Popular Songs Of 1996, Vol. 1

OK, now we're getting into my wheelhouse, the soundtrack of my youth. In particular, the soundtrack of my freshman year of college. So...the sentiment is strong with these songs. Therefore, this will be a four – count them, four – volume post. Carried away much? Yup. But who cares? In the mid-'90s, these songs could not have been avoided, even if you tried (and I didn't, really). So what are we waiting for? Let's go!  ~  JH

1)  Spice Girls  ~  “Wannabe”

2)  The Fugees  ~  “Killing Me Softly”

3)  Los del Rio  ~  “Macarena”

4)  Oasis ~  “Wonderwall”

5)  The Smashing Pumpkins  ~  “1979”

6)  “Weird Al” Yankovic  ~  “Amish Paradise”

7)  Céline Dion  ~  “Because You Loved Me”

8)  Deep Blue Something  ~  “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”

9)  Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men  ~  “One Sweet Day”

10)  Dave Matthews Band  ~  “Crash Into Me”

11)  No Doubt  ~  “Don’t Speak”

12)  311  ~  “Down”

13)  Shania Twain  ~  “You Win My Love”

14)  Dog’s Eye View  ~  “Everything Falls Apart”

15)  Gin Blossoms  ~  “Follow You Down”

16)  OMC  ~  “How Bizarre”

17)  Alice In Chains  ~  “Heaven Beside You”

18)  Melissa Etheridge  ~  “I Want To Come Over”

19)  Sheryl Crow  ~  “If It Makes You Happy”

20)  Brooks & Dunn  ~  “My Maria”

21)  Aaliyah  ~  “If Your Girl Only Knew”

22)  Foo Fighters  ~  “I’ll Stick Around”

23)  Goo Goo Dolls  ~  “Long Way Down”

24)  Björk  ~  “It’s Oh So Quiet”

25)  Alanis Morissette  ~  “Hand In My Pocket”

Popular Songs Of 2006, Vol. 2

Here's a second and final set of hit songs from ten years ago. A lot of these are STILL good tunes – so check 'em out! Next up, Popular Songs Of 1996. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Carrie Underwood  ~  “Before He Cheats”

2)  Gnarls Barkley  ~  “Crazy”

3)  Lily Allen  ~  “Smile”

4)  The All-American Rejects  ~  “Move Along”

5)  Taylor Swift  ~  “Tim McGraw”  (Can you believe Swift has been around for a decade already? WOW!)

6)  Red Hot Chili Peppers  ~  “Dani California”

7)  Sugarland  ~  “Want To”

8)  The Fray  ~  “Over My Head (Cable Car)”

9)  P!nk  ~  “Stupid Girls”

10)  Brad Paisley ft. Dolly Parton  ~  “When I Get Where I’m Going”

11)  JoJo  ~  “Too Little, Too Late”

12)  John Mayer  ~  “Waiting On The World To Change”

13)  The Pussycat Dolls ft. Avant  ~  “Stickwitu”

14)  Rascal Flatts  ~  “What Hurts The Most”

15)  Rihanna  ~  “Unfaithful”

16)  Billy Currington  ~  “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right”

17)  Natasha Bedingfield  ~  “Unwritten”

18)  Fort Minor ft. Holly Brook & Jonah Matranga  ~  “Where’d You Go”

19)  Keyshia Cole  ~  “Love”

20)  Josh Turner  ~  “Your Man”

21)  Kelly Clarkson  ~  “Because Of You”

22)  Kenny Chesney  ~  “Living In Fast Forward”

23)  The Wreckers  ~  “Leave The Pieces”

24)  Bon Jovi  ~  “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”

25)  Little Big Town  ~  “Bring It On Home”

Popular Songs Of 2006, Vol. 1

It's that time of year again, when I peel back the years a decade at a time to reexamine the most popular songs from the past. First up, Popular Songs of 2006. Some of these songs are, to this day, so ubiquitous that it's hard to believe they were released TEN years ago! There were too many good tunes for just one post, so expect a Vol. 2 shortly. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  James Blunt  ~  “You’re Beautiful”

2)  Carrie Underwood  ~  “Jesus, Take The Wheel”

3)  Daniel Powter  ~  “Bad Day”

4)  Mariah Carey  ~  “Don’t Forget About Us”

5)  Rascal Flatts  ~  “Life Is A Highway”

6)  Christina Aguilera  ~  “Ain’t No Other Man”

7)  The All-American Rejects  ~  “Dirty Little Secret”

8)  Rihanna  ~  “SOS”

9)  “Weird Al” Yankovic  ~  “White & Nerdy”

10)  KT Tunstall  ~  “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree”

11)  Josh Turner  ~  “Would You Go With Me”

12)  Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean  ~  “Hips Don’t Lie”

13)  Chris Brown  ~  “Say Goodbye”

14)  Evanescence  ~  “Call Me When You’re Sober”

15)  Panic! At The Disco  ~  “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”

16)  Miranda Lambert  ~  “Kerosene”

17)  The Fray  ~  “How To Save A Life”

18)  Nelly Furtado  ~  “Say It Right”

19)  Dierks Bentley  ~  “Settle For A Slowdown”

20)  Kelly Clarkson  ~  “Walk Away”

21)  Nickelback  ~  “Far Away”

22)  Avril Lavigne  ~  “Keep Holding On”

23)  George Strait  ~  “Give It Away”  (For some reason, the video repeats itself in silence around the 3:45 mark. So…you can pretty much stop it there.)

24)  Martina McBride  ~  “Anyway”

25)  Snow Patrol  ~  “Chasing Cars”

"Solid" Songs

These songs are "Solid"! At least the word appears in the titles of each of them. As opposed to the "Hollow" offerings I presented last time around. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Maps & Atlases  ~  “Solid Ground”

2)  The Ross Sisters  ~  “Solid Potato Salad”

3)  The City Harmonic  ~  “Solid Rock”

4)  Marit Larsen  ~  “Solid Ground”

5)  Dire Straits  ~  “Solid Rock”

6)  Gaither Homecoming  ~  “I’m Standing On The Solid Rock”

7)  Hazey Jane  ~  “Solid Ground”

8)  Van Morrison  ~  “Northern Muse (Solid Ground)”

9)  Ashford & Simpson ft. Brandy  ~  “Solid”

10)  Ry Cooder  ~  “Tamp ‘Em Up Solid”

11)  Bob Dylan  ~  “Solid Rock”

12)  Thomas Maguire & Fhiona Ennis  ~  “Solid As A Rock”

13)  4HIM  ~  “The Solid Rock”

14)  Sweet  ~  “Solid Gold Brass”

15)  Break Of Reality  ~  “Solid Ground”

16)  Ricky Skaggs  ~  “Solid Ground”

17)  The Dear Hunter  ~  “A Sea Of Solid Earth”

18)  Goanna  ~  “Solid Rock”

19)  Delirious?  ~  “Solid Rock”

20)  Lori Campbell  ~  “Solid Ground”

21)  John Martyn  ~  “Solid Air”

22)  The Style Council  ~  “A Solid Bond In Your Heart”

23)  Pert Near Sandstone  ~  “Solid Gone”

24)  Tom Keifer  ~  “Solid Ground”

25)  Alex Vargas  ~  “Solid Ground”