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