Who’s Crying Now | Journey |
| 41 | Fire and Ice | Pat Benatar |
| 42 | You Better You Bet | The Who |
| 43 | Lady | Kenny Rogers |
| 44 | No Reply At All | Genesis |
| 45 | Tell It Like It Is | Heart |
| 46 | Sukiyaki | Taste of Honey |
| 47 | Greatest American Hero | Joey Scarbury |
| 48 | Turn Me Loose | Loverboy |
| 49 | Crying | Don McLean |
| 50 | Hungry Heart | Bruce Springsteen |
| 51 | Physical | Olivia Newton-John |
| 52 | Queen of Hearts | Juice Newton |
| 53 | Ah Leah | Donnie Iris |
| 54 | I Missed Again | Phil Collins |
| 55 | Jessie’s Girl | Rick Springfield |
| 56 | De Do Do Do De Da Da Da | The Police |
| 57 | Young Turks | Rod Stewart |
| 58 | Woman in Love | Barbara Streisand |
| 59 | The One That You Love | Air Supply |
| 60 | Boy From New York City | Manhattan Transfer |
| 61 | A Woman Needs Love | Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio |
| 62 | The Voice | Moody Blues |
| 63 | The Stroke | Billy Squier |
| 64 | More Than I Can Say | Leo Sayer |
| 65 | Looking For Clues | Robert Palmer |
| 66 | Trying to Live My Life | Bob Seger |
| 67 | Don’t Stand So Close to Me | The Police |
| 68 | Slowhand | Pointer Sisters |
| 69 | The Night Owls | Little River Band |
| 70 | The Waiting | Tom Petty |
| 71 | I Can’t Stand It | Eric Clapton |
| 72 | I Ain’t Gonna Stand For It | Stevie Wonder |
| 73 | Under Pressure | Queen/Bowie |
| 74 | I Love a Rainy Night | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 75 | Limelight | Rush |
| 76 | Treat Me Right | Pat Benatar |
| 77 | Giving It Up for Your Love | Delbert McClinton |
| 78 | Just the Two of Us | Grover Washington Jr. |
| 79 | Magic Power | Triumph |
| 80 | Oh No | Commodores |
| 81 | I Could Never Miss You | Lulu |
| 82 | Hard to Say | Dan Fogelberg |
| 83 | Hello Again | Neil Diamond |
| 84 | Ain’t Even Done with Night | John Cougar |
| 85 | Living Inside Myself | Gino Vannelli |
| 86 | Blessed Are the Believers | Anne Murray |
| 87 | Beach Boys Medley | Beach Boys |
| 88 | High School Confidential | Rough Trade |
| 89 | What Kind of Fool | Barbara Streisand |
| 90 | Games People Play | Alan Parsons Project |
| 91 | Ghost Riders in the Sky | Outlaws |
| 92 | He Can’t Love You | Michael Stanley Band |
| 93 | Her Town Too | James Taylor & JD Souther |
| 94 | Turning Japanese | The Vapors |
| 95 | Thirsty Ears | Powder Blues Band |
| 96 | This Little Girl | Gary U.S. Bonds |
| 97 | All Touch | Rough Trade |
| 98 | Hooked on Classics | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
| 99 | Deep Inside My Heart | Randy Meisner |
| 100 | Don’t Let Him Go | REO Speedwagon |
Canadian Music Blog 
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