The big winners: Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey and newcomer C + C Music Factory. Brooks was the year's top album artist in both pop and country (the first country act to accomplish that since Kenny Rogers 10 years earlier). Brooks was also the year's top male artist in combined singles/album activity, despite not having any pop single success (pop and Top 40 radio still don't get it if it's country). Not surprisingly, Brooks was also top country artist for both albums and singles and had the year's two top albums in "No Fences" and "Garth Brooks" (his instant No. 1 third album, "Ropin' the Wind," was No. 47, mostly because it came out so late in the year; its impact will be felt on the 1992 wrap-up). Last year, Brooks was the top country singles artist; this year he had four No. 1 hits, but Alan Jackson's "Don't Rock the Jukebox" was the No. 1 single. Randy Travis, who had been country music's top dog the last three years, dropped to No. 6. For the seventh year in a row, Reba McEntire is the top country female artist in combined albums and singles activity, while the now-departed Judds are the top duo/group for the third time in five years.

Besides [Crystal Waters]'s and [Shirley Horn]'s high finishes, a number of local artists showed up in Billboard's year-end tallies. Waters was No. 93 top pop singles artist, one place ahead of Tony Terry; she was also No. 19 top pop single female artist, three spots ahead of Roberta Flack; Terry was No. 24 top pop singles male artist. In the R&B charts, Johnny Gill was No. 31 top artist, Terry, No. 40; Gill was No. 30 album artist, with the No. 20 album (Terry had No. 75 and Donny Hathaway's daughter Lalah had No. 81 - all were eponymously titled). Terry was the No. 27 R&B singles artist, Gill No. 36. Gill's "Wrap My Body Tight" was the No. 20 R&B single, Terry's "With You" No. 37 and his "Head Over Heels" closed out the Top 100.