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List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1990s

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When the 1990s began, Billboard magazine published two rock charts, Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks, and the two formats played a decidedly different set of artists with a few exceptions. Crossover between the two began to increase, however, with the rise and emergence of alternative rock such as grunge and a heavier sound that appealed to both genres. Mainstays on the Album Rock chart, such as Def Leppard, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Van Halen were being mixed in with alternative bands such as Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Stone Temple Pilots, to name a few, by the middle part of the decade. The progressive rock of Rush's "Show Don't Tell", the final song to top the chart in the 1980s, had evolved into the post-grunge sound of Creed's "Higher" by the end of the 1990s. Despite the evolution, Van Halen still managed to top the chart more than any other artist during the 1990s with eight number-one songs.

The 1990s brought a new methodology of measuring airplay on the Billboard charts, and its impact was shown in the Album Rock Tracks chart. Songs stayed on the chart for a long time and fewer songs made it on the chart. Ten songs had runs at number one of ten weeks or longer during the 1990s, with the longest coming from "Touch, Peel and Stand" by Days of the New at 16 weeks. ("Higher" by Creed spent 17 weeks at the top of the chart but its last couple of weeks ran into the year 2000).

By 1996, rock radio stations had become more song-driven rather than album-driven. In response, Billboard changed the name of its Album Rock Tracks chart to Mainstream Rock Tracks in April of that year.

Number ones of the 1990s

Contents

 †  – Number-one song of the year

Issue date Song Artist(s) Weeks at
number one 		Ref.
1990
January 6 "Show Don't Tell" Rush 1
January 13 "Downtown Train" Rod Stewart 2
January 27 "Bad Love" Eric Clapton 3
February 17 "Black Velvet" Alannah Myles 1
February 24 "What It Takes"† Aerosmith 1
March 3 "Black Velvet" Alannah Myles 1
March 10 "Almost Hear You Sigh" The Rolling Stones 1
March 17 "Blue Sky Mine" Midnight Oil 1
March 24 "Hurting Kind" Robert Plant 6
May 5 "Coming of Age" Damn Yankees 1
May 12 "Texas Twister" Little Feat 1
May 19 "Doubleback" ZZ Top 5
June 23 "Cradle of Love" Billy Idol 2
July 7 "Holy Water" Bad Company 2
July 21 "Across the River" Bruce Hornsby and the Range 1
July 28 "The Other Side" Aerosmith 2
August 11 "Good Clean Fun" Allman Brothers Band 1
August 18 "Brickyard Road" Johnny Van Zant 3
September 8 "Blaze of Glory" Jon Bon Jovi 1
September 15 "Suicide Blonde" INXS 4
October 13 "Concrete and Steel" ZZ Top 4
November 10 "Hard to Handle" The Black Crowes 2
November 24 "One and Only Man" Steve Winwood 2
December 8 "My Head's in Mississippi" ZZ Top 6
1991
January 19 "All This Time" Sting 7
March 9 "She Talks to Angels" The Black Crowes 1
March 16 "Highwire" The Rolling Stones 3
April 6 "Silent Lucidity"† Queensrÿche 1
April 13 "Losing My Religion" R.E.M. 3
May 4 "Lift Me Up" Yes 6
June 15 "Poundcake" Van Halen 2
June 29 "Learning to Fly" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 6
August 10 "Runaround" Van Halen 4
September 7 "Out in the Cold" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 2
September 21 "Dreamline" Rush 4
October 19 "Get a Leg Up" John Mellencamp 1
October 26 "Top of the World" Van Halen 3
November 16 "Get a Leg Up" John Mellencamp 1
November 23 "Top of the World" Van Halen 1
November 30 "Get a Leg Up" John Mellencamp 1
December 7 "Heavy Fuel" Dire Straits 1
December 14 "Mysterious Ways"† (1992) U2 12
1992
March 7 "Again Tonight" John Mellencamp 2
March 21 "Human Touch" Bruce Springsteen 3
April 11 "Let's Get Rocked" Def Leppard 1
April 18 "One" U2 2
May 2 "Remedy" The Black Crowes 11
July 18 "Sting Me" The Black Crowes 2
August 1 "Even Better Than the Real Thing" U2 3
August 22 "Thorn in My Pride" The Black Crowes 4
September 19 "How About That" Bad Company 6
October 31 "Digging in the Dirt" Peter Gabriel 1
November 7 "Rest in Peace" Extreme 2
November 21 "Keep the Faith" Bon Jovi 1
November 28 "Hotel Illness" The Black Crowes 6
1993
January 9 "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" Def Leppard 5
February 13 "Don't Tear Me Up" Mick Jagger 1
February 20 "Won't Get Fooled Again" Van Halen 1
February 27 "Pride and Joy" Coverdale and Page 6
April 10 "Livin' on the Edge" Aerosmith 9
June 12 "Are You Gonna Go My Way" Lenny Kravitz 2
June 26 "Plush"† Stone Temple Pilots 1
July 3 "Big Gun" AC/DC 2
July 17 "Cryin'" Aerosmith 6
August 28 "What If I Came Knocking" John Mellencamp 2
September 11 "Peace Pipe" Cry of Love 4
October 9 "No Rain" Blind Melon 2
October 23 "Stick It Out" Rush 4
November 20 "Mary Jane's Last Dance" Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 2
December 4 "Daughter" Pearl Jam 8
1994
January 29 "Pincushion" ZZ Top 4
February 26 "Deuces Are Wild" Aerosmith 4
March 26 "No Excuses" Alice in Chains 2
April 9 "Keep Talking" Pink Floyd 6
May 21 "Shine"† Collective Soul 8
July 16 "Black Hole Sun" Soundgarden 7
September 3 "Vasoline" Stone Temple Pilots 2
September 17 "Interstate Love Song" Stone Temple Pilots 15
December 31 "You Don't Know How It Feels" Tom Petty 1
1995
January 7 "Better Man" Pearl Jam 2
January 21 "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)" Van Halen 3
February 11 "Better Man" Pearl Jam 6
March 25 "Lightning Crashes" Live 10
June 3 "December"† Collective Soul 9
August 5 "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" U2 1
August 12 "And Fools Shine On" Brother Cane 6
September 23 "Tomorrow" Silverchair 3
October 14 "Hard as a Rock" AC/DC 3
November 4 "Name" Goo Goo Dolls 5
December 9 "My Friends" Red Hot Chili Peppers 4
1996
January 6 "Cumbersome" Seven Mary Three 4
February 3 "The World I Know" Collective Soul 4
March 2 "1979" The Smashing Pumpkins 2
March 16 "Santa Monica" Everclear 3
April 6 "In the Meantime" Spacehog 4
May 4 "Big Bang Baby" Stone Temple Pilots 1
May 11 "Where the River Flows" Collective Soul 2
May 25 "Humans Being" Van Halen 2
June 8 "Until It Sleeps" Metallica 7
July 27 "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" Stone Temple Pilots 1
August 3 "Until It Sleeps" Metallica 1
August 10 "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" Stone Temple Pilots 3
August 31 "Burden in My Hand" Soundgarden 5
October 5 "Test for Echo" Rush 3
October 26 "Me Wise Magic" Van Halen 6
December 7 "Hero of the Day" Metallica 3
December 28 "Blow Up the Outside World" Soundgarden 3
1997
January 18 "Lady Picture Show" Stone Temple Pilots 1
January 25 "Blow Up the Outside World" Soundgarden 1
February 1 "One Headlight" The Wallflowers 5
March 8 "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" Aerosmith 5
April 12 "Precious Declaration" Collective Soul 4
May 10 "Gone Away" The Offspring 2
May 24 "Little White Lie" Sammy Hagar 5
June 28 "If You Could Only See"† Tonic 5
August 2 "Listen" Collective Soul 5
September 6 "Pink" Aerosmith 4
October 4 "Touch, Peel and Stand" Days of the New 16
1998
January 24 "Given to Fly" Pearl Jam 6
March 7 "Without You" Van Halen 6
April 18 "Blue on Black"† Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 3
May 9 "Most High" Jimmy Page & Robert Plant 2
May 23 "Blue on Black"† Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2
June 6 "I Lie in the Bed I Make" Brother Cane 4
July 4 "Blue on Black"† Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 1
July 11 "The Down Town" Days of the New 10
September 19 "What's This Life For" Creed 6
October 31 "Psycho Circus" Kiss 1
November 7 "Fly Away" Lenny Kravitz 3
November 28 "Turn the Page" Metallica 11
1999
February 13 "What It's Like" Everlast 1
February 20 "Heavy" Collective Soul 15
June 5 "Lit Up" Buckcherry 3
June 26 "Promises" Def Leppard 3
July 17 "Scar Tissue" Red Hot Chili Peppers 10
September 25 "Higher" Creed 14

Notes

  1. The Mainstream Rock Tracks year-end number-one song of 1996 was "Counting Blue Cars" by Dishwalla, while the number-one song of 1999 was "One" by Creed.
  2. Weeks spent at number one in this decade

References

  1. "Album Rock Chart Changes". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 26. June 27, 1992. p. 67.
  2. "Name Changed on Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 15. April 13, 1996. p. 6.
  3. "The Year in Music – Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. December 28, 1996. p. YE-76.
  4. "The Year in Music 1999 – Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. YE-90.
  5. "Show Don't Tell" January 6, 1990:
  6. "Downtown Train" January 13–20, 1990:
  7. "Bad Love" January 27 – February 10, 1990:
  8. ^ "Black Velvet" February 17 & March 3, 1990:
  9. "The Year in Music 1990 – Top Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 51. December 22, 1990. p. YE-47.
  10. "What It Takes" February 24, 1990:
  11. "Almost Hear You Sigh" March 10, 1990:
  12. "Blue Sky Mine" March 17, 1990:
  13. "Hurting Kind" March 24 – April 28, 1990:
  14. "Coming of Age" May 5, 1990:
  15. "Texas Twister" May 12, 1990:
  16. "Doubleback" May 19 – June 16, 1990:
  17. "Cradle of Love" June 23–30, 1990:
  18. "Holy Water" July 7–14, 1990:
  19. "Across the River" July 21, 1990:
  20. "The Other Side" July 28 – August 4, 1990:
  21. "Good Clean Fun" August 11, 1990:
  22. "Brickyard Road" August 18 – September 1, 1990:
  23. "Blaze of Glory" September 8, 1990:
  24. "Suicide Blonde" September 15 – October 6, 1990:
  25. "Concrete and Steel" October 13 – November 3, 1990:
  26. "Hard to Handle" November 10–17, 1990:
  27. "One and Only Man" November 24 – December 1, 1990:
  28. "My Head's in Mississippi" December 8, 1990 – January 12, 1991:
  29. "All This Time" January 19, 1991 – March 2, 1991:
  30. "She Talks to Angels" March 9, 1991:
  31. "Highwire" March 16–30, 1991:
  32. "The Year in Music 1991 – Top Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-41.
  33. "Silent Lucidity" April 6, 1991:
  34. "Losing My Religion" April 13–27, 1991:
  35. "Lift Me Up" May 4 – June 8, 1991:
  36. "Poundcake" June 15–22, 1991:
  37. "Learning to Fly" June 29 – August 3, 1991:
  38. "Runaround" August 10–31, 1991:
  39. "Out in the Cold" September 7–14, 1991:
  40. "Dreamline" September 21 – October 12, 1991:
  41. ^ "Get a Leg Up" October 19, November 16 & 30, 1991:
  42. ^ "Top of the World" October 26 – November 9, November 23, 1991:
  43. "Heavy Fuel" December 7, 1991:
  44. "The Year in Music – Top Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 52. December 26, 1992. p. YE-42.
  45. "Mysterious Ways" December 14, 1991 – February 29, 1992:
  46. "Again Tonight" March 7–14, 1992:
  47. "Human Touch" March 21 – April 4, 1992:
  48. "Let's Get Rocked" April 11, 1992:
  49. "One" April 18–25, 1992:
  50. "Remedy" May 2 – July 11, 1992:
  51. "Sting Me" July 18–25, 1992:
  52. "Even Better Than the Real Thing" August 1–15, 1992:
  53. "Thorn in My Pride" August 22 – September 12, 1992:
  54. "How About That" September 19 – October 24, 1992:
  55. "Digging in the Dirt" October 31, 1992:
  56. "Rest in Peace" November 7–14, 1992:
  57. "Keep the Faith" November 7–14, 1992:
  58. "Hotel Illness" November 28, 1992 – January 2, 1993:
  59. "Stand Up" January 9 – February 6, 1993:
  60. "Don't Tear Me Up" February 13, 1993:
  61. "Won't Get Fooled Again" February 20, 1993:
  62. "Pride and Joy" February 27 – April 3, 1993:
  63. "Livin' on the Edge" April 10 – June 5, 1993:
  64. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" June 12–19, 1993:
  65. "The Year in Music – Top Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 52. December 25, 1993. p. YE-39.
  66. "Plush" June 26, 1993:
  67. "Big Gun" July 3–10, 1993:
  68. "Cryin'" July 17 – August 21, 1993:
  69. "What If I Came Knocking" August 28 – September 4, 1993:
  70. "Peace Pipe" September 11 – October 2, 1993:
  71. "No Rain" October 9–16, 1993:
  72. "Stick It Out" October 23 – November 13, 1993:
  73. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" November 20–27, 1993:
  74. "Daughter" December 4, 1993 – January 22, 1994:
  75. "Pincushion" January 29 – February 19, 1994:
  76. "Deuces Are Wild" February 26 – March 19, 1994:
  77. "No Excuses" March 26 – April 2, 1994:
  78. "Keep Talking" April 9 – May 14, 1994:
  79. "The Year in Music 1994 – Hot Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-62. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  80. "Shine" May 21 – July 9, 1994:
  81. "Black Hole Sun" July 16 – August 27, 1994:
  82. "Vasoline" September 3–10, 1994:
  83. "Interstate Love Song" September 17 – December 24, 1994:
  84. "You Don't Know How It Feels" December 31, 1994:
  85. ^ "Better Man" January 7–14, February 11 – March 18, 1995:
  86. "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)" January 21 – February 4, 1995:
  87. "Lightning Crashes" March 25 – May 27, 1995:
  88. "The Year in Music – Hot Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-76.
  89. "December" June 3 – July 29, 1995:
  90. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" August 5, 1995:
  91. "And Fools Shine On" August 12 – September 16, 1995:
  92. "Tomorrow" September 23 – October 7, 1995:
  93. "Hard as a Rock" October 14–28, 1995:
  94. "Name" November 4 – December 2, 1995:
  95. "My Friends" December 9–30, 1995:
  96. "Cumbersome" January 6–27, 1996:
  97. "The World I Know" February 3–24, 1996:
  98. "1979" March 2–9, 1996:
  99. "Santa Monica" March 16–30, 1996:
  100. "In the Meantime" April 6–27, 1996:
  101. "Big Bang Baby" May 4, 1996:
  102. "Where the River Flows" May 11–18, 1996:
  103. "Humans Being" May 25 – June 1, 1996:
  104. ^ "Until It Sleeps" June 8 – July 20, August 3, 1996:
  105. ^ "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" July 27, August 10–24, 1996:
  106. "Burden in My Hand" August 31 – September 28, 1996:
  107. "Test for Echo" October 5–19, 1996:
  108. "Me Wise Magic" October 26 – November 30, 1996:
  109. "Hero of the Day" December 7–21, 1996:
  110. ^ "Blow Up the Outside World" December 28, 1996 – January 11, January 25, 1997:
  111. "Lady Picture Show" January 18, 1997:
  112. "One Headlight" February 1 – March 1, 1997:
  113. "Falling in Love" March 8 – April 5, 1997:
  114. "Precious Declaration" April 12 – May 3, 1997:
  115. "Gone Away" May 10–17, 1997:
  116. "Little White Lie" May 24 – June 21, 1997:
  117. "The Year in Music 1997 – Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. December 27, 1997. p. YE-73.
  118. "If You Could Only See" June 28 – July 25, 1997:
  119. "Listen" August 2–30, 1997:
  120. "Pink" September 6–27, 1997:
  121. "Touch, Peel and Stand" October 4, 1997 – January 17, 1998:
  122. "Given to Fly" January 24 – February 28, 1998:
  123. "Without You" March 7 – April 11, 1998:
  124. "The Year in Music 1998 – Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-84.
  125. ^ "Blue on Black" April 18 – May 2, May 23–30, July 4, 1998:
  126. "Most High" May 9–16, 1998:
  127. "I Lie in the Bed I Make" June 6–27, 1998:
  128. "The Down Town" July 11 – September 16, 1998:
  129. "What's This Life For" September 19 – October 24, 1998:
  130. "Psycho Circus" October 31, 1998:
  131. "Fly Away" November 7–21, 1998:
  132. "Turn the Page" November 28, 1998 – February 6, 1999:
  133. "What It's Like" February 13, 1999:
  134. "Heavy" February 20 – May 29, 1999:
  135. "Lit Up" June 5–19, 1999:
  136. "Promises" June 26 – July 10, 1999:
  137. "Scar Tissue" July 17 – September 18, 1999:
  138. "Higher" September 25 – December 25, 1999:
Lists of number ones on Billboard rock charts
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
Alternative Airplay
Mainstream Rock Airplay
Adult Alternative Airplay
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