Every year, songs shoot to the top of the charts, either for just one week, or for multiple weeks in a row. In a series of posts, we’re going to rank Billboard’s “The Hot 100” number one singles for each year of the 1980s and 1990s. Today, we’re looking at the year 1993.
Note: “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston started the year at number one, but it had previously also reached number one in 1992, and as is our rule, we will not include it here, since it was already included in our list for 1992.
As always, these lists are subjective, we’re not claiming to be the definitive ranking here. We’re not that important, but you are, so we hope seeing the below songs conjures up a friendly memory or two.
But first, to get you in the mood for the year 1993…
- Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1st.
- The 1993 World Trade Center bombing happened on February 26th, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower.
- Intel released its first Pentium microprocessor on March 22nd.
- Jurassic Park was released in June, breaking box office records and featuring groundbreaking special effects.
- River Phoenix suddenly died on Halloween night of a drug overdose. He was in the middle of filming the movie Dark Blood, which was never fully completed. For more on River Phoenix, check out our article — River Phoenix: A Look Back at His 14 Films.
- Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1st.
- The 1993 World Trade Center bombing happened on February 26th, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower.
- Intel released its first Pentium microprocessor on March 22nd.
- Jurassic Park was released in June, breaking box office records and featuring groundbreaking special effects.
- River Phoenix suddenly died on Halloween night of a drug overdose. He was in the middle of filming the movie Dark Blood, which was never fully completed. For more on River Phoenix, check out our article — River Phoenix: A Look Back at His 14 Films.
8. Peabo Bryson and Regina Bella - A Whole New World
The theme song from Aladdin won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
7. Janet Jackson - Again
A ballad originally written for Jackson’s film Poetic Justice, the song had a mixed reaction from critics. Nonetheless, it still topped the charts.
5. Snow - Informer
Do we know what half the lyrics are for this song? No. The music video even had a rolling scroll of the words at the bottom of the screen when it was first released, though the one on YouTube doesn’t anymore, so good luck if you want to rap along!
4. Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)
The non-single version of this song is almost 12 minutes long, a true power ballad if there ever was one, and Meat Loaf’s biggest hit. The epic music video was directed by Michael Bay.
2. UB40 - (I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You
A cover of the Elvis Presley original, this reggae-tinged version has been featured in multiple movies, including Sliver, Fools Rush In, Speed 2: Cruise Control.
Mariah dominates a lot of these early ’90s lists. Are you a Mariah fan? What’s your favorite song from 1993? Let us know in the comments.
