Friday Music Day

Friday Music Day: The 90’s

44 Comments

The Current just wrapped up their list of the top 893 songs of the 90's.

So it seemed an opportune time to ask for everyone else's top 10 song sof the '90's.

Their top 10:
10. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
9. Criminal - Fiona Apple
8. Losing My Religion - REM
7. Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
6. Everlong - Foo Fighters
5. Zombie - The Cranberries
4. Loser - Beck
3. Sabotage - Beastie Boys
2. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

44 thoughts on “Friday Music Day: The 90’s”

  1. 10. Metal Mothers - Guided By Voices
    9. Portable Men's Society - Guided By Voices
    8. Bulldog Skin - Guided By Voices
    7. Watch Me Jumpstart - Guided By Voices
    6. Tractor Rape Chain - Guided By Voices
    5. Echoes Myron - Guided By Voices
    4. I Am a Tree - Guided By Voices
    3. Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox - Guided By Voices
    2. Game of Pricks - Guided By Voices
    1. Sabotage - Beastie Boys

    1. I was genuinely surprised by Sabotage being so high - but obviously it stands out for you too. I would have thought Intergalactic would have topped the Beastie Boys' entries for that matter. Any thoughts on why exactly this one is so high?

      1. The Sabotage video probably pushes it up a bit for a lot of people. I think it’s a fun rock song. Intergalactic is good but feels more like a novelty song. Sabotage is a song you can play LOUD.

  2. "Jeremy" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" were my first two I had to look for -- both are under-ranked.

    btw, I've been hearing Hold Steady "Grand Junction" on the college radio station lately, and I can't help but thinking, "Piano Man" much? Or is that just me?

  3. Shoot, this is going to be very similar to my top 10 of all time. All the greatest music came from the 90's!
    10. Walking In Memphis - Marc Cohn
    9. Bye Bye Bye - N Sync
    8. Come Undone - Duran Duran
    7. Bulls On Parade - Rage Against The Machine
    6. Fell On Black Days - Soundgarden
    5. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
    4. Zombie - The Cranberries
    3. Stinkfist - Tool
    2. Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
    1. I Alone - Live

        1. Ordinary World definitely caught my attention. But it was Come Undone that I really fell in love with. The whole album was one of my first full albums growing up and listened to it relentlessly. I realize their earlier stuff gets more attention, but the Wedding Album will always have a place in my heart.

  4. Not entirely sure how my full top 10 would shake out if I thought about it more, but a reasonable approximation would be something like this:

    10. My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion (let's be honest... this was way more definitive of the 90's than #556. Also the Macarena.)(Not saying this would be a favorite... just a very definitive '90's song).
    9. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
    8. When I Come Around - Green Day
    7. Jesus Freak - DC Talk
    6. Wonderwall - Oasis
    5. If I Had A Million Dollars - BNL
    4. Friends In Low Places - Garth Brooks
    3. Birdhouse In Your Soul - TMBG
    2. Closing Time - Semisonic
    1. Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve

  5. Bye Bye Bye came out in 2000 but should be in the top ten for 90's and 00's.

    I'd have to think about this more, but there is certainly a Garth song on my list. I'm actually looking at Philo's list and I'm pretty much that, but I'd throw in a Blink song (and also take out Oasis because I have an irrational hate for them)

    Also Whitney.

    1. Whitney is a yes, and I feel like I'm missing All 4 One or Boys 2 Men or something like that too.

      1. After thinking about this some more, I'd throw in a Shania song too. Going to have to make a list for real now I guess. *looks at work messages and new zelda game*

  6. Not going to try to make a complete list or rank them but here are ten songs from the 90s that are very good.

    1-That Thing - Lauryn Hill
    2-Cold Blooded Old Times- Smog
    3-Sick of Myself - Matthew Sweet
    4-Delicious - Catherine Wheel
    5-Metronomic Underground - Stereolab
    6-Opus 40- Mercury Rev
    7-I'm Expanding My Mind - Superdrag
    8-6AM Jullander Shere - Cornershop
    9-Only Shallow -MBV
    10-Emma Blowgun's Last Stand - Beulah

    1. That’s a fine list. Especially love the Cornershop and Beulah pulls. I’ve listened to both those artists in the past month. And 6AM Jullander Shere released only as a single. Jai Jai!

  7. 10. Blue on Black, Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
    9. War of Man, Neil Young
    8. Perfectly Good Guitar, John Hiatt
    7. Ray of Light, Madonna
    6. Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor
    5. Come As You Are, Nirvana
    4. Harvest Moon, Neil Young
    3. (I Wanna Drive the) Zamboni, Gear Daddies
    2. Kiss Me, Sixpence None the Richer
    1. Constant Craving, KD Lang

    1. I wanted to include several others (e.g., "Time Heals" from the Gear Daddies, "Give Me One Reason," Tracy Chapman), but....

    2. Kiss Me is a perfect moment in time song for me. It brings me right back to spring semester of senior year of high school. Nice pick.

      1. I was a young parent (and professor) when that came out. The video was adorable.

  8. If there was one decade I didn't listen to all that much, it was the 90's (grunge? whatever), but here's ten in no order:
    "Darwin" - Third Eye Blind
    "One Week" - Barenaked Ladies
    "Whatever I Fear" - Toad the Wet Sprocket
    "The Impression that I Get" - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
    "Thrill Me" - Simply Red
    "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" - Primitive Radio Gods
    "Regret" - New Order
    "Ordinary World" - Duran Duran
    "Man on the Moon" - REM
    "Birdhouse in My Soul" - They Might be Giants

    ...and some honorable mentions:
    "Interesting Drug" - Morrissey
    "Caribbean Blue" - Enya
    "Jeremy" - Pearl Jam
    "Cliffs of Dover" - Eric Johnson
    "Return to Innocence" - Enigma
    "Lift Me Up" - Yes
    "Tank!" - Cowboy Bebop OST
    "World of the Heart - Main Title" - DragonHeart soundtrack
    "You're the Voice" - Alan Parsons
    "Missing" - Everything But the Girl (dance mix)

    2. I hear you on the whole not-listening (much) that decade. Finishing grad school, then new job, then babies.

  9. This was harder than I would've thought. Favorites list, not "most influential" or "most 90s" or "songs other people like".

    10. Massive Attack - Teardrop
    9. John Williams - Duel of the Fates
    8. The Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies
    7. Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
    6. Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
    5. My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow / When You Sleep (can't choose)
    4. DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World
    3. Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out / Lucky / Paranoid Android)
    2. Oasis - Wonderwall (lots of possibilities here)
    1. Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock (it is incredible how hit and miss (and miss and miss) this band's discography is other than this album)

    Honorable Mentions:
    Len - Steal My Sunshine (how did this not make the full list of 893? There weren't 893 songs in the 90s better than this one)
    The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
    Herbaliser - 8 Point Agenda
    Foo Fighters - Everlong
    Fishmans - Long Season (hard to include, because the "song" is half an hour long)
    Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains
    Beastie Boys - So Whatcha Want?

  10. This seems to be the perfect time and place to say I'm listening to my first Chuck Klosterman book, The Nineties. Current chapter talking about Smells Like Teen Spirit extensively.

    🧌

  12. Hon. Mtn. The Sign -- Ace of Base
    10. Tennessee -- Arrested Development
    9. The Old Apartment -- Barenaked Ladies
    8. Adia -- Sarah Mclachlan
    7. Brick -- Ben Folds Five
    6. On a Bus to St. Cloud -- Trisha Yearwood
    5. Push -- Matchbox20
    4. Hard Workin' Man -- Brooks & Dunn
    3. Learning to Live Again -- Garth Brooks
    2. Mr. Jones -- Counting Crows
    1. Papillon -- Rilo Kiley

  14. I took my assignment as identifying songs that instantly transport me back or still hit me right, rather than a Best of the Nineties list, (which would include a band like Morphine I hadn’t discovered yet):

    10. The Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches
    9. Garbage - Milk
    8. Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
    7. The Wallflowers - One Headlight
    6. Radiohead - No Surprises
    5. Green Day - When I Come Around
    4. Johnny Cash - Sea of Heartbreak
    3. Soul Asylum - Runaway Train
    2. Sarah McLachlan - Adia
    1. Fiona Apple - Slow Like Honey / Never is a Promise (I literally cannot choose; this might be a perfect album).

    Honorable Mention Not Already Mentioned:

    Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet
    Blind Melon - No Rain
    Bob Dylan - Not Dark Yet
    Cake - Stickshifts and Safetybelts
    Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta
    Neutral Milk Hotel - In an Aeroplane Over the Sea
    Nirvana - In Bloom
    No Doubt - Don’t Speak
    Seal - Kiss From a Rose
    Southern Culture on the Skids - Camel Walk
    Sublime - Santeria
    The Verve - The Drugs Don’t Work

    1. Jolene by Cake nearly made my list on notable 90s. Band that has aged pretty well

        1. The best part of seeing them live is that McCrea is so unhappy and often complains about having to do a show, or anything at all. He once threw a tantrum because the fans sang Happy Birthday to his band mate Xan McCurdy

  15. In no particular order. Probably missing many more that meant a lot to me at the time.

    Dyslexic Heart – Paul Westerberg
    Right Here, Right Now – Jesus Jones
    Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong – Spin Doctors
    There She Goes – The La’s
    You Get What You Give – New Radicals
    Harvest Moon – Neil Young
    When I Come Around – Green Day
    Rush – Big Audio Dynamite
    Time Bomb – Rancid
    Laugh Kills Lonesome – Michael Nesmith
    Runaway Train – Soul Asylum

  16. Not a definitive list because that list would be at least 50 songs,and not breaking any new ground with these songs, but these songs were the ones that instantly popped in my head and took me back to that time

    Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
    1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
    Whats the Frequency, Kenneth - R.E.M.
    Joey - Concrete Blonde
    Praise You - Fatboy Slim

    86 - Green Day
    Just Another Day = Jon Secada
    Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
    All Apologies (Unplugged) - Nirvana
    Mysterious Ways - U2

  17. Misunderstood - Wilco
    Enter Sandman - Metallica
    Alive - Pearl Jam
    Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog
    Mr. Jones - Counting Crows

    Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Everlong - Foo Fighters
    Jealous Again - The Black Crowes
    Blue - Jayhawks
    Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet

    Ten songs is impossible. I could easily be convinced to drop any of these for any song in my next ten.

  18. 1. TLC - Waterfalls
    2. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
    3. Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
    4. Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger
    5. Cake - Let Me Go
    6. Spacehog - In the Meantime
    7. C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
    8. Pulp - Common People
    9. Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
    10. Republica - Drop Dead Gorgeous

    I could also go about 90 songs deeper before any noticeable drop-off.

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