Suzanne Vega first had a top-100 single on Billboard’s year-end chart in 1987. Her song “Luka” ranked on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 for that year, making 1987 the correct answer.
“Luka” was released on Vega’s second studio album, Solitude Standing. The song is written from the perspective of a child experiencing abuse, but its upbeat acoustic-pop arrangement contrasts sharply with its subject matter. That contrast helped the track reach a broad audience while rewarding closer attention to its lyrics.
The wording can cause confusion because a year-end Billboard ranking is different from a song’s peak position on the weekly Billboard Hot 100. “Luka” was a major weekly-chart hit as well, but this question specifically asks when Vega first appeared on the year-end top 100. Another frequently remembered Vega song, “Tom’s Diner,” became widely known through a later remix, but “Luka” is the relevant 1987 entry.