Nothing Compares 2 USinead O'Connor
Nothing Compares 2 U
1990
Prince wrote it for a side project that went nowhere; O'Connor's tears in the video were real, and unplanned.
★ 7.9
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1990
Showing 35 songs from 1990
Mama Said Knock You Out
1990 · From Mama Said Knock You Out
His grandmother told him to knock them out; Marley Marl looped Funky Drummer, and the Grammy followed.
★ 7.7
Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
Enjoy the Silence
1990 · From Violator
Gore wrote it as a harmonium ballad; Wilder and Flood put a dance beat under it over his objections.
★ 7.6
Check the Rhime
1990 · From The Low End Theory
An Average White Band loop, Q-Tip and Phife trading lines, and a Queens rooftop that Linden Boulevard still remembers.
★ 7.6
Freedom! '90
1990
Michael refused to appear, so Fincher had five supermodels lip-sync while his Faith leather jacket burned onscreen.
★ 7.4
Vision of Love
1990
Written with Ben Margulies in a studio behind his father's cabinet factory, and the whistle-register note that reset pop singing.
★ 7.3
Friends in Low Places
1990
Bud Lee forgot his wallet, joked that he knew the cook, and Brooks took it to number one.
★ 7.3
Bonita Applebum
1990 · From People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Q-Tip read Miles Davis on space, then rapped conversationally over a Rotary Connection loop and made desire sound utterly relaxed.
★ 7.3
Thunderstruck
1990 · From The Razors Edge
Angus called it a little guitar trick; Malcolm added the rhythm underneath, and it lands before Johnson sings a word.
★ 7.1
There She GoesThe La's
There She Goes
1990
Bob Andrews cut it in 1988 to no interest; Lillywhite's remix made it Britpop's founding jangle.
★ 6.8
Man in the Box
1990 · From Facelift
Jerden heard Livin' on a Prayer driving to the studio and suggested the talk box that defines it.
★ 6.8
Crazy (Seal)
1990
Trevor Horn spent about three months producing it; Seal built the chorus from a world visibly changing.
★ 6.4
Poison
1990
Elliot Straite, as Dr. Freeze, turned a letter to an ex-girlfriend into new jack swing at its sharpest.
★ 6.3
The Humpty DanceDigital Underground
The Humpty Dance
1990
A Sly Stone drum loop, a fake nose, and Shock G inventing Humpty Hump, the funniest alter ego in rap.
★ 6.0
U Can't Touch This
1990
Rick James sued over the Super Freak riff and settled for a co-writing credit; Hammer's pants did the rest.
★ 6.0
Here's Where The Story Ends
1990
Guitar jangle, Wheeler's voice, and a US Modern Rock number one that Britain never received as a single.
★ 5.7
I'm Your Baby Tonight
1990 · From I'm Your Baby Tonight
A new jack swing pivot from L.A. Reid and Babyface, and by Reid's account the vocal took one take.
★ 5.2
I Touch Myself
1990
Steinberg brought a verse and chorus, the four writers finished it the next day, Australia sent it to number one.
★ 4.7
More Than Words
1990
Two voices and one acoustic guitar, dropped into a funk metal album, and A&M got a number one.
★ 4.3
Everybody Everybody
1990
Martha Wash sang it, a model mimed it, and her lawsuit changed how dance records credit their singers.
★ 4.1
Unbelievable
1990
A riff written on a bike ride, a sample Rick Rubin cleared free, and a surprise American number one.
★ 4.0
Right Here, Right NowJesus Jones
Right Here, Right Now
1990
Romania in February 1990, weeks of upheaval still fresh, and Edwards came home to write pop's happiest history lesson.
★ 3.9
Hold On (Wilson Phillips)
1990
Chynna Phillips drew the words from AA's one-day-at-a-time, Glen Ballard produced, and it topped Billboard's 1990 year-end chart.
★ 3.8
Something Happened on the Way to Heaven
1990
Phenix Horns brass over Nathan East's bass, on a song Collins first wrote for The War of the Roses.
★ 3.6
I Wish it Would Rain Down
1990
Clapton plays the lead over Padgham's production, the closest Collins had then come to writing a blues song.
★ 3.5
King of Wishful ThinkingGo West
King of Wishful Thinking
1990
Three writers, a Pretty Woman soundtrack slot, and the most cheerful denial ever to reach the American top ten.
★ 3.1
Brooklyn BattlesMasta Ace
Brooklyn Battles
1990
Marley Marl looped an Eddie Kendricks record; Ace, co-producing his own debut, made Brooklyn sound like a place to watch.
★ 3.0
Ice Ice Baby
1990
Queen and Bowie went uncredited until a settlement, and hip hop had its first Hot 100 number one.
★ 2.8
Do You Remember
1990
A slow burn, Hugh Padgham at the desk, Stephen Bishop harmonising behind, and Collins's fourteenth and final American top ten.
★ 2.6
Have You Seen HerMC Hammer
Have You Seen Her
1990
Eugene Record and Barbara Acklin wrote it for the Chi-Lites in 1971; Hammer's hushed remake reached number four.
★ 1.9
Forever (Kiss)
1990 · From Hot in the Shade
Paul Stanley and Michael Bolton co-wrote the ballad that returned Kiss to the Top 40 after eleven years away.
★ 1.8
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You
1990
Mutt Lange's hitchhiker story gave Heart a number two the Wilsons openly disliked; Ann called its message hideous.
★ 1.6
Place In This World
1990
Wayne Kirkpatrick co-wrote it, Dann Huff played the guitar, and Christian radio's searching ballad reached number six pop.
★ 1.3
Oh Girl (Paul Young)
1990
Eugene Record's Chi-Lites ballad, harmonica and all, remade by Young in 1990 for a number eight American hit.
★ 1.2