Setting Sun would definitely be my favourite number 1 from 1996 with Firestarter in second place and Three Lions third.

Great rundown- 1996 was a great year filled with fantastic memories of Uni for me!

Great stuff, your top 2 would be the same as mine for this year, both all time favourites and they make a good case for the two good sides of Noel Gallagher, a psychedelic trip and a classic rock anthem x Both Prodigy ones were fantastic too, I'd have the Spice Girls songs in reverse order but all were very strong singles, tough to understate how much they changed the game.

Great countdown @Jester andngteat winner.

I’ve started getting into Oasis’s singles the past few months and I think this would be my favourite. So I’m happy to see it finish #1 here.

yes great countdown, also my fave Chemical Brothers track easily and a chart-topper for me, the Beatles/psychedelic influences were big appealing to me and the beats underlined them for the 90's, and ditto Oasis - I bought the album and what got single release sometimes mystified me, but Anger was a no-brainer classic. It's become increasingly anthemic over the years, and I could do with having a break from it for a few years to get back the freshness, but that's not likely....!

My top 5 would be Oasis, Chems, George x2 and Mark Morrison I think but it's quite close with the Spices and Firestarter nearby.

On 29/09/2025 at 09:41, Jade said:

Going to predict an Oasis victory for this year!

*.* I may have seen it coming but no complaints whatsoever, 'Don't Look Back In Anger' is such an anthem. I sadly didn't get to experience the Oasis reunion shows but did catch your #2 live when watching The Chemical Brothers in 2019 and I suppose that incorporates the best of both worlds, with their production and Noel's vocals. The Beatles' Revolver is my favourite album of all-time and it's fascinating to see how far its influence stretches, with #1s alone you've got 'Start!' by The Jam poaching the riff of 'Taxman' and as pointed out, 'Setting Sun' owes a lot of influence to 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. The makeover is in typical thrilling Chemical Brothers fashion though, so I can get on board.

I liked the laidback pop/R&B route for the Spice Girls on 'Say You'll Be There' and the music video is one of their best. Away from the A-side, 'Take Me Home' is my favourite of their B-sides, an interesting trip-hop swerve for them.

Thank you for putting this countdown together, Jester! It was fun to follow

There were some great records in 1996 but very few of them got to number one. I've not take a proper look at the list before, most of those records are dreadful.

My Top 3 would be "Breathe" by The Prodigy, "Setting Sun" by Chemical Brothers and "Ready Or Not" by Fugees.

I've never been able to get into Oasis which is a bit of a shame because I often find myself nodding and agreeing with what Noel Gallagher has to say. One factor is that I find their music too slow.

1997 will start tomorrow!

1997 was the first year I started to take an interest in chart music, so I’m looking forward to this. 1998 was my first full year where I was fully into it

I remembered both Jester and me giving “Don’t Look Back In Anger” 30 in Gezza’s favourite #1 of the 90s rate so that part wasn’t a surprise, but it was great to revisit all the rest. I’ve had a go at a ranking now (which certainly wouldn’t have been my ranking at the time).

1. Oasis – Don’t Look Back In Anger

2. The Prodigy – Breathe

3. The Fugees - Ready Or Not

4. George Michael - Fastlove

5. The Prodigy – Firestarter

6. Baddiel / Skinner / Lighting Seeds – 3 Lions

7. Spice Girls – 2 Become 1

8. Gina G - Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit

9. The Chemical Brothers – Setting Sun

10. Babylon Zoo - Spaceman

11. Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack

12. The Fugees - Killing Me Softly

13. George Michael - Jesus To A Child

14. Spice Girls - Say You’ll Be There

15. Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany’s

16. Spice Girls - Wannabe

And then it suddenly drops off very dramatically so I think I’ll give up

Fab number one. That's still my fave Oasis song and especially of their 90s singles.

Two Prodigy placements in the top 5 is excellent too and 'Say You'll Be There' is another

great release from Spice Girls + 'Fastlove' for George is really good as well!