# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1991 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998 "2014-10-30T13:13:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/61 "2014-10-31T00:52:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Gonna have to go with that Extreme song - 59mm views is simply amazing for a 23 year-old song. Are there any similarly-aged tracks/videos that are that popular on YouTube? [November Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbUC-UaAxE&index=82&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC) has 239 million (although a year younger than the Extreme song.) [Thriller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC&index=171) has 201 million. [Smells Like Teen Spirit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC&index=194) has 191 million. [Zombie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC&index=237) by the Cranberries has 161 million (!) (Love the song, but surprised.) [Don’t Cry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRIbf6JqkNc&index=365&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC) has 134.5 million (that’s two Guns ‘n’ Roses songs in this list.) [Sweet Chile o’ Mine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7OgIMMRc4&index=373&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC) has almost 132 millions. Kind of an interesting perusal. I like GnR, but I’m surprised they are doing that well. And where did all the hits from the Cranberries song come from? (I was working off [this link](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC) to compile that list.) ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/62 "2014-10-31T05:26:38Z")
“Rush Rush” is also one of Paula Abdul’s strongest songs. Mariah Carey should get love because she will be a constant feature for the 10 polls till about 2000. Just letting you all know. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/63 "2014-10-31T05:38:07Z")
Doesn’t she have the record for #1s now? ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/64 "2014-10-31T09:19:08Z")
Wow, I had great memories of the early 90s (first girlfriend and all that) but romance must have made me deaf to whatever was on the radio. Otherwise, I’d have had mixed feelings about that era. I thought I was not going to be able to pick a good song here, let alone the “best” one until I saw **EMF** ’s _Unbelievable_. It was the first song that convinced me that a cool guitar riff could successfully be paired with dance beats and sampling. It’s held up well actually. **Extreme** ’s _More Than Words_ would have been my first choice without _Unbelievable_ but only because the competition is incredibly weak. It’s a nice ballad but that’s it. **Londonbeat** ’s _I’ve Been Thinking About You_ is the last song on the list that I can tolerate. It’s a fun, little song. The rest is a huge bag of meh. **P.M. Dawn** ’s _Set Adrift on Memory Bliss_ deserves a special mention because, while _True_ was snore-inducing, this was an anesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/65 "2014-10-31T10:31:35Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > P.M. Dawn - “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” - Remember when black men could wear neon blue and purple and rap to the backing track of “True”… and be considered cool? Ladies and gentlemen, the Early 1990s! My sisters and I keep telling my niece and nephews that the early 90s were, like Camelot, a silly place. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/66 "2014-10-31T13:40:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Zombie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts&list=PLirAqAtl_h2r5g8xGajEwdXd3x1sZh8hC&index=237) by the Cranberries has 161 million (!) (Love the song, but surprised.) Based on what I’ve seen over the years, it’s the million and one local bands with girl lead singers watching the video over and over again so they could learn the song for their shows. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/67 "2014-10-31T22:52:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Doesn’t she have the record for #1s now? For a solo artist yes, with 18 #1 singles. The Beatles have the most with 20. Mariah Carey does hold the record for most consecutive years of #1 singles, having at least one #1 single every year from 1990-2000. This broke the record by the Beatles who had at least one #1 single from 1964-1970. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/68 "2014-10-31T22:56:43Z")
Londonbeat - “I’ve Been Thinking About You.” No question. I love that song! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Bvrym1NXXjc/maxresdefault.jpg "Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You (Official Video) 1080p") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvrym1NXXjc) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/69 "2014-10-31T23:01:30Z")
[quote=“Elendil\_s\_Heir, post:68, topic:702998”] Londonbeat - “I’ve Been Thinking About You.” No question. I love that song! [/QUOTE] Great song. I never know who it was until now (I kinda knew it wasn’t quite Fine Young Cannibals, but almost). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/70 "2014-10-31T23:14:48Z")
I like the cut of your jib, **JKellyMap**! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/71 "2014-10-31T23:27:02Z")
EMF - Unbelievable I had the cassingle back in the day and would blast it in my car over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/72 "2014-10-31T23:30:44Z")
The EMF song features Andrew Dice Clay who in the not so background says “What F\*&$ was that”? It is done in a way that that no realized so it was never censored for radio. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/73 "2014-11-01T00:06:16Z")
Zac from EMF died very young. He was known for being able to capture fruit items with his foreskin. This is his obituary from the Daily Telegraph (serious newspaper, particularly when it comes to death notices), which mentions the aforesaid superpower. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1380899/Zac-Foley.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1380899/Zac-Foley.html) ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/74 "2014-11-01T00:12:12Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Zac from EMF died very young. He was known for being able to capture fruit items with his foreskin. > > This is his obituary from the Daily Telegraph (serious newspaper, particularly when it comes to death notices), which mentions the aforesaid superpower. > > [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1380899/Zac-Foley.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1380899/Zac-Foley.html) That is an amazing obituary: “. . . what some claimed was a grapefruit, and others a lime . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/75 "2014-11-01T00:25:30Z")
Ew! Ew ew ew. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998/76 "2014-11-04T00:09:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Our survey takes us now to 1991. This was the last year in which Billboard got its sales figures over the phone from record stores - in November, the company started getting data from Nielsen SoundScan, which used a marvelous new technology called “the Internet” to collect sales data directly from store POS terminals. As such, it’s the last year before this more accurate source of data causes the charts to contract and songs to have longer runs at #1. > > 27 songs made it to #1 this year. Too many. We know the record store managers were on some substances, but they were for the prior twenty years as well and they were not always all over the place like this. This is a huge mess of pieces a lot of which left me like “Huh, what?” “Who?” and “It made #1??”. That said, I’m joining in with the majority and going with _Unbelievable_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1991/702998.md?page=3)