We now approach the top 5, and the first 1995 entry does something amazing – make a blues-based song become a huge hit.  Any one-hit-wonder concerns for this artist went out the window when this song came out, and it’s still a popular staple of contemporary radio today.  At #5 of the top 20 songs turning 30 years old this year, it’s Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman.

This next 1995 song is this arguably this band’s biggest hit, and also carries a weight of controversy.  The band quoted the title of a song by an artist they idolized in the song, and that artist’s management demanded money from them when it became a hit.  That weirdness shouldn’t alter how big and popular this song continues to be.  At #6 it’s Only Wanna Be With You by Hootie And The Blowfish.

For as huge as hip-hop was in the 90s, surprisingly we come to the first such entry in this 1995 countdown, and it’s a scorcher.  Highlighted during the infamous East/West Coast rap wars of this period, this song might be among the top 10 most iconic rap songs of all time, and it also helped bring the vocoder into the mainstream (again for better or worse).  At #7 it’s California Love by Dr. Dre & Tupac.

My countdowns have produced surprises, and this one is no different.  I bet when you see this you’re thinking what song is this, but once you hear it you’ll know why it made it.  Longevity is a good trait to have to make it to this list, and this song certainly has had it.  At #8 it’s Roll To Me by Del Amitri.

Once again, now in the 90s, another case for soundtrack songs – should they or shouldn’t they appear?  This song is synonymous with the TV show Friends, and it would be hard to completely separate it from the sitcom.  However, it’s still a classic, and deserves its spot here for the fact that as good of a song it is, it’s associated with one of the biggest tv shows of all time.  At #9 it’s I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts.

If the internet fully existed during this time, this #10 song would have broken it.  For years people wondered if these two pop/rock icons would ever get together for a song, and they did.  This song still gets major airplay and it’s iconic simply for the personnel that ended up being involved.  In the countdown of the top songs turning 30 years old, at #10 it’s Scream by Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson.