they changed the rules earlier, that no song could chart without a commercial release. The rule changed at the end of 1998, so songs like Torn and Iris eventually charted, but not as high as they would've gotten at their peak.

 

The most obvious ones I can think of are:

 

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (#1 for 18 weeks on airplay)

No Doubt - Don't Speak (#1 for 16 weeks on airplay)

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (#1 for 11 weeks on airplay)

Cardigans - Lovefool (#1 airplay)

Green Day - Basket Case (#1 airplay)

But would all of those have still made #1? Even if the rules changed.

 

The #1 on airplay is not always the #1 on the Hot 100: there could have been some big-selling songs out the weeks that Cardigans and Green Day were getting a lot of airplay. (The others I think would have topped the charts if they were #1 on airplay for so long.)

^^^Mary J Blige was #1 for 14weeks I think with Be Without You on the Airplay chart but only got to #3 on the actual combined chart...

^^Yeah but that's because sales for digital downloads now are huge. Back then sales were for only singles chart, which were small and airplay was the main factor for success. Those would've been definite #1s

Britney Spears - Toxic :D

^^Yeah but that's because sales for digital downloads now are huge. Back then sales were for only singles chart, which were small and airplay was the main factor for success. Those would've been definite #1s

I see. Thanks for clearing that up.

^^^Mary J Blige was #1 for 14weeks I think with Be Without You on the Airplay chart but only got to #3 on the actual combined chart...

 

But that was a song nobody liked, not like Iris, Don´t Speak or Torn which were everyone´s favourites at the time and still remembered as classics... These days classic songs don´t exist anymore cause radios only play urban or rnb stuff in USA, even if people prefer other songs.