JANUARY
Top hit
Every Rose Has Its Thorn · Poison
Top album
Giving You The Best That I Got · Anita Baker
Year
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One moment while we pull together the music from this year.
Pre-grunge fragmentation
1989
The monoculture shows hairline cracks as hip-hop, adult contemporary, and hard rock each build empires while still sharing the same Hot 100 real estate.
Pop Fragmentation Begins
The monoculture starts showing hairline cracks — hip-hop, adult contemporary, and hard rock each build their own empires while still sharing the same Hot 100. Madonna and Janet keep setting trends, but the underground is getting faster and the charts are getting stranger. The decade ends not with one sound but with a dozen futures competing for the dial. The decade ends not with one sound but with a dozen futures competing for the same radio hour.
- fragmentation
- Madonna
- hip-hop
- hard rock
- late eighties
- Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' ignites culture-war headlines
- N.W.A's 'Straight Outta Compton' expands hip-hop's reach
- Milli Vanilli's lip-sync scandal foreshadows image anxiety
- New Kids on the Block launch the modern boy-band template
Hot 100 · weeks at #1
Top songs
Album chart · weeks at #1
Top albums
Through the year
Tap a month to drill into chart weeks.
FEBRUARY
Top hit
When I'm With You · Sheriff
Top album
Appetite For Destruction · Guns N' Roses
MARCH
Top hit
Lost In Your Eyes · Debbie Gibson
Top album
Don't Be Cruel · Bobby Brown
APRIL
Top hit
Eternal Flame · The Bangles
Top album
Electric Youth · Debbie Gibson
MAY
Top hit
Like A Prayer · Madonna
Top album
Like A Prayer · Madonna
JUNE
Top hit
Rock On (From "Dream A Little Dream") · Michael Damian
Top album
The Raw & The Cooked · Fine Young Cannibals
JULY
Top hit
Baby Don't Forget My Number · Milli Vanilli
Top album
The Raw & The Cooked · Fine Young Cannibals
AUGUST
Top hit
Batdance (From "Batman") · Prince
Top album
Batman (Soundtrack) · Prince
SEPTEMBER
Top hit
Cold Hearted · Paula Abdul
Top album
Hangin' Tough · New Kids On The Block
OCTOBER
Top hit
Miss You Much · Janet Jackson
Top album
Forever Your Girl · Paula Abdul
NOVEMBER
Top hit
Listen To Your Heart · Roxette
Top album
Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 · Janet Jackson
DECEMBER
Top hit
Blame It On The Rain · Milli Vanilli
Top album
Girl You Know It's True · Milli Vanilli
