Billboard 1995 Rankdown (Winner Revealed)

[CF15]

5. "Runaway" [17]: Not surprised that this was the first song out, and I'm definitely fine with that. Still, a great discovery (or re-discovery? I may have heard it somewhere before, lol).

4. "Creep" [8]: Though I do prefer Radiohead's song with the same title, this one is also excellent. Glad to see it made it this far. As Mirago said, the trumpet horn with the beat is killer and plays a huge part in making the song as enjoyable as it is.

3. "Waterfalls" [2]: If only this beat "Fantasy", I could have had my top 2 in the top 2. :( But that's probably just greedy, lol. Nonetheless, this iconic 90's staple is one that everyone knows and can sing along to. The rap verse from Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (Rest In Peace :'() fits in so perfectly with the rest of the song, too! Such a phenomenal tune, IMO. Glad to see it make it this far.

2. "Fantasy" [32]: My perpetual rooting against it in rankdowns aside, I still find this genuinely a very enjoyable song, and I can certainly see why it's one of the most remembered songs of the 90's. Still, though, I think it's won more than its far share of rankdowns, and it could also still be a threat to win 1996.

1. "Gangsta's Paradise [1]: Yeah, I still find it hard to believe this actually won! Not only is my curse broken (where I had many of my top ten remaining in the later stretches, yet the one song not in my top ten would end up winning), but it happened to be my #1. Also, I believe this is only the second time a hip-hop or rap song won an all-genre chart-based rankdown (after "Ms. Jackson" in 2001 - another wonderful upset victory), so that's another plus! Not much more I can say, other than this being one of my favourite songs of the 1990s, and also one of my favourite hip-hop songs of all time. I couldn't be happier with this winner! I guess that means "Gangsta's Paradise" will have to step down a bit and let something else be my #1 for 1996, but rest assured this classic will still be in my top 5.

Thanks for hosting, Unhinged; I am very much looking forward to the 1996 year-end rankdown!

[samo🦕]

Jan 15, 2021 11:16:55 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

(what the hell at anthony's #105 ranking for "Waterfalls" ' ranking, though?)

you see, it's not just one woman...it's three

[anthony11554]

Jan 15, 2021 13:01:59 GMT -5 samo🦕 said:

Jan 15, 2021 11:16:55 GMT -5 Lost In Musical Reverie said:

(what the hell at anthony's #105 ranking for "Waterfalls" ' ranking, though?)

you see, it's not just one woman...it's three

My worst enemy :O

[CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker]

Jan 15, 2021 13:16:46 GMT -5 anthony11554 said:

Jan 15, 2021 13:01:59 GMT -5 samo🦕 said:

you see, it's not just one woman...it's three

My worst enemy :O

*looks towards Spice Girls era*

I swear to GAWD....

[rowellfarm490]

I was definitely not expecting a rap song to be able to pull off a victory at this point of the 90s but I'm glad to be proven wrong. "Gangsta's Paradise" is an undeniable classic. 3 of my favorite songs from the decade will be coming up in 1996 so I cannot wait to get started on that one. Thanks again for being our host in these rankdowns Unhinged !

SPOILER: Click to show

{FINAL STATS}

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{HIGHEST TO LOWEST SDS}

[Deleted]

I would've been content with any of the Top 5 songs winning, and while I'm a bit disappointed in being one spot off for Runaway, this was still a really fun rankdown. I may or may not participate in the 1996 Rankdown, although I'm certain to participate in 1998 once we get around to that year, as I've already looked at it on my blog. Still, I had a great time, and am looking forward to returning to these rankdowns in the future.

[wyckyd]

I'm glad that my highest remaining song in the top 10 ranked at #1. This was a great rankdown, and I'm definitely looking forward to the 1996 rankdown!

[lights]

Hah. Gangsters paradise winning over Fantasy is a fantastic result. Never understood the hype for Fantasy over Mariah's other hits, she had at least a few that were better. Gangsters Paradise is one of the biggest rap classics ever.

[singingrulebritannia]

even though I put "Fantasy" a negligible number of spots higher I prefer the winner we got. Always a good day when a rap song wins an all-genre rankdown.

[Red]

SPOILER: Click to show

{LET'S DO SOME QUICK HIT THOUGHTS ON THE TOP 50}Surprised "Candy Rain" is so low. I thought it would be at least top 40.

Ooh, "Warning" missing the top 40 is a bad miss.

HMTMKMKM would have been either just inside or just outside of my top ten, but I will admit that I'm liking it a little less over time.

"Brown Sugar" out this early?!

I thought "All I Wanna Do" was going to be top 20, though I'm not too upset that it didn't get there.

Biggie is so disrespected, geez.

HIT IT!

Ooh, thought "I Wanna Be Down" would be higher, too.

"I Got 5 on It" would have been in my top ten. I also knew a couple of people would prevent it from going too high.

I like I'll Stand by You".

Another possible top ten gone with "Keep Their Heads Ringin'". :( Haha, I could have been the highest ranking, too.

WOW @ "Another Night" dropping nearly 20 spots. Can't say I was expecting that.

Petty has better.

And another previous top ten down, though "100% Pure Love" falling out surprises me less.

We better give "Hypnotize" the respect it deserves when it shows up.

Surprised that Method Man made it to the top 20 over all of the Biggie songs, but it's not the worst Method Man song, to be sure.

"Leo ✔ - 106" You have hurt me, Leo. ("I Wish" would have been a lock for my top three, and there's a part of me that would have contemplated ranking it #1, especially given that what the other top three contenders were.)

"You Gotta Be" overstayed. It's fine, but it's such a mid song.

"Scream" is Michael's best 90's single, and it's not close.

Look, we may cringe a bit at the name of the artist now, but "The Rhythm of the Night" is a BANGER. As far as I'm concerned, it's the definitive Eurodance song.

...we really let "I Know" make the top ten over all of these songs?

I'm actually kind of glad that "Freak Like Me" made the top ten. Better than "Take a Bow" making it, anyway.

Ooooh, thought Seal was a lock for top five among this group. Wow, UNHINGED ranking it low, I was not expecting that.

No surprise that "Secret" fell off after 1994. I told you guys it wouldn't win again.

I like "This Is How We Do It". shrug

The top three is exactly what I expected.

"Waterfalls" is not going to be high for me when we get to the top 100 of the 90's. I also absolutely would not have ranked it as low as Anthony, what the hell

lol, when I put together my initial 1995 ranking, this was my top two. B-A-S-I-C

Wow, I'm SHOCKED Coolio won. Not complaining, I'm glad that it's getting the respect it deserves. I remember a time when "Fantasy" constantly finished #2 when it showed up in RDs, and it looks like history is repeating itself.

"we'll be moving along to the Billboard 1996 Rankdown soon."

[Human Clay]

Aw man, no perfect rankings...

Well, I am content with "Gangsta's Paradise" being the #1 song. Between that and "Waterfalls", I had a hard time picking which one was better than the other.

[CF15]

A couple of other songs I would like to include as honourable mentions:


This would have been a serious contender for my #1. I'm really a sucker for Eurodance songs, and this is one of my favourite ones. Rest In Peace, Scatman John. :(


I found about this one through a friend, and, even though it is technically from August 1994, I included it here. I enjoy this a lot, and I do wish this had been a bigger hit. It probably would have been in my top 20. Very well-produced and pleasant G-funk song.