Number Two Hits, 1996-1999

i have a real soft spot for the adult contemporary stuff (or AC-leaning) on here on account of being driven everywhere by my mom

that tony rich project song is so good

That's the thing. I couldn't pay attention to R. Kells for years because I hated "I Believe I Can Fly" at the time – and maybe still do. It's not a song I listen to of my own free will.

i think most people my age consider "kiss me" a classic

I hope most of you consider "Bitch" a plague of locusts

the only thing i have against "i believe i can fly" is that it beat out "world's greatest" as kells' most beloved corny ballad

god "quit playin games" is so good

Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me
Shania Twain - You're Still the One
Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack

^^^ can't decide, at all

i do remember being horrified at the time that brian mcknight dies (or nearly dies?) in a plane crash in the "back at one" video

several of these are among the worst songs of the decade

so close to sixpence but really that celine track!

Ones I really like:

Ricky Martin - She's All I Ever Had
Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me
Shania Twain - You're Still the One
Madonna - Frozen
Puff Daddy & The Family - It's All About the Benjamins
Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack
Celine Dion - It's All Coming Back to Me Now
Mary J. Blige - Not Gon' Cry

Some of these I don't remember though, and, yeah, there's lot of horrible ones here.

I recognize surprisingly few of these. I mean, not totally surprising, since I basically shunned pop music during these years. But looking at this list, I'd be able to hum ... four? Would probably recognize a few others, of course.

Voted for Everything But the Girl.

Few songs made me as hysterically giggly as "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" did in its day.

surprisingly I prefer the original version of "Missing."

voted "I Believe I Can Fly", recognizably corny but I've watched too many Jordan videos to it to front about it

otherwise yeah "Return of the Mack", "Missing", "It's All About the Benjamins"

this is remarkably worse than the 5 years that followed

"twisted" vs "kiss me" vs "benjamins"

These are all amazing:

Brian McKnight - Back At One
Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me
Usher - My Way
Shania Twain - You're Still the One
Madonna - Frozen
Puff Daddy & The Family - It's All About the Benjamins
LeAnn Rimes - How Do I Live
Usher - You Make Me Wanna...
Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack
En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)
R. Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly
Celine Dion - It's All Coming Back to Me Now
Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever
Keith Sweat - Twisted
Tony Rich Project - Nobody Knows
Brandy - Sittin' Up in My Room
Mary J. Blige - Not Gon' Cry
Everything But the Girl - Missing

I don't mind "Bitch" but I'd never call it "amazing"

i have a real soft spot for the adult contemporary stuff (or AC-leaning) on here on account of being driven everywhere by my mom

lol so true

i have a real soft spot for the adult contemporary stuff (or AC-leaning) on here on account of being driven everywhere by my mom

lol so true

en vogue very very very very easily w/ ebtg and keith sweat after it

o shit just saw deborah cox, that would be second

also that is a really great celine track, i know she does a ton of oldies in her show does she do any other steinman songs? or springsteen i guess?

I missed "Quit Playing Games" and "Don't Let Go"! Luckily I haven't voetd.

i remember 'i'll never break yr heart' being huge in europe at the time and thinking it was such a weird anachronism, something that could never happen in america anymore like tv variety shows (or so i thought on both counts). then 'quit playin' games' came out and was a hit and i thought the hits might be limited to adult contemporary rooted stuff, like w/ all-4-one. then omg they were back again. it's almost like you can see the shift in the music industry's priorities, from chasing boomer dollars to chasing millenial dollars. like examining the rings on a tree and going 'drought here, fire here'.

"Nobody Knows" - great melody and songwriting.

Why I love ILM: people vouching for the horrifying Ricky Martin ballad (his good ballad is the one Madonna wrote for him).

also still mindblowing that leann rimes didn't go to number one. 32 weeks in the top ten.

i remember so little ricky martin, i think i could hum more enrique songs at this point. the only songs here i remember that i definitely didn't care for at the time or now are the meredith brooks and the pearl jam. that was the one jewel song i liked. pjs.

also i don't know how long it's been since you've listened to jewel but her phrasing is hilarious, real phoebe buffay when she had a cold that one time.

man, i love "kiss me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te03Ox_R_hg

Voted "Frozen."

"Bitch" and "Kiss Me" are a big part of what made radio so unlistenable to me in this era.

voted "Bitch" unironically

Shoulda voted "Heartbreak Hotel."

en vogue very very very very easily

Yeah was scrolling down and umming and ahing, then Don't Let Go came up and I clicked without hesitation.

the madonna/ricky martin ballad is okay, but he's had multiple better ones on that album alone: his cover of "private emotion" w/ meja, and "she's all i ever had" which i will actually agree is a really underrated and amazing song

haha

classic/amazing:

she's all i ever had
last kiss
kiss me
heartbreak hotel
frozen
you make me wanna
quit playing games
return of the mack
i believe i can fly
i love you always forever
sittin' up in my room
missing (if we're talking the todd terry club mix which we obviously are)

my top picks of the bunch would be ebtg, backstreet, donna lewis, madonna and r kelly. i think i'll vote donna lewis -- it's a sentimental favorite.

are people being serious with "i believe i can fly"

benjamins > return of the mack > don't let go > frozen > my way > sittin' up in my room > you were meant for me > heartbreak hotel > she's all i ever had > you make me wanna

xp i am! i actually get frustrated sometimes abt ppl thinking that any appreciation of that song is challops

it sounds great in space jam but other than that does not need to exist

Neither does Space Jam.

now that is ludicrous

the space jam soundtrack is soooo good

return of the mack

Good writeup: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2013/10/mark-morrison-return-of-the-mack/

Benjamins. One of my favorite beats ever.

Return of the Mack. That WAS a good write up, Alfred

BSB > Mack > En Vogue > Usher (both) > Twisted

I basically shunned pop music during these years

and some us kept goin'

(I can't summon up any of these except the hook of "I Believe I Can Fly")

return of the mack

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Oh My God!

just hears “nobody’s supposed to be here” on the radio for the first time, can’t believe I’d never heard it before — any of her other stuff worth seeking out?

I was very offtm in this thread

the Hex Hector remix is the best!

i am not familiar with that much of deborah cox's work, seems she pivoted primarily toward the dancefloor diva angle after a while

along those lines i really quite enjoy, i kid you not, her version of phil collins's "something happened on the way to heaven" (the valentin remix specifically)

at her best she really knocks it out of the park vocally

a song i was not v familiar w/ the last time this thread was active that i now love is "twisted"

how did
YOU
get in

nobody supposed to be here

you'll be pleased then to visit literally any gay dance club some time