1998, was there just TOO much great music?

I don't hide the fact that 1998 is by far my favourite ever year for music, perhaps because it's the year that I finally opened my eyes (or ears) to it. Before this year I was only interested in classical music and a couple of random songs. But Cher's Believe changed everything for me - I was blown away by it and tuned into the chart every week to hear it, until I finally got the (cassette) single for xmas! This tuning into the chart weekly became an obsession and of course introduced me to 39 other songs weekly that were new to me. I look back on the charts of late 1998 with great affection, not only do I remember almost every song in there but I LOVE almost every one of them too. Naturally I was regularly starting to tune into the radio at other times too, which was of course playing the general hits from earlier in the year - all of which I also seemed to adore.



Is nostalgia really that strong an emotion or was it just a really great year for music? The charts were packed with everything you could possibly want - pure pop from Steps, B*Witched, Boyzone and Five, Scandipop from Ace of Base, Robyn, Emilia, Meja and Aqua, classic ballads from Aerosmith, Savage Garden, Celine Dion and LeAnn Rimes, alternative greats from Massive Attack, Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia and The Cardigans, acts like Robbie Williams and Madonna at the top of their game and just about anything else you could possibly want. The biggest selling album of the year remains one of my all time top three favourites ever - Talk On Corners by The Corrs. Eurovision was hosted in the UK and spearheaded by the legendary Dana International and the brilliant home entry by Imaani. It was just a perfect year in so many ways.



What then of the 'forgotten classics'? There was so much great music around that some songs were always going to slip under the radar a bit - Sarah McLachlan's Angel for example. And what of Goo Goo Dolls' Iris? Thankfully, despite missing the top 40 in 1998 only to fare a little better the following year, that excellent song is finally about to make the chart splash that it always should have done, heading for the UK top three this weekend thanks to X Factor. I'm a big fan of X Factor, even moreso when it propels deserved long forgotten 'classics' to the heights that they should have reached in the first place - Iris, Make You Feel My Love, Cannonball etc...I can't wait to see what's next, hopefully something else from 1998!



My top 40 from 1998;

1. The Corrs - So Young
2. Cher - Believe
3. Ace Of Base - Life Is A Flower
4. Spice Girls - Viva Forever
5. B*Witched - To You I Belong
6. Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar
7. Sash! feat Tina Cousins - Mysterious Times
8. Ace Of Base - Always Have, Always Will
9. The Corrs - Dreams
10. Sash! - La Primavera
11. Tin Tin Out feat Shelly Nelson - Here's Where The Story Ends
12. Boyzone - All That I Need
13. Savage Garden - To The Moon & Back
14. Madonna - The Power Of Goodbye
15. Honeyz - End Of The Line
16. Honeyz - Finally Found
17. Steps - Last Thing On My Mind
18. Steps - One For Sorrow
19. Meja - All 'Bout The Money
20. Aqua - Turn Back Time
21. B*Witched - C'est La Vie
22. Lutricia McNeal - Stranded
23. The Corrs - What Can I Do
24. The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
25. Robyn - Show Me Love
26. LeAnn Rimes - How Do I Live
27. Madonna - Frozen
28. Jennifer Paige - Crush
29. Savage Garden - Truly, Madly, Deeply
30. E-17 - Each Time
31. Emilia - Big Big World
32. Boyzone - I Love The Way You Love Me
33. Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On
34. Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
35. Five - Until The Time Is Through
36. Robbie Williams - No Regrets
37. Boyzone - No Matter What
38. Steps - Heartbeat
39. Lutricia McNeal - Someone Loves You Honey
40. Karen Ramirez - Looking For Love