Bonus: WHFS' top 99.1 songs of 1991

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a close personal connection to WHFS. Before I moved to the Bay Area, it was my station of choice. Unfortunately, I was too young to have been listening during alternative rock's peak period of popularity, so I've always been curious about what the station sounded like in those days. For the longest time, my resource for that kind of thing has been Rocklists.com, which has year-end countdowns from several important modern rock stations, including KROQ in L.A., 91X in San Diego, Live 105, and yes, even HFS.

This site contains the year-end list for 1992, as well as every year from 1994 to 2004 (The station became defunct in 2005, but has resurfaced on at least two occasions and can currently be heard on 104.9 in Baltimore.) While it is great to see what the station was like musically each year, the lack of 1993 is disappointing as is the lack of any year before '92 (especially 1991, the year that Nirvana's Nevermind catapulted alternative into the mainstream). To make matters worse, Rocklists.com hasn't updated with any new lists since 2008, so I don't know how active it still is.

The good news? I recently came across a site called Einstein's Legacy, which features downloadable files of every one of HFS' year-end countdowns from 1991 to 1999. From its selection of songs to the various IDs, deejays, and commercials, it truly is a wonderful throwback for those who experienced HFS in the '90s and a great curio for anyone who just wants to know what it was like. Now the 2 lists I always wanted to see on Rocklists.com can be found on the Internet. If you want to experience the tapes in all their glory, I strongly suggest going over to Einstein's Legacy. If you just want to see what songs made the list in text form, you've come to the right place. I'll be posting the 1993 list tomorrow.

(Songs are in reverse order.)

99.1. Jeannie’s Diner (Parody of “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega)

99. Northside- Take Five

98. They Eat Their Own- Like a Drug

97. John Cougar Mellencamp- Love and Happiness

96. Meat Puppets- Sam

95. Right Said Fred- I’m Too Sexy

94. Chapterhouse- Pearl

93. Julian Cope- Beautiful Love

92. Gang of Four- Don’t Fix What Ain’t Broke

91. Judybats- Daylight

90. Ratcat- That Ain’t Bad

89. Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy- Television, the Drug of the Nation

88. Blue Aeroplanes- Yr Own World

87. Lenny Kravitz- Always on the Run

86. Will and the Bushmen- DC to Moscow

85. Merchants of Venus- Say Ahh

84. Daniel Ash- This Love

83. My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult- Sex on Wheelz

82. John Wesley Harding- The People’s Drug

81.Fugazi- Latin Roots

80. Jimmy Somerville- To Love Somebody

79. House of Freaks- Rocking Chair

78. House of Love- I Don’t Know Why I Love You

77. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- Makin’ Some Noise

76. Golden Palominos- Alive and Living Now

75. King Missile- I Wish

74. Carter USM- Sheriff Fatman

73. The Blessing- Highway 5

72. Tin Machine- Baby Universal

71. Stress- Flowers in the Rain

70. Dramarama- Haven’t Got a Clue

69. Latour- People Are Still Having Sex

68. Five Thirty- 13th Disciple

67. Jane’s Addiction- Ripple

66. Shamen- Move Any Mountain

65. Matthew Sweet- Divine Intervention

64. Simple Minds- See the Lights

63. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts- Backlash

62. Connells- Get a Gun

61. The Farm- All Together Now

60. Elvis Costello- The Other Side of Summer

59. Primal Scream- Movin’ On Up

58. Fishbone- Everyday Sunshine

57. Bruce Cockburn- A Dream Like Mine

56. Red Hot Chili Peppers- Give it Away

55. Peter Himmelman- Woman with the Strength of 10,000 Men

54. Transvision Vamp- Be With You (I Just Wanna)

53. Richard Thompson- I Feel So Good

52. Teenage Fanclub- Star Sign

51. Jesus Jones- Real Real Real

50. Milltown Brothers- Which Way Should I Jump?

49. Inspiral Carpets- This is How it Feels

48. Marshall Crenshaw- Better Back Off

47. MC 900 Ft Jesus- The City Sleeps

46. Erasure- Chorus

45. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin- Happy

44. Alison Moyet- It Won’t Be Long

43. Primus- Jerry Was a Racecar Driver

42. R.E.M.- Radio Song

41. Divinyls- I Touch Myself

40. Hoodoo Gurus- Miss Freelove 69

39. Kitchens of Distinction- Drive That Fast

38. Joe Jackson- It’s All Too Much

37. The Ocean Blue- Cerulean

36. Kristy MacColl- Walking Down Madison

35. Violent Femmes- American Music

34. Judybats- Native Son

33. Gary Clail on U-Sound System— Human Nature

32. Morrissey- Our Frank

31. Squeeze- Satisfied

30. Candyskins- Submarine Song

29. Lloyd Cole- She’s a Girl and I’m a Man

28. U2- The Fly

27. Smithereens- Now and Then

26. Big Audio Dynamite II- The Globe

25. Crowded House- Chocolate Cake

24. Billy Bragg- Sexuality

23. EMF- Unbelievable 

22. Enya- Caribbean Blue

21. The Wonder Stuff- Caught in My Shadow

20. Sting- The Soul Cages

19. Voice of the Beehive- Monsters and Angels

18. Havana 3 A.M.- Reach the Rock

17. Psychedelic Furs- Until She Comes

16. Electronic- Get the Message

15. School of Fish- Three Strange Days

14. James- Sit Down

13. Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians- So You Think You’re in Love

12. Material Issue- Valerie Loves Me

11. R.E.M.- Shiny Happy People

10. U2- Mysterious Ways

9. Blur- There’s No Other Way

8. The La’s- There She Goes

7. Siouxsie and the Banshees- Kiss Them for Me

6. Seal- Crazy

5. Too Much Joy- Crush Story

4. Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit

3. R.E.M.- Losing My Religion

2. Big Audio Dynamite II- Rush

1. Jesus Jones- Right Here, Right Now