For over a decade, Every Breath You Take was the quintessential “love song” chosen for weddings and dances, despite its meaning having a lot darker context. That has possibly changed since the arrival of this next countdown entry. As innocently sounding and beautifully produced as it is, this song carries a very dark undertone once you understand the meaning behind the lyrics. Yet it still has not stopped from it being played and heard over and over again, becoming one of the biggest songs released in 1996. AT #7 it’s I Love You Always Forever by Donna Lewis.

Our next entry in the top 20 songs turning 30 years old this year is one of the biggest “what-could-have-been” groups of the 1990s. Ska began to permeate the airwaves during the middle part of this decade, and this group was on the precipice of being one of the greats, until a tragic overdose took away the group’s main writer and vocalist. Still, this song became a bona fide smash and is considered a 90s classic today. Coming in at #8 is What I Got by Sublime.

You either love them or you hate them, but you cannot deny that this group were a major force to be reckoned with when they burst on the scene. One could say the arrival of this group helped explode another round of boy and girl groups that would literally take over the pop scene for the remainder of the decade. This track remains their biggest song and it’s still heard and played everywhere you go. Coming in at #9 is Wannabe by The Spice Girls.

We arrive at the top 10 of this 1996 countdown with an artist who appeared in the previous year’s countdown. However, her entries didn’t rise up as far as this one, for this song may be one of her biggest and most well-known hits of her career. A killer chorus that is instantly recognizable, some cool lyrical work, and you have a big track earning its spot at #10. It’s Ironic by Alanis Morissette, don’t you think?!

We wrap up the bottom half of the countdown with a song that is literally my jam! I remembered listening to this song over and over again when it came out, and it’s still one of my favorite R&B songs today. It’s hard for me to not groove to this song. Amazingly, it’s still heard everywhere, which makes this track a pivotal point in the list, because if this one only made it this far, the top 10 should be really good. Coming in at #11 is Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison.

Another major pop/rock group made their debut in 1996 and would take continue to do so with more hits over their short lifespan. This is one of my wife’s favorite groups from this time, and this song would become a major rock anthem for them for years. Get yourself a chica cherry cola and rock out to this #12 track in the top 20 songs turning 30 years old this year – I Want You by Savage Garden.