Now comes the part where a song appears in my countdown that if my wife was making her own countdown she would not touch it with a 10 foot pole. Still, while I like the song and it’s not my absolute favorite, no one can deny how much this one tune changed the face of rock in ways other songs since then haven’t been able to. Rockin at #6 is Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Tom Petty could really do no wrong as a songwriter, and this song adds further evidence to that statement. It’s one of my favorite songs from him, and as his 2006 live concert shows, it is still a massive singalong for his fans everywhere. Soaring into #7 is Learning to Fly by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
Our next entry into the countdown is claimed by the King of Pop. The lead single off of his Dangerous album, this tune included an extended video that showcased state-of-the-art visual effects that at the time stunned viewers. Yet despite the video’s notoriety, the song remains a staple of his body of work. The #8 song of 1991 is Black or White by Michael Jackson.
For the first time since I started these lists, the billboard #1 song of the countdown year manages to make it into this countdown. It was hard to avoid the arrival of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and this song made it even harder. It might seem sappy to some and maybe not his best work, but the song is a powerful ballad, enough to make Family Guy cover it. Coming in at #9 is (Everything I Do) I Do it For You by Bryan Adams.
Entering the top 10 of this countdown is a tune that, maybe to the band’s chagrin, has withstood the test of time. While the emergence of grunge would effectively halt the careers of bands like them, this group managed to craft an awesome guitar, duo-vocal ballad that is still popular today. Coming in at #10 is More Than Words by Extreme.
Wrapping up the first half of the countdown is our first rap entry, and this song was everywhere in the early 90s. While they would have an even bigger song a couple years later, this track still exploded when it first arrived and the call-response chorus is still a classic one today. Topping the bottom half of the top 20 songs turning 30 years old countdown at #11 is O.P.P. by Naughty by Nature.