1998
16 different songs reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998. The year opened with Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight by Elton John at the top, and The Boy Is Mine by Brandy & Monica held #1 the longest — 13 weeks in 1998.
Prices rose 1.6% over 1997, a calm year by historical standards. One dollar in 1998 buys about what $1.98 buys in 2025.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $1.06, down 14% from 1997. In 2025 dollars that is $2.09, against an actual 2025 average of $3.26.
Mailing a letter took a 32¢ stamp (it is 73¢ in 2025), and the federal minimum wage was $5.15 an hour.
Every #1 hit of 1998
| Song | Artist | First week at #1 | Weeks at #1 in 1998 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight | Elton John | Jan 3 | 2 |
| Truly Madly Deeply | Savage Garden | Jan 17 | 2 |
| Together Again | Janet | Jan 31 | 2 |
| Nice & Slow | Usher | Feb 14 | 2 |
| My Heart Will Go On | Celine Dion | Feb 28 | 2 |
| Gettin' Jiggy Wit It | Will Smith | Mar 14 | 3 |
| All My Life | K-Ci & JoJo | Apr 4 | 3 |
| Too Close | Next | Apr 25 | 5 |
| My All | Mariah Carey | May 23 | 1 |
| The Boy Is Mine | Brandy & Monica | Jun 6 | 13 |
| I Don't Want To Miss A Thing | Aerosmith | Sep 5 | 4 |
| The First Night | Monica | Oct 3 | 5 |
| One Week | Barenaked Ladies | Oct 17 | 1 |
| Doo Wop (That Thing) | Lauryn Hill | Nov 14 | 2 |
| Lately | Divine | Nov 28 | 1 |
| I'm Your Angel | R. Kelly & Celine Dion | Dec 5 | 4 |
Weeks are counted within 1998; a song that carried over from 1997 or into 1999 shows only its 1998 weeks.
What things cost in 1998
| Item | 1998 price | In 2025 dollars | Actual 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallon of regular gas | $1.06 | $2.09 | $3.26 |
| Dozen large eggs | $1.04 | $2.05 | $4.25 |
| Loaf of white bread (per lb) | $0.86 | $1.70 | $1.87 |
| Gallon of whole milk | $2.70 | $5.34 | $4.07 |
| Ground beef (per lb) | $1.41 | $2.79 | $6.09 |
| Whole chicken (per lb) | $1.04 | $2.06 | $2.06 |
| Bacon (per lb) | $2.54 | $5.02 | $7.02 |
| Ground coffee (per lb) | $3.77 | $7.44 | $8.18 |
| Bananas (per lb) | $0.49 | $0.98 | $0.65 |
| Sugar (per lb) | $0.43 | $0.85 | $1.02 |
| Potatoes (per lb) | $0.38 | $0.74 | $0.96 |
| Flour (per lb) | $0.30 | $0.59 | $0.56 |
| Electricity (per kWh) | $0.09 | $0.17 | $0.18 |
| Federal minimum wage (per hour) | $5.15 | $10.17 | $7.25 |
| Median new home sale price | $151,925 | $300,054 | $415,400 |
| First-class stamp | 32¢ | 63¢ | 73¢ |
Compare 1998 prices with any amount → · Find the #1 song on any day in 1998 →
The internet in 1998
- September 4, 1998Google is founded — Google incorporates and moves into a garage in Menlo Park, California. source
- September 18, 1998ICANN is created — The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers takes over coordinating domain names and addresses. source
See the web as it looked in 1998:
Yahoo! ↗Netscape ↗AOL ↗CNN ↗Amazon ↗Apple ↗Microsoft ↗The White House ↗GeoCities ↗Space Jam ↗eBay ↗Google ↗
Links open the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine at its capture nearest July 1, 1998.
