1997

 

The Top 150 Hits of… 1997

 

“Candle in the Wind 1997,” Elton John’s tribute to Princess Diana, is the biggest selling physical single of all time. The two next biggest selling singles of ‘97 (the Puff Daddy songs at numbers 6 and 9) were certified for 3 million copies. “Candle” sold 3.5 million in its first week, and within 2 months was certified for 11 million. And that’s just in the U.S. So even though it had only been released 8 weeks prior to the end of Billboard’s chart year, that was twice the time it needed to earn the #1 spot on the magazine’s year-end list.

 

It would be statistically impossible for that kind of sales performance to be surpassed by any amount of airplay, but “Don’t Speak” would have tested that had it been eligible to chart. It was the most played song for 16 weeks, and with No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom album selling 5 million more copies after “Don’t Speak” became its final track to be released to radio, allowing the album to finally hit #1 on the Billboard 200 for 9 weeks nearly a year after its release, it’s safe to say No Doubt would have had the #2 single of the year had a single been issued. So as far as I’m concerned, they did.

 

 

1.     Candle in the Wind 1997 – Elton John

2.     Don’t Speak – No Doubt

3.     Un-Break My Heart – Toni Braxton

4.     You Were Meant for Me – Jewel

5.     One Headlight – The Wallflowers

6.     I’ll Be Missing You – Puff Daddy & Faith Evans feat. 112

7.     Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind

8.     Lovefool – The Cardigans

9.     Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down – Puff Daddy feat. Mase

10. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) – Backstreet Boys

11. Don’t Let Go (Love) – En Vogue

12. I Believe I Can Fly – R. Kelly

13. No Diggity – BLACKstreet feat Dr. Dre

14. Push – Matchbox 20

15. Head Over Feet – Alanis Morissette

16. Return of the Mack – Mark Morrison

17. How Bizarre – OMC

18. Nobody – Keith Sweat

19. Wannabe – Spice Girls

20. Mo Money Mo Problems – The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy & Mase

21. Sunny Came Home – Shawn Colvin

22. For You I Will – Monica

23. MMMBop – Hanson

24. Bitch – Meredith Brooks

25. All for You – Sister Hazel

26. Barely Breathing – Duncan Sheik

27. Mouth – Merril Bainbridge

28. Foolish Games – Jewel

29. Hard to Say I’m Sorry – Az Yet feat. Peter Cetera

30. The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe

31. I Want You – Savage Garden

32. Say You’ll Be There – Spice Girls

33. 4 Seasons of Loneliness – Boyz II Men

34. Honey – Mariah Carey

35. Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band

36. Men in Black – Will Smith

37. 2 Become 1 – Spice Girls

38. All Cried Out – Allure feat. 112

39. Hypnotize – The Notorious B.I.G.

40. Every Time I Close My Eyes – Babyface

41. My Love Is the Shhh! – Somethin’ for the People feat. Trina & Tamara

42. I Belong to You (Every Time I See Your Face) – Rome

43. I Go Blind – Hootie & the Blowfish

44. Do You Know (What It Takes) – Robyn

45. A Long December – Counting Crows

46. If It Makes You Happy – Sheryl Crow

47. Where Have All the Cowboys Gone – Paula Cole

48. In My Bed – Dru Hill

49. I’m Still in Love With You – New Edition

50. Pony – Ginuwine

51. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T. – Changing Faces

52. Building a Mystery – Sarah McLachlan

53. I Believe in You and Me – Whitney Houston

54. Da’ Dip – Freak Nasty

55. When You Love a Woman – Journey

56. Don’t Leave Me – BLACKstreet

57. Everyday Is a Winding Road – Sheryl Crow

58. All By Myself – Celine Dion

59. Invisible Man – 98 Degrees

60. Cupid – 112

61. Ooh Aah… Just a Little Bit – Gina G

62. It’s Your Love – Tim McGraw with Faith Hill

63. The Impression That I Get – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

64. Not Tonight – Lil’ Kim feat Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliot & Angie Martinez

65. The One I Gave My Heart To – Aaliyah

66. Look Into My Eyes – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

67. What About Us – Total

68. I Finally Found Someone – Barbra Streisand & Bryan Adams

69. Don’t Cry for Me Argentina – Madonna

70. Butta Love – Next

71. Get It Together – 702

72. Never Make a Promise – Dru Hill

73. Fly Like an Eagle – Seal

74. What Kind of Man Would I Be – Mint Condition

75. Criminal – Fiona Apple

76. I’ll Be – Foxy Brown feat. Jay-Z

77. Up Jumps Da Boogie – Magoo and Timbaland

78. Cold Rock a Party – MC Lyte

79. I Don’t Want To – Toni Braxton

80. Gotham City – R. Kelly

81. Your Woman – White Town

82. C U When U Get There – Coolio feat. 40 Thevz

83. A Change Would Do You Good – Sheryl Crow

84. Takes a Little Time – Amy Grant

85. You Must Love Me – Madonna

86. Secret Garden – Bruce Springsteen

87. No Time – Lil’ Kim feat. Puff Daddy

88. My Baby Daddy – B-Rock & the Bizz

89. ESPN Presents the Jock Jam – Various artists

90. Falling – Montell Jordan

91. Butterfly Kisses – Bob Carlisle

92. Staring at the Sun – U2

93. You Should Be Mine (Don’t Waste Your Time) – Brian McKnight feat. Mase

94. Everything – Mary J. Blige

95. I Miss My Homies – Master P

96. Big Daddy – Heavy D

97. Smile – Scarface feat. 2Pac & Johnny P

98. What’s On Tonight – Montell Jordan

99. Naked Eye – Luscious Jackson

100.                On & On – Erykah Badu

101.                Whatever – En Vogue

102.                One in a Million – Aaliyah

103.                The Difference – The Wallflowers

104.                I Care About You – Milestone

105.                Barbie Girl – Aqua

106.                Don’t Wanna Be a Player – Joe

107.                Someone – SWV feat. Puff Daddy

108.                Coco Jamboo – Mr. President

109.                Let’s Get Down – Tony Toni Tone

110.                I Shot the Sheriff – Warren G

111.                Go the Distance – Michael Bolton

112.                One More Time – Real McCoy

113.                Let Me Clear My Throat – DJ Kool

114.                I Like It – The Blackout Allstars

115.                Let It Go – Ray J

116.                Call Me – Le Click

117.                Just Between You and Me – dc Talk

118.                Alone – Bee Gees

119.                All Mixed Up – 311

120.                When You’re Gone – The Cranberries

121.                Backyard Boogie – Mack 10

122.                Thinking of You – Tony! Toni! Tone!

123.                Santeria – Sublime

124.                The Grease Megamix – Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta

125.                Street Dreams – Nas

126.                Swallowed – Bush

127.                Steelo – 702 with Missy Elliott

128.                Legend of a Cowgirl – Imani Coppola

129.                Love Gets Me Every Time – Shania Twain

130.                Do You Like This – Rome

131.                You Light Up My Life – LeAnn Rimes

132.                Step by Step – Whitney Houston

133.                You Bring Me Up – K-Ci & JoJo

134.                Butterfly – Mariah Carey

135.                Firestarter – Prodigy

136.                I Wanna Be There – Blessid Union of Souls

137.                Everlong – Foo Fighters

138.                Please Don’t Go – No Mercy

139.                #1 Crush – Garbage

140.                Put You Hands Where My Eyes Can See – Busta Rhymes

141.                Never Leave Me Alone – Nate Dogg feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg

142.                I Say a Little Prayer – Diana King

143.                Come See Me – 112

144.                It’s No Good – Depeche Mode

145.                Discotheque – U2

146.                Everything to Everyone – Everclear

147.                For You – Kenny Lattimore

148.                I Can Love You – Mary J. Blige

149.                More Than This – 10,000 Maniacs

150.                Nothin’ But the Cavi Hit – Mack 10 & the Dogg Pound

 

 

Country

1.     It’s Your Love – Tim McGraw with Faith Hill

2.     One Night at a Time – George Strait

3.     Love Gets Me Every Time – Shania Twain

4.     Carrying Your Love With Me – George Strait

5.     Little Bitty – Alan Jackson

6.     Nobody Knows – Kevin Sharp

7.     The Fear of Being Alone – Reba McEntire

8.     Everywhere – Tim McGraw

9.     On the Verge – Collin Raye

10. How Your Love Makes Me Feel – Diamond Rio

11. Rumor Has It – Clay Walker

12. (This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing – Trace Adkins

13. Better Man, Better Off – Tracy Lawrence

14. She’s Got It All – Kenny Chesney

15. I Left Something Turned On at Home – Trace Adkins

1996

 

The Top 150 Hits of… 1996

 

Decided to start closing up the 4-year gap I had in the 90’s.  Between radio songs that didn’t have physical singles and were therefore ineligible to chart on the Hot 100, songs whose singles were released 3-8 weeks after their airplay debut, and A and B sides that needed to be separated, there was a lot to calculate that hadn’t been included in Billboard’s year-end list. There’s one case in particular I thought I should highlight.

“California Love” had a complete 20-week run on the airplay chart and had been off that chart for a week when it finally appeared on the B-side of 2Pac’s next single “How Do U Want It.” I can’t help thinking that the #1 sales for the new single were mostly spurred by the inclusion of the earlier, more popular song. So when deciding how to determine the placement for each of those songs here, I used the point totals for the complete Hot 100 run for “How Do U Want It” separately from the airplay points for “California Love,” and reversed where they ended up. It just felt fair to me. But if you feel otherwise, please feel free to switch the songs at 23 and 84.

Top 15 Country songs included at the bottom.

1.     Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) – Los Del Rio

2.     One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men

3.     Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion

4.     Always Be My Baby – Mariah Carey

5.     Nobody Knows – The Tony Rich Project

6.     I Love You Always Forever – Donna Lewis

7.     You’re Makin’ Me High – Toni Braxton

8.     Twisted – Keith Sweat

9.     Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman

10. Tha Crossroads – Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

11. Change the World – Eric Clapton

12. Ironic – Alanis Morissette

13. It’s All Coming Back to Me Now – Celine Dion

14. Missing – Everything but the Girl

15. Killing Me Softly – Fugees

16. You Learn – Alanis Morissette

17. Name – Goo Goo Dolls

18. C’Mon n’ Ride It (The Train) – Quad City DJ’s

19. Where Do You Go – No Mercy

20. Exhale (Shoop Shoop) – Whitney Houston

21. Sittin’ Up in My Room – Brandy

22. Hey Lover – LL Cool J

23. California Love – 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman

24. Loungin – LL Cool J

25. Follow You Down – Gin Blossoms

26. Be My Lover – La Bouche

27. Counting Blue Cars – Dishwalla

28. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something

29. Insensitive – Jann Arden

30. Who Will Save Your Soul – Jewel

31. One of Us – Joan Osborne

32. Before You Walk Out of My Life – Monica

33. 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins

34. I Can’t Sleep Baby (If I) – R. Kelly

35. Last Night – Az Yet

36. Wonder – Natalie Merchant

37. Not Gon’ Cry – Mary J. Blige

38. Diggin’ on You – TLC

39. Spiderwebs – No Doubt

40. Only You – 112 feat. the Notorious B.I.G.

41. Down Low (Nobody Has to Know) – R. Kelly

42. Antyhing – 3T

43. You’re the One – SWV

44. Sweet Dreams – La Bouche

45. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New) – Coolio

46. The World I Know – Collective Soul

47. You’ll See – Madonna

48. This Is Your Night – Amber

49. Everything Falls Apart – Dog’s Eye View

50. Wonderwall – Oasis

51. Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand – Primitive Radio Gods

52. Time – Hootie & the Blowfish

53. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) – John Mellencamp

54. Why I Love You So Muchb – Monica

55. Kissin’ You – Total

56. Count on Me – Whitney Houston & CeCe Winans

57. Hook – Blues Traveler

58. You Remind Me of Something – R. Kelly

59. This Is for the Lover in You – Babyface feat. LL Cool J, Howard Hewett, Jody Watley & Jeffrey Daniels

60. Champagne Supernova – Oasis

61. Forever – Mariah Carey

62. The Earth, the Sun, the Rain – Color Me Badd

63. All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do) – Joe

64. Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check – Busta Rhymes

65. Doin It – LL Cool J

66. Fastlove – George Michael

67. If Your Girl Only Knew – Aaliyah

68. My Boo – Ghost Town DJ’s

69. Elevators (Me & You) – Outkast

70. Closer to Free – Bodeans

71. Set U Free – Planet Soul

72. Touch Me Tease Me – Case feat. Foxxy Brown

73. Hit Me Off – New Edition

74. Tonite’s Tha Night – Kris Kross

75. Children – Robert Miles

76. Tell Me – Dru Hill

77. Big Me – Foo Fighters

78. Santa Monica (Watch the World Die) – Everclear

79. Theme from Mission: Impossible – Adam Clyton & Larry Mullen Jr.

80. Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven) – Hootie & The Blowfish

81. Let’s Make a Night to Remember – Bryan Adams

82. Just a Girl – No Doubt

83. Beautiful Life – Ace of Base

84. How Do U Want It – 2Pac feat. KC & JoJo

85. Dreaming of You – Selena

86. Lady – D’Angelo

87. Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins

88. Keep On, Keepin’ On – MC Lyte feat. Xscape

89. I Want to Come Over – Melissa Etheridge

90. What I Got – Sublime

91. Jealousy – Natalie Merchant

92. Who Do U Love – Deborah Cox

93. Free to Decide – The Cranberries

94. Good Intentions – Toad the Wet Sprocket

95. No One Else – Total

96. Po Pimp – Do or Die (feat. Twista)

97. Bow Down – Westside Connection

98. Pepper – Butthole Surfers

99. Glycerine – Bush

100.                Missing You – Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight & Chaka Khan

101.                Stupid Girl – Garbage

102.                Get Money – Junior M.A.F.I.A. feat. the Notorious B.I.G.

103.                Don’t Cry – Seal

104.                That Girl – Maxi Priest feat. Shaggy

105.                Until It Sleeps – Metallica

106.                I Got Id – Pearl Jam

107.                Hay – Crucial Conflict

108.                Soon as I Get Home – Faith Evans

109.                Jesus to a Child – George Michael

110.                Macarena – Los Del Rio

111.                Use Your Heart – SWV

112.                Natural One – Folk Implosion

113.                6^th Avenue Heartache – The Wallflowers

114.                Love U 4 Life – Jodeci

115.                In the Meantime – Spacehog

116.                Fu-Gee-La – Fugees

117.                I Like – Montell Jordan with Slick Rick

118.                Brain Stew/Jaded – Green Day

119.                Blessed – Elton John

120.                Get On Up – Jodeci

121.                Nowhere to Go – Melissa Etheridge

122.                If I Ruled the World – Nas

123.                Down – 311

124.                Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three

125.                I Will Survive – Chantay Savage

126.                5 O’Clock – Nonchalant

127.                Tonight, Tonight – Smashing Pumpkins

128.                Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart – Stone Temple Pilots

129.                Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love) – Lina Santiago

130.                Flood – Jars of Clay

131.                Blue – LeAnn Rimes

132.                Why Does It Hurt So Bad – Whitney Houston

133.                Peaches – Presidents of the United States of America

134.                You – Monifah

135.                Tucker’s Town – Hootie & the Blowfish

136.                Reach – Gloria Estefan

137.                Do You Miss Me – Jocelyn Enriquez

138.                But Anyway – Blues Traveler

139.                Renee – Lost Boyz

140.                Tres Delinquentes – Delinquent Habits

141.                Mother Mother – Tracy Bonham

142.                Cell Therapy – Goodie Mob

143.                The Things That You Do – Gina Thompson

144.                Machinehead – Bush

145.                Salvation – The Cranberries

146.                It’s All the Way Live (Now) – Coolio

147.                Burden in My Hand – Soundgarden

148.                Sittin’ on Top of the World – Da Brat

149.                Danger – Blahzay Blahzay

150.                No Woman, No Cry – Fugees

Country

1.     My Maria – Brooks & Dunn

2.     Blue Clear Sky – George Strait

3.     Time Marches On – Tracy Lawrence

4.     It Matters to Me – Faith Hill

5.     Like the Rain – Clint Black

6.     (If You’re Not In It for Love) I’m Outta Here! – Shania Twain

7.     Tall, Tall Trees – Alan Jackson

8.     Daddy’s Money – Ricochet

9.     She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart – Tim McGraw

10. Living in a Moment – Ty Herndon

11. No One Needs to Know – Shania Twain

12. You Can Feel Bad – Patty Loveless

13. Hypnotize the Moon – Clay Walker

14. No News – Lonestar

15. You Win My Love – Shania Twain