Get 600,000 VH1.com users together to vote their tastes from the ’90s and what do you learn? Pretty much that Backstreet Boys had the third best single of the decade. And that we are so thankful VH1 never linked to the Gummys voting. We’re not even gonna reverse the order — it’s a treat from 1 to 100.
01 Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
02 U2 – “One”
03 Backstreet Boys – “I Want It That Way”
04 Whitney Houston – “I Will Always Love You”
05 Madonna – “Vogue”
06 Sir Mix-A-Lot – “Baby Got Back”
07 Britney Spears – “…Baby One More Time”
08 TLC – “Waterfalls”
09 R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion”
10 Sinéad O’Connor – “Nothing Compares 2 U”
11 Pearl Jam – “Jeremy”
12 Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know”
13 Dr. Dre (Feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg) – “Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang”
14 Mariah Carey – “Vision of Love”
15 Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Under the Bridge”
16 MC Hammer – “U Can’t Touch This”
17 Destiny’s Child – “Say My Name”
18 Metallica – “Enter Sandman”
19 Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
20 Hanson – “MMMBop”
21 Celine Dion – “My Heart Will Go On”
22 Beck – “Loser”
23 Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue – “Whatta Man”
24 House of Pain – “Jump Around”
25 Soundgarden – “Black Hole Sun”
26 Eminem – “My Name Is”
27 Counting Crows – “Mr. Jones”
28 Ricky Martin – “Livin’ la Vida Loca”
29 Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
30 *NSYNC – “Tearin’ Up My Heart”
31 Radiohead – “Creep”
32 BLACKstreet – “No Diggity”
33 Spice Girls – “Wannabe”
34 Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life”
35 Oasis – “Wonderwall”
36 C+C Music Factory – “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”
37 Green Day – “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
38 Christina Aguilera – “Genie In A Bottle”
39 Goo Goo Dolls – “Iris”
40 Color Me Badd – “I Wanna Sex You Up”
41 Spin Doctors – “Two Princes”
42 Collective Soul – “Shine”
43 En Vogue – “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”
44 The Fugees – “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
45 Hootie & the Blowfish – “Only Wanna Be With You”
46 Shania Twain – “You’re Still the One”
47 Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch – “Good Vibrations”
48 Matchbox Twenty – “3 AM”
49 Jewel – “Who Will Save Your Soul”
50 Alice in Chains – “Man in the Box”
51 Tupac (Feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) – “California Love”
52 Sugar Ray – “Fly”
53 Naughty by Nature – “O.P.P.”
54 Joan Osborne – “One of Us”
55 Fiona Apple – “Criminal”
56 L.L. Cool J – “Mama Said Knock You Out”
57 Jay-Z featuring Amil and Ja Rule – “Can I Get A…”
58 Sophie B. Hawkins – “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”
59 Weezer – “Buddy Holly”
60 Bell Biv DeVoe – “Poison”
61 Sheryl Crow – “All I Wanna Do”
62 Live – “I Alone”
63 The Notorious B.I.G. (Feat. Mase & Puff Daddy) – “Mo Money Mo Problems”
64 The Presidents of the United States of America – “Peaches”
65 Digital Underground – “The Humpty Dance”
66 Edwin McCain – “I’ll Be”
67 Deee-Lite – “Groove Is In The Heart”
68 Will Smith – “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It”
69 Korn – “Freak on a Leash”
70 Jamiroquai – “Virtual Insanity”
71 Arrested Development – “Tennessee”
72 Barenaked Ladies – “One Week”
73 Marcy Playground – “Sex and Candy”
74 Cher – “Believe”
75 Kris Kross – “Jump”
76 Blues Traveler – “Run-Around”
77 Ice Cube – “It Was a Good Day”
78 Lenny Kravitz – “Are You Gonna Go My Way”
79 Meredith Brooks – “Bitch”
80 Right Said Fred – “I’m Too Sexy”
81 Paula Cole – “I Don’t Want to Wait”
82 Geto Boys – “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”
83 The Breeders – “Cannonball”
84 Snow – “Informer”
85 Cypress Hill – “Insane In The Brain”
86 The Cranberries – “Linger”
87 Billy Ray Cyrus – “Achy Breaky Heart”
88 Duncan Sheik – “Barely Breathing”
89 Liz Phair – “Never Said”
90 New Radicals – “You Get What You Give”
91 Sarah McLachlan – “Building a Mystery”
92 Public Enemy – “911 Is A Joke”
93 Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories – “Stay”
94 Fastball – “The Way”
95 Montell Jordan – “This is How We Do It”
96 Nelson – “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection”
97 Prince & The New Power Generation – “Gett Off”
98 EMF – “Unbelievable”
99 Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott – “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”
100 Gerardo – “Rico Suave”
Of course there’s some essential ’90s acts in there (Breeders and Beasties and Weezer and Fiona and Public Enemy and hey even pre-Bluths Arrested Development), but mostly we’re psyched that Gerardo squeaked in! Latin ’til he dies, baby. You can watch the entire countdown in televised format Monday-Friday, December 17 – 21 at 10 PM each night, although really we just spared you that experience. You’re welcome.
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fuck pavement…where are the cardigans??
all in all this list isn’t horrible, though. if you were to put this on shuffle at a party people would LOSE it.
Yeah, they would lose it and put a bullet in their head. That list is terrible.
suck it that list rocked suck it kidgotham
“It’s the station you can listen to at work!”
Seriously though, as long as I live I will never understand the universal appeal of “Under the Bridge” and all the other mid-tempo Peppers ballads about California that it wrought.
Man, the 90′s were just f’n awful. A handfull of bright spots, but that’s it.
the most predictable thing you could’ve ever said (ever) is “not enough pavement”. jesus christ. we get it already.
of all the radiohead songs to choose…
Zeppelin Rulz!
GO ZEPPELIN
i’m fucking sick of pavement fans
WHERE THE FUCK IS “NO RAIN”!??
its up your butt and around the corner that song sucks pure crotch
WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU GUYS!?!?! Whitney Houston didn’t even write that song. Dolly Parton did for that movie “Best Little Whore House in Texas” plus her vocal range was far superior in the original. I’m so tired of covers taking the credit.
Phuck. The New Radicals are going to be in my head for the rest of the day.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU GUYS!?!?! Whitney Houston didn’t even write that song. Dolly Parton did for the movie “Best Little Whore House in Texas” no less. Plus her vocal range in the original was far superior.
I’m sick of covers taking all the credit.
And while we’re at it go listen to “Past Time Paradise” by Stevie Wonder which was later adopted into the superficial “Gangsters Paradise.”
WHAT ALl i saw was im a big loser with no taste in music
P.S. Enya wrote the background track used in “Killing Me Softly” by the Fugees. never thought I’d see the day that hip hop would reappropriate New Age.
The fact that Hanson is on this list is a sign of the apocalypse.
so is that when i went to g buy your mom she cost 5 dollars not 2 for three noghts
For VH1 and pop music, I find the list completely accurate. Not necessarily with the adjective “greatest” but possibly “biggest.”
I do think you should cherish this list, however, because in 10 years when they do the best of 2000-2010 and we see the 100 “biggest” songs of this decade, it’s going to make us even sadder. Like the post said, there’s a few respectable acts in the 90s list above. Other than “Hey Ya” and “Crazy,” what will this era provide in a general pop list as such? Probably pure crap, which is why people are on sites like this one looking for better things.
What, no Milli Vanilli?
what no milli vanilli oh yeah she died from sucking to muck cock
I remember trying to vote for this. You couldn’t pick any song released in the 90s. You could only pick from a list of about 300 songs or so, and each band only had one song.
I didn’t vote because most of what I thought were the best songs in the 90s weren’t available for selection.
Humpty Dance deserves to be higher, MUCH higher.
And how did “Gettin jiggy wit it” crawl its way up out of hell?
the same way you did it
Unbelievably shitty, this. They even managed to find a meh PE song.
yeah THANK GOD THEY DIDNT that song sucked crotch
horrible list
not even that list ruled your a horrible list
Pavement has to be the most over hyped shit band to ever pass for “indie” rock. There, I’ve said it. Discuss amongst yourselves.
pardon my french, but BULLSHIT! No pavement, not even SEMISONIC!?! are you kidding. Closing Time!? jesus christ monkey balls.
yes yes we all know you love sucking monkey balls and that so did semisonic and love eating bull
Doesn’t anyone read the “600,000 VH1.com users voted” part? Seriously, what kind of Pavement fan would watch VH1 on a regular basis?
your mom does
Destiny’s Child “Say My Name” wasn’t even released as a single until spring of 2000. Brilliant.
Futher proof that we are surrounded by moronos. These are the same people that made Titanic the highest grossing film ever.
not enough Duncan sheik
yeah he sucked some major balls
“never thought I’d see the day that hip hop would reappropriate New Age.”
did you not see that day when it happened 10 years ago? I know I was too preoccupied with my middle school dance to notice when one nebulously-defined genre appropriated another.
Isn’t the whole point of VH1 these days just to have snarky douchebags make fun of everything? I guess this list makes sense then. I’m just glad Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and Bell Biv Devoe made the list…
well im glad that you didnt die oh wait IM JOKING
“Not enough pavement” is clearly a joke. No one would expect VH1 or VH1.com users to put Pavement on a Top 100 list. You people are so dense sometimes.
MORE LIKE YOUR very DENSE SOMETIMES
geez…this is what my upbringing is going to be remembered by. excuse me while i go find a razorblade and a staind cd to end it all…
yeah good not ;ike anyone liked you anyway after she ends it THERES GONNA BE A HUGGGGGGGGE HAPPY PARTY
It was actually The Fugees song “Ready or Not” that you’re thinking of Jason, and she didn’t “right the music” as much as The Fugees simply “borrowed” her song (Boadicea), tossed on a drum beat and rapped over it.
glaring omissions!
soul asylum – runaway train
deep blue something – breakfast at tiffany’s
gin blossoms – hey jealousy (even though the original was released in 1989, iknowiknow)
semisonic – closing time (as someone else mentioned)
r kelly – bump n grind
tag team – whoomp there it is
69 boyz – come on ride the train
squirrel nut zippers – hell (!!!)
how about instead of bitching and moaning about how bad the list is, start posting some songs you think are missing.
how bout no cuz all those songs sucked cock
i agree w/ nick
those 8 songs outshadow 1/2 of VH-1′s list.
where’s my razorblade suitcase cd?
ITS UP YOUR BUTT
I’m wondering where Spice Girls’ “Say You’ll Be There” or “2 Become 1″ are — those are true 90s classics.
a lot like your mom suck it
wow. i’m amazed at how many people don’t understand self deprecation when it hits them over the head.
[...for the record, pavement owns.]
where the fuck is BLUR & SONG #2…..that’s the song where even they admitted to wanting to be PAVEMENT……..that song rules.
YEAH THE ONLY THING IT RULES IS YOUR MOM IN BED LIKE YOU AND THAT HO-BO DOWN THE STREET
R-kelly! glaring omission, to be sure. at least “i believe i can fly” – c’mon, vh1!
how bout come on E that songs sucked horribley
yeah,pavement is actually pretty goddamn good.and song 2 was deffinetly missing.As far as the last part about blur wanting to be pavement with that song,the whole blur album is a knock on american lofi indie,not them wanting to be pavement as much as mocking them
The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears entries remind me of a part of the ’90s I’d rather not remember.
re: Enya,
it’s actually sort of mesmerizing when you watch it in this context http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEzpfpaNJfY
THAT SUCKS
Where is Natalie Imbruglia, dammit!?
IN UR MOM that artist sucks
i second Natalie Imbruglia. she was awesome.
well i desecond her she sucks A LOOOOOOOOOOT
You HAVE to pathetically glorify Pavement & My Bloody Valentine once every 48 hours. It’s in your contract when you join the writing staff of any indie blog, oh didn’t ya know? It defines the overall idea of a scene (paraplegic & A.D.-Disorderly as it is) and also helps create the illusion that the publication’s relevant still.
two words 6 letters and one space SUCK IT
Standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand anybody?
like you and your mom
There’s no Stone Temple Pilots or Smashing Pumpkins so obviously “Greatest Songs of the 90′s” is an incorrect title.
yeah it should be called greatest hits of all times unlike you
i’d be happy to never hear a lot of these songs again.
should have made it:
Positive K “I Got A Man”
Warren G “Regulate”
TLC “No Scrubs”
B-Rock & The Biz MyBabyDaddy
Verve “Bittersweet Symphony” (!)
Pulp “Common People”
SUCK IT THOSE SONGS SUCKED
boo-hoo-hoo. the writers here like pavement. woe is me, because i’m whiny and don’t agree.
oooooooooHHHHHHHH go cry me a river
hanson >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> my bloody valentine >>>> pavement
oh yeah that you bang your mom all the time and suck your dad
Why all the hostility aimed at Pavement? I can’t think of another act that released 4 outstanding albums in the 90s.
Music scene is crazy.
bands start up
each and every day
I saw another one just the other day
A special new band.
MORE LIKE A SPECIAL BALLS SUCKING BAND
Man, and here I was all in a frenzy cuz I don’t have VH1 and would miss this revolutionary special… so mucho thanks, Stereogum, now I know what I missed by being too young in the 90s to know all the great music made back then!!! And I didn’t even have to watch VH1! Can I give you a hug?
what about janet jackson? wasn’t she pretty big in the 90s?
yeah so was your mom’s weight
pavement sucks
LIKE YOU
Meredith Brooks must have voted for herself over and over. That’s the only possible explanation for her being on the list. Ditto for Duncan Sheik.
I can’t for the life of me remember who Collective Soul was.
Positive K didn’t make the list? I ain’t tryin’ to hear that.
collective soul was one of the most played rock bands of the 90s – c’mon timmy, use your head!
ps – where’s bjork and boys II men???
up your butt and around the corner your dad told me
No Boys II Men? VH1 dropped the ball.
PM Dawn should be there too.
MORE LIKE YOU DROPPED YOUR DAD
No Natalie Imbruglia? Nothing’s fine, I’m torn…
I WISH YOU WERE TORN IN HALF
man, I saw hour one last night and that show was HOT!
the breeders, liz phair, the geto boys – it was a little slice of heaven…..
and how about that crumbelievable commercial? holy crap, that was funny!
I saw the first hour. Father time has been cruel to 90s stars. Really cruel.
YEAH NOT EVEN IN A MILLION YEARS
turns out pavement barely missed the cut. it was #101!
http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtmlid=1575982&vid=10385
What about that 4 non Blondes song? Also, Blind Melon is a HUGE omission.
I agree with Bittersweet Symphony, Song #2, P.M. Dawn and Regulate, too.
LOVE this list. Whatever, you haters are probably too scared to admit that you loved those songs 10-15 years ago. Come on – we all had terrible taste when we’re teenagers! You will not lose any indie cred admitting that. Who cares if the quality is poor and it’s all mainstream? These songs bring back great memories and are still f**king fun.
geto boyz represent! what! what! h-town.
Better Than Ezra – Good
BOO Ricky Martin!
YEAH C+C Music Factory!
HEY RICKY MARTIAN HAS GAY PRIDE LEAVE HM ALONE
I TAKE THAT BACK YOUR RIGHT RICKY MARTIAN HAS GAY PRIDE AND THATS WHY HE SUCKS I DONT KNOW WHY I WAS THINKING THAT
Two songs: No Rain and Paranoid Android. Otherwise, it’s tolerable. Not great, but tolerable.
crap man
i know you are
Wait, where’s that “Oi Get Nocked Down” song? Chubba Wubba? “Gobsmacking”?
“Black Hole Sun”?
Something off “Live Through This”?
And, come on–PE’s “911 Is a Joke”?! OF COURSE it has to be “Fight the Power”! WTF?
What about “You Gotta Keep ‘Em Sep-Er-ATED”?
“I’m Just a Girl”?! I mean, come on!
Jesus Jones?
“Seether,” Veruca Salt?
“Here and Now,” that cute girl from Boston?
Y’know, they could throw us a bone and pick “Longview” instead of frickin’ “Good Riddance.” Green Day wouldn’t have even *recorded* “Good Riddance” if it weren’t for “Longview.” Although “She” is the classic Green Day tune, for my money.
Weird that they chose a Liz Phair song off “Exile,” when of course the only Liz Phair song the tourists ever heard was “Supernova.”
What about that “I wish I was a little bit taller” dude?
Finally: “I Alone” by LIVE?! JESUS did that band suck! Live is to R.E.M. as Creed is to Pearl Jam. Name me ONE FUCKING BAND that was influenced by LIVE. What in the FUCK?!
There’s a lot on this list I hate–and a lot of shit *I* named that I hate–but this was the fuckin’ ’90s, so suck it, nouveau punques.
And, yeah, “Summer Babe” and “Cut Your Hair.”
ALLL I HEARD IS I LOVE TO SUCK MY MOM
the fact that the breeders are on there makes me happy… even with the glaring omission of the Pixies, Pulp, or The Cure.
“Why all the hostility aimed at Pavement? I can’t think of another act that released 4 outstanding albums in the 90s.”
The Smashing Pumpkins
Pearl Jam
Pavement is garbage and you know it.
Pearl Jam does not have one outstanding release in its discography, nor are they better than Pavement. Seriously, Pearl Jam were the Panic! At The Disco of the 90s.
Black or White
Game over.
YEAH game over for you cuz you suck
A LOT
I mean, November Rain
Check mate.
Pearl Jam and Panic! At the Disco should never EVER be mentioned in the same sentence. If you don’t think “Ten” was an outstanding release…I just don’t know what to tell you.
Ok, another person who is just a little uneducated about Pearl Jam.
I am not into talking down to people about music or disrespecting the opinions of others’. But when you compare Pearl Jam to Panic at the Disco! you’re really asking for roasting, I’m not going to give it to you, it’s not my thing but I can’t guarantee that you won’t get roasted by somebody else…just a heads up dude!
For the record
Ten 1991 – great album
Vs 1993 – great album
Vitalogy 1994 – great album
No Code 1996 – great album
Yield 1998 – great album
all released in the 90′s…5 great albums…
SUCK IT
Finally, someone pointed out the omission of November Rain! I had predicted it would be #2.
Also, how ’bout Flaming Lips for four great albums in the ’90s?
In a Priest Driven Ambulance
Transmissions From a Satellite Heart
Clouds Taste Metallic
The Soft Bulletin
for mainstream rock, “Tomorrow” by Silverchair and “Everything Zen” would have a lot better than 80% of the crap here. Obviously, not nearly as egregious of omissions as STP and The Smashing Pumpkins… but I admit to liking them back in 1995.
Saying this around these parts could get me killed violently, but here goes:
There are certain bands (the aforementioned Pavement for example) that people are basically afraid to speak ill of, and if somebody dares to say that they didn’t care for them, they are immediately crucified by everybody else. This goes for Radiohead too, by the way.
Look, I agree that this list is for the most part poor, but can we please stop being eletist a-holes about it?
pavement and panic! at the disco are teo of my favorite bands.
They’re booth good.
where the f..k is depeche mode???
this list sucks!
DEPECHE mode is up your mom
Greatest Songs of the ’90s? No way. More like 100 Songs You Couldn’t Get Away From in the ’90s.
Are you people deaf?: I agree!! Weren’t Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins insanely huge in the 90s? If you’re going to give those bands with one big, massive single (marcy playground, barenaked ladies) a place, then surely the alternative bigwigs also make the cut.
derek: despite their life-changing albums and 90210 appearance in the 90s, the flaming lips were still a bit too underground for the likes of vh1.
in the 90′s there was music that 80′s, more generos, why best dividir the music in gener, dance there much music, por exmple:
VH1′s 100 Greatest Songs Of The ’90s
and other
VH1′s 100 Greatest Songs genero Dance Of The ’90s (house, techno, dance, rap, maquina, etc, dance pop)
smashing pumpkins. thats all.
yeah lets all smash carries or in 3 years joe’s pumpkins
NO IM SERIOUS LETS GO SMASHING PEOPELS PUMPKINS
Hey guys, I am starting up my own list of the Top Songs of the 1990s on my 90s music blog, http://rizzomusic.blogspot.com/
I started it just recently but Check it out!
This is a middle of the road, safe, conservative list that means absolutely nothing and therefore any sane reader will realise this fact. Of course it’s a crap list…….. but these lists are nothing new. Most people will not agree with any list that’s printed. Actually, on second look, this is the worst list I’ve ever seen ………….
They definately forgot some key songs of the 90′s, such as “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba, and I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but “Macarena” also. (it was on the charts for 60 straight weeks) But anyway, this is just about a one-hit wonder list with a few exceptions like Nirvana, U2, R.E.M., etc. Anyone of us here could make a better list than this.
Harvey – 4 outstanding albums? try 5 – and i’m not talking about Pearl Jam (though i agree with that).
R.E.M.
1991 – Out of Time
1992 – Automatic for the People
1994 – Monster
1996 – New Adventures in Hi-Fi
1998 – Up
all of these may not have generated hits equivalent to “Losing My Religion” and therefore i understand why they aren’t represented on the list (though to say at least ONE song of off Automatic wasn’t better than half of this list – or even “Losing My Religion” itself – is ridiculous) but they are a damn spot better than the 90′s catalogue put forth by Pavement (who i also happen to like).
Where is Blink-182 in all this garbage?
Had to sign up just to agree with this person …. Blink 182 I Miss You, Always, Adam’s Song, All the Small Things…. top …. I know not all from 90′s just wanted to say those songs
Is it just me, or did “Mo Money Mo Problems” seem like the beginning of the end of rap?
No one mentioned Santeria by Sublime, I think that should get a notable mention.
Hey I thik Aerosmith had a few good songs in the 90′s too.
Crazy
Crying
God I still can’t believe Smashing Pumpkins didn’t make it either! DESPITE ALL MY RAGE!
If I recall Tori Amos had some awesome of course weird songs as well.
what about White Town “Your Woman”? That is amazing.
The middle 90′s are very much omitted on this list: We have one-hit wonders crap like Color Me Badd, Hanson, and Deee-lite on here while there’s no Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters or STP. I mean….Meredith Brooks??? What a joke!
…..and by the way, how the Hell did Nelson make this list?? They’re ok and all but that song wasn’t even a blip on the radar. If you wanted a hair metal ballad on here they could’ve picked “Love of a Lifetime” or “Something to Believe In” or at least a song that had a bigger impact.
No 2Pac Hail Mary what the fuck? Biggies Bigg Poppa? The 90s were hip-hop and thats why this list is sooo fucked up. Scenario anyone?
Where the fuck is Crossroads from Bone Thugs N Harmony
IN YOUR MOM
Where the fuck is Crossroads form Bone Thugs N Harmony
UP YOUR BUTT AND AROUND THE CORNER
I think that it should be made into a cd. I’m sick of all the best of the 80s and 70s and what not, we need a best of the 90s!!
Man in the Box=#1 song…ever! Besides other Alice in Chains songs.
ive always thought pearl jam had much better songs than Jeremy although a great song what about: Alive, Black, Daughter, Animal, Betterman?
Where is Depeche mode ??? ENjoy the Silence 1990 ? I feel You 1993 ? It’s no good 1997? Personal Jesus 1990?
I thought for sure that The Smashing Pumpkins would be on here, or even Hole. I mean didn’t Smashing Pumpkins even win some Grammys? I sometime think that VH1 does lists like these to piss people off on purpose, so that way they can see who is even watching the shows.