When I first read this, I took it to simply mean my favorite song. After further review I believe that to be wrong, and in the context of this challenge I take it to mean my favorite single (cassette/CD/45 RPM) that I have owned.
This is a lot more difficult for me than the last song, because I am much more of the "buy the album" type when it comes to music. I've wasted a lot of money on stuff that I don't like on an album that has only a song or two that I actually did like....but more than once I have found songs that I liked and never would have heard had I not bought the album. In general, I think the weight of finding something I like outweighs the possibility of missing out on something I'd never discover enough to justify the price I have paid.
Some of my favorite recent albums would be just a couple singles in my collection had I not taken the chance and grabbed the entire album. I may have saved a few bucks, but I would have missed out on a lot from Vampire Weekend, Metric, and Kings of Leon. All three of these bands are in my upper echelon of artists today because of an album I took a chance on, and now love to listen to.
So now that my little dissertation on why buying albums is better than buying singles, I have to try and narrow down an answer for this question. Thinking about it for a few minutes now, I can only come up with four singles that I have ever bought in the non-digital download days....which is how I feel I should qualify this. Three of those singles were cassettes, and one was a 45 RPM. I know I had several 45s that I loved as a kid....but I can only remember actually buying one of those for myself. Now, owning the single was the only designation in the day 2 challenge, but I have put a lot more weight to actually going out and buying the single. Therefore I will mention my favorite single I had bought for me as a kid, then move on to working out which of the four I bought was my favorite.
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron was by far my favorite 45 as a kid. I listened to it over and over again....and if I can remember listening to it a lot, I can just imagine how often I REALLY listened to it....and therefore made my parents listen to it. I shudder at the thought. Lol.
So now that I have revealed my favorite 45, I guess I can talk about the one that I bought for myself....because it's not going to be the answer to this question. My best friend when I was about 10 or so was into rock just as much as I was, and then some. Then one day he started talking about this song called Fernando. I had no idea who ABBA was at this point in my life, so I expected something completely different when I found the 45 in a thrift store shortly after hearing about it. I think I paid a quarter for it, and was excited to get home to listen to this cool song. I remember putting it on the stereo in my room, which I had just gotten some pretty large speakers for, and dropping the needle onto it. Less than halfway into the song I was on the phone with him laughing and questioning his orientation. It was only a few years later that I realized I had actually struck gold with that 45. Fernando was not, in fact, released as a single....it was the B-side to a little song called Dancing Queen, which will forever hold a place in my heart because of the embarrassment it holds for my current best friend. 25 cents for a good amount of best friend torment is a great value, but getting a two for one at that price is simply amazing.
Now for the cassette singles I can remember purchasing. One of the three was a Mariah Carey song when she first hit the scene. I don't remember which of her songs it was, but I absolutely loved her voice when I first heard it, and still think she has one of the great all time voices to this day. But the fact that I don't remember exactly which song it was takes this one out of the running.
In the late 80s early 90s, I really liked Latin Freestyle music. The beats and music of Freestyle progressed into popular dance/pop music in the 90s and early 2000s....and now into the crap on the radio that I loathe listening too. One night in 1990 I heard a new Freestyle song on the radio and dug it IMMEDIATELY. I thought the beat was great, and the lyrics were SO deep. Although I played the cassette single a lot for quite a while, Sending All My Love by Linear is definitely not my favorite single.
So if I thought that Sending All My Love was deep in 1990, I must have been blown away in 1991 by what is actually my favorite owned single. Like I said, I was into rock as a kid. Even though I liked a lot of other music genres, rock has always been number one for me. So it's no surprise that a rock band holds this title....but it is kind of surprising that it's not a traditional rock song, but what we now refer to as a power ballad. When I first heard To Be With You, I had no idea who Mr. Big was. I still couldn't tell you what other songs they have ever sung....but it's undeniable that the one song they had become popular was a great song at that time. Most anyone remotely near my age can still sing that song with great accuracy....although most of us have absolutely no idea what "waited on a line of greens and blues" means.
Build up your confidence
So you can be on top for once
Wake up who cares about
Little boys that talk too much
I'm the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you
You can make my life worthwhile
And I can make you start to smile
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