21. Bel Biv Devoe – Poison

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 N*SYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass forming a group and people actually giving a damn.

22. Bonnie Raitt – Something To Talk About

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

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 Coolio's Gangsta’s Paradise). It's a testament to the song that I still love it.

24. Jimmy Eat World – Lucky Denver Mint

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

Found On: Pocket Full Of Kryptonite (1991)


What a mean song. I love it.


Picked By: MT

26. Ben Folds Five - Brick

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

Found On: Purple (1995)

You won't find a song with a more appropriate title. Every time I hear it I picture cruising by a lone gas station on the side of the interstate in the dry, dusty desert.

28. Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence

Found On: Violator (1990)

Depeche Mode might have actually been a better band in the 1990s than they were in the 1980s, but that's a debate for a different time. What is unarguable is Enjoy The Silence, a pulsating tune with an ironic title.

29. The Cranberries – Dreams

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


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


Picked By: ND

30. Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's

Found On: Home (1995)

As far as I know, the only song ever written to concern the phenomenon of basing an entire relationship based on the shared love of a single film.

What's fitting is that I once had a crush on this girl and the primary thing I can remember about that ill-fated romance is that we both liked this song.

31. Hole - Boys On The Radio

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

Found On: Haddaway (1993)


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


Picked By: EV

33. Jann Arden - Insensitive

Found On: Living Under June (1997)


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.


Picked By: SB

34. Tori Amos - Silent All These Years

Found On: Little Earthquakes (1991)

A classic off of Tori's solo debut. But the question remains: What use does a mermaid have for jeans?


Picked By: MT

35. Shawn Colvin - Sunny Came Home

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

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

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

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

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

Found On: Last Of The Independents (1994)


Ben E. King: Don't worry, Chrissy's got you.


Picked By: SB