The first hip-hop #1 on the Hot 100. Yes, the bass line is stolen from Queen/David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” Yes, the movie was terrible. But for better or worse, this opened the door for white suburban rap.
But the soul of 1990 was the moment Sinéad O’Connor looked into the camera and cried. The 80s were over. Nobody knew what came next. That uncertainty is what makes 1990 the most fascinating year in pop music history. top 100 songs of 1990
The saddest song ever written by Prince. The video—Sinéad’s face, tears streaming, shaved head—is pure art. It went #1 globally and proved that vulnerability could be punk rock. The first hip-hop #1 on the Hot 100
The peak of teenybopper bubblegum. Before BSB and *NSYNC, there were the NKOTB. This was the last great pre-grunge boy band hit. The choreography was inescapable. But the soul of 1990 was the moment
The goth prom anthem. Martin Gore’s masterpiece. A song about the futility of words set to a minimalist synth riff. It predicted the melancholic electronic 90s (The Faint, The Postal Service).