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 1991, the year I broke up with my first girlfriend, finished my junior year of high school, started my senior year, and got my first job. Z95 flipped to Hot 94.7 before going away altogether and a new rock station, 103.5 The Blaze, entered the Chicago radio scene, providing the majority of the soundtrack of that year. At 82 songs, we have broken past 80% of the Hot 100 that remain familiar to me today for the first time, with 62 of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#100: R.E.M. – Shiny Happy People
iTunes stats: 28 plays
Teaming up with Kate Pierson of the B-52’s, the group notched their fourth and final top ten hit, peaking at #10.
#98: Salt-N-Pepa – Do You Want Me
iTunes stats: 19 plays
The third single from the group’s third studio album, it reached #21 on the Hot 100.
#96: Warrant – I Saw Red
iTunes stats: 11 plays
Peaking at #10, it was the band’s final Top 40 hit.
#95: George Michael – Freedom! ’90
iTunes stats: 16 plays
Thanks in part to a video directed by David Fincher and featuring, among others, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford, reaching #8 and spending twelve weeks in the Top 40 across 1990 and 1991.
#94: Naughty by Nature – O.P.P.
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Ranked in 2023 as the 96th best pop song of all time by Billboard, it hit #6 on the Hot 100.
#91: Deee-Lite – Groove is in the Heart
iTunes stats: N/A
The debut single from the dance group, it peaked at #4, becoming their lone Top 40 hit.
#90: INXS – Disappear
iTunes stats: 15 plays
The Australian band’s seventh and final top ten hit, it reached #8 on the Hot 100.
#89: Gerardo – Rico Suave
iTunes stats: 12 plays
Ranked as the ninth greatest one-hit wonder of all time by VH1 and the 37th worst song ever by Blender, it topped out at #7.
#88: Black Box – Strike It Up
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Hitting #8, the group once again used un-credited vocals from Martha Wash, leading to an out-of-court settlement.
#87: Cathy Dennis – Just Another Dream
iTunes stats: 21 plays
First released in the UK in 1989 to little fanfare, a remixed version hit the Hot 100 in January of 1991, peaking at #9 the following month.
#86: Aaron Neville – Everybody Plays the Fool
iTunes stats: N/A
First recorded by The Main Ingredient in 1972, this cover spent 20 weeks on the charts, topping out at #8.
#84: Tara Kemp – Piece of My Heart
iTunes stats: N/A
Her second consecutive top ten hit, it reached #7 and was her final Top 40 single.
#82: Queensrÿche – Silent Lucidity
iTunes stats: 22 plays
The band’s only charting single in the US, it peaked at #9.
#81: Tevin Campbell – Round and Round
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Featured on the Graffiti Bridge soundtrack and produced by Prince, the solo debut from the teen singer reached #12 on the Hot 100.
#79: Chris Isaak – Wicked Game
iTunes stats: 12 plays
Originally released in July of 1989, it became a top ten hit after being featured in Wild at Heart, eventually hitting #6.
#78: Poison – Something to Believe In
iTunes stats: 20 plays
The final top ten hit from the band, it peaked at #4
#75: Seal – Crazy
iTunes stats: 16 plays
The first big hit for the English singer-songwriter, it spent 19 weeks on the Hot 100, topping out at #7.
#74: Cathy Dennis – Too Many Walls
iTunes stats: N/A
The fourth and final top ten of Dennis’ recording career, it reached #8 on the Hot 100 and two weeks atop the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
#73: Tesla – Signs
iTunes stats: 14 plays
Recorded live for the group’s acoustic album, it hit #8, becoming their second top ten hit.
#72: UB40 – Here I Am (Come and Take Me)
iTunes stats: 23 plays
Peaking at #7, this cover of the 1973 Al Green hit was the second single from the British reggae-pop band’s ninth studio album.
#71: UB40 – The Way You Do the Things You Do
iTunes stats: 16 plays
A hit in four consecutive decades by four different artists, this was the highest charting version, cracking the top ten at #6.
#69: Mariah Carey – Love Takes Time
iTunes stats: N/A
The second consecutive year end chart appearance for this tune, which spent three weeks atop the Hot 100 in November of 1990 and ranked as the 76th biggest hit of that year as well.
#68: Styx – Show Me the Way
iTunes stats: 13 plays
Their first top ten hit since 1983, it peaked at #3, becoming the band’s eighth and final top ten single and giving them at least one in three straight decades.
#67: Heavy D and the Boyz – Now That We Found Love
iTunes stats: 15 plays
Originally recorded by the O’Jays, Heavy D and the Boyz reached #11 on the Hot 100.
#66: Prince & the New Power Generation – Cream
iTunes stats: 14 plays
Spending two weeks atop the charts in early November, it became the final #1 single of Prince’s career.
#64: LL Cool J – Around the Way Girl
iTunes stats: 19 plays
The first top ten hit in LL’s career, it topped out at #9.
#63: Enigma – Sadness (Part I)
iTunes stats: N/A
Mixing Gregorian chants with a drum beat, it somehow reached #5 on the Hot 100.
#62: Michael Bolton – Time, Love and Tenderness
iTunes stats: N/A
The title track from Bolton’s seventh studio album, it peaked at #7, giving Bolton his fifth top ten single.
#61: The KLF – 3 a.m. Eternal
iTunes stats: 12 plays
Found on the group’s fourth and final album, it reached #5 on the Hot 100.
#60: Hi-Five – I Can’t Wait Another Minute
iTunes stats: 18 plays
The group’s second consecutive top ten hit, it topped out at #8.
#57: Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music
iTunes stats: 9 plays
Originally the first track released by Vanilla Ice, it was reissued with new lyrics following the success of Ice Ice Baby, peaking at #4.
#56: Nelson – After the Rain
iTunes stats: 27 plays
The second release from the grandsons of Ozzie & Harriet, it reached #6, becoming their second and final top ten hit.
#55: Bonnie Raitt – Something to Talk About
iTunes stats: 22 plays
Raitt’s only top ten hit, it topped out at #5 on both the Hot 100 and the Adult Contemporary chart.
#53: DNA featuring Suzanne Vega – Tom’s Diner
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Originally released by Vega in 1984, it was remixed by two British producers and released in 1990, reaching #5 on the Hot 100 and becoming one of the few singles in Billboard history to crack the top ten on both the Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Hot R&B Singles chart.
#52: Divinyls – I Touch Myself
iTunes stats: 40 plays
This ode to female masturbation was the group’s first single to chart in the US, peaking at #2.
#51: C+C Music Factory – Things That Make You Go Hmmm…
iTunes stats: 21 plays
The third single from the group’s debut album, it hit #4 on the Hot 100.
#50: Rod Stewart – Rhythm of My Heart
iTunes stats: N/A
Covered by Stewart for his sixteenth album, it reached #5.
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