By mid-decade, the “greatest” lists became impossible to pin down. In 1995, Tupac released California Love (with Dr. Dre), while Oasis and Blur fought the Battle of Britpop. Wonderwall and Song 2 became unavoidable. But the real story was the rise of female artists: Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know (1995) turned rage into a commercial juggernaut, and The Spice Girls’ Wannabe (1996) weaponized girl power with a hook that still haunts wedding DJs.
No list of 100 can satisfy everyone. Angry letters are always written over omissions: Beck’s Loser (1993), My Bloody Valentine’s Only Shallow (1991), and even the macarena-despising critics admit that Smells Like Teen Spirit ’s dominance overshadows PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me or A Tribe Called Quest’s Scenario . 100 greatest 90s songs
Then came Macarena (Los del Río, 1995)—a song critics loved to hate, but which spent 14 weeks at #1. Any credible list of the 100 greatest 90s songs must include it, not for artistry, but as a monument to the decade’s love of goofy, unifying dance crazes. By mid-decade, the “greatest” lists became impossible to
In 1999, as the clock ticked toward Y2K, music critics and fans began a ritual that would only grow more obsessive with time: arguing about the best songs of the 1990s. Unlike the clear-cut narratives of the 60s (Beatlemania) or 70s (disco vs. rock), the 90s refused to sit still. Any list of the “100 greatest” is less a ranking and more a map of a decade that began with hair metal’s last gasp and ended with Britney Spears’ schoolgirl uniform. Wonderwall and Song 2 became unavoidable
If one song started the 90s as we remember them, it’s Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991). Released on Nevermind , it didn’t invent grunge, but it murdered the excess of 80s rock overnight. Within a year, lists of the greatest songs had to make room for Pearl Jam’s Alive , Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun , and Alice in Chains’ Rooster . But grunge wasn’t alone. Dr. Dre’s Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang (1992) introduced G-funk, proving that West Coast hip-hop would define the decade’s street sound. Meanwhile, Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U (1990) showed that a bald Irish woman with a Prince-penned ballad could break everyone’s heart.
By mid-decade, the “greatest” lists became impossible to pin down. In 1995, Tupac released California Love (with Dr. Dre), while Oasis and Blur fought the Battle of Britpop. Wonderwall and Song 2 became unavoidable. But the real story was the rise of female artists: Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know (1995) turned rage into a commercial juggernaut, and The Spice Girls’ Wannabe (1996) weaponized girl power with a hook that still haunts wedding DJs.
No list of 100 can satisfy everyone. Angry letters are always written over omissions: Beck’s Loser (1993), My Bloody Valentine’s Only Shallow (1991), and even the macarena-despising critics admit that Smells Like Teen Spirit ’s dominance overshadows PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me or A Tribe Called Quest’s Scenario .
Then came Macarena (Los del Río, 1995)—a song critics loved to hate, but which spent 14 weeks at #1. Any credible list of the 100 greatest 90s songs must include it, not for artistry, but as a monument to the decade’s love of goofy, unifying dance crazes.
In 1999, as the clock ticked toward Y2K, music critics and fans began a ritual that would only grow more obsessive with time: arguing about the best songs of the 1990s. Unlike the clear-cut narratives of the 60s (Beatlemania) or 70s (disco vs. rock), the 90s refused to sit still. Any list of the “100 greatest” is less a ranking and more a map of a decade that began with hair metal’s last gasp and ended with Britney Spears’ schoolgirl uniform.
If one song started the 90s as we remember them, it’s Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991). Released on Nevermind , it didn’t invent grunge, but it murdered the excess of 80s rock overnight. Within a year, lists of the greatest songs had to make room for Pearl Jam’s Alive , Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun , and Alice in Chains’ Rooster . But grunge wasn’t alone. Dr. Dre’s Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang (1992) introduced G-funk, proving that West Coast hip-hop would define the decade’s street sound. Meanwhile, Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U (1990) showed that a bald Irish woman with a Prince-penned ballad could break everyone’s heart.