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 1995, the year I finished my third year of college, started working at the bank during the summer, returned to West Lafayette for my fourth year of college, and celebrated my 21st birthday. This is also the year that my CD player boombox, that I got for Christmas back in 1991, started to die. Despite numerous attempts to repair the cassette heads, nothing seemed to work. With 44 songs that remain familiar to me today, we have fallen below 50% for the first time since 1987. 29 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#100: Van Halen – Can’t Stop Lovin’ You
iTunes stats: 0 plays
The final Van Halen track to crack the Top 40, it peaked at #30.
#99: Soul Asylum – Misery
iTunes stats: 21 plays
Reaching #20 on the Hot 100, it sat atop the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
#95: The Pretenders – I’ll Stand By You
iTunes stats: 14 plays
The second single from the group’s sixth studio album, it went to #16 on the Hot 100.
#93: Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe
iTunes stats: N/A
Based on a traditional country song, it topped out at #25.
#90: Melissa Etheridge – If I Wanted To
iTunes stats: N/A
Peaking at #16 in March, the song was the final single from Etheridge’s breakthrough fourth studio album.
#85: Better Than Ezra – Good
iTunes stats: 17 plays
Written in late 1990/early 1991, this lead single from the group’s major label debut reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, #3 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, and #30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
#82: Crystal Waters – 100% Pure Love
iTunes stats: N/A
Appearing on the year end chart for the second straight year, it was one of the longest charting singles in history at the time of its release.
#81: U2 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Featured on the Batman Forever soundtrack, it went to #16 and received two Grammy nominations.
#78: Annie Lennox – No More I Love You’s
iTunes stats: N/A
The lead single from her sophomore solo effort, it topped out at #23 and was used in the first episode of The Sopranos.
#70: Bon Jovi – This Ain’t a Love Song
iTunes stats: N/A
Peaking at #14, the ballad was the lead single from the group’s sixth studio album.
#67: Sheryl Crow – All I Wanna Do
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Ranked by Billboard as the 405th best pop song of all time, it charts for the second straight year.
#63: 69 Boyz – Tootsee Roll
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Topping out at #8 in January of 1995, it makes the year-end list for the second straight year.
#61: Tom Petty – You Don’t Know How It Feels
iTunes stats: N/A
The final Top 40 hit of Petty’s career, it reached #1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart and #13 on the Hot 100.
#60: Natalie Merchant – Carnival
iTunes stats: 30 plays
The lead single from Merchant’s solo debut, it topped out at #10 and remains her highest charting solo single.
#58: Skee-Lo – I Wish
iTunes stats: 14 plays
The first and last charting single from the rapper, his debut track went to #13 and earned a Grammy nomination.
#56: Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson – Scream
iTunes stats: N/A
The first single in the history of the Hot 100 to debut at #5, which ended up as the highpoint for the duet between the Jackson siblings.
#55: Del Amitri – Roll to Me
iTunes stats: 18 plays
The highest charting single from the Scottish band in the US, it peaked at #10.
#54: Corona – The Rhythm of the Night
iTunes stats: N/A
Released in 1993 as the group’s debut single in their home country of Italy, it eventually reached #11 in the US.
#53: Dr. Dre – Keep Their Heads Ringin’
iTunes stats: 39 plays
The lone single released from the Friday soundtrack, the song topped the Hot Rap Tracks chart and cracked the top ten at #10 on the Hot 100.
#52: Jamie Walters – Hold On
iTunes stats: 15 plays
His solo debut following the cancellation of The Heights, it topped out at #16 and was his one and only charting single.
#50: Boyz II Men – I’ll Make Love to You
iTunes stats: 21 plays
Having spent fourteen weeks at #1 in the fall of 1994, it spends its second year on the year-end chart.
#47: The Notorious B.I.G. – Big Poppa
iTunes stats: 17 plays
Nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards, it went to #6, giving Biggie his first top ten hit.
#44: Melissa Etheridge – I’m the Only One
iTunes stats: 20 plays
The lead single from Etheridge’s fourth studio album, it was re-released following the success of Come to My Window and managed to surpass it, hitting #8.
#41: Collective Soul – December
iTunes stats: 19 plays
Spending nine weeks atop the Album Rock Tracks chart, it peaked at #20 on the Hot 100.
#39: Sophie B. Hawkins – As I Lay Me Down
iTunes stats: 16 plays
The third release from the singer’s sophomore album, it spent six weeks atop the Adult Contemporary chart while reaching #6 on the Hot 100.
#33: Hootie & The Blowfish – Only Wanna Be with You
iTunes stats: 16 plays
The third single from their breakthrough album, the track went to #6.
#30: Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough
iTunes stats: 17 plays
Crow spent three weeks at #5 with this track from her debut album.
#26: Hootie & The Blowfish – Let Her Cry
iTunes stats: 14 plays
The 1996 Grammy winner for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, it peaked at #9.
#24: Ini Kamoze – Here Comes the Hotstepper
iTunes stats: N/A
Spending two weeks at #1 in December of 1994, it was the only single from the Jamaican artist to break into the Top 40.
#22: Hootie & The Blowfish – Hold My Hand
iTunes stats: 17 plays
Written in 1989 as the band was up and coming, the group’s debut single reached the top ten at #10.
#21: Michael Jackson – You Are Not Alone
iTunes stats: N/A
Written by R. Kelly for Jackson in response to difficult times in his own personal life, the track spent a single week atop the Hot 100, becoming Jackson’s thirteenth and final #1.
#20: Des’ree – You Gotta Be
iTunes stats: N/A
Listed by Q Magazine as one of the “1001 Best Songs Ever” in 2003, it spent 44 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at #5 in March.
#19: Nicki French – Total Eclipse of the Heart
iTunes stats: 19 plays
French’s cover of the Bonnie Tyler classic, it reached #2 and remains her only charting single in the US.
#18: Shaggy – Boombastic
iTunes stats: N/A
Reaching #3, it was the Jamaican artist’s first top ten hit.
#17: Bon Jovi – Always
iTunes stats: 2 plays
The requisite new song added to the greatest hits album, it became the band’s eleventh, and final, top ten hit, topping out at #4.
#16: Bryan Adams – Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman
iTunes stats: N/A
Recorded by Adams for the 1995 film Don Juan DeMarco, it spent five weeks atop the Hot 100 in the summer of 1995.
#15: All-4-One – I Can Love You Like That
iTunes stats: N/A
Once again sharing a song with country singer John Michael Montgomery, the group notched another top ten hit, reaching #5.
#11: Dionne Farris – I Know
iTunes stats: N/A
The debut solo single Arrested Development collaborator, it went to #4 on the Hot 100.
#10: Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It
iTunes stats: 54 plays
Once used as the walkup song for former White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton, Jordan’s debut single spent seven weeks at #1 in the spring of 1995.
#6: Real McCoy – Another Night
iTunes stats: 20 plays
The German group’s first single to chart in the US, it went all the way to #3, where it spent a record-setting eleven non-consecutive weeks.
#5: Boyz II Men – On Bended Knee
iTunes stats: N/A
Spending six non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100, it helped give the group the #1 song for 18 of the final 20 weeks of 1994 and the first #1 track of 1995.
#4: Seal – Kiss from a Rose
iTunes stats: 10 plays
Included on the Batman Forever soundtrack, it spent a single week at #1 in August.
#3: TLC – Creep
iTunes stats: 43 plays
The lead single from the group’s sophomore effort, it spent more than a month in the top ten before reaching #1, a position it held for four weeks.
#2: TLC – Waterfalls
iTunes stats: 20 plays
Spending seven weeks atop the Hot 100 in the summer of 1995, it became the group’s biggest hit and, perhaps, their signature song.
#1: Coolio featuring L.V. – Gangsta’s Paradise
iTunes stats: 38 plays
Featured on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack, it became the biggest hit of Coolio’s career, spending three weeks at #1 in September.