The Top Songs of 1991, from (Everything I Do) I Do It for You to Black or White

What was the number one song of 1991?

"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams was the number one song of 1991 on Billboard's year-end Hot 100, after seven straight weeks at the top. Color Me Badd's debut hit was second and C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" third. Mariah Carey had the most number ones that year, three.

The top 20 songs of 1991

1. "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Bryan Adams: the love theme from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
2. "I Wanna Sex You Up", Color Me Badd: a new jack swing hit from the film New Jack City.
3. "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", C+C Music Factory: a dance-floor shout-along.
4. "Rush Rush", Paula Abdul: a five-week number one ballad.
5. "One More Try", Timmy T
6. "Unbelievable", EMF: a British dance-rock hit.
7. "More Than Words", Extreme: the acoustic ballad from a hard rock band.
8. "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)", Hi-Five
9. "The First Time", Surface
10. "Baby Baby", Amy Grant: her pop crossover number one.
11. "Motownphilly", Boyz II Men: the group's debut hit.
12. "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)", Stevie B
13. "Someday", Mariah Carey
14. "High Enough", Damn Yankees
15. "From a Distance", Bette Midler: a hopeful song that took on new meaning during the Gulf War.
16. "All the Man That I Need", Whitney Houston
17. "Right Here, Right Now", Jesus Jones: a British song about the end of the Cold War.
18. "I Adore Mi Amor", Color Me Badd
19. "Love Will Never Do (Without You)", Janet Jackson
20. "Good Vibrations", Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway

More top songs of 1991 (21 to 40)

21. "Justify My Love", Madonna
22. "Emotions", Mariah Carey
23. "Joyride", Roxette
24. "Romantic", Karyn White
25. "Hold You Tight", Tara Kemp
26. "I Don't Wanna Cry", Mariah Carey
27. "You're in Love", Wilson Phillips
28. "Every Heartbeat", Amy Grant
29. "Sensitivity", Ralph Tresvant
30. "Touch Me (All Night Long)", Cathy Dennis
31. "I've Been Thinking About You", Londonbeat
32. "Do Anything", Natural Selection
33. "Losing My Religion", R.E.M.
34. "Coming Out of the Dark", Gloria Estefan
35. "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over", Lenny Kravitz
36. "Here We Go (Let's Rock and Roll)", C+C Music Factory
37. "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", Céline Dion
38. "Summertime", DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
39. "Wind of Change", Scorpions
40. "P.A.S.S.I.O.N.", Rythm Syndicate

Every number one song of 1991

Twenty-seven songs were number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during 1991, including "Justify My Love" (Madonna), "Gonna Make You Sweat" (C+C Music Factory), "All the Man That I Need" (Whitney Houston), "Someday", "I Don't Wanna Cry" and "Emotions" (Mariah Carey), "Coming Out of the Dark" (Gloria Estefan), "Baby Baby" (Amy Grant), "Joyride" (Roxette), "More Than Words" (Extreme), "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day" (Paula Abdul), "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (Bryan Adams), "Good Vibrations" (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch), "Cream" (Prince and the New Power Generation), "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Michael Bolton), "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (P.M. Dawn) and, to close the year, "Black or White" (Michael Jackson).

Robin Hood and Bryan Adams

"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" was written for the summer blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and spent seven weeks at number one in America. In the UK it stayed at number one for sixteen consecutive weeks, setting a UK chart record, and it became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Mariah Carey and the big ballads

Mariah Carey's debut album had already given her two number ones in 1990, and in 1991 she added "Someday", "I Don't Wanna Cry" and "Emotions", whose whistle-register high notes became her trademark. Big ballads from Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Amy Grant, Gloria Estefan and Céline Dion filled the rest of the chart. For more, see our 90s female singers.

Dance, new jack swing and hip-hop

C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat" and "Here We Go" made house and dance-pop a fixture on the radio, Color Me Badd and Boyz II Men brought new jack swing harmonies, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's laid-back "Summertime" won a Grammy and became a summer classic. For more, see our 90s rap songs.

A turning point for rock and for the chart

R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" took alternative rock into the top five, and in September Nirvana released Nevermind, whose "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would soon change rock for the rest of the decade. At the end of the year Billboard began using SoundScan sales data and radio monitoring to compile the Hot 100, a change that made the chart more accurate and helped rap and alternative music climb higher. For more, see our Nirvana songs.

Songs of 1991 for a party or an anniversary

For a throwback party, "Gonna Make You Sweat", "Motownphilly", "Good Vibrations", "Unbelievable" and "Summertime" bring back 1991. For a 1991 wedding anniversary, "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", "More Than Words", "Baby Baby" and "Coming Out of the Dark" are lovely slow-dance choices. For more, see our 90s wedding songs.

Top songs of other years

For more year-by-year hits, see our top songs of 1985, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2013.

A song as unforgettable as 1991

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