Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 1998

Cafe Society
1

The year is now 1998. This is the first year in which album cuts were eligible for the Hot 100, and with a couple of carryovers from last year’s chart, we have 28 songs to choose from.

What’s your favorite?

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2

Jesus, how bad a year was it when I have to vote Tubthumping…

3

I don’t remember there ever being an easier decision in these polls for Best of the Rest. “Tubthumping” beats the living crap out of everything else on this list. I think “Tubthumping” is very good but not great, but the competition is appalling. “How’s It Gonna Be” finishes in a very distant second place in the world-famous Ponch8 Music Rating System.

In dead-ass last place is a tie between “This Kiss” and “I Don’t Want to Wait.” Those are two of the biggest fucking pieces of shit I’ve ever heard.

4

“Crush” is a gem of a pop song, so put one in Ms. Paige’s column for me.

5

I like Shania Twain, good looking woman who deserved the crossover success into mainstream. By the way Leann Rimes was already featured in last poll.

For voting it is down to Madonna, NSYNC or Five, last one will probably not get votes for it is forgotten.

One of my most obscure votes ever, “When The Lights Go Out” by Five.

Madonna got my vote in 1989 and NSYNC will most likely show up soon again.

6

I picked the same but for nefarious reasons. They were booked at a local small place and I got tickets ---- just before that song hit and hit big. Scalped the tickets to a couple bubble-gum poppers the day of the show for enough bucks to really make a difference in the family budget that month.

7

As a confirmed fan of the ebullient pop song, I am not ashamed to say that mine is the first - and likely only - vote for Faith Hill’s “This Kiss”.

Close second goes to Madge’s “Frozen”.

8

Adia is the beautiful rose in this wilderness.

9

Same here. Nice chord progression in the chorus.

Plus, I’d recently broken up with a long-term girlfiend and got my first job and my own flat at the time it came out so that song turned out to be the soundtrack to my first months as an independent adult.

You’re Still the One may be a little sappy but it’s fine song, too.

I also kind of like Usher’s You Make Me Wanna but the lyrics are unpleasant (for another great song with similarly repellent lyrics, see Montell Jordan’s Get It On Tonight).

10

Sex & Candy for me. I could also have gone with any of Chumbawamba, Robyn, Paula Cole or Jennifer Paige

11

I agree. While I like the Paula Cole and Faith Hill and even Chumbawamba options, they all pale in comparison to Sarah McLachlan’s glorious voice.

12

I’ll have some of that disco lemonade, thank you. “Sex and Candy” it is.

13

Can someone who voted for “Sex and Candy” explain to me why that’s even anywhere near the top song for that year? I remember hating this song when it came out. What kind of lyrics was that? What kind of melody is that?!? It seems to try to build up to something and then suddenly change course. You know that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he plays the xylophone and at the end he plays those 2 notes wrong, and Elmer Fudd’s like WTF you stupid rabbit, this is how you play it, and then he strikes the right notes and he blows up because of the dynamite? That’s how I feel about this song, its like the melody should be something but its not. Its not a song that “flows”, I don’t like its structure. Yet almost every year in these votes I see some strange, weird song that is almost the unanimous favorite out of most of you guys. I just can’t wrap my head around it.

14

“Believe Me if Those Endearing Young Charms” is the song if anyone’s interested. Or “Fair Harvard.” (Same melody.)

15

And that, dear friends, is SDMB in a nutshell.

16

Old gag. New twist.

17

You think you got it bad, this confirmed metalhead had to vote for Shania Twain.