Top songs of 1996

What was the number one song of 1996?

The number one song of 1996 was “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los del Río, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1996. It spent 14 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated August 3, 1996.

“Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los del Río was number one for the most weeks of 1996: 14 of the year's 52 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated August 3, 1996.

Born in 1996? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1996, year-end Hot 100 of 1996).

How many songs reached number one in 1996?

8 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1996. Counting “One Sweet Day”, which was already at number one when the year began, 9 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1996, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los del Río stayed there longest: 14 weeks in total, from the chart dated August 3, 1996.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1996. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1996?

2 acts had more than one number one in 1996, counting lead and featured credits. Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton had 2 each.

• Mariah Carey: “One Sweet Day” and “Always Be My Baby”
• Toni Braxton: “You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow” and “Un-Break My Heart”

What were the biggest songs of 1996?

The five biggest songs of 1996 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los del Río, “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion, “Nobody Knows” by The Tony Rich Project and “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Wonder” Natalie Merchant
32. “Not Gon' Cry” Mary J. Blige
33. “Gangsta's Paradise” Coolio featuring L.V.
34. “Only You” 112 featuring The Notorious B.I.G.
35. “Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)” R. Kelly featuring Ronald Isley
36. “You're the One” SWV
37. “Sweet Dreams” La Bouche
38. “Before You Walk Out of My Life / Like This and Like That” Monica
39. “Breakfast at Tiffany's” Deep Blue Something
40. “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)” Coolio
41. “The World I Know” Collective Soul
42. “No Diggity” Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre
43. “Anything” 3T
44. “1979” The Smashing Pumpkins
45. “Diggin' on You” TLC
46. “Why I Love You So Much / Ain't Nobody” Monica
47. “Kissin' You” Total
48. “Count on Me” Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans
49. “Fantasy” Mariah Carey
50. “Time” Hootie & the Blowfish
51. “You'll See” Madonna
52. “Last Night” Az Yet
53. “Mouth” Merril Bainbridge
54. “The Earth, the Sun, the Rain” Color Me Badd
55. “All the Things (Your Man Won't Do)” Joe
56. “Wonderwall” Oasis
57. “Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check / Everything Remains Raw” Busta Rhymes
58. “Tell Me” Groove Theory
59. “Elevators (Me & You)” Outkast
60. “Hook” Blues Traveler
61. “Doin' It” LL Cool J
62. “Fastlove” George Michael
63. “Touch Me, Tease Me” Case featuring Foxy Brown
64. “Tonite's tha Night” Kris Kross
65. “Children” Robert Miles
66. “Theme from Mission: Impossible” Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen
67. “Closer to Free” BoDeans
68. “Just a Girl” No Doubt
69. “If Your Girl Only Knew” Aaliyah
70. “Lady” D'Angelo
71. “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)” John Mellencamp
72. “Pony” Ginuwine
73. “Nobody” Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
74. “Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)” Hootie & the Blowfish
75. “If It Makes You Happy” Sheryl Crow
76. “As I Lay Me Down” Sophie B. Hawkins
77. “Keep On, Keepin' On” MC Lyte featuring Xscape
78. “Jealousy” Natalie Merchant
79. “I Want to Come Over” Melissa Etheridge
80. “Who Do U Love” Deborah Cox
81. “Un-Break My Heart” Toni Braxton
82. “This Is Your Night” Amber
83. “You Remind Me of Something” R. Kelly
84. “Runaway” Janet Jackson
85. “Set U Free” Planet Soul
86. “Hit Me Off” New Edition
87. “No One Else” Total
88. “My Boo” Ghost Town DJ's
89. “Get Money” Junior M.A.F.I.A. featuring The Notorious B.I.G.
90. “That Girl” Maxi Priest featuring Shaggy
91. “Po Pimp” Do or Die featuring Twista
92. “Until It Sleeps” Metallica
93. “Hay” Crucial Conflict
94. “Beautiful Life” Ace of Base
95. “Back for Good” Take That
96. “I Got Id / Long Road” Pearl Jam
97. “Soon as I Get Home” Faith Evans
98. “Macarena” Los del Río
99. “Only Wanna Be with You” Hootie & the Blowfish
100. “Don't Cry” Seal

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1996, year-end Hot 100 of 1996).

What songs should go on a 1996 mix CD?

A 1996 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 17 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Nobody Knows” by The Tony Rich Project and closing with “Change the World” by Eric Clapton, for 77:13 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1996, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 77:47, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1996 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1996 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1990s?

Popular music in the 1990s was shaped by R&B, hip-hop, pop ballads and alternative rock, and by changes in how the Hot 100 was counted. The chart dated November 30, 1991 was the first Hot 100 compiled with Nielsen SoundScan sales data, and from the chart dated December 5, 1998, songs that were never released as a commercial single could chart.

From 1990 to 1999, 140 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 11 songs stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 140, “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men spent the most weeks at number one: 16 in total. Mariah Carey had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 14. The typical number one of these years ran 4:24 (the median of the 121 with a known length).