Category Archives: Uncategorized

Bleh I am clawing back my motivation for this thing from the jaws of my own lackluster time management skills bit by grisly bit, but hey, at least the charts themselves are brightening up somewhat! Rap is still gaining momentum (as it will just about every year this decade) alternative rock was dealing non-alternative rockContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1992”

Mea culpa, the framing I often employ in these intros of “the bad trends” versus “the good trends” is highly reductive and, worse yet, not nearly the kind of broadly-graspable categorization that would actually warrant such casual bandying about. It’s a bad habit left over from the early days of PGTY, where it dovetailed nicelyContinue reading “The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1991”

I swear to GOD if anyone asks me where “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is before checking the ‘91 year-end hot 100 I am going to permaban them from my comments section ANYWAY 1991! The year of the alternative revolution! Ten and Gish and Badmotorfinger and Loveless and Spiderland and sundry other semi-underground megadarlings predicated onContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1991”

At the end of the 80s, the vibes shifted. No ifs ands or buts. The Berlin Wall fell and New Labour and New World Orders rushed into the space left behind. The end of history! Fuckin’ A. What didn’t shift was the pop charts, at least at first. I’d actually say it took longer toContinue reading “The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1990”

First, a reminder that, as always when we jump into a new decade, a new best-of playlist is up and running for anyone who wants to listen along! The 90s was really stuck between a rock and a hard place, eh? The decade was kicked off by the complete creative implosion of the late 80sContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1990”

AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF BELOVED INTERNET MUSIC REVIEW WEBSITE POP GOES THE YEAR DOT COM Hello all! It’s been a minute! After PGTY season three concluded, I was promptly besieged by, among other things, HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES, abandoning this project almost entirely for weeks at a stretch as a result, andContinue reading “PopGoesTheYear RETURNS 3/20”

It feels like I should have more to say at the top of the worst list for my least-favorite year for chart pop. But I don’t. 1989 sucked, and these 10 songs sucked the hardest. On with the show! #10: New Kids on the Block- I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) This is probably at leastContinue reading “The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1989”

At long last, our trek across the 80s has brought us to the smoldering crater that is 1989. The year it all went wrong. The single worst year of chart pop I have ever had to sit through, worse song-for-song than any other year-end hot 100 I’ve encountered to date. Delving into the reasons whyContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1989”

Not only was 1988 the first year in a while where I didn’t have to make at least one or two tough cuts for the best list, it also brought an unusually crowded field of worst-list contenders. This is the start of a three-year stretch where a whole lot of songs seemed to be inContinue reading “The Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 1988”

Okay. Yep. Things are officially dire in 80sland. This is the first time since the early ‘60s where I’ve had to really scrape the barrel for an even ten best list picks. Things are petering out awfully fast, and I’ll have more to say about the general trends of the year on the worst listContinue reading “The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1988”