Here's a list of #1s from 1990s that could even remotely be considered rock songs:
Barenaked Ladies: One Week (1999)
Aerosmith: I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (1999)
Jon Bon Jovi: Blaze of Glory (1990)
Real golden age stuff there. And those are really stretching the definition of a "rock song". There's the odd ballad by rock musicians that made it to #1 in the '90s (some crappy Bryan Adams songs, Extreme, Meat Loaf), but other than that, nothing. It was all Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul, etc. just like it is now. Mainstream radio determines chart positions and it's sucked for a good 25 years, so it's nothing new.
Wow, I was going to prove you wrong by digging up some Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc., but you're right, the #1 songs of the 90s were way lamer than I thought. You wouldn't even know grunge existed by that list.
I was surprised too. I thought 1994 would be right in the heart of the grunge era. Nope. Check out the top 20 from '94:
1. The Sign, Ace Of Base
2. I Swear, All-4-One
3. I'll Make Love to You, Boyz II Men
4. The Power of Love, Celine Dion
5. Hero, Mariah Carey
6. Stay (I Missed You) , Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories
7. Breathe Again, Toni Braxton
8. All for Love, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting
9. All That She Wants, Ace Of Base
10. Don't Turn Around, Ace Of Base
11. Bump N' Grind, R. Kelly
12. Again, Janet Jackson
13. I'll Remember, Madonna
14. Whatta Man, Salt-N-Pepa
15. Wild Night, John Mellencamp and Me'shell Ndegeocello
16. Without You/Never Forget You, Mariah Carey
17. You Mean the World to Me, Toni Braxton
18. Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Elton John
19. The Most Beautiful Girl In the World, Prince (Symbol)
20. Fantastic Voyage, Coolio
Wow, I was going to prove you wrong by digging up some Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc., but you're right, the #1 songs of the 90s were way lamer than I thought. You wouldn't even know grunge existed by that list.
Yeah, rock bands haven't had #1 singles since the 80s; I think Sweet Child o' Mine from 1988 was probably the last rock #1 that was actually a good song.
Album charts are where rock bands usually make a dent and even then people are overestimating the impact. Here are the #1 albums from 1992 for instance:
Basically 1 week of Nirvana, a week of the Black Crowes, 2 weeks of the Wayne's World soundtrack, and most of the rest is dominated by Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks.
Even the biggest selling rock artists of all time never have high charting singles. Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin each sold 100+ million albums in the US and had 1 top 10 single each; AC/DC's highest charting US single was 23; Pearl Jam has sold 30+ million and their only top 10 single was a cover song; and the list goes on.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" didn't even crack the Billboard Year-End Top 100 in 1991 (I checked 1992 as well, because it was realeased near the end of 91).
Oh, the benefit of hindsight....
How about 1971? An incredible year for rock with Led Zeppelin 4, Who's Next, Sticky Fingers, Madman Across the Water, LA Woman, Imagine, Hunky Dory, What's Going On? Etc...
The billboard top 10 songs that year:
1. Joy To The World - Three Dog Night
2. Maggie May - Rod Stewart
3. It's too Late - Carole King
4. One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
5. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Bee Gees
6. Indian Reservation - Paul Revere
7. Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
8. Country Roads- John Denver
9. Just My Imagination - The Temptations
10. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando
Same as it ever was...
Last edited by East Coast Flame; 08-27-2012 at 12:26 PM.
There are multiple charts all attempting to shoe-horn artists into a specific description, which sometimes will work, sometimes it doesn't.
And then there are differences between countries:
The RPM Charts for Canada, 1994:
"Please Forgive Me" - Bryan Adams#
"All For Love" - Bryan Adams,#Rod Stewart,#Sting
"The Power of Love" - Celine Dion#
"Streets of Philadelphia" - Bruce Springsteen
"Mr. Jones" - Counting Crows
"The Sign" - Ace of Base
"Love Sneakin' Up On You" - Bonnie Raitt
"I'll Remember" - Madonna
"I Swear" - All-4-One
"Don't Turn Around" - Ace Of Base
"Wild Night" - John Mellencamp#and#Meshell Ndegeocello
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" - Elton John
"Stay (I Missed You)" - Lisa Loeb#and Nine Stories
"You Better Wait" - Steve Perry
"I'll Make Love to You" - Boyz II Men
"All I Wanna Do" - Sheryl Crow
"I'll Make Love to You" (re-entry) - Boyz II Men
"Secret" - Madonna
"Always" - Bon Jovi
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Well it goes to show you good music actually use to chart back when. I agree charts mean nothing to me personally, they just give you a snapshot in time. Like clearly in the late 80's/early 90's the quality of music that charted can be seen as exponentially better than what charts now.
This was back when I was a kid, so my memory's a little fuzzy, but the 90's had stuff like Ace of Base, 2 Unlimited, (the group that sang Mr. Vain, don't remember what they're called), etc, which are the equivalent to all your dance pop songs today. I think your memory of the 90's and how it had so much good rock songs is a little clouded by you filtering out only the good songs and forgetting the garbage.
This was back when I was a kid, so my memory's a little fuzzy, but the 90's had stuff like Ace of Base, 2 Unlimited, (the group that sang Mr. Vain, don't remember what they're called), etc, which are the equivalent to all your dance pop songs today. I think your memory of the 90's and how it had so much good rock songs is a little clouded by you filtering out only the good songs and forgetting the garbage.
Once again, I think this is making my point for me. Yes you had crap like Ace of Base, but you could also hear songs like No Rain, Black Hole Sun, Plush on top-40 radio, because they actually made the top-40. Now those songs could never, ever approach top-40 status. I mean Nine Inch Nails has a top-20 song...that could never happen now. Basically where in the 90's the crap to quality quotient was something like 70%-30%, its up to 95%-5% now. Thats a substantially increase in awful and a major decrease in good.
And the crap in the 90's versus the crap now? Give me the Backstreet Boys, Ace of Base, Mariah and N'Sync over Bieber, Big Time Rush, Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jespen every single day of the week, twice on Sunday.
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And the crap in the 90's versus the crap now? Give me the Backstreet Boys, Ace of Base, Mariah and N'Sync over Bieber, Big Time Rush, Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jespen every single day of the week, twice on Sunday.
fail, i will take a Katy Perry video over any of those other bands all day long......bounce yeah that's right katy, bounce....
When Fun is considered "Modern Rock", then rock music is beyond saving and so royally screwed going forward it saddens those of us who got to enjoy real rock music. You have to remember back in the late 80's - early 90's, songs like "Epic" by Faith No More and "Loser" by Beck would actually be able to get into the Billboard Top 10. Now? Pft those songs wouldn't even chart in the top 100 anymore.
"Loser" by Beck is barely/not rock too, as far as I'm concerned.
