Top 15 Best Hit Songs of 1992: Part 2

Best Hit Songs of 1992

Part 2: Top 15 Best Hit Songs of 1992

Alright, after listing the “worst” songs of the year and the many, many Honorable Mentions for the best list, I think it’s time we get to the Top 15 Best Hit Songs of 1992. As I mentioned last time, 1992 was a great year for popular music, ending up with a score of 373/495, or 75.3%, blowing the previous high score set by 2010 (61.6%) out of the water. Considering that 2001 only got a 60.4%, the dropoff in Pop Music’s overall quality (I.E. when the bad stuff got much worse) likely occurred later on in the 90s, but I’ll have to look at that later. Anyways, I think it’s time that we get on with the list, so without further ado, here are the Top 15 Best Hit Songs of 1992!

#15: Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough by Patty Smyth and Don Henley (Peak: #2, Year-End: #22)

Starting off the list, we have a duet between Patty Smyth, most known for her work with Scandal, who had a Top 10 hit in 1984 with The Warrior and Don Henley, famous for being one of the two frontmen for The Eagles, including on Hotel California. The instrumentation is pretty standard Rock ballad stuff, but that ain’t such a bad thing. What really put this song over the hump to make it on to the list proper, however, are the lyrics about the struggles that come from trying to keep a relationship going over time when you and your partner end up changing so much as people. I think it’s beneficial that a song with this subject was performed by people with more years under their belt than your typical popstar (Patty Smyth was 35 and Don Henley was 45 when the song came out). Say what you will about Boomers, but you can’t deny that they made some dang good music. Hey, speaking of veteran acts making great songs…

#14: I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt (Peak: #18, Year-End: #100)

It’s rare for an artist to peak in commercial success in their 40s, but that was exactly the case with Bonnie Raitt. After years of critical acclaim, she achieved mainstream success in the Early 90s, notably with Something To Talk About, a Top 5 hit from the previous year. However, I Can’t Make You Love Me clicked for me for being a wonderfully minimalist piano ballad about how she’s willing to let her relationship go, since it’s clear that it’s not going to work out. Bonnie’s performance is restrained and yet incredibly heartfelt at the same time. As with the last entry on this list, I’d argue that her age helped the song out, as I don’t think it would’ve had the same power if a younger and flashier artist had performed it. Also, this is the second best list in a row where the Year-End #100 made it, so that’s interesting. The next entry, however, was a little… bigger.

#13: To Be With You by Mr. Big (Peak: #1, Year-End: #12)

Jokes aside, this is one of the most adorable songs ever made. This is famous for being the last song by a Hair Metal band to go to #1, although it’s much less Hair Metal than it is a charming Soft Rock ballad. Frontman Eric Martin wrote it when he was a teenager about one of his sister’s friends and waited well over a decade to put the song out, but it all paid off in the end. It’s got a perfect singalong chorus and a vibe of jamming around the campfire, so I can definitely see why it was a #1 hit, even if it’s genre was cratering. Sure, it’s total cheese, but dang it, just let me have this one.

#12: Real Love by Mary J. Blige (Peak: #7, Year-End: #85)

See, I don’t dislike Mary J. Blige, even if I’m not a fan of her biggest hit. In contrast to the made-up words of Family Affair, this, her first hit, is quite a bit… realer (pun 100% intended). Real Love is simply about her desire to find a lover who’s right for her after a failed relationship. She’s not found what she’s been looking for, and even though she has some doubts that it’ll ever come, she’s still gonna keep on searching. While the production is clearly of it’s time, that’s not a bad thing in this case, and Mary’s voice is fantastic. It’s one of the most wonderfully simple songs of the entire year, and there’s nothing else that I can say.

#11: All I Want by Toad The Wet Sprocket (Peak: #15, Year-End: #53)

Huh, looks like the 80s weren’t the only decade with stupid band names. However, as bands like Dexy’s Midnight Runners and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark have shown, a stupid band name does not mean that the music is going to be bad, and that is definitely the case with Toad The Wet Sprocket. Alternative Rock had been on the rise for a good few years by this point, and 1992 is the year where it became Rock’s premier genre, and while grunge may get the credit, this R.E.M.-y Jangle Pop is my preferred type of Alt-Rock. This is a rather simple song about not feeling the same way about his partner that she feels for him, even though he really wants to (at least that’s what I got from the song’s Genius page, the lyrics are pretty vague). Really though, it’s just on the list because it sounds great, and these lists are determined solely by how much my ears enjoy the music, so that’s all I really need to say about it, it’s just a really good song.

#10: Tell Me What You Want Me To Do by Tevin Campbell (Peak: #6, Year-End: #35)

Ooh, this could get me in some hot water. This was on Nerd With An Afro’s worst list for this year, and it’s not like I don’t understand why. Yes, the production is dated as all heck. Yes, the lyrics are as sappy as a maple tree. Yes, Tevin Campbell is clearly trying to be Off The Wall era Michael Jackson in his delivery, and yes, I have no idea how he hit that Mariah Carey-esque high note. However, I’m a sucker for that type of Late 80s-Early 90s R&B production, dated as it is. Sappy lyrics don’t get to me nearly as much as it does for other people. Off The Wall just happens to be my favorite era of Michael Jackson, and yes, I was blown away by the high note, and it’s the main reason it made it onto this list. TL;DR: One man’s trash is another’s hidden gem. Hey, you know how I mentioned Mariah Carey a few sentences ago? Well...

#9: Can’t Let Go by Mariah Carey (Peak: #2, Year-End: #23)

Mariah Carey is an incredible singer, and if you disagree, then well… we’ll have to beg to differ. Now, I’m no Mimi stan (Loverboy was a Dishonorable Mention on my Worst of 2001 list, after all), and on the whole I prefer Whitney Houston, but that doesn’t mean that Mariah isn’t one of the most impressive vocalists ever to hit the pop scene. Can’t Let Got has the perfect balance of restraint and belting, and the lowkey instrumentation is just as flawless, and has held up much better than the previous song. The lyrics are about as basic post-breakup lyrics as you can get, but when the one behind the mic is Mariah Carey in her prime, that’s no issue at all (and beside, I did just say that basic, cliched lyrics don’t bother me). Mariah, more of this and less of songs like Loverboy and Obsessed, OK?

#8: Friday I’m In Love by The Cure (Peak: #18, Year-End: #71)

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is The Cure to all unhappiness… sorry. Ironic, considering that The Cure are most known as a Goth Rock band, and Goth is about the furthest thing from happiness in the universe. However, The Cure saw an explosion of success in the Late 80s and Early 90s, and moved in a more mainstream direction in order to capitalize on it, before the Rock scene moved in a much more downbeat and angsty direction right around the time this song hit it big. To give a quick summary of this song, the narrator doesn’t care if the work week blew, because he can always look forward to Friday, the day that begins the three day reprieve where one can do whatever they want. Even in troubling times such as these (check out the date this was posted in case you’re reading from the future), this song never fails to put a smile (or at least a positive expression) on my face, and really, what more can you ask from a pop song?

#7: I Will Remember You by Amy Grant (Peak: #20, Year-End: #96)

Ooh, here’s another hot take! Amy Grant was a Contemporary Christian singer who saw big time crossover success in the Early 90s, and I liked all three of her songs on the 1992 Year-End List. However, it was her most minor hit of the year, I Will Remember You that clicked for me the most. Sure, a lot of the production is quite dated (although I do like the electric guitar touches), but it still works for me. Amy Grant, while not the most technically impressive singer, pulls off a great performance. 

It’s the lyrics, though, that put it so high on this list. I’m a sucker for songs about reflection on one’s past (see my Best of 2017 list for the biggest example of that), and this hits it to a tee, as she reflects on her long gone relationship and all the great times they had together. She doesn’t hold any bitterness towards this guy (not saying that songs about post-breakup bitterness can’t work, they can), but rather a sense of nostalgia. While she wishes that it could come back and still has feelings for him, she’s accepted that it’s over, and has moved on.

With that being said, I might just prefer Skid Row’s version of this song.

#6: Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton (Peak: #2, Year-End: #6)

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure that I can even talk about this one. I don’t know how to approach something with such a heavy subject matter, but I’ll try anyway, here goes nothing…

In August of 1990, Clapton’s friend and fellow guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter accident. Nine months later, his son Conor died from falling out of a window from 53 stories up. Clapton wrote the song with songwriter Will Jennings (who wrote songs like Up Where We Belong, Higher Love and My Heart Will Go On) both for the 1991 film Rush and as a tribute to the previously mentioned friend and son. Or, in other words, let me quote from Diamond Axe Studios’ Best of 1992 list:

“The first time I listened to this, I was gonna make it a Dishonorable Mention because of how much Eric Clapton sounds like a dying dog on this song. Then I looked up the reason that Clapton wrote this song. I listened to it again, and by the end of the song I had tears in my eyes. It’s too depressing and context dependent to make the list proper, but… damn this song can make you feel things.”

Now, I knew about the context before listening to the song for this list, but even if I hadn’t, I still would’ve thought it was a sweet song. However, the context really does add a lot to it. R.I.P. Conor Clapton, 1986-1991.

#5: Mysterious Ways/One by U2 (Peak: #9/#10, Year-End: #57/#60)

Yup, this is the second list in a row where U2 has ended up in my Top 5. Beautiful Day topped my Best of 2001 list (although Austin was admittedly very close to nabbing the top spot, seriously that song is amazing). While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a fan (Bono is one of the most pretentious celebrities out there, and that’s saying something), U2 has made more than their share of fantastic songs, and they sure delivered in 1992. 

Let’s start with Mysterious Ways, the (slightly) bigger of their two hits this year. I’ll get the obvious out of the way first: the bassline is awesome. Apparently bassist Adam Clayton was just jamming out and came up with this bassline that gives Superstition by Stevie Wonder a run for its money in terms of funkiness. According to the song’s Lyrics Genius page, the lyrics describe a man who doesn’t understand how love works, but really, when the groove is this strong, not a whole lot else matters. 

Next, we get to their other hit in 1992, One. This is frequently listed as one of the greatest songs of all time, and while I wouldn’t go that far, it’s a damn good song nonetheless. Unlike Mysterious Ways, whose main focus is on the bassline, this song’s acclaim comes from the lyrics, which are stuffed with Biblical references and have been interpreted in a wide variety of ways. On the surface, though, the lyrics appear to be about not seeing eye to eye and wishing to live as one even with the differences. I really don’t have a whole lot to say about it that hasn’t been said already, so let’s move on to the parting shot of a dying genre.

#4: When I Look Into Your Eyes by Firehouse (Peak: #8, Year-End: #82)

So, here it is everyone. The final Hair Metal hit. Press F to pay respects if you want to. Still, it’s the perfect swan song to one of the biggest genres of the previous decade. I may have said this at some point, but in case I haven’t, Hair Metal ballads are among my biggest guilty pleasures, and yeah, it’s all here on this one. The explosive, lighters-in-the-air chorus, the harmonies in the background, the guitar solo and the frickin’ key change at the end scream 80s Power Ballad cliché in the best way possible. I have no idea how it was a Top 10 hit in the Fall of 1992, a full year after Nirvana broke through, but hey, nothing changes overnight, so this must’ve gotten in right before the window permanently closed. Either way, it’s just my type of cheese, and I expect to cover a lot of these types of songs when I eventually get around to the Late 80s. Now, for an act and genre that had a bit more staying power in the 90s…

#3: End Of The Road/It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday by Boyz II Men (Peak: #1/#2, Year-End: #1/#37)

Boyz II Men were absolutely gigantic during the 90s, scoring five #1 Hits, three of which spent over 10 weeks at #1. 

End Of The Road was, ironically considering the title, their first number one, breaking the record for longest run at #1, clocking in at 13 weeks (the record is now 19 weeks as of the time I’m writing this). It’s a fairly standard breakup song, with the guys lamenting how their girl left them, and how they’ll do anything to get her back, even though any effort will likely be futile (gosh, it’s awkward to talk about four dudes singing about one girl). However, the guys perform it exceptionally well, with the solo parts on the verses all coming together for that fantastic harmonized chorus. Seriously, why did they disappear after the 90s wrapped up? They should've been huge through at least the Early-Mid 2000s when R&B was still huge. 

Now, onto their other hit in 1992, which I’d argue is even better. Originally a minor R&B hit in 1975, Boyz II Men did an acapella cover of it that is absolutely sublime. The lyrics are about looking back fondly at someone you’ve lost, whether that be a breakup or the death of a loved one. It’s just the guys on this one, however, and they absolutely steal the show here. The song doesn’t really have a chorus, but that gives each of them space to shine, with the others harmonizing in the background over a minimalist snap track. It’s a truly wonderful acapella track, and it lands a spot on 1992’s pop olympics podium.

#2: The One by Elton John (Peak: #9, Year-End: #43)

Now, for one of the most acclaimed and timeless acts in Pop history. So much so that he was actually knighted, and I’m not one to disagree, because this is a fantastic song. It’s hard to describe how great this song is, everything is amazing. The instrumentation is powerful and yet not overwhelming. The lyrics, co-written with longtime partner Bernie Taupin, are simple, yet poetic, and Elton John is… well, Elton John. His voice aged like fine wine, even with the surgery in the Late 80s. The six minute runtime of the song flies by, it keeps you engaged the whole way through. It’s almost too perfect, which is why it’s not, well, The One. So, what could that be?

I have had my fair share of hot takes on this list, haven’t I? I mean, I put a sixteen year old MJ clone, a Contemporary Christian singer and a Hair Metal band on my best list, not to mention Smells Like Teen Spirit not making the list at all. However, my #1 is certainly not a hot take. My pick for the Best Hit Song of 1992 will surprise pretty much no one, because it is widely regarded as one of the greatest songs of all time, a description that I in no way disagree with. In fact, I think that might be understating it, as I cannot think of another hit song from any year or era that is as incredible as this one. While I may not listen to it every day, there was nowhere else this song could be but #1, and whenever I do decide to take a listen, it blows me away every time. So, without further ado, The Best Hit Song of 1992…

#1: November Rain by Guns N’ Roses (Peak: #3, Year-End: #17)

Even though this is my first 90s Year-End and I’m not too familiar with the decade on whole, I feel confident in saying that this is probably the best hit of the entire decade. I mean, what else could it be? It’s a nine minute long odyssey of a song composed of multiple unique sections, each of them going above and beyond the call of duty to create a song that can only be described as legendary. It is a masterpiece of nearly Biblical proportions that I have a hard time believing was actually a hit. So, I will take each section one at a time, starting from the very beginning.

The song opens up with a minute and a half intro that perfectly sets the tone of the song, being a combination of a classical symphony and a hard rock epic. You then get into Axl’s first verse, describing a love that started off strong, but has faded over time. The mix of orchestra and hard rock drums continues in the background. Slash comes in with electric guitar hits as the song builds up and gets more intense, lasting a full four minutes, the length of a typical pop song, before Slash gets to unleash with a guitar solo.

The thing is, this ain’t just any guitar solo, but one of the most legendary solos in Rock history. It hits a perfect balance between precise shredding and long, extended notes that emphasize the emotional gravitas of the story. 

Speaking of the story, did I mention that the lyrics are the most poetic of any song (not just hit songs, but songs period) that I’ve ever heard? Something I’ve noticed is that most pop songs, even very good ones, simply don’t work as spoken-word poetry. It’s meant to be sung, not spoken. However, not only does November Rain work as spoken poetry, but it works fantastically as spoken poetry. Take this for example:

“And when your fears subside

And shadows still remain

I know that you can love me

When there's no one left to blame

So never mind the darkness

We still can find a way

'Cause nothing lasts forever

Even cold November rain”

That follows Slash’s second guitar solo, which while not quite as mind-blowingly amazing as his first, would still be the career high point for most guitarists. After those poetic lines I just quoted, the epic ballad that makes up most of the song ends, but the song itself is far from over. Instead, you enter into an intense buildup and then into a badass guitar solo that takes up the remainder of the song, backed by Axl’s vocals and orchestration that is shredding just as hard as Slash, before the song finally dies down and completes it’s marathon nine minute run time, which seems to go by in the blink of an eye. This became the first 20th Century song to surpass a billion views on YouTube, in no small part because of the extravagant music video that cost a million dollars to make (in 1992 dollars, it’d be 2.7 Million today). It’s one of the most iconic songs of the decade, and is hands down The Best Hit Song of 1992, if not the entire 90s decade. Next up on my blog, I’ll take a look back at 2008, and see what another key transitional year in Pop Music had to offer, but until then, take care and have a wonderful day!

Top 15 Best Hit Songs of 1992: Part 1

Best Hit Songs of 1992

Part 1: “Worst” Hit Songs and Honorable Mentions

Hey there, welcome back to my blog. This time, I’m going to be looking back at 1992, the first year from the 20th Century that I’ve covered and an absolutely fantastic year for popular music. I’m not sure if ‘92 is an outlier or if it is what I should expect from retro years going forward, but maybe Le Wrong Generation me from three years ago was right after all. Of the 100 songs on this Year-End list, there were only sixteen that scored a 2/5 or below, and there was not a single 0/5 song on the entire Year-End list. There was so little bad music this year that I am not going to do a full worst list, but rather summarize my thoughts on each song that scored a 2/5 or below, before going on to the many, many honorable mentions for the best list, which I have expanded to 15 due to the abundance of great music (34 eligible songs in the Great Tier). So, here are the sixteen songs that scored a 2/5 or below.

MEDIOCRE TIER

Tennessee by Arrested Development: It’s well written but does nothing for me. I, a white guy from the north, am obviously not the target demographic for this song, so while I respect it to a good degree, it’s just not in my ballpark.

I Can’t Dance by Genesis: I can sort of get into the stripped-back Blues Rock sound of the song, but Phil Collins’ yelping isn’t my cup of tea. I don’t think he’s a bad singer, and I did like No Son Of Mine (albeit not enough to make the best list) but this isn’t his strong suit.

Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover by Sophie B. Hawkins: It’s fine

Hazard by Richard Marx: Richard Marx is fine by me, but this is lame. I’m surprised it was on Diamond Axe Studios’ Best of 1992 list.

All 4 Love/Thinkin’ Back by Color Me Badd: Color Me Badd is really, really lame. They’re a much whiter version of Boyz II Men, even though only one of them is actually white.

Do I Have To Say The Words by Bryan Adams: Bryan Adams gets wayyyy too much s**t in the music review community (Everything I Do in particular is overhated to a ridiculous degree), but I’ve got to agree with the consensus here, this is pretty lame. Why should I listen to this when I could listen to Love Bites by Def Leppard (a much better song that this is clearly ripping off) instead?

Set Adrift On Memory Bliss by PM Dawn: The Spandau Ballet sample is fine, but this is one of the most 5/10 songs I’ve ever heard.

2 Legit 2 Quit by MC Hammer: I’ll say this: I now understand why MC Hammer became a punchline for so long after this (although Addams Groove is admittedly a guilty pleasure), because this is really repetitive and lame.

I Love Your Smile by Shanice: Hey, speaking of lame. Sure, it’s kind of charming in its innocence, but it also sounds like it belongs more on Sesame Street than in the Year-End Top 20. It’s basically the Kidz Bop version of itself.

Wildside by Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch: Yup, Marky Mark was not a one-hit wonder. His other hit, Wildside, is taking the bassline from Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side and attempts to recreate it for the Early 90s. Needless to say, it doesn’t go so well. Now, I’ll be honest, the first verse is actually pretty good, but the rest of the song is… not so good. You can see other music reviewers talk about it in more detail, but I’ll just leave it at this.

Blame it on a black man… W H A T  T H E  H E C C

A hail of bullets zipped through the crowd. One hit Tiffany, A N D  I N S T A N T L Y  S H E  D I E D

Humpin’ Around by Bobby Brown: The chorus melody is a schoolyard taunt, that’s all I have to say.

Masterpiece by Atlantic Starr: It’s almost impressively lame.

This Used To Be My Playground by Madonna: Zzzzzz…

BAD TIER

Please Don’t Go by KWS: A much better critic than I once stated that he was not a fan of repetition in music, and I’m inclined to agree. It’s the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Early 90s House music.

When A Man Loves A Woman by Michael Bolton: I think that Michael Bolton gets too much hate (his other hit this year, Missing You Now, is a guilty pleasure), but good lord, did we not need this. I’m not the biggest fan of the original from 1966, but it’s definitely better than the cover from 25 years later where Bolton sings so hard that his vocal cords probably tore in half. But alas, this is not my least favorite song of the year, so what could that be?

What About Your Friends by TLC: Yup, I’m not lying here. This song about social distrust by one of the most popular and acclaimed girl groups of all time is my least favorite hit of the entire year. Now, it’s not completely worthless, but I still can’t stand to listen to it. It gives me the same feeling of dread and exasperation that I get from It’s Been Awhile by Staind, my least favorite hit of 2001. It’s the bottom of the barrel for New Jack Swing, and in my humble (and probably wrong) opinion, it’s The Worst Hit Song of 1992.

Now, on to the best list, or at least the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention: Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad by Def Leppard (Peak: #12, Year-End: #80)

So, 1992 was the year that Hair Metal died. I didn’t need to say that, you guys already knew. Even if a certain trio from Seattle who won’t be appearing on this list hadn’t busted down the door at the end of the previous year, it’d still have died by 1993, because it was a genre that was well past it’s Late 80s peak and was already losing ground to both Thrash Metal and Alt-Rock. However, that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t get some parting shots in before it fully kicked the bucket, and this power ballad from one of the genre’s heavyweights is one of them. While it’s by no means my favorite power ballad of 1992, it’s still something I like a fair deal.

Honorable Mention: Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe (Peak: #9, Year-End: #72)

Now, for a song that bridged the gap between Hair Metal and Grunge. The Hair Metal part comes from the kickass guitar riff and solo, and the Grunge part from the “I don’t give a damn” attitude of the song. It’s a comedy song about how the narrator hates everything and everyone, and takes great pride in doing so. It’s honestly kinda similar to the similarly douchey Hot Girl Bummer (an early contender for my least favorite hit of 2020), but unlike that one, it’s clearly meant as a joke (and even if Blackbear meant Hot Girl Bummer as a joke, he sure as heck didn’t pull it off). This isn’t too different from Because I Got High or anything by Weird Al, which is why it doesn’t fall flat on its face.

Honorable Mention: Life Is A Highway by Tom Cochrane (Peak: #6, Year-End: #18)

Rascal Flatts did it better, expect to see that on my Best of 2006 list once I get around to it (especially considering that, AFAIK, 2006 was quite a subpar year for popular music). Doesn’t mean that I still don’t like the original, though.

Honorable Mention: Jump Around by House Of Pain (Peak: #3, Year-End: #24)

One of the most well-remembered hits of 1992, Jump Around is a staple at parties and sporting events to this day, and for dang good reason. If I didn’t have earbuds on, I would most certainly get up and jump around, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t rock my chair back and forth to this banger.

Honorable Mention: Finally/We Got A Love Thang by CeCe Peniston (Peak: #5/#20, Year-End: #20/#97)

If Please Don’t Go was the bottom of the barrel for House music, than this must be the top of said barrel, because both of these songs are bops. For as repetitive as they are, it’s still a lot of fun, and it’s a shame that both these songs as well as the woman who made them are largely forgotten (or at least until someone samples one of them).

Honorable Mention: Baby Got Back by Sir Mix A Lot (Peak: #1, Year-End: #2)

On the other hand, this is a song that has already been sampled, and for dang good reason. For as much as I’m clearly not the target demographic for this, I still find myself laughing more than a few times throughout this song. The opening line is one of the most famous in the history of popular music, and for good reason, because I too happen to like big butts, and I cannot lie about that.

Honorable Mention: Giving Him Something He Can Feel by En Vogue (Peak: #6, Year-End: #29)

Hmm, there were good cover songs in 1992. Originally performed by The Queen of Soul herself (R.I.P), En Vogue covered it as a smooth Doo-Wop jam that I can imagine many babies born in 1993 were conceived to (this came out in June of ‘92, and I’m sure y’all know how long pregnancy lasts). While En Vogue’s two other hits this year were solid, this is the one that really stood out to me.

Honorable Mention: Back To The Hotel by N2Deep (Peak: #14, Year-End: #78)

A transitional song between the Pop-Rap that dominated the Early 90s and the Gangsta Rap that would follow, Back To The Hotel builds a common sax sample and bass groove into an underrated gem of a song about bringing girls to the hotel to… engage in some certain activities. You know what, I honestly don’t care when it kicks this much ass.

Honorable Mention: Everything Changes by Kathy Troccoli (Peak: #14, Year-End: #79)

So, you’re telling me that this dated cheese made the list and Smells Like Teen Spirit didn’t? Well yes, I am indeed telling you that. Sure, it sounds like a Rick Astley song from five years prior and Troccoli is… not the most impressive singer (she sounds constipated if I’m being honest), but dang it, let me have my guilty pleasures.

(No offense if you’re reading this, Kathy Trocolli, I like the song and I’m sure you’re a wonderful lady)

Honorable Mention: Baby-Baby-Baby/Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg by TLC (Peak: #2/#6, Year-End: #5/#36)

Maybe this will get rid of some of the bad juju from putting What About Your Friends as my least favorite hit of the year, cause yeah, I liked TLC’s other two hits this year. Baby X3 is simply about how he’s got to be invested in the relationship beyond sex and how he should be grateful that she picked him out of the many men she could have (also, that pre-chorus is strangely beautiful), which TLC pulled off without sounding condescending. Also, the production has held up very well and the ladies from TLC are quite talented.

Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg, on the other hand is a lot more… raunchy than the previous song. Basically, the title explains it all, she’s not too proud to beg for some lovin’, if you know what I mean (wink wink nudge nudge). It could’ve very well ended up like What About Your Friends, but they manage to walk the line in this time, so TLC were 2-4-3 in 1992.

Honorable Mention: The Way I Feel About You by Karyn White (Peak: #12, Year-End: #63)

This is basically Everything Changes, but with a better singer and more timely New Jack Swing production.

Honorable Mention: Come And Talk To Me by Jodeci (Peak: #11, Year-End: #31)

The 90s were a high point for R&B, and Jodeci was one of the leading groups of the era. I wouldn’t mind if Bruno Mars went in this direction for his next album, whenever that’s coming and assuming he’s still making pastiches of retro R&B. I can assume that many babies were made to this (or songs like it).

Honorable Mention: Jump/Warm It Up by Kris Kross (Peak: #1/#13, Year-End: #3/#65)

Kris Kross were a Hip-Hop duo from Atlanta that were notable for being kids when they broke out. They had two major hits in 1992, Jump and Warm It Up, and both were awesome. The beats on both of the songs should be grating due to the high pitched, squeaky synths, but they somehow come out sounding fantastic. Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac both have strong flows, and not just for 13 year olds. However, the best thing about both songs are the punchlines at the end of each verse. For example…

“And everything is to the back with a little slack, cause inside out is wiggity wiggity wiggity wack”

And…

“So all y’all with the Dr. Seuss riddles, you can get the finger…. THE MIDDLE”

Brilliant. So yeah, Kriss Kross was awesome. Also, Mac Daddy died of an overdose in 2013, so R.I.P.

Press F for Mac Daddy.

Honorable Mention: Remember The Time by Michael Jackson (Peak: #3, Year-End: #19)

This was the final cut from the list proper, and Good Lord was it tough to leave this off the list proper. While Black Or White is a pretty good song, my favorite single off of Dangerous has always been this New Jack Swing jam (get it, Jam). Lyrically, it’s quite simple, just MJ asking if his ex remembers the great times they had together, a premise that has been repeated, such as in Do You Remember by Jay Sean, a song that came very close to being an honorable mention on my Best of 2010 list. With this song, however, you replace Jay Sean, who is a solid but uninteresting performer, with Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. Combine that with production courtesy of New Jack Swing master Teddy Riley, and you have one of the best songs that genre ever produced. It pains me to leave MJ off the list, but alas, I’ve gotta do what I gotta do. Also, I’m planning on covering the 80s pretty soon, so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to praise the King of Pop there.

However, there is one final and very Honorable Mention left to go…

Honorable Mention: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (Peak: #2, Year-End: #39)

After Freddy Mercury’s death and the release of the movie Wayne’s World, Bohemian Rhapsody saw a re-release in January of 1992, but because of it being a re-release, it is ineligible for this list. However, it did make the 1976 Year-End Hot 100, so if I ever get around to that year, expect me to praise this out the wazoo. Had it been eligible for this list, though, it would’ve been my #2, which means that, yes, my #1 is IMO better than Bohemian Rhapsody. 

However, that’ll have to wait for next time, when I tackle the Top 15 Best Hit Songs of 1992. I’ll see y’all there, and until then, have a great day.