# List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1991

Adult Contemporary is a chart published by Billboard ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1991, 18 songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Adult Contemporary, based on playlists submitted by radio stations.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 5, English singer-songwriter Elton John was at number one with "You Gotta Love Someone", its fourth week atop the chart. The song held the top spot for the first two weeks of 1991 before being displaced by "Because I Love You (the Postman Song)" by Stevie B. The longest unbroken run at number one was achieved in August and September by Canadian singer Bryan Adams, whose song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" spent eight consecutive weeks in the top spot, the longest run atop the AC chart since 1979. The song, taken from the soundtrack of the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, also topped Billboard's all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100, for seven weeks and was ranked by the magazine as the year's top song. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television, as well as being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song, the first of three Oscar nominations for the singer. Several other songs which topped the AC chart also reached the top spot on the Hot 100, including "The First Time" by Surface and "All the Man That I Need" by Whitney Houston, consecutive AC chart-toppers in February, which in addition reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles listing.
Only two artists achieved more than one number one during the year. Amy Grant had two chart-toppers and spent a total of six weeks at number one with "Baby Baby" and "That's What Love Is For", both taken from the album Heart in Motion. Grant had experienced significant success in the contemporary Christian music field since the late 1970s, but had begun to move into the secular market in the late 1980s. Heart in Motion was her first album to be primarily targeted at top 40 radio, and five of its songs reached the top 5 of the AC chart. Michael Bolton was the only artist to achieve three Hot Adult Contemporary number ones in 1991 and topped the chart for a total of ten weeks with "Love Is a Wonderful Thing", "Time, Love and Tenderness" and "When a Man Loves a Woman", giving him the highest number of weeks atop the chart of any act in 1991. "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" was the only song to be displaced from number one and return to the top spot. The final number one of the year was "Keep Coming Back" by Richard Marx, which spent the final two weeks of the year in the top spot.

## Chart history

Key :
| † | Indicates best-performing AC song of 1991 |
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) |
| January 5 | "You Gotta Love Someone" | Elton John |
| January 12 | "You Gotta Love Someone" | Elton John |
| January 19 | "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)" | Stevie B |
| January 26 | "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)" | Stevie B |
| February 2 | "The First Time" | Surface |
| February 9 | "The First Time" | Surface |
| February 16 | "All the Man That I Need" | Whitney Houston |
| February 23 | "All the Man That I Need" | Whitney Houston |
| March 2 | "All the Man That I Need" | Whitney Houston |
| March 9 | "All the Man That I Need" | Whitney Houston |
| March 16 | "Coming Out of the Dark" | Gloria Estefan |
| March 23 | "Coming Out of the Dark" | Gloria Estefan |
| March 30 | "You're in Love" | Wilson Phillips |
| April 6 | "You're in Love" | Wilson Phillips |
| April 13 | "You're in Love" | Wilson Phillips |
| April 20 | "You're in Love" | Wilson Phillips |
| April 27 | "Cry for Help" | Rick Astley |
| May 4 | "Baby Baby" | Amy Grant |
| May 11 | "Baby Baby" | Amy Grant |
| May 18 | "Baby Baby" | Amy Grant |
| May 25 | "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" | Michael Bolton |
| June 1 | "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" | Michael Bolton |
| June 8 | "I Don't Wanna Cry" | Mariah Carey |
| June 15 | "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" | Michael Bolton |
| June 22 | "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" | Michael Bolton |
| June 29 | "Rush Rush" | Paula Abdul |
| July 6 | "Rush Rush" | Paula Abdul |
| July 13 | "Rush Rush" | Paula Abdul |
| July 20 | "Rush Rush" | Paula Abdul |
| July 27 | "Rush Rush" | Paula Abdul |
| August 3 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| August 10 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| August 17 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| August 24 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| August 31 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| September 7 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| September 14 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| September 21 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" † | Bryan Adams |
| September 28 | "Time, Love and Tenderness" | Michael Bolton |
| October 5 | "Time, Love and Tenderness" | Michael Bolton |
| October 12 | "Everybody Plays the Fool" | Aaron Neville |
| October 19 | "Too Many Walls" | Cathy Dennis |
| October 26 | "Too Many Walls" | Cathy Dennis |
| November 2 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | Michael Bolton |
| November 9 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | Michael Bolton |
| November 16 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | Michael Bolton |
| November 23 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | Michael Bolton |
| November 30 | "That's What Love Is For" | Amy Grant |
| December 7 | "That's What Love Is For" | Amy Grant |
| December 14 | "That's What Love Is For" | Amy Grant |
| December 21 | "Keep Coming Back" | Richard Marx |
| December 28 | "Keep Coming Back" | Richard Marx |