Consider this another honorable mention, since their 1989 song Personal Jesus was forgotten during last year’s countdown.  However, this song’s placement in this 1990 countdown makes more sense because this was the tune that introduced me to Depeche Mode.  Even today, this song would still be a hit with its sound and great chorus.  Coming in at #17 is Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode.  

Sometimes a song goes away for a little while but starts to come back slowly until it floods our consciousness.  That’s the point of this countdown, and this song is a perfect example of it.  REO Speedwagon has been around for a while and has only recently made a comeback on the concert circuit, with this early hit of theirs leading the way.  Coming in at #18 is Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon.

My wife loves this song more than I do, but I cannot deny how much the song sticks in your head after hearing it.  It’s also a very well-crafted song and was the song that jump-started Mrs. Carey’s career.  While other songs she did were better than this one in the years ahead, this is still a great r&b song that deserves it’s 18th place in this countdown: Vision of Love by Mariah Carey.

If there ever was a song that made country bars stand up and sing in unison, it was this one.  Arguably the song that shot Garth Brooks to superstardom, I didn’t realize this was a 1990 song until I started to do some research.  While to some of your surprise there were other songs that topped this one, it is an iconic song that bridged the gap between mainstream and country and it’s one of the most played and requested songs today.  Coming in at #19 is Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks.

Some songs have such a hook that they cross over in all aspects of life.  To be honest, most of the rest of the song doesn’t grab me, but it’s short enough of a track and the chorus/hook is so good it had to make its way to this countdown.  When you quote a line in song at random, 40 years on, it’s a classic, and this classic comes in at #19, 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton.

Kicking off the Top 20 Songs Turning 40 Years Old Countdown is a song I forgot was released during this year, and its theme song is as iconic as the movie and television series it represents.  Glee would not have existed were it not for this movie and tv show, and the title track helped make it that much more memorable.  Coming at #20 is the song Fame from the Fame Movie Soundtrack.