# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1995 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000 "2014-11-07T17:54:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/1 "2014-11-07T17:54:43Z")
It’s that time again. The year is now 1995. With Boyz II Men carrying over in a non-consecutive run, we have 12 songs in this year’s poll, including the song with the longest run ever at the top of the Hot 100. What’s your favorite? Previous polls: [1955-56](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731649) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731871) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732021) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732199)[1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732526) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732691) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732872) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733112) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733297) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733526) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733750) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733958) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734168) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734331) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734535) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734741) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735107) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735304) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735502) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735659) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735871) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736076) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736316) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736501) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736957) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737099) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737315) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737488) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737732) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737957) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738178) [1988](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738403) [1989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738639) [1990](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738829) [1991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739067) [1992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739360) [1993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739525) [1994](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739880) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/2 "2014-11-07T17:59:24Z")
I see Gangsters Paradise is running away with it with 100% of all two votes, as it should. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/3 "2014-11-07T18:04:37Z")
Voted for Coolio, as it’s the only song I recognized, and it was jiggy. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/4 "2014-11-07T18:05:31Z")
TLC Waterfalls. It’s a catchy tune. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/5 "2014-11-07T18:14:05Z")
Sigh. Another abstain. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/6 "2014-11-07T18:16:47Z")
Ugh. Went with “Creep”, only because I somehow didn’t register Coolio on the list. Either way, neither of them really rises to the level of “classic”. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/7 "2014-11-07T18:19:42Z")
Madonna and Seal are OK songs (I put them on the car MP3), which is a huge step forward compared to the previous years. I went with Madonna. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/8 "2014-11-07T18:26:40Z")
Boy, this says a lot about my experiences with Michael Jackson: Circa 1985: played Thriller album until the cassette tape wore out. Bought another one. Wore it out too. Circa 1995: You Are Not Alone? I have absolutely no memory of this song, even when I looked it up on YouTube. Anyway, as far as what I did vote for: Seal wins it this year, by miles. I’m just surprised to hear that it’s a 1995 song. For some reason, I want to place it about ten years later, closer to 2005. I can actually appreciate Gangster’s Paradise to some extent. But rap just doesn’t resonate with me. For me, rap is a _performance art_, but not necessarily _music_, if that makes sense. That’s purely my cultural upbringing/personal taste, and not a judgment against anyone else. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/9 "2014-11-07T18:31:31Z")
For me, came down to Montell Jordan vs. Seal. Opted for Montell. Great song, distinctive voice. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/10 "2014-11-07T18:36:17Z")
Only remember two of them. “Kiss from a Rose” doesn’t actively make me cringe, but it was overplayed at the time and I don’t remember it fondly enough to vote for it. Consider that this is now 20 years ago. This stuff should be on the Rocking with the Oldies stations now. Not a lot of material to work with, is it? Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/11 "2014-11-07T18:42:08Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Only remember two of them. “Kiss from a Rose” doesn’t actively make me cringe, but it was overplayed at the time and I don’t remember it fondly enough to vote for it. > > Consider that this is now 20 years ago. This stuff should be on the Rocking with the Oldies stations now. Not a lot of material to work with, is it? Bleah. Just last week I saw a rock band in Seattle that specializes in covering TV theme songs and songs from classic movies, and for one song they had the bassist take the mic and cover Gangster’s Paradise. To the best of my recollection, it was the first time I had heard the song in about 18 years. (They _killed_ it, for the record.) So that’s what I ended up voting for. ---
**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 7, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/12 "2014-11-07T18:46:18Z")
I see the trend of crappy movie theme songs continues apace: Kiss from a Rose from Batman Forever Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman? from Don Juan de Marco Gangster’s Paradise from that Michelle Pfieffer inner-city kids movie Exhale from Waiting to Exhale This is the first year that nothing even nominally “modern” or “alternative” topped the charts. I’ll go for Montell Jordan. That is how I do it. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/13 "2014-11-07T18:47:36Z")
**Coolio w/ L.V.**. - \*Gangster’s Paradise \* First and probably last time that I vote for a rap song but that one was cool (thanks **Stevie** , though). ---
**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:** [November 7, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/14 "2014-11-07T19:30:21Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I’ll go for Montell Jordan. That is how I do it. I think you forgot to vote – or maybe voted for the wrong selection. Maybe you’re just kinda buzzed. 😉 ---
**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 7, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/15 "2014-11-07T19:35:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I think you forgot to vote – or maybe voted for the wrong selection. Maybe you’re just kinda buzzed. 😉 Oh, shit. I forgot to vote. We could have used you a couple days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/16 "2014-11-07T19:51:45Z")
As a Prince superfan, how can I, I say, how can I _not_ vote for one of the TLC tunes? The answer (SPOILER ALERT) is that I cannot _not_ cast a vote for TLC. But which song to vote for? “Creep” is a damn slinky, sexxxy (yes, the two extra X’s are necessary) fucking ditty. But ultimately, I went with “Waterfalls”, which harkens back to Prince at his absolute creative zenith (that would be ca. **Parade** , **Sign o’ the Times** , and **Lovesexy** , for those of you playing along at home). Other, nearly as worthy choices? Madonna and Seal. And that’s fucking IT. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/17 "2014-11-07T21:26:37Z")
You know how everybody says that Nirvana ushered in an entirely new era of music, and everything was different afterwards? This list begs to differ. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/18 "2014-11-07T21:37:55Z")
Not one of the better years, really. Maybe things are watered down because of the creation of a separate list for “alternative rock”. Now I remember why I listened to goth and grunge in the 90s… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/19 "2014-11-07T21:41:23Z")
“Gangster’s Paradise” gets the highest score by far in the world-famous **Ponch8 Music Rating System** , the definitive system for differentiating good music from bad. Michael Jackson’s “You are Not Alone” is one of his worst songs, but it’s still better than the rest of this shite. Boyz II Men’s two entries tie for dead-ass last place. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000/20 "2014-11-07T21:47:59Z")
For how many #1 songs they seem to have had, it’s odd no one seems to remember Boyz II Men existing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1995/704000.md?page=2)