Songs — 1990 Popular

In 1990, the cassette single was still king, but CD sales began to explode. The charts were a chaotic, glorious mix of pop-synth, conscious hip-hop, adult contemporary ballads, and the final gasps of glam metal.

By December, the first whispers of the "Year of the Woman" (which would explode in 1991 with Lisa Fischer, Oleta Adams, and others) were in the air. More importantly, in a Seattle storage space, a band was recording an album called Nevermind . 1990 popular songs

Here are the songs that defined the pop charts of 1990. No song defined the sheer mass of 1990 pop better than Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love.” Released as her debut single, it was a tectonic shift. Before Carey, pop divas sang loudly; after Carey, they attempted the complex melisma and whistle register she debuted here. The song spent four weeks at #1 and announced the arrival of the decade’s most influential vocalist. In 1990, the cassette single was still king,

For one year, though, the world danced to New Jack Swing, cried to Sinead O’Connor, and struck a pose for Madonna. More importantly, in a Seattle storage space, a