1990 Top 100 Songs [upd] | Android CONFIRMED |

First came . Released in August, it became the first hip-hop song to top the Billboard Hot 100. Say what you will about the artist or the allegations of copyright infringement regarding the Queen/Bowie bassline—the cultural impact is undeniable. It forced MTV to play hip-hop in heavy rotation. It forced mainstream America to acknowledge rap not as a subculture, but as the dominant commercial force. It opened the door.

If you turned on a radio in the last week of 1989, you were likely met with the polished sheen of Milli Vanilli, the hair-metal ballads of Motley Crue, or the sterile synth-pop that had dominated the latter half of the 1980s. It was the sound of a decade that had partied too hard and was now slumped against the wall, exhausted. 1990 top 100 songs

And finally, the death knell for the 80s: . Released in late 1990, peaking in early '91, this acoustic ballad stripped away the distortion pedals, the double-kick drums, and the screaming. It was just two guys and a guitar. It sounded like nothing else on the radio. It proved that you didn't need to be loud to be rock. It was the quiet before the storm that would be Nirvana. First came

However, the defining moment of 1990 wasn't a hit; it was a scandal. In November, the world learned that Milli Vanilli, the duo that had dominated the previous year with "Girl You Know It's True," had not sung a note on their album. It forced MTV to play hip-hop in heavy rotation

Grab your lighter (or your phone light).