{"id":196113,"date":"2025-12-22T09:01:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T09:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/196113\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T09:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T09:01:20","slug":"every-1-hit-song-from-1995-ranked-worst-to-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/196113\/","title":{"rendered":"Every #1 hit song from 1995 ranked worst to best"},"content":{"rendered":"

In what\u2019s now become a yearly tradition every December, I\u2019m ranking #1 hits from topical anniversary dates. This winter we\u2019ll be doing 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015, and I\u2019ll be ranking every chart-topper from worst to best in each respective year. I did this last year and the year before that, and I\u2019m thrilled to be back ranking the good, the bad, and the ugly that took over Billboard\u2019s esteemed (now trivial?) Hot 100. Last week, we tackled 1985<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Today we\u2019re looking at 1995, which featured 12 entries across 52 weeks. Only three songs held the #1 spot for two weeks or less, and six held it for five weeks or more. I think there are eight good songs here. The top six are impeachable, and the top three are my favorite trio of songs on any list I\u2019ve made for this series. We\u2019re halfway to Y2K! Football players are on trial for murder, eBay is a thing now, and pogs are huge. Oh, and the tunes are pretty stellar, too. It\u2019s a good time to be a Mariah Carey fan. Here is every #1 hit song from 1995, ranked worst to best. <\/p>\n

12. Michael Jackson: \u201cYou Are Not Alone\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A song co-written by R. Kelly and Michael Jackson\u2026 certainly this is in contention for the most cursed #1 hit of all time, no? Rap sheets aside, I don\u2019t find much of MJ\u2019s post-Dangerous material to be all that compelling. \u201cYou Are Not Alone,\u201d his final chart-topper, holds the record for being the first single to debut at #1 on the Hot 100, which is about the only interesting thing about this entry. That and the plagiarism lawsuit, courtesy of the Passel brothers. When MJ dropped \u201cYou Are Not Alone,\u201d he was trying to resurrect his career after a damning child molestation accusation. His public legacy was mostly obliterated by then, but critics adored \u201cYou Are Not Alone\u201d when it came out. Some writers have soured on it since, and for good reason. If I\u2019m going to listen to MJ, I\u2019m never going back to HIStory, even though its collaborator list is full of big names of varying quality (Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; Kelly; Notorious B.I.G.; David Foster; Shaquille O\u2019Neal; Boyz II Men; Slash). Even MJ\u2019s previous #1 single, \u201cScream,\u201d was leagues better than \u201cYou Are Not Alone\u201d\u2014packed with an anger that better matched the intended tone permeating throughout HIStory\u2019s non-greatest hits half. This placement isn\u2019t some woke overcorrection nonsense, but a disavowment of a song that is sad and generic. This isn\u2019t the same guy who made Off the Wall and Thriller. In fact, it\u2019s a shame we have to hear the \u201cKing of Pop\u201d phone it in like this\u2026 and with such self-serving, out-of-touch lyricism, too. \u201cI can hear your prayers, your burdens I will bear \/ But first I need your hand, then forever can begin\u201d? It\u2019s gonna be a pass from me. <\/p>\n

11. Bryan Adams: \u201cHave You Ever Really Loved a Woman?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"In last week\u2019s 1985 list, we dealt with a lot of movie soundtrack songs. Ten years later, we\u2019re almost out of those woods but not quite. Do you remember Don Juan DeMarco? Me neither. But one of the songs from it, Bryan Adams\u2019 \u201cHave You Ever Really Loved a Woman?,\u201d got to #1. You may remember that Adams also got to #1 in 1994 for a movie song (\u201cAll For Love,\u201d from The Three Musketeers). While it\u2019s endearing that, for some reason, Adams was the only \u201880s rocker to achieve such consistent crossover appeal in the ensuing decade, I find his contributions to the pop charts around then to be utterly limp\u2014\u201cHave You Ever Really Loved a Woman?\u201d especially, a OK song with a few sweet flamenco elements tossed in. I guess \u201cSummer of \u201869\u201d bought Adams so much goodwill that he could go on whatever over-produced, melodramatic detours he wanted to in his late-thirties. I just wish this hadn\u2019t been one of them.<\/p>\n

10. Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men: \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men on the same track? Payola never stood a chance. While \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d is probably the most obvious #1 hit of all time, it\u2019s one of both Carey and B2M\u2019s least exciting successes. But I don\u2019t fault the effort. Why wouldn\u2019t you put two of the most commercial musicians on a song together? It held the top spot on the Hot 100 for 16 weeks, a record the two artists held for 23 years before Lil Nas X\u2019s \u201cOld Town Road\u201d usurped them (Carey has since reclaimed the crown herself, thanks to \u201cAll I Want For Christmas Is You\u201d). And yet, \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d is somehow\u2026 forgettable? Sure, it\u2019s a sentimental ditty that plays to Carey\u2019s and B2M\u2019s collective strengths: vocal elegance. The music is never overdone and that\u2019s probably the song\u2019s greatest pitfall. The drama gets lost in adult-contemporary R&B slop. It sounds like a cash-grab caught on tape. The keys are doused in sustain. The ad-libbing is a bit tiring. \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d is, to me, the musical equivalent of an Oscar-bait movie: all sensation but no real merit. Records are records, even if they\u2019ve since been broken, but sometimes popularity doesn\u2019t equal legacy. Sometimes a sure thing isn\u2019t the greatest thing. <\/p>\n

9. Whitney Houston: \u201cExhale (Shoop Shoop)\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"By the time the Waiting to Exhale movie came out, Whitney Houston was already a pro at soundtrack songs, thanks to The Bodyguard\u2019s OST going platinum 19 times. But \u201cExhale (Shoop Shoop)\u201d doesn\u2019t even come close to \u201cI Will Always Love You.\u201d Sometimes the song\u2019s coziness kneecaps its charm, but Whitney\u2019s still great, though\u2014singing her heart out on a soulful, slow-jam ballad. Her vocals are the best part, and sometimes they\u2019re too powerful for the too-often-understated arrangement courtesy of Babyface\u2019s production. \u201cExhale\u201d is elegant and gorgeous\u2014a mature and mellow balm compared to the drama of her more high-profile belters. By 1995, Whitney was the greatest living singer. \u201cExhale\u201d confirms that truth but does little to strengthen the argument. <\/p>\n

8. Madonna: \u201cTake a Bow\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Madonna went on a commercial bent in the mid-nineties, leaving the bawdy days of Erotica\u2019s dance fever behind for the more palatable, R&B-pilled Bedtime Stories. That album\u2019s second single, \u201cTake a Bow,\u201d held the top spot on the Hot 100 for seven weeks, confirming that Madonna could adapt to any decade, any style, anything. With Babyface on production, \u201cTake a Bow\u201d was better than the single that came before it (\u201cSecret\u201d) but detoured greatly from her best and brightest work. It was slowed-down and far less exciting than her biggest hits (\u201cLike a Virgin\u201d). There are no big hooks. There is no sensual, provocative drama. \u201cTake a Bow\u201d just sounds like a great artist playing things too safe, which means that the song is good but gets dwarfed under the banner of Madonna\u2019s big, billboard-sized legacy. <\/p>\n

7. Boyz II Men: \u201cOn Bended Knee\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cOn Bended Knee\u201d didn\u2019t have the commercial energy that \u201cI\u2019ll Make Love to You\u201d did months prior\u2014though it wouldn\u2019t have been that outlandish to expect all of Boyz II Men\u2019s #1 hits to spend double-digit weeks at the top of the Hot 100. \u201cOn Bended Knee\u201d is just so much better than \u201cI\u2019ll Make Love to You.\u201d It\u2019s the one track that really does re-capture the endearing, powerhouse star power of \u201cEnd of the Road\u201d\u2014a reward for the B2M heads and a proper appetizer for new listeners. It\u2019s soulful and smooth as all get-out, and it\u2019s one of the greatest apology songs ever made. For six, non-consecutive weeks between 1994 and 1995, \u201cOn Bended Knee\u201d was the must-hear song in America. 30 years later, it holds up better than a lot of this list.<\/p>\n

6. Montell Jordan: \u201cThis Is How We Do It\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"I am colder on this song than most, and I blame Glee and the Acafellas for that. But there\u2019s no doubting \u201cThis Is How We Do It\u201d\u2019s significance, because it was Def Jam\u2019s inaugural R&B song. Montell Jordan goes big and soulful over a Teddy Riley sample of Slick Rick\u2019s \u201cChildren\u2019s Story\u201d drumbeat, which features an interpolated bassline from Bob James\u2019 \u201cNautilus.\u201d There\u2019s no doubt about it: \u201cThis Is How We Do It\u201d was always going to be a crossover hit. The bravado is peak, the beats are phat as hell. It\u2019s gangsta rap and soul coming together for a swagged out R&B anthem. Very few songs on this list are as ubiquitous. You may not know \u201cHave You Ever Really Loved a Woman?\u201d but you definitely know \u201cThis Is How We Do It.\u201d <\/p>\n

5. TLC: \u201cWaterfalls\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"All-time great song. All-time great group. \u201cWaterfalls\u201d spent seven weeks on top of the world 30 years ago, and no one has forgotten about it since. In my lifetime, I can\u2019t think of very many pop songs that have retained the same cultural value. And to think: less than a week before \u201cWaterfalls\u201d went to #1, TLC filed for bankruptcy\u2014on account of T-Boz\u2019s sickle cell anemia and medical costs, Left Eye\u2019s post-arson conviction insurance rate, and the generally exploitative contract they signed with LaFace. By the time \u201cWaterfalls\u201d got massive, the band\u2019s debts had reached at least $3.5 million. They sold millions of albums but, after lawyer, producer, and manager fees and taxes, each member of the group was only making $50,000 a year from CrazySexyCool\u2019s sales. \u201cWaterfalls\u201d was a complex single\u2014radio-friendly R&B reckoning with the impact of AIDS, drug addiction, and crime (co-songwriter Marqueze Ethridge said of the ubiquitous chorus: \u201cJust because everything looks good doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s good for you\u201d)\u2014that capitalized on the commercial successes of \u201cCreep,\u201d which spent four weeks at #1 in January\/February that year. CrazySexyCool moved 12 million copies and TLC went on to be the biggest girl group of all time. \u201cWaterfalls\u201d could come out tomorrow and still go platinum. <\/p>\n

4. Seal: \u201cKiss From a Rose\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Thanks to Batman Forever, \u201cKiss From a Rose\u201d went to #1. The song originally came out in 1994 on Seal\u2019s second album, but got re-released (and subtitled \u201cLove Theme from Batman Forever\u201d) a year later when it showed up on the film\u2019s soundtrack. Before that it was featured in The NeverEnding Story III, which was a movie that came out, apparently. \u201cKiss From a Rose\u201d was huge, winning Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 1996 Grammys. It\u2019s a sexy, mid-tempo ballad about a toxic, addictive relationship that\u2019s been a radio staple my whole life, and that horn section will bite you big time. Out of all the weepy, melodramatic movie songs I\u2019ve covered for these lists, \u201cKiss From a Rose\u201d is probably the best one. And a lot of that has to do with Seal being so strange and hypnotic on the mic. The song turned him into a sensation, and rightfully so. <\/p>\n

3. Coolio ft. L.V.: \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"It\u2019s rare that a song topping one of these lists is also among the best songs in the history of recorded music. But here we are and here \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d is. Coolio\u2019s breakout hit single, recorded for the Dangerous Minds movie, is maybe one of the most beloved rap tracks ever released. That opening synth line? One of the most recognizable synth lines ever. In all of hip-hop, at the very least. The craziest part is \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d is a total bummer. That first verse? Jesus Christ. Coolio talking about seeing himself in the pistol smoke and \u201csayin\u2019 prayers in the streetlight\u201d is deeply bleak. But Doug Rasheed\u2019s production, which features an interpolation of Stevie Wonder\u2019s \u201cPastime Paradise,\u201d sits beneath Coolio\u2019s songwriting like a supporting character, allowing the song to come fully to life without taking the light away from his verses. \u201cGangsta\u2019s Paradise\u201d was the top-selling single of 1995, the first rap single to hit #1 in the UK, and a big reason that gangsta rap and G-funk went mainstream. 30 years later and its impact on the genre and on pop music is still being felt. <\/p>\n

2. TLC: \u201cCreep\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"It didn\u2019t hang on to #1 for as long as \u201cWaterfalls,\u201d but \u201cCreep\u201d isn\u2019t just the prize on CrazySexyCool. It\u2019s the TLC song\u2014a story about a woman figuring out that her boyfriend is a cheater. And then she cheats on him to get even. T Boz based her lyrics on her own real-life experience with that exact scenario, and the result is a messy, emotional R&B hit that sounds better now than it did 30 years ago: new jack swing, dance, rap, and soul music rolled into a Slick Rick-sampling beat produced by Dallas Austin. This is handily T Boz\u2019s best performance, and the record scratches, jazz backline, and confident, understated hooks that surround her turn \u201cCreep\u201d into the bleakest party ever. But still, the woozy silk of \u201cI creep around because I need attention, don\u2019t mess around with my affection\u201d accounts for one of my favorite bridges ever. Sometimes I wonder if people heard TLC in 1995 and could see the next three decades of R&B music, maybe more. I know every time I hear \u201cCreep\u201d it sounds brand new. <\/p>\n

1. Mariah Carey: \u201cFantasy\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"By 1995, Mariah Carey was already a hit machine. A gigantic, era-defining name. Her fifth studio album, Daydream, wasn\u2019t a breakout but a confirmation of her stardom. A year prior, Carey\u2019s now-ubiquitous, inescapable \u201cAll I Want For Christmas Is You\u201d came out. The year before that, she shared \u201cDreamlover,\u201d my favorite #1 hit of all time. I mean, we\u2019re talking about maybe the greatest peak any pop star has ever had. It was certainly the greatest of the 1990s. Daydream produced five singles but the summery, sugary, and escapist \u201cFantasy\u201d is the one, totally worth the eight weeks it spent atop the Hot 100. The perfect sample of Tom Tom Club\u2019s \u201cGenius of Love\u201d that gets brilliantly spun into a pop diva template is more than enough brilliance. But flourishing gospel, pop, and soul notes, along with some light touches of hip-hop, reveal why \u201cFantasy\u201d is still Carey\u2019s greatest song 30 years later: it\u2019s the moment where she became too big to ignore. I yearn for pop music to feel this colossal, starlit, and essential again. <\/p>\n

Tune in again next Sunday to see our ranking of every #1 hit from 2005. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In what\u2019s now become a yearly tradition every December, I\u2019m ranking #1 hits from topical anniversary dates. This…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-196113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}