Top 100 Songs Of 1990 Official

The first hip-hop #1 on the Hot 100. Yes, the bass line is stolen from Queen/David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” Yes, the movie was terrible. But for better or worse, this opened the door for white suburban rap.

The goth prom anthem. Martin Gore’s masterpiece. A song about the futility of words set to a minimalist synth riff. It predicted the melancholic electronic 90s (The Faint, The Postal Service). top 100 songs of 1990

But the soul of 1990 was the moment Sinéad O’Connor looked into the camera and cried. The 80s were over. Nobody knew what came next. That uncertainty is what makes 1990 the most fascinating year in pop music history. The first hip-hop #1 on the Hot 100

Unlike today’s fragmented streaming charts, 1990 was a year of monoculture: CD sales exploded, MTV was king, and the Billboard Hot 100 was a battleground for hair metal, newborn grunge, golden-age hip-hop, and the first waves of club culture. The goth prom anthem

The debut that changed singing. Before Mariah, melisma was subtle. After this song, every talent show contestant tried (and failed) to hit those whistle tones. It launched the most dominant chart career of the decade.

From the film Pretty Woman. A Christmas song rewritten as a breakup ballad. The orchestral swells and Marie Fredriksson’s husky voice made it the wedding standard (and divorce anthem) of the year.