The Hot 100 #1s for 1996: a short list. One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, the biggest hit of 1995, lingered on the charts into the new year.
Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) – Los Dios Rios, 14 weeks at number one
Don’t Speak – No Doubt: 16 weeks at #1 as an album cut. According to Top Pop Singles: “As the 1990s progressed, more and more hugely popular radio hits were unavailable as commercial singles and therefore ineligible.” Yet this song is here; whatever. The actual Hot 100 charts fixed this by 1998. I saw No Doubt live in Albany in 1997.
Unbreak My Heart – Toni Braxton, 11 weeks at #1. I saw Toni Braxton and others in Boston in 2026.
The Crossroads – Bone Thugs N Harmony, eight weeks at #1
Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion, six weeks at number one. The theme from the movie Up Close and Personal, a movie starring Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Stockard Channing that, somehow, I never even heard of.
No Diggity – Blackstreet with Dr Dre, four weeks at #1
Always Be My Baby – Mariah Carey, two weeks at #1
How Do U Want It – Tupac with Casey and Jojo, two weeks at #1
You’re Makin’ Me High – Toni Braxton, one week at #1. I have the album.
Adult Contemporary
That was so short; we’re also gonna give you another list. At the beginning of 1996, it was Hot Adult Contemporary, but on 16 March, it changed back to Adult Contemporary, which it was called from 7 April 1979 to 13 October 1984.
*Don’t Speak – No Doubt, 15 weeks at #1. I have the album.
*Because You Love Me – Celine Dion -12 weeks at #1
Give Me One Reason– Tracy Chapman, eight weeks at #1. I have the album.
I Love You Always Forever – Donna Lewis, eight weeks at #1
Head Over Feet– Alanis Morissette, three weeks at #1. I have the album.
Time – Hootie and the Blowfish, two weeks at #1. I have this album.
One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, one week at #1. I saw Boyz II Men in Chautauqua in 2024, and with others in Boston in 2026. Last year, I shared a game show anecdote.