The 22 Best Whitney Houston Songs of All Time, Ranked In Honor of Her 60th Birthday

• Album - My Love Is Your Love
• Our Favorite Lyric - "All I really wanted was some of your time. Instead you told me lies."

The year 1998 was something of a rebirth for Whitney as she released her fourth studio album My Love Is Your Love towards the end of the year. From a studio album standpoint, the general public hadn't heard from Whitney since 1991's I'm Your Baby Tonight, but the wait was worth it because we got grown Whitney—Whitney Houston the mother. We'll get into another major record off this album in a little bit, but as for "Heartbreak Hotel," the single was a huge success peaking at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, and receiving two grammy nominations.

• Album - The Bodyguard
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Each day, each day I play the role. Of someone always in control. But at night I come home and turn the key. There's nobody there, no one cares for me"

Couple of things here—first of all, if you haven't seen The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, then we strongly suggest you do—it makes Whitney's songs from the soundtrack hit even different. Second of all, the vocals. Whitney's delivery on this song (plus the lyrics) will make you cry putting the powerhouse in powerhouse ballad. There's a reason why this was nominated for an Academy Award.

• Album - Cinderella
• Our Favorite Lyric - "But the world is full of zanies and fools. Who don't believe in sensible rules."

Yes we're putting this on here. This song meant/means a lot for us young Black girls who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s. Cinderella was our first time seeing ourselves as a Disney Princess (shoutout to Brandy) and a Fairy Godmother (shoutout to Whitney), and while all the songs were memorable, for some reason "Impossible" is the first one that seems to pop up in our heads when thinking about the movie. I know I'm not the only one who cried when watching the 25th anniversary last year.

• Album - The Prince of Egypt
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Now, we are not afraid. Although we know there's much to fear. We were moving mountains."

Whitney cemented her case for being one of the greatest voices of all time in the 1980s, but the early 1990s introduced another all time great voice to us—Mariah Carey. In 1998, Whitney and Mariah joined forces to deliver one of the greatest vocal duets of ever created—"When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, which wound up winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song the following year.

Sidenote: If you haven't seen Whitney and Mariah's performance from the 1999 Academy Awards, you must do so immediately.

• Album - The Bodygyard
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Oh, I can sense your needs like rain onto the seeds. I can make a rhyme of confusion in your mind."

Originally done by Chaka Khan in 1978, Whitney's version was recorded for The Bodygyard soundtrack and released as an official single at the top of 1993. The Bodyguard was truly a great era for Whitney as in additional to the movie's success, Whitney multiple chart smashes. "I'm Every Woman" was one of those smashes, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• Album - Waiting to Exhale
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Call on me, I will be there. Don't be afraid. Please believe me when I say. Count on me."

Waiting to Exhale doesn't get enough credit for being one of the best film soundtracks ever—Babyface did his thing on this one. "Count on Me" might not be the very first song when you think of when it comes to Whitney Houston, but it's one of those tracks where the muscle memory kick in as soon as you hear it.

• Album - N/A
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Home of the free (Whitney Houston style)"

Yes we're putting this on here because it too because it deserves a spot. It's been said on more than occasion that Whitney wanted to put her individual spin on the National Anthem much in the way Marvin Gaye did in the early 1980s, and put her individual spin on it she did. Whitney's version had people jumping up and down in their living rooms. Legendary.

• Album - Whitney: The Greatest Hits
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Lights, camera, now you're on. Just remember you've been warned."

For 2000s Whitney: The Greatest Hits, Whitney teamed up with rising young R&B starlet Debra Cox for "Same Script, Different Cast," and we can say is range. Whitney's voice was incredible as always, Debra's voice was incredible as always, and the both of them together were magic. Whoever said this was the "grown woman" version of "The Boy Is Mine" was spot on.

• Album - The Preacher's Wife
• Our Favorite Lyric - "And like the river finds the sea. I was lost, now I'm free. Cause I believe In you and me."

Soundtrack Whitney was in full effect in the 1990s. Another great film she starred during that era was The Preacher's Wife, and similar to her other films, the soundtrack produced some legendary titles. One of those was "I Believe in You and Me," which was a cover of The Four Tops' version from 1983. "I Believe in You and Me" was a commercial success, debuting at No. 7 and No. 6 respectively on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B Singles Chart.

• Album - 1988 Summer Olympics
• Our Favorite Lyric - "I broke my heart. Fought every gain. To taste the sweet. I face the pain."

In 1988, a compilation soundtrack was released to celebrate the 1988 Summer Olympics, and the first single released off the soundtrack was Houston's "One Moment in Time," which was a poignant ballad about fighting tooth and nail to become victorious. Peaking at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, "One Moment in Time" is considered to be one of Whitney's best.

• Album - My Love Is Your Love
• Our Favorite Lyric - "If six of y'all went out, then four of you were really cheap."

If you didn't know how to do math before 1998/1999, Whitney taught you personally with "It's Not Right but It's Okay." A Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins production, the single helped kicked off what wound up being a great 1999 in terms of albums, music, and music videos.

• Album - Waiting to Exhale
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Sometimes you'll laugh, sometimes you'll cry. Life never tells us, the when's or why's."

Everyone falls in love sometimes (Whitney voice). Another classic slow jam from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, Whitney's vocal prowess was on another level as her vocal maturity can really be heard throughout the track. "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" debuted at No. 1. There aren't very many songs that have done that in history, but "Exhale" is one of them.

• Album - Whitney
• Our Favorite Lyric - "The ride with you was worth the fall my friend."

Whitney's run in 1987 was insane. "Didn't We Almost Have it All" was fifth (meaning five in a row) consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The power of Whitney's voice is insane here as she's hitting sorts of crazy runs throughout, and the crazy thing is that she was only 23-years-old when she recorded this. To have that kind of vocal ability in your early twenties is wild.

• Album - I'm Your Baby Tonight
• Our Favorite Lyric - "He fills me up, he gives me love. More love than I've ever seen."

Originally recorded by Linda Clifford in 1982, Houston re-recorded "All the Man That I Need" for her third album I'm Your Baby Tonight. Released in December 1990, the previous complaint of "All the Man That I Need" was that nobody was getting a hit with the track—that is until Whitney got a hold of it. Another No. 1—and it's one of her best.

• Album - I'm Your Baby Tonight
• Our Favorite Lyric - "You got a, you got a way that you makin' me feel. I can, feel I can do any, do anything, yeah."

The high pitched notes. The chords. The melody. The ever-so-slight rock & roll feel this song has. The music video and its respective performance. There's a big reason why "I'm Your Baby Tonight" is considered one of Houston's best. It's a perfect track from top to bottom.

• Album - Whitney
• Our Favorite Lyric - "I've been around enough to know. That dreams don't turn to gold."

Remember that crazy 1987 run by Whitney we mentioned earlier? "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was the seventh number one off her Whitney album, which set a record that was previously held by both The Beatles and The Bee Gees. Mama was on a roll that year.

• Album - Whitney Houston
• Our Favorite Lyric - "You used to tell me we'd run away together. Love gives you the right to be free."

Here "Saving All My Love for You" almost makes us want to cry because this was baby Whitney—debut Whitney. If you didn't know who Whitney Houston was before, you sure did know after the release of "Saving All My Love for You," which became her first number one single.

• Album - Whitney Houston
• Our Favorite Lyric - "If he loves me. If he loves me not."

Speaking of Whitney's debut record "How Will I Know" was another smash success, and her second number one single off the album. The song is flirty, fun, and oh so 1980s, and so is the video too for that matter. Whitney had a lot people wearing her hair and dressing like her after the release of "How Will I Know."

• Album - Whitney
• Our Favorite Lyric - "I gotta watch you walk in the room baby. I gotta watch you walk out."

Ooh we're getting down to the wire. Coming in at our number four spot is 1987's "So Emotional," which was her sixth consecutive number one. Not only is the tune one of Whitney's most beloved, but at the time of its release, it was known as a "club banger." They were playing "So Emotional" all up in and around the clubs, which caused it to become the sixth best charting song of 1988.

• Album - Whitney Houston
• Our Favorite Lyric - "Never stopping, I was always searching. For that perfect love. The kind that girls like me dream of."

In at number three is "You Give Good Love," which wound up becoming top ten hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fun Fact: "You Give Good Love" was Whitney's first ever solo release. She had previously worked on a duet with Teddy Pendergrass the year before called "Hold Me," but this song was her first ever solo release.

• Album - Whitney
• Our Favorite Lyric - "So when the night falls. My lonely heart calls."

One of Whitney's biggest smashes (and that's say something). "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" is pure joy—if you weren't in a good a$$ mood before listening, your mood instantly perks up. It's one the most notable songs to come from the 1980s, and that's why we've got it as our number two.

• Album - The Bodyguard
• Our Favorite Lyric - "I hope life treats you kind. And I hope you have all you've dreamed of. And I wish to you joy and happiness. And I wish to you joy and happiness."

Is it cliche to put "I Will Always Love You" as our number one? It absolutely is. Dolly Parton will tell you herself that she got beat by Whitney on this, with Houston's version literally being one of the best-selling singles of all time. As of January 2013, the song had sold over 22 million copies worldwide. Add in ten years, and we've got to be sitting at around 30 million. At least. Long live Whitney Houston.