Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth. In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.
We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1993, the year I completed my first year of college, started my second year of college, moved out of my childhood home, and turned 19, in that order. My musical landscape was continuing to change, as I navigated the different music I was exposed to between the middle of Indiana and the Chicagoland area. A whopping 86 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with 51 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#100: Def Leppard – Two Steps Behind
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Featured on the soundtrack to Last Action Hero, the acoustic ballad peaked at #12 on the Hot 100.
#97: Tony! Toni! Toné! – Anniversary
iTunes stats: N/A
Reaching #10, it was the second single from the group’s third studio album.
#96: Sting – If I Ever Lost My Faith in You
iTunes stats: N/A
Topping out at #17, the track earned Sting a Grammy in 1994.
#95: Gin Blossoms – Hey Jealousy
iTunes stats: 28 plays
Written by the band’s former guitarist, who was fired before their breakthrough album was released, it went to #25 on the Hot 100.
#94: Aerosmith – Livin’ on the Edge
iTunes stats: 21 plays
The lead single from the group’s eleventh album, which I bought in a midnight release at the Musicland that would eventually become a bar off of Purdue’s campus, it peaked at #18
#93: Green Jelly – Three Little Pigs
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Spending 20 weeks on the chart, the sole hit from the band, originally called Green Jellö before a lawsuit forced them to change their name, reached #17 in June.
#92: Joey Lawrence – Nothing My Love Can’t Fix
iTunes stats: N/A
The first, and most successful, single from the Blossom star, it topped out at #19.
#91: Tears for Fears – Break It Down Again
iTunes stats: 23 plays
The group’s first hit since 1989, it peaked at #25 and became their final track to enter the Top 40.
#90: Rod Stewart – Reason to Believe
iTunes stats: N/A
Originally released by Stewart in 1971, this live version, from his Unplugged appearance, reached #18.
#87: Sting – Fields of Gold
iTunes stats: N/A
Released in June, it hit #23 on the Hot 100.
#83: Michael Bolton – To Love Somebody
iTunes stats: N/A
Originally released by the Bee Gees in 1967, Michael Bolton took his version to #11.
#82: Haddaway – What is Love
iTunes stats: N/A
The sole hit from the Trinidadian-German singer, it topped out at #11.
#81: Digable Planets – Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Peaking at #15 in March, it remains the group’s lone Top 40 single.
#80: The Heights – How Do You Talk to an Angel
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Spending the two weeks at the top of the charts between the record-breaking runs of Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston, it also finished at #59 in 1992’s year-end chart.
#78: Ice Cube – It Was a Good Day
iTunes stats: 43 plays
Ice Cube’s highest charting single, it peaked at #15 on the Hot 100.
#77: Inner Circle – Sweat (A La La La La Long)
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Released in July of 1992, it eventually worked its way up to #16.
#76: Restless Heart – When She Cries
iTunes stats: N/A
A crossover hit for the country band, it reached #9 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and #11 on the Hot 100.
#75: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Boom! Shake the Room
iTunes stats: 24 plays
The final Top 40 hit before the duo split, it peaked at #13.
#74: Janet Jackson – Again
iTunes stats: N/A
Included in her film Poetic Justice, this third single from Jackson’s fifth studio album topped the charts for two weeks in December of 1993.
#69: Inner Circle – Bad Boys
iTunes stats: 20 plays
The theme song to the television show Cops, it was first recorded in 1987 and finally released as a single in 1993, reaching #8 and giving the group their only top ten hit.
#68: Jeremy Jordan – The Right Kind of Love
iTunes stats: N/A
The lead single from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack, it topped out at #14.
#67: Madonna – Rain
iTunes stats: 18 plays
Released in July, it hit #14 on the Hot 100.
#65: Cypress Hill – Insane in the Brain
iTunes stats: 15 plays
The lead single from the group’s sophomore album, it topped the Rap charts while peaking at #19 on the Hot 100.
#64: Zhané – Hey Mr. D.J.
iTunes stats: N/A
The debut single from the group became their first top ten hit, reaching #6.
#63: Positive K – I Got a Man
iTunes stats: 22 plays
The lone Top 40 hit of the rapper’s career, it hit #14 in March.
#62: TLC – What About Your Friends
iTunes stats: 27 plays
The third straight top ten single from their debut album, it topped out at #7.
#61: Ugly Kid Joe – Cats in the Cradle
iTunes stats: 16 plays
The highest charting single of the band’s career, this cover of the Harry Chapin classic peaked at #6.
#60: Aerosmith – Cryin’
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Released in June, the first single of their Alicia Silverstone trilogy reached #12.
#58: Mary J. Blige – Real Love
iTunes stats: N/A
The first top ten hit for the singer, it topped out at #7 on the Hot 100.
#57: Bon Jovi – Bed of Roses
iTunes stats: 20 plays
Hitting #10 on the Hot 100, the single was released in January.
#53: Dr. Dre – Dre Day
iTunes stats: 31 plays
The second single from Dr. Dre’s debut solo album, this Eazy-E diss track peaked at #8 in June.
#52: Prince and the New Power Generation – 7
iTunes stats: 16 plays
Released in late 1992, the song reached, of course, #7.
#51: Ace of Base – All That She Wants
iTunes stats: 20 plays
The first single released from their North American debut; it went all the way to #2.
#50: 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?
iTunes stats: 28 plays
The band’s lone single to crack the Hot 100, it hit #14.
#49: Bobby Brown – Good Enough
iTunes stats: 22 plays
The eighth and final top ten hit of Brown’s solo career, it topped out at #7.
#46: Toni Braxton – Another Sad Love Song
iTunes stats: N/A
The lead single from Braxton’s debut album, it peaked at #7, giving her the first top ten hit of her career.
#45: Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray
iTunes stats: 33 plays
The group’s second top ten hit, the lead single from their third album reached #8.
#44: 95 South – Whoot, There It Is
iTunes stats: N/A
Hitting #11, it was the less popular of the two singles released in 1993 with a similar title.
#43: P.M. Dawn – I’d Die Without You
iTunes stats: 28 plays
Featured on the Boomerang soundtrack and released in September of 1992, it topped out at #3.
#41: Duran Duran – Come Undone
iTunes stats: 15 plays
The final top ten hit from the British group, it peaked at #7.
#40: Shai – Baby I’m Yours
iTunes stats: 21 plays
The third and final top ten hit from the group, it reached #10 and featured future MTV VJ Ananda Lewis in its video.
#39: Whitney Houston – I’m Every Woman
iTunes stats: N/A
The second single from The Bodyguard soundtrack, Houston’s cover of the Chaka Khan song was released while her previous hit was still at #1 and topped out at #4 while spending 19 weeks in the Top 40.
#38: P.M. Dawn – Looking Through Patient Eyes
iTunes stats: 18 plays
Released in March and featuring backing vocals from Cathy Dennis, it spent two non-consecutive weeks at #6, the final top ten hit from the band.
#37: Onyx – Slam
iTunes stats: 34 plays
The group’s only single to crack the Top 40, it hit #4 on the Hot 100 while topping the Hot Rap Singles chart.
#36: Meat Loaf – I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Spending five weeks at #1 in November and December, it remains the only top ten single of the singer’s career.
#35: Tony! Toni! Toné! – If I Had No Loot
iTunes stats: 28 plays
Released in June as the lead single from the group’s third album, it peaked at #7 and was named the tenth best single of the year by The Village Voice.
#34: Duran Duran – Ordinary World
iTunes stats: 15 plays
The first top ten hit for the group since 1988, it reached #3 on the Hot 100.
#33: Shanice – Saving Forever for You
iTunes stats: 11 plays
The second and final top ten of her career, this hit form the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack hit #4.
#32: Rod Stewart – Have I Told You Lately
iTunes stats: N/A
A live version from his MTV Unplugged session reached #5 on the Hot 100.
#31: Arrested Development – Mr. Wendal
iTunes stats: 26 plays
Released in December of 1992, it peaked at #6 and earned the group a 1994 Soul Train Music Awards nomination.
#30: Whitney Houston – I Have Nothing
iTunes stats: N/A
Houston’s third single from The Bodyguard soundtrack, it reached #4.
#29: SWV – Right Here (Human Nature Remix)
iTunes stats: N/A
Originally released in 1992, the song topped out at #92, The remix, released in July of the following year, did much better, breaking into the top ten and peaking at #2.
#28: Spin Doctors – Two Princes
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Hitting #7 on the Hot 100, this second single from the band’s debut album was ranked by VH1 as the 41st greatest song of the 90s.
#27: The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
iTunes stats: 33 plays
Originally released in August of 1988, its inclusion in Benny & Joon led to a North American release in 1993, which went to #3.
#26: Billy Joel – The River of Dreams
iTunes stats: N/A
The title track and lead single from Joel’s twelfth studio album, it became his final top ten hit, going up to #3.
#25: Snap! – Rhythm Is a Dancer
iTunes stats: 13 plays
Not originally planned to be released as a single, the song rode good club reactions to the top of the Dance Club Songs chart and hit #5 on the Hot 100.
#24: Paperboy – Ditty
iTunes stats: 22 plays
The rapper’s debut single was also his only one to crack the Hot 100, peaking at #10.
#23: Exposé – I’ll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Peaking at #8, the Diane Warren-penned track was the group’s final Top 40 hit.
#22: Soul Asylum – Runaway Train
iTunes stats: 25 plays
The first release from the alternative rock group to crossover to mainstream success, it reached #5.
#21: Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight – Love Is
iTunes stats: N/A
Featured on both Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place, the song hit #3 on the Hot 100.
#19: Janet Jackson – If
iTunes stats: N/A
The second single from Jackson’s fifth album, it featured edgier themes and rose to #3.
#18: Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle – A Whole New World
iTunes stats: N/A
Featured in Aladdin, the duet, which garnered both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations while winning two Grammys, spent a week at #1, knocking Whitney Houston out of the top spot after fourteen weeks.
#17: Robin S. – Show Me Love
iTunes stats: N/A
The debut and biggest hit in the singer’s career, it peaked at #5.
#16: Duice – Dazzey Dukes
iTunes stats: 30 plays
Inspired by the shorts worn by Catherine Bach on The Dukes of Hazzard, the lone hit from the Miami bass duo reached #12.
#15: Jodeci – Lately
iTunes stats: 29 plays
Covered for the Uptown MTV Unplugged release, it became their biggest pop hit, breaking into the top five and topping out at #4.
#12: Boyz II Men – In the Still of the Nite
iTunes stats: 22 plays
This cover of the classic from The Five Satins, recorded for the soundtrack to The Jacksons: An American Dream miniseries, peaked at #3 in January of 1993.
#11: Dr. Dre – Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang
iTunes stats: 76 plays
Reaching #2 on the Hot 100, the song was selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.
#10: Snow – Informer
iTunes stats: N/A
This debut single from the Canadian reggae rapper became his only top ten hit, spending seven weeks at #1 in the spring of 1993.
#9: Wreckx-n-Effect – Rump Shaker
iTunes stats: 31 plays
Stuck at #2 behind the juggernaut that was Whitney Houston, this ode to women’s backsides was the group’s only Top 40 hit.
#8: Mariah Carey – Dreamlover
iTunes stats: N/A
The lead single from Carey’s third studio album, it spent eight weeks at #1.
#7: Shai – If I Ever Fall in Love
iTunes stats: 18 plays
The debut single from the group, it spent eight weeks stalled at #2.
#6: SWV – Weak
iTunes stats: N/A
The third single from the group’s debut album, it sat atop the Hot 100 for two weeks in July.
#5: Silk – Freak Me
iTunes stats: 12 plays
The lone top ten hit from the group, it spent two weeks on top of the chart and another ten weeks at #2.
#4: Janet Jackson – That’s The Way Love Goes
iTunes stats: 16 plays
Spending eight weeks at #1, it is the longest-running chart-topper for any member of the Jackson family.
#3: UB40 – Can’t Help Falling In Love
iTunes stats: 30 plays
This cover of the Elvis hit for the Sliver soundtrack spent seven weeks atop the Hot 100 and was the band’s final top ten hit.
#2: Tag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is)
iTunes stats: 64 plays
The only single from the duo to chart on the Hot 100, it spent seven consecutive weeks at #2 and became a pop culture sensation.
#1: Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
iTunes stats: 28 plays
This cover of the Dolly Parton song, featured in The Bodyguard soundtrack, broke the record Boyz II Men set the year before with a run of fourteen weeks at #1, going from November of 1992 through all of February in 1993.