The Top 25 Best Hit Songs of 1996

 

The Top 25 Best Hit Songs of 1996

What’s up guys, it’s Fire, and we’re back with the top 25 (!!!) best hit songs of 1996!!

So in my worst list, I expressed that 1996 was such a great year for music that I couldn’t even do a full dishonorable mentions list. So for the first time in my blog’s history, I’m gonna expand the best list to a top 25 as I think this is the best way to highlight the amount of real gems that were there in 1996. And while the worst list had a bunch of boring and icky R&B and boy band songs cheesier than a bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese, the best hits this year were a ton of amazing music from the international circuit; we got some pretty terrific eurodance and europop and spoilers for the list proper but - hi “Macarena” - and we also have some amazing rock music here. And as interchangeably boring and icky as the worst R&B hits this year were, the truly excellent R&B really shined through.

And as stated in my worst list, many of the biggest hits of the 90s were not allowed to chart on the Hot 100 since they did not have a physical release. As such, my criteria for this list is just like the worst list for this year and the 1998 lists - any song that debuted on the Hot 100 year-end for 1996 is eligible, but if the song made the list in a previous year, it had to outdo its position on this year-end to qualify UNLESS the repeat is in the top 20, where it’s eligible regardless of its position the previous year. In addition, any song that made the Hot 100 airplay year-end in 1998 and placed higher than it did the previous year plus top 20 year-end songs on that chart are eligible regardless of its position last year. So if you want the entire pool of songs in which I’m choosing from, you can check out this Spotify playlist right here. And again, with how rare and hard-to-find information regarding the Hot 100 Airplay year-end lists are, I could’ve very easily missed an eligible song or accidentally included an ineligible song. Anyways, let’s get this party started with our honorable mentions!

HM #1: Gin Blossoms - Til I Hear It from You (YE: #15, PEAK: #9)

Well, who can’t appreciate a nice little power pop song like this? Gin Blossoms scored two hits this year, the other of which being “Follow You Down” (this was the final cut from my honorable mentions BTW), also a great song, but “Til I Hear It From You” just gripped me more on first listen. I love how melodic this song’s guitar riffs are and the harmonizations sound great too. The song just sounds like I’m walking on poofy clouds into the sunset, it’s so dreamy. Frontman Robin Wilson has a sincere tone in his voice that sounds dreamy to complement the production as well. It’s a song that simultaneously sounds dreamy and has catharsis. Great song!!

HM #2: Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen - Theme from Mission: Impossible (YE: #66, PEAK: #7)

I’ve not seen Mission: Impossible or know anything about it. But I found myself appreciating this song quite a lot regardless. The synths and the quicker percussion give this a very menacing tone that feels perfect for a spy film. This song is pretty low on this list because again, I haven’t seen and know nothing about Mission: Impossible. I have no clue if this works better in that context. That said, I can still appreciate this song for what it is. Great track.

HM #3: Pearl Jam - Long Road (YE: #96, PEAK: #7)

Pearl Jam had two hits this year, one being this, the other being “I Got Id” (which is also a great song that just barely missed this list). But I gravitated to “Long Road” much more. I really like the melodic guitars. And while frontman Eddie Vedder is admittedly more brooding than I’d personally prefer, he definitely does a really good job of capturing the ponderous and anxious tone of the lyrics. And admittedly, I feel like this could’ve benefited from a strong crescendo to pay off all the swell the song builds up, but as is, I think this works well enough on its own merits to be a great song.

HM #4: Alanis Morissette - Ironic (YE: #13, PEAK: #4)

“Ironic” was a song I think I’ve always liked at least somewhat, but really grew on me a lot over the years. It’s a simple song listing a bunch of ironic situations, some more tragic than others - it ranges from rain on your wedding day or a no smoking sign on your cigarette break to pardoning a death row inmate 2 minutes too late or an old man who turned 98 and won the lottery and died the next day. The song evolves into an overarching theme of “just as everything’s going well, something tragic happens in our lives at that moment”, a sentiment I’m sure we’ve all felt at least at some point in our lives. But it’s the outro that really grabs me:

“And yeah, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

And life has a funny, funny way of helping you out

Helping you out”

It highlights how for as much as life can be a bitch, it has a funny way of helping you out in the end, like everything happens for a reason. Couple the writing with a truly cathartic hook and some great guitar work, and you get a great ass song. But on the topic of Alanis Morisette...

HM #5: Alanis Morisette - Head Over Feet (YE: #34 ON HOT 100 AIRPLAY)

While “Ironic” may have better writing, I think I like “Head Over Feet” more for its sound. I really like the harmonica and the guitars which still sound as powerful as ever. The lyrics really aren’t anything more special than just “I heart you” but I still think this is pretty great on its own merits.

HM #6: Aaliyah - If Your Girl Only Knew (YE: #69, PEAK: #11)

There’s a reason why Timbaland is widely looked back upon fondly for his production, because the production here just sounds great. The song centers around Aaliyah seeing this guy who’s cheating with her on his girlfriend. And Aaliyah has a weirdly dark and/or sassy tone in her delivery that matches the darker production and really makes this work as she fantasizes about what would happen if the guy’s girlfriend found out he was cheating on her. It’s not precisely a song where Aaliyah is easy to sympathize with, but what makes this work in comparison to, say, “All The Things (Your Man Won’t Do)” by Joe is that while in Joe’s song, he was convinced that he was the good guy in the situation when he clearly wasn’t, here Aaliyah knows that she’s not gonna get any sympathy and directly leans into it to create a really sassy attitude that works well for me, Great song!!

HM #7: OutKast - Elevators (Me & You) (YE: #59, PEAK: #12)

This works really well for me thanks to the production and the flows here. That bassline sounds really good and Big Boi and Andre 3000 both have impressively solid flows as they rap about their come up and their rise from rock bottom to the top, just like an elevator. And OutKast sound like they’ve earned that place. And with their case, OutKast are like if the elevator was perpetually stuck broken at the very top of the building. That should say it all for how much they’ve rightfully earned their position of acclaim. It’s not my favorite OutKast song, I don’t think they’ll top “B.O.B” for me, but this is still a great song.

HM #8: 2Pac f/Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman - California Love (YE: #17, PEAK: #1)

This just sounds great. The bassline is just killer and the amount of things going on in this song makes this feel busy, but not to an overwhelming degree. Not much else to say here. Just a great song. But speaking of 2Pac...

HM #9: 2Pac f/K-Ci & JoJo - How Do U Want It (YE: #17, PEAK: #1)

While “California Love” had much more going on in its production, it was admittedly REALLY close to being to an overwhelming degree. Even if it didn’t quite cross that line. “How Do U Want It” is much simpler composition-wise, just a neat bassline and a really sticky hook. Great song!!

HM #10: Groove Theory - Tell Me (YE: #58, PEAK: #5)

The reason why this song works so well can probably be summed up in a couple of sentences: Amel Larrieux and Bryce Wilson both have great chemistry and the bassline in the production is super smooth. I could leave it at that, but I’ll be honest, the real star of the show here for me is Larrieux's vocals. They sound really pretty and expressive. Not much else to say here, this is just a great ass song.

HM #11: Los Del Río - Macarena (YE: #98, PEAK: #23)

I’m gonna keep this really brief because I’ll get back to “Macarena” when I talk about the better version of this song later on (yes that’s a spoiler but I don’t care). There’s really not much to this version of the song, it’s not super lively and I doubt it gets many people on the dancefloor just as it is, but damn, if that hook doesn’t still really work I don’t know what does.

HM #12: Hootie & the Blowfish - Time (YE: #50, PEAK: #14)

This is probably my favorite Hootie & The Blowfish song I’ve heard. The production sounds really good, with the solid groove and the melodic guitars. And while frontman Darius Rucker sounds maybe a tad too raspy here, he doesn’t sound bad here by any means. He actually sells the existential dread of the song really well. The song centers around the narrator not wanting to acknowledge the fact that time is slipping away and dreading the idea that his time (pun not intended) to leave the world will come one day. It basically has the sentiment of appreciating things in the moment and to not be disconnected from the present by dwelling on your past or worrying about the future. If I had one criticism of this song, though, I feel like it never fully builds to embrace that sentiment and it kinda wallows in dwelling on the concept of time slipping away. But still, at least it sounds really good!!

Now before the list proper, let’s get one singular ineligible honorable mention out of the way...

IHM: Mariah Carey - Fantasy (YE: #49, PEAK: #1)

This might be my favorite Mariah song, or at least it’s very close. It rides the Tom Tom Club “Genius Of Love” sample so well and it takes that sample and manages to stand out and become a highlight of the 90s. I mean, I like Latto’s “Big Energy” way more than I know a lot of people do, but even I can acknowledge that Mariah used this sample way better. In addition to all of that, Mariah’s vocals sound absolutely incredible, she sounds super lovestruck and she showcases her legendary vocal range so well while still sounding lovestruck. It’s just charming all the way down in a way that makes me smile. This would’ve undoubtedly topped this list if it was eligible.

Alright, now for the really big list of our real gems!

25...Well, circling back to the great rock we got this year...

25. Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts On God) (YE: #28, PEAK: #15)

This is a song that centers around the narrator going on a walk with his kid. The kid is initially just counting the blue cars that pass by on the street but then, the narrator and his kid get into a conversation about God being an omnipotent being that could be a male or a female. Frontman J.R. Richards has said that we always refer to God as a ‘he’ even though God can be a he or a she, hence Richards referring to God as “her” in this song. Pardon the reference but:

Though honestly, I didn’t even have to look at the lyrics for this to instantly win me over. I really like the melody here and the guitars pick up a lot more power as the song heads into the chorus. Yeah, great little song.

24..So in the intro, I said that the best R&B hits of 1996 really shined through. However, we saw, what, one R&B song so far? Well, Aaliyah’s song may have been great. But here’s one of the best R&B hits this year (yes, there are some more yet to come on this list lol)!!...

24. Ginuwine - Pony (YE: #72, PEAK: #6)

Timbaland’s production here sounds amazing. The weird burping sound effect, the video game jump sound effect, and all the other sound effects in this mix would probably sound like the worst thing to touch human ears in isolation but somehow Timbaland blends all of these together to create such a unique-sounding production that flatters Ginuwine’s voice incredibly well!! He’s very expressive and smooth here. He’s got enough effortless charisma and coolness to make comparing his dick to a...pony somehow work!! Yeah, this is a great song. Not much else to say.

23...Flaming hot take incoming…

23. Joan Osborne - One Of Us (YE: #30, PEAK: #3)

I totally get the main criticism I saw thrown at this song, that being that it’s not nearly as deep or profound as it thinks it is. Yes, the Bible says that we are all made in God’s image (I’m not Christian so I had to search this up on Google lol), but the song isn’t really questioning if we are all made in God’s image. I interpret this song as “what if the entire higher power or concept of God was just another person on this planet?”. Where the real question would be how would you interact with him and how would God treat us. Don’t get me wrong, in terms of more philosophical songs that question God or a higher power, I’d prefer “The Architect” by Kacey Musgraves, but I still think this is a pretty overhated, great song.

22...But back to great R&B from 1996...

22. Monica - Why I Love You So Much (YE: #46, PEAK: #9)

This is just a really sweet song. Lyrically, this isn’t anything more than “I heart you, here’s why”, but Monica sells this so sincerely and she lets you know how grateful she is for her partner. And the production does a really good job at complimenting that. The bass guitar and the lovestruck-sounding keyboards give this a nice slow burn-type of vibe. I don’t know, that’s really it. That’s just why I like this song so much.

21…So power pop was pretty big in the 90s. Power pop was a genre of music that combined British Invasion melodies with catchy pop hooks. Basically this is a long-winded way of saying that #21 is a power pop song....

21. Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's (YE: #39, PEAK: #5)

This song’s premise is just adorable. It’s about how the narrator’s girlfriend claims that she and the narrator have nothing in common. But the narrator reminds his girlfriend of one memory they have together, when they were watching the movie Breakfast At Tiffany’s and they both enjoyed it. And that’s the one thing they have in common. Yeah, the song is about how the narrator’s relationship is entirely built on a movie, which may not be the sturdiest foundation for a relationship. But honestly, what’s so different about these two having a special movie they enjoyed compared to two friends having a special song they both enjoy? In both cases one (or maybe both) person may eventually grow out of liking this thing, but the thing is, it’s not this song/movie that the relationship is built on. It’s the memories you made from it that build the foundation for the relationship. Combine adorable lyrics with a very powerful chorus with the crunchy guitars ramping up, and you get a great little song.

20...How about some more rock?...

20. Metallica - Until It Sleeps (YE: #92, PEAK: #10)

Well, I hope this entry will make my dad and uncle happy. And for Metallica’s only (at least I think) year-end Hot 100 hit to date, this is a damn great song for that. The song is brooding yet potent musically, with the electric guitars and frontman James Hetfield’s vocals hitting a perfect balance between aggression and being overly brooding so it’s not a sludge. Great song!!

19...One song that’d place really high on this list if it was eligible is “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio. What I was shocked to learn when exploring this year-end list, though, is that apparently Coolio wasn’t a one-hit wonder and that his other hit was also pretty great...

19. Coolio - 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) (YE: #40, PEAK: #5)

Yeah, if someone were to think of Coolio, there’s a 99% chance that before you think of the rapper himself, you’ll think of “Gangsta’s Paradise” - which is an incredible song that probably would’ve been somewhere in my top 10 for this year if it were eligible - but “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” is pretty great in its own right. It’s a really fun song, thanks to that disco groove and Coolio having such infectious energy in his flow. This just makes you wanna dance. Ain’t no party like a West Coast party cuz a West Coast party don’t stop!

18...Let me just quote my 1998 best list for this intro: “So admittedly art pop can tend to have a bit of an uphill battle for me to really love, partially because art pop feels to me like music you treat the same way as a valuable painting in the museum. You can look (hear) at it, but you can’t touch (sing/dance/whatever else you do with music) it in fear that you’ll mess it up. As a result, most art pop can feel a bit inaccessible musically. There are some exceptions to that, though, one of them being Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’, another being this!!”...

18. Madonna - You'll See (YE: #51, PEAK: #6)

Granted, “You’ll See” doesn’t have “art pop” as a genre on RateYourMusic, but it is definitely at least somewhat influenced by it. It has a very cinematic feel and it’s definitely dramatic to convey its emotions, which does make me feel like it isn’t quite as accessible as I’d like, but there’s a place for songs like this in pop music, where you just look at it and admire the beauty. Great song.

17...This next song is one of the most divisive hits of the 90s. It’s a song that I’ve seen people either really like/love or utterly despise, with not much in-between, but I think it’s safe to say I’m on the “really like” side of the spectrum.....

17. Oasis - Wonderwall (YE: #56, PEAK: #8)

Yeah, I think I get it if you don’t like this song. Frontman Liam Gallagher’s voice isn't the best. That said, I really like this song, despite Gallagher’s voice not sounding precisely great, there’s a weird dreamy aura to it that I really like. It compliments the melodic and dreamy production really well. Yeah, not much to this one, just a great song.

16...In 1996, as I’ve come to realize when writing this list, there were several acts that were big in the 80s that were likely on their way out by this year and just were relics of an era quickly slipping away. We saw Metallica already, but we also had this artist...

16. George Michael - Fastlove (YE: #62, PEAK: #8)

“Fastlove” is just a really smooth and fun song, courtesy of the New Jack Swing groove and George Michael’s voice sounding as smooth as butter here. Additionally, the female backing vocals are a pretty nice touch here, they add to the sense of class to make this feel even smoother. Great song!!

5...So I mentioned in the intro that 1996 was when the pop music scene was in the throes of the europop and international music boom. So let’s get a europop bop out of the way quickly, why don’t we?...

15. Ace Of Base - Beautiful Life (YE: #94, PEAK: #15)

Ace Of Base is an act that while I’ve generally always liked, I always found myself wishing I liked their songs much more. I like what’s arguably their signature song, “The Sign”, but I’ve never really loved it, for instance. That said, “Beautiful Life” just won me over fully and instantly. I tend to really like eurodance bangers like this more often than not and everyone in Ace Of Base proves that they have a good command of presence with it!! Great song and a ton of fun!

14...I’m pretty sure I first heard this song in some kids’ movie. Do I remember what the movie is? No. Does that have even remotely a thing to do with the quality of the song? No (ETA a few minutes later: I found the movie I was thinking of - Heavyweights). I just couldn’t think of an intro for this...

14. BoDeans - Closer To Free (YE: #67, PEAK: #16)

This is a really fun song thanks to the energetic guitars and the touches of harmonica and frontman Sam Llanas’s energetic delivery. This song just screams “last day of school before summer vacation” to me and I think that’s what makes this really work for me haha. Yeah, just a great and fun song.

13..Let’s quote from earlier on this list: “I’m gonna keep this really brief because I’ll get back to ‘Macarena’ when I talk about the better version of this song later on (yes that’s a spoiler but I don’t care)”, well here we are finally…

13. Los del Río - Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) (YE: #1, PEAK: #1)

Apparently this has a level of notoriety to it akin to “Blurred Lines” now? I don’t get it at all. Putting my detestment for “Blurred Lines” to the side for now, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” isn’t nearly as gross as “Blurred Lines” is. This remix of “Macarena” adds in English verses from a female voice that detail the girl cheating on her boyfriend with every other boy in the club. And the girl here just has an evil tone to her delivery that really makes those verses work for me, she sells the role of the cheating girlfriend really well. And I could mention how the dance associated with this song swept the entire world and became known as “Macarena madness” spreading to a level that was probably comparable to COVID-19 in 2020, but if you were alive at the time, you certainly know better of how huge this song was than me. But really, this is just an infectious song that if it comes on at any event and you don’t immediately start doing the dance, I’ll be seriously judging you. Hell I was even kinda doing the dance myself while writing this entry. Yeah fun song, and absolutely iconic.

12...Full disclosure: when I originally constructed this list, this was just an honorable mention, but literally while I was writing the entry for this I found so many standout elements that I missed the first time, shooting this song all the way up here...

12. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha Crossroads (YE: #7, PEAK: #1)

The songwriting here is just heartbreaking. “Tha Crossroads” is a song written in remembrance of several people close to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony who died saying “I’ll see you at the crossroads”, implying they’ll see these people in a better place someday. And honestly reading through the lyrics detailing all the tragic ways these people close to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony died and the emotions they are stuck with, grief and even possibly bitterness, just broke my heart:

“While you laughin' we're passin' passin' away”

Couple that with an incredibly somber piano and just the perfect amount of bass and you get a really amazing track.

11…So as I mentioned a few entries back, 1996 saw the rise of eurodance and europop. We also saw the rise of house music this year (at least I think lol), so here’s an excellent house hit from this year!...

11. Everything but the Girl - Missing (YE: #12, PEAK: #2)

Tracey Thorn may not have as much of a dominant presence on this as I’d prefer - she doesn’t really make this song her own - but “Missing” works so well on its production matching Thorn’s more subtle and restrained vocals. The production isn’t very in-your-face, it’s just laid back enough to match the longing vibe of the lyrics. They are about the narrator missing their partner like the deserts miss the rain. The dance production makes sure to not compromise the sad tone of the lyrics and it works really well as a result! Incredible song!!

10…But back to big acts from the 80s quietly starting to fade in relevance in 1996....

10. Whitney Houston - Exhale (Shoop Shoop) (YE: #14, PEAK: #1)

I don’t think I can really articulate why I love this song, like I have no clue what the “shoop-be doop”’s mean or if they mean anything other than to fill up space. But I don’t know what to say, Whitney’s delivery when she sings it is very soothing and a signifier to...well...exhale, let go of your baggage. I don’t think this song is perfect in articulating its premise - if I want songs like this, everything from Kacey Musgraves’s Golden Hour, “Good Days” by SZA, and “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton are all a considerable cut above this, but still, it works with its premise well enough on its own merits to warrant it being way up here for me.

9...So as great as I find “Wonderwall”, it’s definitely not my favorite Oasis song that I’ve heard. Yeah, you didn’t really think I was just gonna forget about this, right?...

9. Oasis - Champagne Supernova (YE: #50 ON HOT 100 AIRPLAY)

Let me just start off by saying that while on “Wonderwall”, I criticized Liam Gallagher’s voice for not really working on that song, I don’t have the same criticism for this song. It probably has to do with the production. There’s way more going on here than the simple acoustic guitar we got in “Wonderwall”. “Champagne Supernova” just dives headfirst into neo-psychedelia with its powerful guitar riffs. Gallagher’s vocals still have a very dreamy and spaced out yet still potent vibe to them that really supports the crescendos from the percussion and the guitars. Yeah, this is an incredible song!!

8...So, given how far we are on this list, you might be wondering where one certain critically acclaimed queen of pop is. Of course, I’m talking about Mariah Carey. She had 3 massive hits in 1996, one of which was an ineligible honorable mention that we covered already in “Fantasy”, another being “Always Be My Baby” (I was actually kinda shocked how much I really liked that one, considering in the past I didn’t really like it all that much), and the third being the former record holder for the most weeks at #1 and the biggest hit song of the entire decade, and that would be this song!!...

8. Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day (YE: #2, PEAK: #1)

Yes, it’s probably easy to call this a generic 90s ballad, but when reading a bit deeper into the lyrics for “One Sweet Day”, it really hit me. I've always loved it, but I questioned for many years if I was being way too kind to it. But then I found out that Mariah wrote this song about her close friend passing away (tragically ironic note, I wrote this entire review and list only hours before Mariah had announced the death of her sister and mother, which kinda makes this even more heartbreaking). The song just hits like a gut punch from the very first lyric:

“Sorry I've never told you

All I wanted to say”

The song talks about how much Mariah and Boyz II Men regret taking their late loved one’s presence for granted and even apologizing for not being able to tell them all that they wanted to say. It’s just a super well-written track and when you add on top of it Mariah and Boyz II Men’s heartfelt and sincere performances, this is absolutely incredible.

7...Let me quote my intro to my “Beautiful Life” review: “So I mentioned in the intro that 1996 was when the pop music scene was in the throes of the europop and international music boom. So let’s get a [eurodance] bop out of the way quickly, why don’t we?”...

7. Amber - This Is Your Night (YE: #82, PEAK: #24)

Spoilers, but this is still not my favorite eurodance hit of the year. That said, “This Is Your Night” is a simple eurodance banger that really doesn’t require a lot to work for me. Let’s just look at the (very short) checklist:

• Is it danceable? ✅

• Does it have a performer with a good command of the energy and a good presence? ✅

Even this bit of gibberish works well for me!!:

“Da be da be da di da en da

Da be da be da di da en da

Da be da be da di da en da

Da be da be da di da en da”

That bit serves as a hook that keeps the energy up. Yeah, not much else to say here, just an incredibly fun banger.

6...Let me quote Todd In The Shadows here: “And like I said, that seems weird to me because 1996 didn't really sound much like this. But I did find an article in Billboard that speculated, maybe it got huge because, even though it wasn't much like anything else it was a little bit like everything else.”. I think that about sums it up...

6. Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever (YE: #8, PEAK: #2)

Seriously, Todd basically said that this song is like every pop music trend of 1996 balled up into one...not quite alternative enough to be full out alternative, but it was alternative “enough”, not quite R&B but hearing it on the radio next to Mariah Carey wouldn’t seem weird, it’s not as profoundly deep as a lot of the singer-songwriter cuts from the likes of Alanis Morisette, but it’s sonically similar enough to blend right in, it’s not flashy like a lot of the eurodance and europop of the time, but it’s rhythmically upbeat enough, I guess. Really, it’s only missing gangsta rap and whatever “Macarena” was, if it had those two things, you could make the reasonable claim that this song encapsulated every music trend of 1996. And somehow having elements of all these different genres doesn’t make it puree’d into a monogenre. It actually stands as its own song that just happens to incorporate one or two elements of these genres. I’d probably credit that to that incessantly catchy hook combined with Donna Lewis’s sweet cooing. It’s very girlish and lyrically it doesn’t really rise beyond “I heart you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever”, but it takes its girlish theme and works with its strengths to make it really work. The piano chords are also surprisingly potent. Yeah, I love this song always forever. What an incredible little track.

5...But let’s go back to eurodance...

5. La Bouche - Be My Lover (YE: #23, PEAK: #6)

Another eurodance banger that doesn’t really take a lot to work for me. I’ll get one small criticism out of the way first: I can acknowledge that Melanie Thornton has a very commanding presence and there’s an ethereal beauty to her voice on the “La da da dee, da da, da da”’s, but she does admittedly tend to oversing a bit here on the “A-ha, yeah-hey”’s. That said, that’s a very minor nitpick, because the song is absolutely incredible. The synths and the percussion are energetic as hell and it should go without saying that this is incredibly danceable. And I have to give credit to Lane McCray rapping the second verse, it really works and it keeps the energy going in a similar way to someone like Ludacris or Pitbull in the early 2010s. This would be higher here, but this wasn’t La Bouche’s best hit this tear. Stay tuned.

4...So in my 1998 best list, I pointed out how “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls was arguably the most notorious example of a song that didn’t get to chart on the Hot 100 due to the physical singles rule. That said, just because “Iris” was undeservingly barred from charting on the Hot 100 didn’t mean that the Goo Goo Dolls didn’t have an even better song that was allowed to chart on the Hot 100 that became a hit!!...

4. Goo Goo Dolls - Name (YE: #24, PEAK: #5)

From what I gathered, this song was inspired by frontman John Rzeznik and his girlfriend vowing to not expose his girlfriend’s full name. But honestly, while it’s a pretty cute sentiment, that doesn’t have much to do with why I love “Name”. The production is just so lush and serene and the tempo shift for the chorus is a really nice touch. It just sounds really pretty. Not much else to say, just an incredible song.

3..Roll back a couple entries: “This would be higher here, but this wasn’t La Bouche’s best hit this tear. Stay tuned.” Well, I told you!!..

3. La Bouche - Sweet Dreams (YE: #37, PEAK: #13)

“Sweet Dreams”’s percussion isn’t as energetic as “Be My Lover”’s is, but I think “Sweet Dreams” works even better thanks to the synth melody. And really, the percussion might be less energetic here than on “Be My Lover”, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t energetic at all. Melanie Thornton’s vocals once again have a very ethereal beauty to them and she doesn’t oversing here. And then we get the rap verse, this time from Robert Haynes. It serves the same purpose that the rap verse in “Be My Lover” does; to keep the energy going. Yeah, “Sweet Dreams” is just an incredible song.

2..Well, we saw tons of great alternative rock on this list already, so why not finally get to the best one?…

2. The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 (YE: #44, PEAK: #12)

I love the production here, the melodic guitars, the great bassline, the driving percussion, and frontman D'arcy Wretzky’s vocals all just come together to create a song that feels like I’m drifting off in outer space whenever I listen to it. Incredible song, very nearly my favorite hit of this year, so what’s better?

1...I’ve always loved this song, but I really am shocked that this song topped my list. It’s not the most impeccably produced song here, it’s not the most meaningful song here, it’s just the one my ears gravitated to the most. And sometimes, there's really no other reason..

1. Robert Miles - Children (YE: #65, PEAK: #21)

“Children” is a song that feels both in and out of place with the pop music scene of 1996. On the surface, it might be easy to say that this song slots itself in nicely with the eurodance explosion, but even then, “Children” just feels like much more than another eurodance hit. It doesn’t have any vocals and it isn’t as lively as the other eurodance hits here, and yet it feels even more potent somehow. I love that groove and the iconic piano melody. I don’t know, all I can say is that my ears and brain liked this collection of sounds more than every other hit this year. So “Children” by Robert Miles, the best hit song of 1996!!

Alright, that’s the best list done!! This will likely be my last article until my 2024 lists at the end of the year unless I get motivation to do some scattered album reviews or something, because admittedly I’m getting a bit burned out right now. So until the next article, whenever or whatever that may be, Spotify playlist with every song mentioned on this list is linked right here and remember to keep it Fire!!