Metal continues its surge as Guns n’ Roses swaps glam for grit and Poison scores with an acoustic Power Ballad. Three of the year’s top hits are ’60s vets, but George Michael and Bobby Brown are now mature Solo Acts, Tiffany graduates from the mall, Rick Astley owns the dancefloor and INXS follows U2 out of the New Wave and onto Pop’s main stage.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. George Michael
2. INXS
3. Def Leppard

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Michael Jackson (5)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 29.6 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. George Harrison – Got My Mind Set on You (January, 1 wk)
2. Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel (January, 1 wk)
3. INXS – Need You Tonight (January, 1 wk)
4. Tiffany – Could’ve Been (February, 2 wks)
5. Exposé – Seasons Change (February, 1 wk)
6. George Michael – Father Figure (February, 2 wks)
7. Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up (March, 2 wks)
8. Michael Jackson – Man in the Mirror (March, 2 wks)
9. Billy Ocean – Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car (April, 2 wks)
10. Whitney Houston – Where Do Broken Hearts Go (April, 2 wks)
11. Terence Trent D’Arby – Wishing Well (May, 1 wk)
12. Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine – Anything for You (May, 2 wks)
13. George Michael – One More Try (May, 3 wks)
14. Rick Astley – Together Forever (Remix) (June, 1 wk)
15. Debbie Gibson – Foolish Beat (June, 1 wk)
16. Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (July, 1 wk)
17. Cheap Trick – The Flame (July, 2 wks)
18. Richard Marx – Hold on to the Nights (July, 1 wk)
19. Steve Winwood – Roll with It (July, 4 wks)
20. George Michael – Monkey (August, 2 wks)
21. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine (September, 2 wks)
22. Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy (Edit) (September, 2 wks)
23. Def Leppard – Love Bites (October, 1 wk)
24. UB40 – Red Red Wine (October, 1 wk)
25. Phil Collins – Groovy Kind of Love (October, 2 wks)
26. The Beach Boys – Kokomo (November, 1 wk)
27. The Escape Club – Wild, Wild West (November, 1 wk)
28. Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine (November, 2 wks)
29. Will to Power – Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (December, 1 wk)
30. Chicago – Look Away (December, 2 wks)
31. Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn (December, 3 wks)
32. Bobby Brown – My Prerogative (January ’89, 1 wk)