Songs of the Year
Songs of the Year: 1993
According to Vibe magazine, the year Hip-Hop and R&B conquered the world.
It’s 1993 and we have Whitney Houston, Duran Duran, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, and UB40 at the top of the charts… What is this, 1987 again? Okay, enough of the legacy acts, there’s also Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Meat Loaf, Def Leppard and Aerosmith. Wait… okay. New stuff. Okay, Whoomp (here it is): Tag Team, Silk, Wreckx-n-Effect, Dr. Dre, Boyz II Men, Jodeci and Tony! Toni! Tone! also make appearances. It’s not all old timers.
The Bodyguard soundtrack dominated the albums charts. Eric Clapton’s Unplugged was number three.
Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry and Billy Joel alighted in Cleveland to play the ground-breaking ceremony for the brand new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
As far as rock goes? If you’re looking on the Billboard charts, it’s still an odd duck. There’s no grunge. No Nirvana, no Smashing Pumpkins, no Stone Temple Pilots. There are Spin Doctors and Ugly Kid Joe and Gin Blossoms though. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story because Pearl Jam’s Vs. was the number one album for five weeks and set a single week sales record when it was released. Is Vs. really a grunge record? That’s up for debate, but there certainly was no waning in popularity.
Over in Britain, Britpop kicked into gear with releases from Suede and Blur, presaging the explosion of what was to be known as Britpop.
More to come on that later.
THE RULES: It’s a simple concept. We pick five of our favorite songs that made the Billboard Top 100 (established in 1958) during any time that year. We also select five “wildcards” that can be any songs released as a single or on an album or EP that year. Finally, we also pick our “worst” song of the year, just for fun.
We started in 1958 and we’re going until we run out of years.
Standings So Far …
Jason is a mere half-point behind Joe after three straight victories to open up the 90s. The Cure’s Friday I’m In Love took home the 92 win, beating out worthy challengers in Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name Of and Unknown Hero from Neil Young. Can Jason pull ahead? He’s going to have to rely on a bit of an underdog pick. Joe’s locked in with an alt-rock staple. If Kramzer can pick up 10% of the votes, that would be a win for him.
Joe: 16
Jason: 15.5
Kramzer: 9.5
Vote
Which Was the Best Song of 1993?
- Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins (50%, 106 Votes)
- Allison by Slow Dive (29%, 62 Votes)
- Out There by Dinosaur Jr. (21%, 46 Votes)
Total Voters: 214
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My favorite songs of 1993:
Rank-Title-Artist
1. LIVIN’ ON THE EDGE – AEROSMITH
2. PLUSH – STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
3. NO RAIN – BLIND MELON
4. CHERUB ROCK – SMASHING PUMPKINS
5. DEVIL YOU KNOW – JESUS JONES
6. RHYTHM IS A DANCER – SNAP!
7. WICKED GARDEN – STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
8. REGRET – NEW ORDER
9. CRYIN’ – AEROSMITH
10. DREAMLOVER – MARIAH CAREY
11. SHE KISSED ME – TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY
12. HOWLIN’ FOR MY BABY – GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS
13. LOVE FOR LOVE – ROBIN S
14. FEED THE TREE – BELLY
15. SEND ME A LOVER – TAYLOR DAYNE
16. DEEPER AND DEEPER – MADONNA
17. RIGHT HERE (HUMAN NATURE) (REMIX) – SWV
18. I DON’T CARE – SHAKESPEAR’S SISTER
19. GOOD TIMES WITH BAD BOYS – BOY KRAZY (PLAYED AT 2% FASTER)
20. STEAM – PETER GABRIEL
21. BREAK IT DOWN AGAIN – TEARS FOR FEARS
22. BLACK ON BLACK II – HEART
23. RAINY DAYS – GENERAL PUBLIC
24. REAL THING – THE POINT
25. ROOSTER – ALICE IN CHAINS
26. THAT’S THE WAY LOVE GOES – JANET JACKSON
27. BLUEBEARD – COCTEAU TWINS
28. T-R-O-U-B-L-E – TRAVIS TRITT
29. TWO PRINCES – SPIN DOCTORS
30. SWEET THING – MARY J. BLIGE
31. CHANGE – CANDLEBOX
32. RUNAWAY TRAIN – SOUL ASYLUM
33. HEAT IT UP – CONCRETE BLONDE
34. COME UNDONE – DURAN DURAN
35. OLD ROSE MOTEL – GREAT WHITE
36. LOVE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS – CELINE DION
37. SHIMMERING, WARM & BRIGHT – BEL CANTO
38. SOMEBODY’S KNOCKIN’ – IZZY STRADLIN & THE JUJ JU HOUNDS
39. HERO – MARIAH CAREY
40. TEENAGE SENSATION – CREDIT TO THE NATION