1.
2. Mims - "This Is Why I'm Hot"
Time at the top: March 10 - 17, 2007
Who was Mims? Where did Mims go? And what made Mims so hot apart from two weeks on top of the Billboard charts? This no-name spitter took everyone by surprise when his self complimenting anthem shot to number one. Everyone under 25 was hooked to one of the simplest rap songs ever made.
"I'm hot cause I'm fly, you ain't cause you not.
This is why, this is why, this is why I'm hot.
MIMS, MIMS, MIMS, MIMS, Mims, mims, mim - fade out- "
3. Shaggy - "It Wasn't Me"
Time at the top: February 3 - 10, 2001
"To be a true player you have to know how to play." Jamaica's Shaggy had all of America denying their infidelities in atrocious Jamaican accents after he dropped this one in 2000. Such a catchy song, but who would think that a song based entirely on cheating would get to the top spot, and then stay their for two weeks?
4. Sir Mix-A-Lot - "Baby Got Back"
Time at the top: July 4 - August 1, 1992
Who knew that a rapper's ode to big booty would be welcomed by America in such a way? This straightforward banger had even the whitest of white boys paying homage to the curvy girls out there. Now take a moment Becky, and look at that butt.
5. Right Said Fred - "I'm Too Sexy"
Time at the top: February 8 - February 22, 1992
Top five on my list of creepy songs, and number one for creepy videos. Right Said Fred, whose members Fred and Richard Fairbrass look like ex-KGB operatives, stripped down the game with "I'm Too Sexy." There is no singing, only croaky voiced delivery of ever-more bizarre lyrics ("I'm too sexy for my cat"), and that video... that string vest? Seriously, America, why did so many of you buy this song?
6. Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch - "Good Vibrations"
Time at the top: October 5 - 12, 1991
How could this not be the on the list? Yes, yes, that's Mark Wahlberg. Or should we say Marky Mark, Wahlberg's Calvin Klein modeling, bouncy rappin', Boston bad-boy alter ego? Way before acting, Wahlberg rose to fame with "Good Vibrations," earning him one week at number one in October 1991.
7. C+C Music Factory - "Gonna Make You Sweat"
Time at the top: February 9 - 16, 1991
It was in your face, it was raw, it was trailblazing. This dance hit not only made waves, but made way for other songs such as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's "Good Vibrations," and Kriss Kross' "Jump."
"Now hit the dance floor / It's gonna make you sweat till you bleed / Is that dope enough indeed"
8. Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby"
Time at the top: November 3 - 10, 1990
"Duh Duh Duh Da Duh Da Duh
Duh Duh Duh Da Duh Da Duh
ICE!"
"Ice Ice Baby" was the first rap song ever to hit the number one spot. So, as much as we deride it now, and may think it obvious that such a basic but catchy song would reach No. 1, it was clearly a big surprise at the time.
9. Los Lobos - "La Bamba"
Time at the top: August 29 - September 12, 1987
Even though most people had no idea what was being said, Los Lobos' version of "La Bamba," originally made famous by Ritchie Valens, was an American hit that was sure to get you on your feet. This song was a huge breakthrough for Spanish music in the US, and held the top spot on Billboard for three straight weeks in the summer of 1987.
10. Domencio Modugno - "Nel blu dipinto di blu"
Time at the top: August 18 - 25 & September 1 - 29, 1958
"Nel blu dipinto di blu," more commonly known as "Volare" is an Italian language song that spent five non-consecutive weeks at the top all the way back in the late '50s. Considering other No. 1's that year were by the likes of Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers, a foreign language song sitting at the top for so long was certainly a surprise.
