Top 200 Songs of the '90s

1. Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know

2008-04-17T17:14:00.001-07:00

Found On: Jagged Little Pill (1995)

Do I need to tell you about this song? The big hit on the big album of the decade, its rage was as unbridled as its success. Wherever the guy is who inspired such anger, he’s probably still smarting. - RN

2. Lisa Loeb – Stay (I Missed You)

2008-04-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

Found On: Tails (1994)

You know, Stay doesn’t have a chorus to speak of, and yet nearly anyone aged 25 – 35 can sing large portions of it, if not the entire song. How does THAT happen?

3. They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse In Your Soul

2008-04-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Found On: Flood (1990)
Picked By: MT

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is TMBG’s best song, an ode to a nightlight that is full of non-sequiters and SAT vocabulary words, but still comes off as oddly touching .

4. Deee-Lite - Groove Is In the Heart

2008-04-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

Found On: World Clique (1990)

Because groove IS in the heart. - EE

5. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

2008-04-17T17:07:00.001-07:00

Found On: Nevermind (1991)
Picked By: MT

The most influential song ever inspired by a deodorant.

6. Smashing Pumpkins - Mayonaise

2008-04-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Found On: Siamese Dream (1993)
Picked By: DH

Dave wanted to nominate the entire Siamese Dream album, and I wouldn’t let him. Still, it had more songs nominated from it than any other album. Mayonaise, unlike its differently-spelled namesake, is not heavy, but it does bring a different flavor to the album.

7. R.E.M. - Losing My Religion

2008-04-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Found On: Out Of Time (1991)

I was mildly scandalized by the song's title / chorus when I first heard it. I was a good church-goin' boy and it felt wrong to enjoy the song so much. Now that I've learned the song is actually about a huge hidden crush and not spirituality, I like it both less and more.

8. Radiohead – Creep

2008-04-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Found On: Pablo Honey (1993)

Did I beat Richard in suggesting this? – MT

Yes, you did.

9. Ice Cube – It Was A Good Day

2008-04-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Found On: The Predator (1993)
Picked By: MT

Ice Cube’s idea of a perfect day (a game of basketball followed by craps and dominoes, a Laker win, drunk driving, the Goodyear blimp displaying that you are, in fact, a pimp) may differ slightly from mine, but his enthusiasm is contagious.

10. Green Day – Basket Case

2008-04-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Found On: Dookie (1994)

In purer times I actually discovered new music via MTV. When I saw the video for Basket Case one night I knew that I had to get the album right away. Like the Sex Pistols and Ramones before them, Billie Joe and the boys expressed teenage alienation flawlessly.

11. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

2008-04-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

Found On: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990)

Can Prince write a song or can Prince write a song?! This tune was first performed by a group called The Family in ’85 and it wasn’t until Sinead’s impassioned performance that it became the classic it is now.

12. Weezer – Buddy Holly

2008-04-17T16:58:00.002-07:00

Found On: Weezer (1994)

I’m going to admit this here: As a high schooler I had a big crush on Mary Tyler Moore. Not the single-gal-in-Minneapolis version, but the sassy-wife-of-Dick Van Dyke version. So this song always made perfect sense to me. And the video is my favorite ever.

13. Sting - Fields Of Gold

2008-04-17T16:58:00.001-07:00

Found On: Ten Summoner's Tales (1993)

Reflective, gentle and vaguely sensual, this song knocks my socks off.

14. Counting Crows - Mr. Jones

2008-04-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Found On: August And Everything After (1993)

Adam Duritz name-checks Bob Dylan and Pablo Picasso while anticipating reality television: “When I look at the television, I want to see me staring right back at me!” The Crows would have many more hits, but none touched the sheer bliss of this. - RN

15. Freedy Johnston - Bad Reputation

2008-04-17T16:55:00.002-07:00

Found On: This Perfect World (1994)

I’d be more convinced of Mr. Johnston’s alleged “bad reputation” if this song weren’t so pretty. A sweet musical yin to Joan Jett’s sassy yang.

16. Toad The Wet Sprocket - Walk On The Ocean

2008-04-17T16:55:00.001-07:00

Found On: Fear (1991)
Picked By: MT

As far as I can tell this song is NOT about Jesus.

17. The Jayhawks - Blue

2008-04-17T16:54:00.001-07:00

Found On: Tomorrow The Green Grass (1995)

My grandfather bought this CD for me at a Venture department store in Decatur, Illinois. How had I heard of it? That detail is lost to time. All I know is that as a college freshman who supposedly hated country, it sounded pretty sweet to my ear.

18. Fiona Apple - Criminal

2008-04-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

Found On: Tidal (1996)

She may have been a bad, bad girl—the video for this song was downright naughty—but this is a remarkable song. “I’ve been careless with a delicate man?” Perhaps—but there isn’t a careless or misplaced note or word here. - RN

19. Beta Band - Dry The Rain

2008-04-17T16:52:00.001-07:00

Found On: The 3 E.P.s (1998)

You might remember this song from the scene in High Fidelity where John Cusack’s character says “I will now sell 5 copies of The Three E.P.’s by The Beta Band.” Why were the patrons of Championship Vinyl compelled to buy a copy of this album? Because this song is fucking good, that’s why. - EE

20. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

2008-04-17T16:51:00.001-07:00

Found On: Millennium (1999)

While the European version makes more sense, lyrically, than the slightly schizophrenic version that ruled American charts, there’s no question that this was one of the catchiest songs of this or any decade. - RN

21. Bel Biv Devoe – Poison

2008-04-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

Found On: Poison (1990)
Picked By: CR

Three background guys from New Edition came together to form Bel Biv Devoe and immediately scored a hit about a girl who’s “just a big butt and a smile.” To put in perspective how unexpected that was, imagine Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass forming a group and people actually giving a damn.

22. Bonnie Raitt – Something To Talk About

2008-04-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Found On: Luck Of The Draw (1991)

An acknowledgment of rumors, an admission of feelings and a come-on in one fell swoop. I bet Bonnie sang this to Danny Noonan and won him right over.

23. Oasis – Wonderwall

2008-04-17T16:47:00.002-07:00

Found On: What’s The Story (Morning Glory)? (1995)

Ryan Hobart, who lived two dorm rooms down from me freshman year, played Wonderwall incessantly at ear-splitting volume for at least three weeks straight (before he moved on to Gangsta’s Paradise). I still love it.

24. Jimmy Eat World – Lucky Denver Mint

2008-04-17T16:47:00.001-07:00

Found On: Clarity (1998)

Emo’s best band delivers an ode to wishful thinking and humility. Looking back, it’s not hard to see the commercial breakthrough that happened 3 years later.

25. Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong

2008-04-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Found On: Pocket Full Of Kryptonite (1991)
Picked By: MT

What a mean song. I love it.

26. Ben Folds Five - Brick

2008-04-17T16:45:00.002-07:00

Found On: Whatever And Ever Amen (1996)

This was the one that shot the group, and eventually the man, into stardom. Who’d have guessed that a song about driving a girlfriend to have an abortion would touch such a nerve? - RN

27. Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song

2008-04-17T16:45:00.001-07:00

Found On: Purple (1995)

You won't find a song with a more appropriate title. Everytime I hear this I think of a lone gas station by the side of the road in the southwest.

28. Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence

2008-04-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Found On: Violater (1990)

DM are one of the few bands associated with the ‘80s but who were actually BETTER in the ‘90s. They outdid themselves on Enjoy The Silence, an ironic title given the top quality of the song.

29. The Cranberries – Dreams

2008-04-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Found On: Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?
Picked By: ND

Like their countrymen U2, the ‘berries had an anthemic, ringing guitar-driven sound. Unlike U2, they had a singer who actually sounded Irish.

30. Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's

2008-04-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Found On: Home (1995)

The song that inspired a generation of guys to rent the old Audrey Hepburn movie, just in case they met a girl who liked it. And then those same guys fell in love with Holly Golightly

31. Hole - Boys On The Radio

2008-04-17T16:41:00.001-07:00

Found On: Celebrity Skin (1998)

Wherein Courtney Love looks back on the revolution her husband started. Coming so soon after grunge’s commercial nadir, it reads as instant nostalgia, a eulogy for the music and the men who made it. Plus, the song itself sounds like a lost Christine McVie composition.

32. Haddaway - What Is Love

2008-04-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

Found On: Haddaway (1993)
Picked By: EV

If you can listen to this song and NOT think of Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in purple suits, you’re a better person than me.

33. Jann Arden - Insensitive

2008-04-17T16:39:00.002-07:00

Found On: Living Under June (1997)
Picked By: SB

The mid-‘90s really were interesting musical times. Grunge was blowing up, but simultaneously the Lilith Fair revolution was making its own kind of sensitive noise. Jann Arden was one of many to cash in on this, taking a little Alanis and adding a good dose of Heart to create a rueful kiss-off.

34. Tori Amos - Silent All These Years

2008-04-17T16:39:00.001-07:00

Found On: Little Earthquakes (1991)
Picked By: MT

What use does a mermaid have for jeans?

35. Shawn Colvin - Sunny Came Home

2008-04-17T16:38:00.001-07:00

Found On: A Few Small Repairs (1996)

There’s something fascinating about this song, which cryptically carries the listener through the anguished mind of Sunny as she—what? Burns down her house? Is it a metaphor? Is she crazy? Listen again and again; I defy you to figure it out for certain. - RN

36. Beastie Boys - Intergalactic

2008-04-17T16:37:00.002-07:00

Found On: Hello Nasty (1999)

It just goes to show that robot voices are always a good idea.

37. Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A "G" Thang

2008-04-17T16:37:00.001-07:00

Found On: The Chronic (1992)

Back to the lecture at hand: This was a genuine cultural moment, responsible for 1) Introducing us to Snoop Dogg, 2) the continuing popularity of marijuana t-shirts and hats, and 3) Dolomite rentals tripling.

38. Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

2008-04-17T16:36:00.001-07:00

Found On: Mack Daddy (1992)

A song to help you kick them nasty thoughts. And by “kick” I mean “indulge”.

39. Smashing Pumpkins - I Am One

2008-04-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

Found On: Gish (1991)

When Melissa Auf Der Maur left Hole to replace D'Arcy in Smashing Pumpkins, Courtney Love remarked: "If I had the chance to play I Am One every night, I'd leave too." The song is a straight-out rocker, but its best feature is the intro, where the instruments come in one at a time.

40. Pretenders - I'll Stand By You

2008-04-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Found On: Last Of The Independents (1994)
Picked By: SB

See Ben E. King, you didn’t have to worry after all

41. Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hell

2008-04-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Found On: Hot (1996)

The best thing to come out of the swing revival of the mid-'90s. Hell is simultaneously joyful and creepy, a fiery sermon worthy of Jonathan Edwards ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God") himself. And when they start spelling "damnation"? Forget it.

42. Christina Aguilera - Come On Over (All I Want Is You)

2008-04-17T16:10:00.002-07:00

Found On: Christina Aguilera (1999)

Criminally overlooked in any list of Aguilera’s biggest hits is this infectious dance track. She’s performed prettier and more powerful songs since, but she’s never cooed for attention quite like this. - RN

43. Toad The Wet Sprocket - Something's Always Wrong

2008-04-17T16:10:00.001-07:00

Found On: Dulcinea (1994)

Dulcinea spawned an alternative rock hit with Fall Down, but this track seems to keep on keepin’ on even a decade-plus after its release. “Another day of putting things aside as if we’ll come back to them sometime”—who hasn’t felt that? - RN

44. Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

2008-04-17T16:09:00.001-07:00

Found On: One Chord To Another (1996)

Sweet poppy goodness, full of hope and encouragement. Who could ask for more? - EE

45. Jay-Z - Can't Knock The Hustle

2008-04-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

Found On: Reasonable Doubt (1996)

Hova emerged with his skills fully intact: “I got extensive hos with expensive clothes and I sip fine wines and spit vintage flows.” Could Mary have guessed how right she was when she sang “one day you’re going to be a star” on the hook?

46. Guns N' Roses - November Rain

2008-04-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Found On: Use Your Illusion I (1991)

This is the first video - 11 minutes, by the way - that made me cry. - SB

47. Liz Phair - Divorce Song

2008-04-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Found On: Exile In Guyville (1993)

But I miss the days when she wrote songs like this. - EE

48. P.M. Dawn - Set Adrift On Memory Bliss

2008-04-17T16:04:00.002-07:00

Found On: Of The Heart, Of The Soul And Of The Cross (1991)
Picked By: MT

The groove so nice it became a hit twice. The Cordes brothers took True by Spandau Ballet and made it into something completely their own, foreshadowing the development of their own considerable composing talents.

49. Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing

2008-04-17T16:04:00.001-07:00

Found On: Duncan Sheik (1996)

James Van Der Beek, I mean, Duncan Sheik has yet to live up to the full commercial potential of his debut single. Even so, it's not a bad legacy. I love the way the last line repeats the first, but with added wisdom, as though he worked it out just by singing the song.

50. Neutral Milk Hotel - Oh Comely

2008-04-17T16:03:00.001-07:00

Found On: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)

This may forever be in my top 5 albums of all time. And this song is the best of the best. Frontman Jeff Magnum hasn’t made an album since. Who can blame him? After you’ve made perfection, what else are you supposed to do? - EE

51. 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre – California Love

2008-04-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Found On: All Eyez On Me (1996)

This state-pride anthem features a hot verse from a fresh-out-of-jail ‘Pac and a bomb beat from Dre.

52. Black Crowes – Hard To Handle

2008-04-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

Found On: Shake Your Moneymaker (1991)

The Crowes kicked off their career with a blazing cover of an old blues tune. It’s one of my very favorite songs to sing-along with, though I must confess that for a long while I thought it was about an octopus: “Hey little thing let me light your tentacles.”

53. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

2008-04-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Found On: Grace (1994)

By stripping out the intrusive bass and backing vocals from this Leonard Cohen original and performing it with only his own guitar, Jeff has given it the heavenly quality that it deserves. - EE

54. Madonna – Vogue

2008-04-17T13:58:00.002-07:00

Found On: I’m Breathless (1990)
Picked By: MT

Sure the song was a hit, but it seems to me that The Vogue never reached its full potential as a dance craze for uncoordinated people.

55. U2 - One

2008-04-17T13:58:00.001-07:00

Found On: Achtung Baby (1991)

Somehow this delightful song became an anthem; people seem to focus on the end, when “we get to carry each other.” But it’s really a song filled with pain—“You act like you never had love and you want me to go without.” Whatever way you take it, though, this works—just try to avoid getting chills when Bono intones, “Love is a temple, love the higher law…” - RN

56. Pearl Jam - Black

2008-04-17T13:56:00.002-07:00

Found On: Ten (1993)

Amid a series of arena rock anthems, this song stands out on Ten as the one with the most emotion poured into Eddie Vedder’s tortured vocal. When the song finally climbs to the final verse, it’s pure agony: “I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a sun in somebody else’s sky, but why, why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine?” - RN

57. Nirvana - About A Girl (live)

2008-04-17T13:55:00.002-07:00

Found On: Unplugged In New York (1994)

The band's unintentional swan song recast some of their early tunes and exposed the sturdy songwriting beneath. About A Girl was originally on their first record, has a indefatigable melody and an appropriately raw vocal (given the tortured sentiment of the lyrics).

58. Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out)

2008-04-17T13:55:00.001-07:00

Found On: The Bends (1995)

The Bends is where Radiohead started making their move towards being a great band. As the bookend for the album, this song shows that the band could do what they set out to do; convince the world that they could be so much better than a one-hit wonder with Creep. - EE

59. Beck - Loser

2008-04-17T13:54:00.001-07:00

Found On: Mellow Gold (1994)

There are definitely better Beck songs, in terms of quality—Nobody’s Fault But My Own, from Mutations, comes to mind. But this is his anthem, his shot across the bow, his announcement to the world that he was a force to be reckoned with. A decade on, it still sounds startling. - RN

60. Billy Bragg & Wilco – California Stars

2008-04-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

Found On: Mermaid Avenue (1998)

The lyrics on Mermaid Avenue were written by Woody Guthrie and set to music by Billy Bragg & Wilco. California Stars song kicks my ass every single time I hear it. If I had to pick a favorite song of the decade, this would be it. Hands down. - EE

61. Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy

2008-04-17T13:49:00.001-07:00

Found On: Ready To Die (1994)

Big Poppa gets all nostalgic, and manages to avoid making any violent or misogynistic comments. Instead he focuses on self-mythologizing his own rags-to-riches story.

62. Semisonic - Closing Time

2008-04-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Found On: Feeling Strangely Fine (1998)

Who knew that the words “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here” could be sung to terrific effect? Semisonic’s solid career hit a commercial peak with this hit. - RN

63. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Mary Jane's Last Dance

2008-04-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Found On: Greatest Hits (1993)

If The Byrds had covered Tangled Up In Blue it might have sounded like this. Usually new songs on greatest hits collections fail to meet the qualities of the actual hits. This is a rare exception.

64. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

2008-04-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Found On: Girlfriend (1991)

It’s tough picking a “best” Matthew Sweet song; his ‘90s output was pretty consistent. But this will do! - RN

65. Teenage Fanclub - Sparky's Dream

2008-04-17T13:23:00.001-07:00

Found On: Grand Prix (1995)

Spin famously picked Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque as the best album of 1991, over Nirvana's Nevermind. But for my money, Grand Prix is a better all-around album. Sparky's Dream is as lyrically vague as ever, but who cares when the song sounds like The Byrds and Big Star jamming?

66. The Mavericks – What A Crying Shame

2008-04-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Found On: What A Crying Shame (1994)

I’ll admit that I was once one of those wretched music snobs who say they like “every kind of music but country” but The Mavericks helped change that. Their rockabilly sound (owing much to Roy Orbison) made for a smooth transition into more twangy fare.

67. Barenaked Ladies - One Week

2008-04-17T13:17:00.002-07:00

Found On: Stunt (1998)

White rap from Canada! - AL

68. Bjork - Enjoy

2008-04-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

Found On: Post (1995)

On her second post-Sugarcubes solo album, it’s obvious that Bjork had been spending some time with Tricky to hone her style. This song is full of grinding beats that make you want to be on a sweaty dance floor. - EE

69. Des'ree - You Gotta Be

2008-04-17T13:14:00.001-07:00

Found On: I Ain't Movin' (1994)

David Brent's favorite singer serves up warm self-help in 4 short minutes.

70. Mariah Carey - Hero

2008-04-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Found On: Music Box (1993)
Picked By: SB

The lyrics are so sappy they ought to be bottled and served at the church's pancake breakfast, but Mariah actually turns in a restrained performance, and I love the fact that she doesn’t hide her lisp.

71. Del Amitri - Always The Last To Know

2008-04-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Found On: Change Everything (1992)

A harmony-laden tale of a regretful man. I don't really know what he's asking here though. He cheated on this girl, she left him, and now he wants her to communicate with him more? Despite the confusion, it's pop perfection, especially on the Beatle-worthy bridge.

72. Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces

2008-04-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

Found On: Wide Open Spaces (1998)

Effortlessly captures that desire to strike out on your own and see what’s out there in the world for you. Pretty harmonies calm the nerves.

73. Foo Fighters - Everlong

2008-04-17T11:47:00.001-07:00

Found On: The Colour And The Shape (1997)
Picked By: MT

Is this David Letterman’s favorite song because it’s so desperate and mysterious, or because, as Marilee puts it: "Dave Grohl is just that hot!"?

73. Whitney Houston - I Have Nothing

2008-04-17T11:08:00.001-07:00

Found On: The Bodyguard (1992)
Picked By: BG

I feel pretty safe saying that if not for this show-stopper, American Idol as we know it would probably not exist.

75. Radiohead - No Surprises

2008-04-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Found On: OK Computer (1997)

This album was a great sign of what Radiohead was capable of, and laid a base to expand on with Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief. - EE

76. The Afghan Whigs - Creep

2008-04-17T11:04:00.002-07:00

Found On: Honky's Ladder EP (1996)

The Afghan Whigs always had a certain flair for funky swank in their instrumentation, so it wasn’t that far off-base for them to do a cover of this TLC hit. Of course none of the members of The Afghans ever set fire to Andre Rison’s house, either. - EE

77. Extreme - More Than Words

2008-04-17T11:04:00.001-07:00

Found On: Pornograffitti (1990)

Beautiful song musically; the harmonies and acoustic guitar recall Simon and Garfunkel or The Everly Brothers. I’ve heard theories that the lyrics are basically a plea for a woman to *ahem* show her love with actions instead of words.

78. Duran Duran - Ordinary World

2008-04-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Found On: Duran Duran (1993)

An unexpected comeback. Gone were the cocky poster boys and in their place were mannered thoughtful gents. When Simon LeBon puts his problems in perspective, singing “here beside the news of holy war and holy me / ours is just a little sorrow at all” it gets me every time.

79. XTC - Dear Madam Barnum

2008-04-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Found On: Nonsuch (1992)

Andy Partridge's mind works better than most people's. Here, instead of writing a typical you-did-me-wrong song, he creates an extended metaphor of a circus clown tired of playing the fool: "Children are laughing / As I fall to the floor / My heart's torn and broken / But they just scream for more."

80. Wilson Phillips - Hold On

2008-04-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Found On: Wilson Phillips (1990)
Picked By: BG

The daughters of a Beach Boy, a Mama and a Papa form a group and make catchy, harmony-laden, sun-kissed pop tunes. Who would have expected that?

81. Uncle Tupelo - I Wish My Baby Was Born

2008-04-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Found On: March 16-20, 1992 (1992)

By far the best song off of what is quite possibly one of my favorite albums of all time. The haunting simplicity of Jeff Tweedy’s guitar with Jay Farrar’s passionate mandolin make this about the finest 1:38 of music you could ask for. - EE

82. Son Volt - Route

2008-04-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

Found On: Trace (1995)

Silly as it seems now, when Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy went their separate ways it was not at all clear who would have the better post-Uncle Tupelo career. Son Volt won the first battle, with Trace bettering Wilco’s A.M. on every count.

83. Wilco - Forget The Flowers

2008-04-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Found On: Being There (1996)

On the other hand... their second album, Being There, was full of great country-pop songs like this one. - EE

84. Fugees - Fu-Gee-La

2008-04-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

Found On: The Score (1996)
Picked By: EE & KP

Does that album cover remind anyone else of the three Kryptonian villains from Superman II? Anyway, this was a good tune and album, but I think we can all agree that the solo careers of The Fugees have been much more interesting than anything they did together.

85. Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter

2008-04-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Found On: Jeremy (single) (1992)

I’ll admit it, I have no fucking clue what Eddie Vedder is saying in this song. That's not going to stop me from loving it. What amazes me is that this was just a b-side; not even on one of their albums. - EE

86. Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up

2008-04-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Found On: Deep (1990)

You knew Bauhaus had a Bowie jones (they covered Ziggy Stardust), and lead singer Murphy confirmed it on his top-notch first solo hit. One of very few rock hits to feature a cello on the hook.

87. Jesus Jones - Right Here, Right Now

2008-04-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Found On: Doubt (1991)

For the longest time I attributed this song to U2. Others get it confused with the Van Halen song Right Now (#89) that came along a year later. Poor Jesus Jones, their one hit and they don’t even get the credit.

88. Fatboy Slim - Right Here Right Now

2008-04-17T08:45:00.003-07:00

Found On: You've Come A Long Way, Baby (1998)

Overall, I’m not a big fan of Fatboy Slim, but I can’t help but love this song. A great combination of driving beat and dreamy background music. - EE

89. Van Halen - Right Now

2008-04-17T08:45:00.001-07:00

Found On: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

A Van Hagar gem built on a classic piano riff. The lyrics are typical of Sammy's generic philosophizing, but the video was a slight more clever, presenting a litany of things that are happening right now. Right now your mother misses you.

90. Sarah McLaughlan - Possession

2008-04-17T08:43:00.002-07:00

Found On: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1994)
Picked By: BG

Sarah based this disturbingly beautiful / beautifully disturbing song on letters from an obsessive fan. That begs the question: Did he get a writing credit? Royalties?

91. Ben Folds Five - The Last Polka

2008-04-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

Found On: Ben Folds Five (1995)

Just a great song, start to finish. One of my favorites by Mr. Folds. I will never understand how someone can play any instrument while singing, especially on a song so complex. - EE

92. Shawn Colvin - Round of Blues

2008-04-17T08:41:00.002-07:00

Found On: Fat City (1994)
Picked By: BG

MUCH better than her song Rectangular Puces. Best line: “Smoked a lot of hope.”

93. Blink 182 - Dammit

2008-04-17T08:41:00.001-07:00

Found On: Dude Ranch (1997)

The song has the raw youthful ignorance / brilliance to treat post-break-up feelings like a revelation, as though the narrator is the experiencing them for the first time in human history. The listener feels the same way.

94. Cake - Never There

2008-04-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Found On: Prolonging The Magic (1998)
Picked By: KP

Cake have a predictable sound (funky riff, half-spoken delivery, that spoke noisemaker thing) but they certainly get a lot of mileage out of it. This may be the most joyful example, despite the desperate sentiment of the lyrics.

95. Daft Punk - Around The World

2008-04-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Found On: Homework (1996)

This song is all about the Michel Gondry video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMpsnDxNbqQ

- EE

96. Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It

2008-04-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Found On: This Is How We Do It (1995)

To my ear, this song is unique because it blurs the line between rap and R & B. The musical backing is pure rap; you could easily hear 2Pac or Naughty By Nature rapping along. But Montell sings over it instead, only throwing in a tiny bit of sing-song rap on the self-congratulatory bridge.

97. Aimee Mann - Save Me

2008-04-17T08:28:00.002-07:00

Found On: Magnolia (1999)

From the Magnolia soundtrack, this Oscar-nominated song is everything good about Aimee Mann—dark, literate, and desperate. Phil Collins should be ashamed of himself [editor's note: Richard is referring to the fact that Collins' Tarzan song won the Oscar instead]. - RN

98. Royal Crown Revue - Hey Pachuco!

2008-04-17T08:28:00.001-07:00

Found On: Mugzy's Move (1998)

At the dawn of the retro swing revolution, RCR's Mugzy blasted onto the scene with a track made famous in The Mask with Jim Carrey. How could you sit still during this assault? - AL

99. The Roots feat. Erykah Badu & Eve - You Got Me

2008-04-17T08:27:00.001-07:00

Found On: Things Fall Apart (1999)

Sometimes relationships get ill, no doubt. Boy meets girl story, with a laid-back groove, an impeccable hook by Ms. Badu AND a happy ending.

100. Sonic Youth - 100%

2008-04-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Found On: Dirty (1992)

Oh, how I loved Sonic Youth. So noisy, so angst ridden. They were MY band in the early to mid-nineties and this was the song that did it all. There are better SY songs, but this was the very first song that I ever heard. - EE