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.
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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.
#38: Foo Fighters – All My Life