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.
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Music. It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions. It is the universal language that speaks to the soul. It forms the soundtrack of our lives.
