Posted by
Marc Benoza
(t5!) Tracks Of The 2000s
Alright, stop, collaborate, and listen! (t5!) is back with a brand new list of the best songs of the 1990s.
#200: Silk - Freak Me
1993
from Lose Control
YouTube
"There's something inherently funny (terrifying?) about a quintet of men serenading you, singing simultaneously, 'Let me play with your body, baby.' It's the aural equivalent of that scene in Watchmen when Silk Specter realizes she's in bed with multiple Dr. Manhattans and they're all tonguing her down with identical blue tongues."
-- Complex
"this song beautiful coz Black mens do this :P Black peoples make best song in the whole worls"
-- Veronica Emanuel, YouTube
#199: Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says
1999
from Internal Affairs
YouTube
"To quote lyrics from the aforementioned single "Simon Says", 'Uptown let me see em/Notorious for the six-fives and the BM's/Heads give you beef, you put em in the mausoleum/And the *** don't start pumpin til after 12 PM/Ugnh, ignorant minds, I free em/If you tired of the same old everyday you will agree I'm,/.' Those lyrics show Pharoahe’s ability to weave complicated rhyme schemes in and out of verses while still maintaining his stuttery, spazzed-out flow. Pharoahe keeps listeners guessing with his complex word usage and complex technique."
-- Sputnik Musik
"After being a bitch and always trying to squeeze 30mins more sleep, I finally changed my morning alarm. This is my morning Alarm now."
-- Mister K, YouTube
#198: Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
1994
from So Tonight I Might See
YouTube
"There was a period in the ’90s when Mazzy Star’s languid single, “Fade Into You,” was inescapable. It was everywhere. Were you in school? It was the slow dance song for the couples at prom. Going to the movies? It was on the soundtrack of whatever you were watching. Were you at work? It played over the loudspeakers in malls. Driving to work? It felt like it was on every goddamn radio station.
-- A.V. Club
"To all the painfully shy, that couldn't work up the nerve, who've ever suffered having to sit back and watch him leave with someone else..."
-- Heidi Turno, YouTube
#197: OutKast f. Slick Rick - Da Art Of Storytellin' (Part 1)
1998
from Aquemini
YouTube
"The poetry of the duo Outkast, comprised of Big Boi and Andre 3000, peels back the distorted surfaces of stories our society tells itself about urban tragedies. As I prepare to teach some of their songs, I am struck again by their uniqueness, lyrical economy, and, for lack of a better term, genius. In 'Da Art of Storytellin’ Pt. 1,' Andre chooses to humanize a figure universally degraded in the mass media and in political commentary: the pregnant drug user. To humanize someone is not to justify their behavior, but to restore a sense of connection within human community, between those of us deemed valuable and those of us deemed worthless or counted as among the lost."
-- Kenyon Review
"My girlfriend called outkast a one hit wonder and now I'm happily single."
-- Cory Hall, YouTube
#196: Brian Eno/John Cale - Lay My Love
1990
from Wrong Way Up
YouTube
"The opening "Lay My Love" is my favorite, mainly because the quality vocal melody (with some awfully strange lyrics; "I am the termite of temptation," huh?) is matched with a terrific repeated violin line,"
-- johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org
"Fantastic album. When I heard this, it sounded as though both artists had been reborn somehow, embracing stereotypes and turning them on their heads. Joyful in a way you don't always experience in mid-life."
-- spurtalisterous, YouTube
#195: Björk - Human Behaviour
1993
from Debut
YouTube
"The slowed down four to the floor house rhythm with bass drums beating out a jungle call, overlaid with a vocal track that dynamically displays the singer’s range as she takes the perspective of an animal studying the human emotion still sounds as vital today as it did in 1993."
-- The Hackskeptic's View
"behaviour word has all vowels"
-- Andrés Ibarra, YouTube
#194: The Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats
1997
from Dig Your Own Hole
YouTube
"...'Block Rockin' Beats' rides a Schooly D vocal sample, careening pitch-bent synth work, and depth-charge beats into a commercial, critical, and artistic home run of a single."
-- AllMusic
"backlrkfokfdooiuioururghhbldfwdblock rocking beats!"
-- Ane Dijitak, YouTube
#193: De La Soul - A Rollerskating Jam Named Saturdays
1991
from De La Soul Is Dead
YouTube
"'A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays' is about as far a cry from the street-smart, ghetto-thug stereotype of the gangsta raps of groups like NWA that were then beginning to really define early-1990s hip-hop. What it is rather, is a clever melding of what are arguably two of the worst examples of the whitebread pop of the day — Frankie Valli’s 'Grease Is The Word' and Chicago’s 'Saturday In The Park' — remade as the completely innocent-sounding soundtrack to a roller-skating disco party, complete with opening up the sprinkler system, the fire hydrant, or whatever."
-- Something Else!
"Illest use of the Mighty Ryders 'Evil Vibrations' & a document of how things used to roll. Tear jurkingly delicious- the antidote to a week of bulls*t where the only roll is the pay, & the only goal is... SATURDAY!"
-- Kevin Shipman, YouTube
#192: Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat
1999
from Analog Worms Attack
YouTube
"With 'Flat Beat,' the novelty is excessive bass, bass that fills up as much room as the guitar and bass would on a rock record. Does the flat in the title stand for flatulent? It should. "
-- Stylus Magazine
"Who else can stare into a hairdryer at full blast without blinking? Only Flat Eric."
-- Dis Pater, YouTube
#191: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
1997
from Supa Dupa Fly
YouTube
"There is no way around the stoned absurdity of a line like 'Beep beep, who got the keys to the Jeep, vroooooom' — a line sometimes, somehow, mistaken for a bad lyric instead of a lighthearted one, and yet it’s not just an offbeat non-sequitur. It’s the middle of a performance that’s a dazed stream of consciousness, one that makes perfect sense amidst the nonsense"
-- Stereogum
"Feminist with a Afro-Futuristic perspective before it was cool."
-- trevor brown, YouTube
#190: Jay-Z f. Amil and Ja Rule - Can I Get A...
1998
from Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
YouTube
"The summer of 1998 was huge for Jay-Z. He had come into his own as an artist and was beginning to accumulate the mainstream accolades he'd always longed for. Leading up to the release of his third album, Vol. 2, Jay had four charting singles including “Can I...” which had dance floors packed and middle fingers up. Jay kicked that futuristic flow and had no love for women who were only after his dough."
-- Complex
"1st verse by Jay-Z is the best verse ever made. "
-- Lunar Cactus, YouTube
#189: Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space [Elvis Version]
1997
from Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
YouTube
"If you close your eyes, you can see the image that is painted by the song: an astronaut orbiting around his homeworld, floating, looking through a window while Elvis Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” plays in a speaker. The astronaut sings along, solemnly, thinking about someone at home that he desperately wants to be with, and he feels the cold pain of isolation."
-- Sputnik Music
"Elvis has left the cosmos!"
-- Koen Truijen, YouTube
#188: The Beta Band - Dry The Rain
1998
from The Three EP's
YouTube
"Deceptively quaint in the beginning, the track drops these little climactic bombs, each one completely defying your expectations for what a band should sound like. The initial hook, with its slide-guitar groove, could have been enough by itself. But right when you think that’s all there is, a drum and bass groove shows up two minutes in, gradually morphing it into an entirely different song. The most famous part is when the band coasts on that coda, which in actuality only lasts a minute or two, but feels like it could loop for an eternity."
-- Stereogum
"I will now sell five copies of the Three EP's by the Beta Band."
-- Aaron Copeland, YouTube
#187: My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
1991
from Loveless
YouTube
"To call Sometimes a masterpiece would be an understatement. Managing to sound both raw and blissful, angry and easy, noisy and soft, the sound of the plectrum picking the strings is clearly heard underneath the distortion. Sometimes provides five minutes of blissed out noisy dreampop."
-- What Culture
"You ever just stop at the end of the day and stare into the distance? Thats how this song feels."
-- MrKajithecat, YouTube
#186: O.C. - Time's Up
1994
from Word...Life
YouTube
"It's the things that Buckwild doesn't do on this track that make it so great. Having dug-out the incredible "A Day in the Life" break from Les DeMerle, Buck exercises the necessary restraint and lets it run its course, choosing only to enhance the drums and add an unorthodox Slick Rick scratch. This bare bones approach can be seen as a reaction to the growing trend in over-produced hip-hop beats, and serves as the perfect platform for O.C. to unleash his diatribe against rap phonies."
-- Complex
"every other line from O.C. has been sampled for other tracks hooks"
-- joe2grandl, YouTube
#185: Jay-Z - Snoopy Track
1999
from Vol. 3... Life And Times Of S. Carter
YouTube
"Back when Southern hip-hop was still maligned in certain circles, Jay-Z was one of the only rappers to recognize the accomplishments of his country cousins; from featuring Juvenile on 'Snoopy Track' to snatching UGK for one of his biggest singles, Jay was always cognizant of the region's creative impact."
-- Complex
"nah, he called it snoopy track because the "waah waah" part of the beat sounds just like charlie brown's teacher when she talks in the cartoons. so he called it the snoopy track. makes sense..."
-- jayrillo0214, YouTube
#184: Janet Jackson - That's The Way Love Goes
1993
from janet.
YouTube
"That indelible refrain: "Like a moth to the flame / burned by the fire / my love is blind / can't you see my desire?" That slinky Jam & Lewis beat. Even at 20 years old, this Janet jam can still ignite any house party, much like the one in its music video. Janet leaves the flirting to the kids and instead lets her guard down for her lover ("Come closer baby closer / reach out and feel my body.")"
-- Billboard
"my shoulders and head can't keep still when i hear this song"
-- GARY J, YouTube
#183: Oasis - Don't Go Away
1997
from Be Here Now
YouTube
"Backed by an orchestra, Oasis sings of loss and love, pleading for the subject to not leave. Conflicted and moody, it is some of Noel's best writing. The refrain, eloquently delivered by Liam, begs, "Don't go away / Say what to say / Say that you'll stay / Forever and a day / In the time of my life / 'Cause I need more time / Yes I need more time / Just to make things right." When the brothers Gallagher beg, they aren't begging for love, they're pleading for the opportunity to love, to make the relationship better. "
-- W.L. Swarts Reviews The Universe
"This song is so personal to me..I had someone play me this song 2 days before I was supposed to fly to California to start a new life with my future ex-husband...I can't help but think every time I hear this song what if I had stayed...ah...music is so important in life..."
-- lexrox5101 , YouTube
#182: Camp Lo - Black Nostaljack AKA Come On
1997
from Uptown Saturday Night
YouTube
"THIS song filler?? I don't think so, lol. This is another classic right here. It may be lesser known than "Luchini", but hot damn it's just as good."
-- Wayne's Hip Hop Blog
"Did he say he scores a 10 on his IQ test? He'd literally be brain dead."
-- TheAtariJenkins, YouTube
#181: Bark Psychosis - I Know
1990
from Nothing Feels/I Know [12"]
YouTube
"like putting your hand in a pool of water and pulling out a searing slither of glass"
-- Lime Lizard
"evokes a feeling that no other song does. just devastating."
-- agentorages, YouTube
#180: Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
1995
from The Bends
YouTube
"Radiohead has become known for the fearless spirit of experimentation, so it’s sometimes easy to forget their ability to craft memorable songs. 'Fake Plastic Trees' is a prime example of that talent, a song depicting the dehumanizing effects of modernity even as it tells a very human story of unrequited love."
-- American Songwriter
"I am a plastic tree and I felt offended"
-- Alexandra Amaral, YouTube
#179: The Softies - Hello Rain
1995
from It's Love
YouTube
"'Hello Rain', the lead track on their first album, is all about mood, full of deep reverb and teary, wistful sighs. It's another good litmus test for the indie pop project: if you don't find this incredibly pretty, the popkids can say, you're either a horrible person or you're trying too hard to be cool. "
-- Pitchfork
"Hello gorgeous song."
-- amcaat, YouTube
#178: Radiohead - Creep
1992
from Pablo Honey
YouTube
"The band had a dislike for the song from pretty early on (those famous guitar scratches are Jonny Greenwood trying to mess up what he thought was a boring song) and they even wrote 'My Iron Lung' about how much they hated playing the song over and over again during their early days.
-- Rolling Stone
"This song is me. I know how it feels to a creep and weirdo. A lot of people call me this."
-- JC Malone, YouTube
#177: Mariah Carey - Fantasy
1995
from Daydream
YouTube
"With its light, saucy vocal and instrumental squeaks and squeals, it feels like swinging jauntily on a star."
-- New York Times
"I was 10-11 years old when this came out, thinking "what, she likes roller coasters too?.... I love this chick". My first crush : )"
-- Norm Kid, YouTube
#176: The Bucketheads - The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)
1995
from All In My Mind
YouTube
"...a Chicago-sampling jaunt on the caboose of the Quad City DJs's train that brought disco revivalism to the world of jock jams."
-- Slant Magazine
"lol i was thinking of this song and typed in some bullshit lyrics, but google knew what i meant and this was the first result. wow"
-- Ke La, YouTube
#175: Shanice - I Love Your Smile
1991
from Inner Child
YouTube
"In stark contrast to the Electro-Pop which pervades today’s airwaves and chart, the beginning of the nineties saw the masses salivate for the sounds of New Jack Swing – a genre ‘Smile’ embodied, while also boasting a strong Pop undercurrent.
-- That Grape Juice
"During the 90's when I was a so called hip hop head this was one those songs I secretly loved"
-- setondriveable, YouTube
#174: Our Lady Peace - Clumsy
1997
from Clumsy
YouTube
"The guitar driven melodies that can be found through songs like the staggeringly infectious title track snake themselves through the eleven track recording and oftentimes present an enjoyable take on the 90's rock scene."
-- Sputnik Music
"MY BOYFRIEND DOESNT LIKE OUR LADY PEACE so annoy him by singing their songs around the house hehehehe"
-- emily pilon, YouTube
#173: Heltah Skeltah - Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka
1995
from Nocturnal
YouTube
"The song was hot and had that late 90’s New York feel."
--Kenyon Review
"Nah man, don't mean to be rude but that's real RAP..."
-- Nappy Afro, YouTube
#172: Matthew Good Band - Apparitions
1998
from Underdogs
YouTube
"...which combined solemn acoustic music that remains reminiscent of Ghetto Astronauts and a hard rock edge that would echo throughout the rest of the Matthew Good Band's discography."
-- Sputnik Music
"Beautiful song to snowboard to"
-- Dylan G, YouTube
#171: Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre
1999
from 2001
YouTube
"In case folks been smoking too much heavy 'chronic' lately, West Coast rap founder and scary legend Andre Young, aka Dr Dre, jogs their memories on 'Forgot About Dre'. "Who you think brought you the Eazy Es, Ice Cubes and DOCs, the Snoop- D-O-G-Gs and the group that said motherf-- the police?" yammers the one-time NWA lynchpin, ex Death Row playa, inventor of - G-Funk and occasional breaker of rival producers' jaws."
-- NME
"the hardest part about grandma's dementia was slowly watching her forget about dre"
-- peroperopero peropero, YouTube
#170: Timbaland & Magoo f. Missy Elliott and Aaliyah
1997
from Welcome To Our World
YouTube
"...irregular hi-hat patterns, rhythmic hiccups, big Swiss cheese pauses, and noises drawn from video games, mouths, TV shows, anything and everything but the old-school funk records mined for hip-hop's first 15 years."
-- The Village Voice
"I love black people man lol so fuckin much. "
-- Jessica Ray, YouTube
#169: Arthur Russell - This How We Walk On The Moon
1994
from Another Thoguht
YouTube
"'This is How We Walk on the Moon' became an immediate favorite, the soundtrack to long walks home in the city and the changing of the underground train to the aboveground landscape of the Chicago skyline. The song was poppy and infectious but also starkly minimalist, and I played it on repeat, never wanting to let it go."
-- Vice
"AIDS sucks..."
-- Carlos Diaz, YouTube
#168: Mariah Carey - My All
1997
from Butterfly
YouTube
"...with its gently plucked guitars, is the best Babyface track Babyface never produced."
-- Entertainment Weekly
"Not a decent cover of this song out there because let's face it, no one on this earth can cover a Mariah song and do it justice."
-- 3adhalat, YouTube
#167: Modest Mouse - Trailer Trash
1997
from The Lonesome Crowded West
YouTube
"If The Lonesome Crowded West’s default mode is mouth-foaming anger, 'Trailer Trash' is the wounded heart at the center of the album. Its laconic despair goes a long way toward expressing the other side of Isaac Brock and Modest Mouse’s vitriol, the place of real, self-lacerating hurt where all that rage actually comes from."
-- Popmatters
"dated a chick from the trailer park on the other side of my block when i was in highschool, i still miss her sometimes"
-- FenoonE, YouTube
#166: Black Rob - Whoa
1999
from Life Story
YouTube
"Through the cinematic strings and symphonic percussion that somehow became the de facto rap soundscape of [1999], Black Rob submits the end game for lyrical minimalism: everything is like whoa to Black Rob, it’s simply a matter of to what degree it is whoa. Is it very whoa? Somewhat whoa? Highly whoa? 'Whoa' was so 'whoa'"
-- Stylus Magazine
"Rumor has it that 50 cent ghostwrote this song... Don't know if it's true but I cam hear 50 saying this shit line for line. ."
-- Trill104, YouTube
#165: Geto Boys - Damn It Feels Good To Be A Ganster
1992
from Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster [12"]
YouTube
"'Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta' is unique in that it presents numerous aspects and definitions of the term ‘gangsta’. A gangsta is more than a gun-toting thug. A gangsta can be something as simple as a person with self-confidence. A gangsta can also be someone who struggles to capture his own piece of the American Dream and a gangsta can also be an absolutely corrupt politician."
-- slingin' ink
"Thug life brought me hear"
-- martin v, YouTube
#164: Snoop Doggy Dogg - Who Am I? (What's My Name?)
1993
from Doggystyle
YouTube
"The first single, 'Who Am I (What's My Name?)', is terrific. OK, so it's just Snoop rapping over George Clinton's 'Atomic Dog' - with that name, and his own fondness for the more laid-back and louche end of 70s funk, he could hardly have resisted the temptation to use it - but nobody ever got rich by overcomplicating pop or overestimating the demands of its market."
-- The Quietus
"RIP to all the dogs in this video who have passed and gone....#WOOF"
-- KANE HELLZ, YouTube
#163: Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
1999
from Millenium
YouTube
"'There are a lot of songs out there like that that don't make sense," [Kevin Richardson] continues, "but make you feel good when you sing along to them, and ['I Want It That Way' is] one of them.""
-- LA Weekly
"The thing that annoys me is the backstreet boys probably got a lot of shit at their time, now that the years have passed etc., people are saying how amazing they were and comparing them to other 'shit' bands. Those 'shit' bands will probably be praised beyond imagine in 10 or 20 years. Really pisses me off that people can't accept music for music and that people can't understand that some music means so much to some people you wouldn't even believe it."
-- Aoife O' Gorman, YouTube
#162: Kriss Kross - Jump
1992
from Totally Krossed Out
YouTube
"...oh, just try and listen to it without smiling, you heartless grinch..."
-- AllMusic
"Lol, i used to love these guys. Inspired by them i once wore my jeans and jersey kriss kross like them and my dad smacked me xD. I still remember that smack like it was yesterday. Funny tho lol"
-- Kenny K, YouTube
#161: The Flaming Lips - Race For The Prize
1999
from The Soft Bulletin
YouTube
"'Race For The Prize' feels like the work of people who've suddenly discovered a new way of breathing, and are decent enough to want to share their excitement with the rest of us."
-- NME
"this is just like something i've heard in a dream"
-- TomaTooe7, YouTube
#160: Rascalz f. Kardinal Offishall, Checkmate, Thurst and Choclair - The Northern Touch
1998
from Cash Crop
jukebo
"The song offered a sense of unity to the Canadian hip-hop scene and gave it a much needed buzz that brought new audiences."
-- Hiphop Canada
#159: P.M. Dawn - I'd Die Without You
1992
from Boomering [Original Soundtrack]
YouTube
"...one of the most beautiful love songs that a human being has ever written. "
-- Stereogum
"I spent a whole summer listening to this song and crying over a certain Samantha who broke my heart in high school. To this day, it transports me back to that bedroom where I would sit, hear the words, and wonder if I would ever get her back. I never did, but still love this song and the moments I had with her."
-- Khan SinghouTube
#158: 2Pac - California Love
1995
from All Eyez On Me
YouTube
"Tupac Shakur's biggest hit was a celebration, marking the rapper's release from prison ('Fresh outta jail, California dreamin'') with a 'serenade [to] the streets of L.A.' It was Dre's beat, though, that brought the sunshine: a buoyantly funky party groove, with delicious vocodered singing from Zapp frontman Roger Troutman – a premonition of the Auto-Tune mania that would sweep hip-hop a decade later.
-- Rolling Stones
"Ya know, it's kinda sad that California is slowly turning in a desert like in this clip, but we don't have Tupac anymore"
-- Saint Kuro, YouTube
#157: Liz Phair - Glory
1993
from Exile In Guyville
YouTube
"She maintains a kind of innocence in that moment, even as she’s losing it, the entire song a muffled gasp, a soft sigh."
-- Popmatters
"keep finding myself humming this randomly during the day hmm"
-- tattoofthesun, YouTube
#156: Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy
1993
from New Miserable Experience
YouTube
"If Teenage Fanclub played it, it would be like 'Oh, it's a classic.'"
-- A.V. Club
"Jealous pricks are pathetic. You deserve only death, however, by God's grace, because you're all such EPIC fuck-ups in the Evolution department, you get multiple chances to shed some unnecessary vices. That said, I'd rather you just be dead, so you'd better praise God every day that I'm not the one making decisions about your adjudication."
-- The Official William R. Wade, YouTube
#155: Radiohead - Exit Music (For A Film)
1997
from OK Computer
YouTube
"Its atmospheric build is unavoidably filmic, but also works perfectly on the album."
-- NME
"i nodded so hard to this song the other day."
-- Sebastian Soto, YouTube
#154: Kelis - Caught Out There
1999
from Kaleidoscope
YouTube
"you know, the crazy girl with the blonde Afro screaming, 'I hate you so much right now!/I hate you so much right now!'. They're calling her the new Lauryn Hill. She's better than that though."
-- NME
"I've just busted my bare toe against The leg of my bed!!!This song is for that damn leg!!!"
-- Luis Meloni, YouTube
#153: Meshell Ndegeocello - Bitter
1999
from Bitter
YouTube
"The album continues its slow trudge into the deepest darkness of Ndegeocello’s mood, with songs [like 'Bitter'] piercing with lyrics that are so sharp, you don’t realize you’ve been cut until the dull ache of a splintered heart throbs within you."
-- Bitter
"Everytime i listen to her,i feel like under hypnosis.
Just can't get enough of her."
-- ela kirenik, YouTube
#152: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I See A Darkness
1999
from I See A Darkness
YouTube
"'I See A Darkness' is a super-somber affair, both in vocals and music, but has a quiet beauty that fits the love song words quite nicely. Oldham sings along as if he's been wounded and the repeated chorus is one that any recently smited person could find solace with."
-- Almost Cool
"I won't lie, this song made me cry. Songs typically don't do that kind of shit to me, but this song is just... I really can't describe it. It's difficult typing this."
-- Kerman Guy, YouTube
#151: Meshell Ndegeogello - Beautiful
1999
from Bitter
YouTube
"almost begging lilts of a woman trying to find something real to hold on to."
-- Yam-Mag
"The song speaks for itself...."
-- Jayy. Tierra, YouTube
#150 - Len - Steal My Sunshine
1999
from You Can't Stop The Bum Rush
YouTube
"The sunshine Len stole for this track was the best few bars of the Andrea True Connection’s disco hit “More More More,” and it worked a treat. They turned that break, almost an afterthought on the original track, into a glorious hazy loop, and, covering it with inane chatter and impossibly feel-good lyrics, perfectly captured that warm, lazy feeling you get when late summer still seems like it could last forever."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I like how only about 12% of the lyrics make any grammatical sense whatsoever."
-- Jack Spade, YouTube
#149: K.P. & Envyi - Swing My Way
1998
from KP & Envyi Single
YouTube
"...with bizarre, juddering electro-inspired beats underneath their sultry, thick voices. It’s fucking cool stuff, and it’s a shame there weren’t more of their kind."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I still remember when the Video 1st dropped that weekend & being on the school bus that following week, all the girls were shocked to find out that was a White Girl on the hook😁 Life was so simple bacc then. "
-- BlackJohnnyCage, YouTube
#148: Le Tigre - Deceptacon
1999
from Le Tigre
YouTube
"...a hook-driven number that satiates your desire for no-strings-attached entertainment with lyrics such as, "Wanna disco?/ Wanna see me disco?/ Let me hear you depoliticize my rhyme," and then moves into a lament on the lack of meaningful lyrics in popular rock."
-- Pitchfork
"I remember the first time i heard this song was in myspace. It was in the profile of this beautiful Argentinian girl named Paula. I wonder what happened to her."
-- XavierStark, YouTube
#147: Pavement - Here
1992
from Slanted And Enchanted
YouTube
"'Here' is one of the few instances of Pavement venturing into ballad territory, and it’s a shame. Not because the song falls short (it’s on this list, after all), but because it suggests what could have been more frequent."
-- Paste
"My life always return to this"
-- Pablo Romero, YouTube
#146: Guns N' Roses - November Rain
1992
from Use Your Illusion I
YouTube
"But there’s one other reason 'November Rain' is the greatest power ballad of all time -- it’s one of the longest. That means that if you’re lucky enough to get to dance with someone you like and that song comes on, you’re going to be awkwardly close to them for almost nine full minutes. That’s two minutes longer than seven minutes in heaven, so use your time wisely."
-- Birth. Movies. Death.
"I think the assortment of languages seen in the comment section really speaks to the universality and impact of this song."
-- A. E. Cooper, YouTube
#145: Ghost Town DJs - My Boo
1996
from So So Def Bass All-Stars
YouTube
"...was a mainstay at all the basement parties back in the day."
-- C Notes
"'BOO' is so much better than BAE"
-- Seniar Tufuga, YouTube
#144: Nirvana - Lithium
1991
from Nevermind
YouTube
"...'Block Rockin' Beats' rides a Schooly D vocal sample, careening pitch-bent synth work, and depth-charge beats into a commercial, critical, and artistic home run of a single."
-- AllMusic
"backlrkfokfdooiuioururghhbldfwdblock rocking beats!"
-- Ane Dijitak, YouTube
#143: Radiohead - High And Dry
1995
from The Bends
YouTube
"First lead off single 'High and Dry' was a genuine pop song, neatly arranged to the band's displeasure as something a bit artificial. Despite being a great song, they haven't played it in nearly a decade. This sort of benign attitude would accompany the band to the present day, thus showcasing their attention to detail that is unforgiving and confrontational in regards to what people thought was normal music."
-- Punk News
"imnotcryingwhoscryingimdefinitelynotcrying"
-- Kevin Shipman, YouTube
#142. My Bloody Valentine - Soon
1991
from Loveless
YouTube
"I mean honestly, who knew that the Valentine could really fucking groove? The keyboard hook is one of the best ever, the beat is addictive, an even though Belinda’s bland vocals on the verse threaten to suck the energy out of the whole thing, but she makes up for it with her trademark ah-ahs at the end."
-- Stylus Magazine
"This isn't music...this is a work of art"
-- blazing64, YouTube
#141: Radiohead - Black Star
1995
from The Bends
YouTube
"Misanthropic musical geniuses have feelings, too. On 'Black Star,' Yorke delivers the closest The Bends has to a straightforward love song. Naturally, it's a depressing love song, though it's only been '58 hours' since Yorke and his lady laid down together, so maybe there's hope yet. If the whole thing is doomed, though, and he really is 'gonna melt down,' there's a lovely ringing riff to soundtrack his collapse."
-- Billboard
"Don't blame it on the boogie, blame it on the black star :)"
-- Rain Mann, YouTube
#140: White Town - Your Woman
1997
from Women In Technology
YouTube
"The genius is in the timelessness of it. “Your Woman” went to number one in 1997, but could just as easily have been a hit in the early 80s, or right now for that matter. Insouciant odd-pop is always a winner, especially when it’s riding a tune as good as this, hummable by music snobs and soccer mums alike."
-- Stylus Magazine
"the Darth Vader entry music !!!!!!!!"
-- azeleapark, YouTube
#139: Pavement - Gold Soundz
1994
from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
YouTube
"And then sometimes you think about songs that make you feel good whenever they come on. You hear the first few notes, remember how much the song does for you, the excitement builds, you want to sing along, and hey-- they're coming to the chorus now..."
-- Pitchfork
"hipsters only like this because its secret cret cret cret"
-- aflsbrng, YouTube
#138: Primal Scream - Movin' On Up
1991
from Screamadelica
YouTube
"...they burst everything wide open here, turning rock inside out by marrying it to a gleeful rainbow of modern dance textures."
-- Allmusic
"I played this and my Dad told me it was trash. I told him to go fuck himself. "My light shines on, my light shines on..." "
-- Mike Johnson, YouTube
#137: Jimmy Eat World - Just Watch The Fireworks
1999
from Clarity
YouTube
"The seven-minute gargantuan isn’t even the longest song on the band’s widely, justifiably acclaimed magnum opus Clarity, but it’s the one that’s filled with the most emotion and pain out of all of the album’s thirteen tracks."
-- Sputnik Music
"Haven't listened to this in awhile but it's July 4th so I thought it was appropriate!"
-- Keith K, YouTube
#136: Craig Mack f. Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes - Flava In Ya Ear [Remix]
1994
from Project: Funk Da World
YouTube
"Biggie proceeded to not only steal the show but completely eradicate Mack’s career. Do you remember hearing from him after this remix dropped? We didn’t think so."
-- The Boom Box
"Probably the greatest remix of all time"
-- A A, YouTube
#135: Björk - Joga
1997
from Homogenic
YouTube
"The dramatic sweep of first single Joga depicts the extremities of emotion, with Björk being pushed to a 'state of emergency, almost breathless with sheer joy."
-- The Guardian
"When I first heard this song, it brought me back to my childhood and the feeling of experiencing unconditional joy. This song melted my heart, and changed who I was. I thank Bjork every day I draw breath."
-- Urine Denial, YouTube
#134: Morrissey - The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
1994
from Vauxhall And I
YouTube
"That indelible refrain: "Like a moth to the flame / burned by the fire / my love is blind / can't you see my desire?" That slinky Jam & Lewis beat. Even at 20 years old, this Janet jam can still ignite any house party, much like the one in its music video. Janet leaves the flirting to the kids and instead lets her guard down for her lover ("Come closer baby closer / reach out and feel my body.")"
-- Billboard
"my shoulders and head can't keep still when i hear this song"
-- GARY J, YouTube
#133: The Notorious B.I.G. - Party And Bullshit
1993
from Who's The Man [Original Soundtrack]w
YouTube
"The balance of happiness and paranoia displayed here was a glimpse of Biggie Smalls’ lyrical excellence."
-- XXL
"1. Fuck
2. Your
3. Favorite
4. Artist
5. List"
-- Noe Guzman, YouTube
#132: My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep
1991
from Loveless
YouTube
"That twisting (synth?) part, the waves upon waves of harmonizing oooohs, and the octave splitting duet between lead singers Belinda Butcher and Kevin Shields on the verse—the words are even almost comprehensible enough to sing along to, which is the MBV equivalent of a campfire singalong."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I feel like I'm sitting inside one of the Amps while The band plays underwater. The music just engulfs you. "
-- Ian Dallier, YouTube
#131: Adamski - Killer
1990
from Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy
YouTube
"What was startling about the record in 1990 – and what lets it keep its charge now – is that the music simply refuses to get out of Seal’s way. In fact, if you only knew Seal from the rolling smoothness of his latterday career "Killer" would come as a real shock: here he is, making his debut not as a highfalutin’ loverman but as an isolated paranoid battling through a tangle of wires and buzz."
-- Freaky Trigger
"'Killer' song"
-- Rajmund W, YouTube
#130: The Delgados - Everything Goes Around The Water
1998
from Peloton
YouTube
"...demonstrate[s] the band’s knack for drunken, swooning, lushly orchestrated melodies, which they carefully construct like fugues."
-- Light Of Lost Worlds
"that flute intro puts me on the saddest rollercoaster that i'm so happy to ride everytime i hear it"
-- hunterslogan, YouTube
#129: Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See
1997
from When Disaster Strikes
YouTube
"Busta spits his shit over what was at that point a completely different sound, one which still works today: this song is a genuine joy to listen to. "
-- Hiphop Isn't Dead
"This song makes me want to be a voodoo pirate"
-- AxleTrade, YouTube
#128: R.E.M. - Losing My Religion
1991
from Out Of Time
YouTube
"'Losing My Religion' is simply one of the Great Pop Songs, one of the few songs where I can literally not find a single flaw—it is structurally, melodically, lyrically and conceptually brilliant in pretty much all ways."
-- Stylus Magazine
"When going to the bar first song I played on the juke box was this song"
-- Dan Sullivan, YouTube
#127: Raekwon f. Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Cappadona - Ice Cream
1995
from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
YouTube
"Wu-Tang may be for the children, but they proved they're also for the ladies with the sexually charged 'Ice Cream,' which may be the only 'love song' in the universe vaguely inspired by an Eddie Murphy comedy routine ('The ice cream man is coming!')."
-- Complex
"A lot those chicks would have went home pregnant by me... damn they look tasty."
-- James Bond, YouTube
#126: Low - Over The Ocean
1996
from The Curtain Hits The Cast
YouTube
"...it is uniquely beautiful and instantly recognizable. "
-- Allmusic
"theyre kinda like the three violinists in Titanic"
-- Shanice Li, YouTube
#125: Outkast - Rosa Parks
1998
from Aquemini
YouTube
"...Outkast's greatest track to date, 'Rosa Parks': The politico-historical-dance-step chorus ('Ah ha, hush that fuss/ Everybody move to the back of the bus/ Do you wanna bump and slump with us?/ We the type of people make the club get crunk') should make anyone a decent hip shaker."
-- Pitchfork
"I just realized that "Aha Baby Aha Yeah Yeah" is just the emulation of a female orgasm. Man Outcast were ahead of the curve. Stank."
-- Soleyiu S, YouTube
#124: Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain
1993
from Black Sunday
YouTube
"So even when Cypress Hill's day rental of the London Philharmonic Orchestra is played for laughs given their reputation for Dr. Greenthumb, Marge's response to an impromptu jam session of "Insane in the Brain" justifies the crossover potential. 'Now, this I like!'"
-- Pitchfork
"How does one go insane the the membrane, since a membrane is a selective barrier and holds no synaptic function?"
-- Mark Goldson, YouTube
#123: P.M. Dawn - Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
1991
from Of The Heart, Of The Soul And Of The Cross: The Utopian Experience
YouTube
"a sound that was just as strange and striking: dreamy and mysterious, though still packed with pop hooks. "
-- njarts.net
"i was smoking mad blunts to this track back in the day love it"
-- jay love, YouTube
#122: Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy
1998
from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
YouTube
"That being said, the comparatively stripped-down instrumentation is something of a red herring, as the track features some of Mangum’s most powerful vocal performances and memorable lyrics – a feat indeed, on an album made up entirely of poetic visions sang with almost tearful passion."
-- Kvanicek
"IF YOU DIDN'T WANT SONGS ABOUT FREAKS MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE PUT ME IN CHARGE OF THE MUSIC FUCK YOU I'M NOT SORRY BEST WEDDING EVER"
-- Kevlar Moneyclips, YouTube
#121: Elliott Smith - Say yes
1997
from Either/Or
YouTube
"Optimism and happiness are weird moods to get from the infamously sad singer, but “Say Yes” is one of the few tracks we get where you can actually picture him smiling, watching the morning sunlight fall on the hair of the girl lying next to him."
-- UTG LIST
"Girlfriend broke up with me. Exactly how I feel now. Thanks Elliot, may you rest in peace for ever"
-- Dan Red, YouTube
#120: The Breeders - Cannonball
1993
from Last Splash
YouTube
" And besides a concise melody and force of strum, the best riffs dart boldly between the dual wickets of sound and silence. Perfect example: Josephine Wiggs' bubbling rejoinder to 'Cannonball''s drums, which deploys a couple stops that sound like false starts (this being the shambling alt-rock years, after all) before hovering over two unresolved notes, just waiting for Kelley Deal's lead elliptics."
-- Stylus Magazine
"And on the 8th day, God said, "Let there be Kim Deal," and there was female cred in rock music."
-- Nick Danger, YouTube
#119: C-Murder f. Magic and Snoop Dogg - Down 4 My Niggaz
1999
from No Limit Top Dogg
YouTube
"C-Murder manages to integrate some moderately effective choruses into his songs, particularly the anthem chant of 'Down for My N's.'"
-- Allmusic
"Damn makes me want to break and annihilate stuff"
-- Ramses Osirus, YouTube
#118: Tag Team - Whoomp! There It Is
1993
from Whoomp! (There It Is)
YouTube
"Nothing else on Tag Team's debut album comes close to matching the delirious chanting and rolling beats of the single..."
-- Allmusic
"Can't seem to find my shoe.....Whoomp! There it is!"
-- TFtusave, YouTube
#117: Red House Painters - Have You Forgotten?
1996
from Songs For A Blue Guitar
YouTube
"The words, 'and shut out what they say 'cause your friends are ***ed up anyway' ringed out in my head and I knew that he meant what he was singing."
-- Sputnik
"The 7 downvotes are from soulless voids, not people."
-- Fletcher Wilkinson, YouTube
#116: The Pharcyde - Drop
1995
from Labcabincalifornia
YouTube
"'Drop' was a well-selected first single because it showcases the new Pharcyde sound brilliantly, with a low-key, futuristic Jay Dee beat, harmonized chorus, and conscious, artistically-arranged verses delivered in stuttered, unorthodox bar structures for a seriously dope track"
-- Rap Reviews
"Drop it like its Hip Hop 👍"
-- Simons Super Sexy Sounds, YouTube
#115: GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords
1995
from Liquid Swords
YouTube
"The album opens with the title track and it somewhat loosely serves as a resume’ for the GZA’s many years of training as a lyricist, briefly touching on events both Pre and Post 'Words From The Genius.'"
-- Fifth Element Online
"This was played at my friends memorial service this weekend. I've never smiled at a memorial service so much. I don't know if I ever will again"
-- Sara Lynch, YouTube
#114: Blur - End Of A Century
1994
from Parklife
YouTube
"'End of a Centur'" is the album's most beautiful song, one of the first to touch on the fact that Generation X was aging. Albarn perfectly describes suburban ennui, the ubiquitousness of such clothing stores as The Gap ('We wear the same clothes cos we feel the same'), and the dominance of television."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I hope they play this song at the end of the next century."
-- Norm1011616, YouTube
#113: Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day
1993
from The Predator
YouTube
"'There are a lot of songs out there like that that don't make sense," [Kevin Richardson] continues, "but make you feel good when you sing along to them, and ['I Want It That Way' is] one of them.""
-- LA Weekly
"Just found out my bosses wife has been bangin his brother , my in laws are moving to Australia my brother finally paid back the £20 I borrowed him June 2012 , my aunts stupid fucking Yorkshire terrier finally died , and I'm also receiveing oral sex from my girlfreind whilst im writing this so....
Today was a good day"
-- Debra Shelman, YouTube
#112: Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
1997
from Left Of The Middle
YouTube
"I was barely in middle school when "Torn" first hit radio, but my love affair with its unforgettable hook has endured every single trend that has come and went since. It’s the kind of breakup song that has universal appeal..."
-- Under The Gun
"This song describes my feelings upon discovering the song is a cover."
-- Rusty Nickels, YouTube
#111: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
1994
from Let Love In
YouTube
"'It's the perfect horror movie theme: Those inching organ jabs, the ominous tiptoeing of wire-brush strokes, the church bell gongs."
-- Pitchfork
"Nick Cave is from another dimension, it's called Australia."
-- Timothy Cole, YouTube
#110: Dead Prez - Hip-Hop
1999
from Let's Get Free
YouTube
"And what a thunderous buzzzz it is, quaking and spinning about unexpectedly with bouncing rhythm. Dead Prez certainly are not dead, but this is the best song they have ever made."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I've been jamming to this kind of music since I was little, and I watched these fascists change the game. It's time to wake the fuck up yo! It's time to wake the fuck up streets! Let's do this, and this shit back people who is with me?!"
-- Trevor Philips
#109: Phoenix - Too Young
1999
from United
YouTube
"On the breezy, funky eternal summer jam, Mars sang about the joyful uncertainty of being young, and how there was no real difference between being alone or in love."
-- Red Bull
"this the kinda jam where you tuck your shit back and dance naked outside your friends window, buffalo bill style"
-- Carlmolito, ouTube
#108: Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On [The Dub Of Doom Mix]
1992
from Let's Push It
YouTube
"Still amazing. It's quietly become massively influential hasn't it? You hear elements of this track in so much British dance music these days."
-- I Love Music
"I use too get my dances on. "
-- Gregory French, YouTube
#107: Matthew Good Band - Prime Time Deliverance
1997
from Underdogs
YouTube
"With the marching-band drums, silent bass and the addition of church keys, which is wrapped around a frankly astonishing vocal performance. The slowness of the song is interrupted briefly for an astonishing chorus that provides the slow, groggy and punch-filled choruses that are seen on the heavier tracks and the beauty that occupies the better part of the cd."
-- Sputnik Music
"Epic Fucking Song."
-- TheStrossus, YouTube
#106: Puff Daddy f. The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes - Victory
1998
from No Way Out
YouTube
"it may well be Puffy's best performance, even to this day"
-- Rap Reviews
"When I was a kid i thought puffy was an action star lol"
-- Jayson Cadeau, YouTube
#105: Method Man & Redman - Da Rockwilder
1999
from Blackout!
YouTube
"Layered with wizzing effects and synthesizers, bloops and beeps, “Da Rockwilder” plays like futuristic pop rap masterpiece that would make Timbaland blush, fixed with just enough groove for Redman and Method Man to spit their ridiculousness."
-- Sputnik Music
"this song is too short !!"
-- MACK D, YouTube
#104: Luniz - I Got 5 On It
1995
from Operation Stackola
YouTube
"But those first five seconds hold another key to what makes people really go off when this track's cued up: Tone Capone's beat juxtaposes this tinkling, crystalline, off-kilter keyboard riff with a bassline so heavy and deep it feels like it's coming from inside your head instead of a subwoofer."
-- Pitchfork
"This is the kind of song you walk with a gangsta lean to"
-- Nat Campbell, YouTube
#103: Dr. Dre f. Hittman, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and Six-Two - Xxplosive
1999
from 2001
YouTube
"Using the VERY VERY CATCHY piano loop, followed by bells and whistles, this is PURE G-Funk. This song is 100% made for low-riders. If you have a low-rider, put this on repeat."
-- Hip Hop Certified
"Explosives are bad for kids. I recomend all children listenint to this song. Im telling yoū this on the behalf of my yale university graduates and femdale hospital. My name is Dr Dre."
-- Ali A, YouTube
#102: The Cranberries - Dreams
1992
from Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
YouTube
"a sunny, ethereal confessional, topped off with some celebratory yodeling for good measure...but the begging in her voice is unmistakable; when she sings "you have my heart, so don't hurt me," the last phrase is staccato, each word a new plea. The album is full of moments like this, when the edge in O'Riordan's voice transforms an otherwise forgettable lyric into something remarkable. Her band, wisely, gets out of the way and lets it happen."
-- Vulture
"If doctors were to tell me that I'd lose my hearing in a couple days ,I would put this song on Repeat and listen to it over and over so that the last sound I hear is Dolores O'Riordan's sultry voice etching into my brain."
-- Chick Rock, YouTube
#101: Skee-Lo - I Wish
1995
from I Wish
YouTube
"We'll never know if Skee-Lo ever got with Ioshi, felt okay with being a "Stay in School Jam" staple or regretted forfeiting any chance at staying power in order to invent emo-rap, but he should know that despite being the least gangsta rapper ever, no one did a better job of making listeners feel his pain. "
-- Stylus Magazine
"Damn MUGGSY BOGUES GOT BARS"
-- Jun Jun, YouTube
#100: Big Wreck - That Song
1995
from In Loving Memory Of...
YouTube
"Looking back on it, having a first line like that seems like a huge risk. It’d be all too easy to laugh and say that’d this would never be that type of song. That said, it still gets played on the radio every so often, and we still all sing along."
-- Stylus Magazine
"Not sure if it's just the maple syrup coursing through my veins talking, but godDAMN! Canada has amazing bands and music!"
-- paulwes1983, YouTube
#099: Aaliyah - One In A Million
1996
from One In A Million
YouTube
"...Aaliyah was a black Lolita, a teenage temptress with a seductive power in her smooth voice."
-- Pitchfork
"Damn You R. Kelly. 👊"
-- BlackJohnnyCage, YouTube
098: Radiohead - Just
1995
from The Bends
YouTube
"The track opens with a scratchy blast of guitar almost certainly meant to evoke Nirvana, and after that, as Yorke rails against an egotistical acquaintance, the song turns from alt-rock rager to bluesy acoustic jam to psychedelic screamer. For a few bars near end, it's even a jazzy-funky thing you could almost dance to."
-- Billboard
"The question of what the man says has haunted me and the internet since the mid-late 90's."
-- J Roo, YouTube
#097: Blur - The Universal
1995
from The Great Escape
YouTube
"Even better is 'The Universal,' a shot of post-millennial collective paranoia and anticlimax whose grandeur is—far from the 'This Is a Low,' Mk II that is often cited—a 180-degree rewrite of the private 'is this it?' of Parklife’s acoustic, pre-millennial gem 'End of the Century.'"
-- Stylus Magazine
"Damon just fucking take me omfg"
-- Hungry hypocrite, YouTube
#096: Fiona Apple - Criminal
1997
from Tidal
YouTube
"For many fans, however, 'Criminal' remains a signature song for a young talent who, along with other songstresses like Alana Morissette, helped define the sound and vibe of the angst-ridden alt-pop of the 90’s."
-- MIMO
"Her writing skills were off the charts."
-- Damien Shaw, YouTube
#095: OutKast - ATLiens
1996
from ATLiens
YouTube
"The song is built on two samples, the first is 'Around the World' by Attilio Mineo, which gives the song its atmosphere via that spooky, space-aged intro. But the hallmark of the beat is a looped-up vocal courtesy of the Chambers Brothers’ 'So Tired.' The sample sounds like what we imagine an Instagram filter would sound like, which in turn gives the beat its unwinding effect."
-- Complex
"If there was a song that represents outkast down to the core this would be it!"
-- robinlue2008, YouTube
#094: George Michael - Freedom! 90
1990
from Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
YouTube
"'Freedom!' endures as an anthem because its hooks are inclusive-- the verses are all about George Michael, but that all-in-together sing along chorus extends to anyone struggling with insecurity or a desire for independence."
-- Pitchfork
"Remember seeing all these models and thinking lucky sod. Didn't realise then that he wasn't interested in banging any of them!"
-- bladeboy2041, YouTube
#093: Naughty By Nature - O.P.P.
1991
from Naughty By Nature
YouTube
"Me, I yell out 'YOU DOWN WIT’ O.P.P.???'. Needless to say, it’s safe to assume that anyone who answers back 'YEAH, YOU KNOW ME!!!' is pretty down."
-- Stylus Magazine
"You down with OPP? Yeah you know me!
Get some old school adultery/cheater rap in yo day!"
-- Fen D, YouTube
#092: Eminem - My Name Is
1999
from The Slim Shady LP
YouTube
"Using his first single 'My Name Is' to revitalize Dre's credibility as a producer, Eminem became popular for three main reasons: his often humorous lyrics, his original flow and rhyme schemes, and his white skin."
-- Stylus Magazine
"when it isfunny the rap is good"
-- lonely man, YouTube
#091: Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time
1998
from ...Baby One More Time
YouTube
"...Britney has quickly elevated herself to pop royalty via a conflicting series of psycho-sexual messages to a mass of sex starved male fans and self-empowerment messages to her female admirers."
-- Stylus Magazine
"The perfect balance between sweet and sexy."
-- Dirty Harry, YouTube
#090: Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
1991
from A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
YouTube
"Dres and Mista Lawnge's sole home run exemplifies what rap's early-90s Native Tongues quasi-scene was all about: wit, charm, trickiness valued over toughness, and dance-friendly production that involved deep crate-digging outside the familiar funk break bins."
-- Pitchfork
"Say 'UUhH, Come ON' one more time... I dare you."
-- Aviate, YouTube
#089: Radiohead - No Surprises
1997
from OK Computer
YouTube
"'No Surprises' is such a well-framed piece of songwriting that it probably could have withstood layers of tracks. Instead Radiohead appropriately leaves the delicate tune fairly unadorned: a simple acoustic guitar strum; a glockenspiel; some tasteful electric guitar lines; an unintrusive rhythm section; and some well-placed vocal harmonies are all the song needs to shine."
-- Allmusic
"I use this song as an alarm on my phone :) Wakes me up gently :)"
-- blues260, YouTube
#088: B-Real, Coolio, Method Man, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes - Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)
1997
from Space Jam [Original Soundtrack]
YouTube
"While all the other rappers are very good, Cool J really gives it his all and sticks with the concept in the extreme. The song is from the point of view of the Monstars, the evil basketball team who Jordan and Bugs must defeat. Accordingly, LL goes all out and taunts MJ ('23 ways to make him pay'), and even gets at Bugs. 'I'm rugged raw, my Monstars is getting money/When cliques get to bugging, I'm snatching up their bunnies,' he raps. Somehow, his full-blooded engagement in the concept of the tune prevents him from sounding ridiculous."
-- Rap Genius
"The b in b-real must stand for basketball "
-- olli449, YouTube
#087: Genius/GZA f. Ghostface Killah, Killah Priece, and RZA - 4th Chamber
1995
from Liquid Swords
YouTube
"...after another long stretch of sampled film dialogue, a pitch-bent keyboard squeal issues a threnodic warning as to what’s coming up next, and the electric-guitar-laden beat slams in with unholy intensity."
-- Stylus Magazine
"If I was a wrestler this would be my intro"
-- Joseph Mitchell, YouTube
#086: Weezer - El Scorcho
1996
from Pinkerton
YouTube
"I realize that if any one song could be held responsible for the birth of emo, it would probably be this one, and frankly, I don’t care. The chorus says it all. When it comes to Rivers Cuomo, I’m jello, baby."
-- Stylus Magazine
"El Scorcho roughly translates to 'The Scorcho'."
-- CinderGamer, YouTube
#085: Bran Van 3000 - Drinking In L.A.
1997
from Glee
YouTube
"But still, no song in history has been able to capture a certain feeling as well as this one-the feeling of utter despair at not having an aim in the world, missing something so unbelievably crucial but not being able to define what it is."
-- Stylus Magazine
"Interesting fact: the woman who sings in Bran Van 3000 is now a human rights lawyer."
-- Holly H, YouTube
#084: Wreckx-N-Effect - Rump Shaker
1992
from Hard Or Smooth
YouTube
"'Rump Shaker' isn't one of those transcendent hits that lights up a party. It's more of a cultural reference one smilingly suffers through."
-- Stylus Magazine
"Still zoom zooming in the boom boom in 2015!"
-- Bearded Forever, YouTube
#083: Boyz II Men - Motownphilly
1991
from Cooleyhighharmony
YouTube
"But here, they managed to deliver one of the most ebullient and danceable documents of the early 90s hip-hop/R&B crossover."
-- Pitchfork
"Did people in the early 90's just stroll around casually while playing tubas and saxophones?"
-- sweetpeachsodapop, YouTube
#082: The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
1995
from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
YouTube
"the signature strings of 'Tonight, Tonight,' which must be one of the all-time top ten 'songs with rimshots.'"
-- Stylus Magazine
"I don't know if I'll ever get married. I don't even know if I ever want to get married. But I do know this, if I ever meet my spouse, I want to meet her with this song in the background."
-- Alan Munguia, YouTube
#081: Portishead - Roads
1994
from Dummy
YouTube
"Roads – the sort of contemporary masterpiece that in a parallel universe is being wheeled out on The X Factor and reducing Simon Cowell to floods of tears – is the best example of how Gibbons’ technique surpasses any lyrical content."
-- BBC
"One of a few songs that really touch me somewhere deep, deep inside. Playfully tinkers with the strings on my secret sorrowful harpsichord."
-- Thomas Sydney Gissler, YouTube
#080: A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation
1994
from Midnight Marauders
YouTube
"Their natural use of hard drums and smooth samples were par for the course, with their major triumph being the chiming piano, upright bass and cold groove of 'Electric Relaxation'"
-- Pitchfork
"this is in a slow 12/8 time signature, one of my favorites"
-- Alan Price, YouTube
#079: Mariah Carey f. Jay-Z - Heartbreaker
1999
from Rainbow
YouTube
"Singers of her caliber often make ballads their bread and butter. And obviously, singing ballads is smart for Carey -- it plays to her strengths to limb out and then keep climbing, to engage in melismatic runs and revel in the extent of her range.
But what makes 'Heartbreaker' surprising in Carey's '90s catalog is its restraint."
-- Billboard
"The thing i find so cool about mariah is that her speaking voice doesnt match her singing voice. I remember being shocked when i first heard her speak because i wasnt expecting her voice to be so low considering how high her singing voice is."
-- Eccentricka1, YouTube
#078: New Order - Regret
1993
from Republic
YouTube
"...a fine-tuned pop single in that same old early-cruising mode, most everything you could love about them crammed into one joyous smash-hit victory lap."
-- Pitchfork
"The chorus perfectly describes the feeling of isolation and longing for human connection."
-- Tony Vilaysack, YouTube
#077: Pulp - Babies
1992
from His 'n' Hers
YouTube
"'Babies' was Pulp's first truly great single, an epic tale of teenage sex set to a slightly subdued but infectious two-chord guitar riff and light flourishes of synths and guitars."
-- Allmusic
"This band is so goddamn British. I would be amazed if I met a redneck trucker that liked Pulp. Singing this song with a southern accent."
-- Chris Nelvin, YouTube
#076: The Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
1994
from Siamese Dream
YouTube
"What’s particularly amazing about 'Disarm' is that its acoustic, orchestral fixings do nothing to belie Corgan’s intensity. Clouds of distortion and pummeling drums are nowhere to be found, yet it’s impossible not to feel tense amid its dark and obliquely romantic passages."
-- Magnet
"While Corgan's often cryptic lyrics lose their effect over time, "Disarm" is one of the Pumpkin songs where the lyrics are just as likely as the music to be lodged into your memory forever. It's an epic song, but not in a way you would expect. Bells and orchestras make for a beautiful background, but Billy and his acoustic guitar maintain just as much presence. As if reflecting a small man with big problems, he's more likely to effect himself than anything else is."
-- MrWolfSnack, YouTube
#075: Belle And Sebastian - Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
1996
from If You're Feeling Sinister
YouTube
"'Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying' is perhaps the best track on a collection full of whimsical songs. Though it set the template for many of Belle & Sebastian’s later tunes, the preciousness on 'Dying' was a fresh blend of literate, wry lyricism, the best of ’60s folk combined with an undeniable indie streak and attitude."
-- Spectrum Culture
"This is an upbeat yet oddly appropriate song to listen to while playing Dark Souls."
-- Captain Ellison, YouTube
#074: Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
1998
from Hello Nasty
YouTube
"The single 'Intergalactic' remains fresh and funny, its kitsch sci-fi blending with classic ‘80s-style rap. This was the year of Cher’s 'Believe', which ushered in an era of Auto-Tune—to hear the Beasties’ crap robots intoning 'Intergalactic planetary / Planetary intergalactic' was to be granted welcome respite from this new horror."
-- Popmatters
"Best sci fi movie EVER !!!!"
-- You Jestin'888, YouTube
#073: DMX - Ruff Ryders' Anthem
1998
from It's Dark And Hell Is Hot
YouTube
"X wastes no time unleashing pure menace...followed by “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” his invitation for listeners to join (or at least chant along to) the movement."
-- Idolator
"After this song, I wanna be black"
-- RAVAGEchicken, YouTube
#072: Daft Punk - Da Funk
1995
from Homework
YouTube
"...there’s something almost brutal about the inexorable progression of the four or five sounds Bangalter and Homem-Christo weave together seamlessly to make one big beat that stomps all into submission. "
-- Stylus Magazine
"How did she not recognize him? He has a dogs head"
-- David Mitchell, YouTube
#071: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
1998
from Urban Hymns
YouTube
"Perhaps it has something to do with the accompanying video (which, for those of you who’ve lived under a rock since 1988, features a cocksure Richard Ashcroft striding down a street, knocking those who cross his path out of the way), but 'Bittersweet Symphony' is The Best song to listen to on headphones whilst out and about."
-- The Guardian
"Take a break, listen to a song :)
This is absolutely one of my all time favorites! It still gives me goosebumps, everytime the song starts!!"
-- Amith Raravi, YouTube
#070: Destiny's Child - Say My Name
1999
from The Writing's On The Wall
YouTube
"The fact (1) that every man, woman, and child in America can sing the vocal hook from this song despite the fact (2) that the beat and bassline sequence underneath that hook is so deeply tricked out and bizarre (we're talking deliriously fast doubletime offset snare runs on top of wah guitar, Martian sleighbells, lite classical string stabs and acoustic fingerpicking, y'all) could be called a testament to the ideological triumph of Ms. Knowles and company's yummy vocal delivery over the icily brilliant formalism of Rodney Jerkins' programming, were it not for the fact (3) that both the singing and the programming are shot through with the exact same precision-tooled logic of control-freak paranoia. Which is why this is such a distinctly American anthem. Facts are facts."
-- Pitchfork
"Thumbs up if you memorised the dance moves to this one! Team DC"
-- DestinsysChildVEVO, YouTube
#069: Madonna - Human Nature
1995
from Bedtime Stories
YouTube
"Hall helped Madonna find her R&B/Hip-Hop groove, making the song different from anything she’d ever done in the past. 'Human Nature' can be looked at as an unintentional sequel to 1989’s 'Express Yourself,' due to its liberating theme. The song was a sneak diss, as Madonna asked why she was being so heavily critiqued for expressing herself as an artist. She exclaims, 'You punished me for telling you my fantasies/I’m breaking all the rules I didn’t make.' With its straightforward statements that are dripping with sarcasm (Did I say something wrong?/Oops, I didn’t know I couldn’t talk about sex), 'Human Nature' became a feminist anthem of sorts."
-- Idolator
"This song is totally badass. Rolling Stone put it best - "Madonna did a drive-by on her critics"."
-- AJB3, YouTube
#068: Pavement - Grounded
1995
from Wowee Zowee
YouTube
"Stephen Malkmus is well-loved by fans for many reasons, but one of the reasons I like him so much is his ability to project a vast range of emotional tonality into whatever lyrics he’s singing. 'Grounded' is, vocals and guitars both, absolutely heartwrenching."
-- Stylus Magazine
"The guitar-work on this 4-minute song is the same guitar-work that post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky made a career out of years later. And this is just one Pavement song - so many others that people built careers off of."
-- Zach Branson, YouTube
#067: Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
1991
from Blue Lines
YouTube
"This song aches like the beginning or end of a relationship. More likely, it's the latter, but it could be the bittersweet former. Ghostly vocals swirl over Bob James beats, as Shara Nelson pours out yearning: 'You're the book that I have opened / And now I've got to know much more.' Spent, she yields to strings. Their bursting heart swells, loving, grief-stricken, piano percolating lost embraces. The song overflows and fades, an unfinished symphony."
-- Stylus Magazine
"This song is pure eargasm"
-- pannkakesangen, YouTube
#066: No Doubt - Don't Speak
1996
from Tragic Kingdom
YouTube
"When I close my eyes, I can see a gym full of junior high girls mouthing along to 'Don’t Speak' over their dance partners’ shoulders. Chilling."
-- Stylus Magazine
"This song's name in Slang 'Shut the fuck up!!!'"
-- Marksist Leninist, YouTube
#065: Puff Daddy f. Lil' Kim, The Lox, and The Notorious B.I.G. - It's All About The Benjamins [Remix]
1997
from No Way Out
YouTube
"Biz Markie was once asked which song he would play someone who had never heard hip-hop before, a song that could sum up the music and the culture. His reply? 'All About The Benjamins.'"
-- Complex
"On pay day I'm like... "
-- Luke Martinez, YouTube
#064: Basement Jaxx - Red Alert
1999
from Remedy
YouTube
"The best Basement Jaxx songs sound like they're threatening to shake themselves apart from all the activity rattling around inside them, even as a rock-solid rhythm and bassline keep it all held together. 'Red Alert' has its rare pockets of calm, mostly in the false-ending interlude featuring some gelatinously deflating melodrama strings. But for most of its length its Prince-ly house groove seizes anyone who locks into the beat and launches them smack into the middle of a haywire pinball machine."
-- Pitchfork
"Damn that's a filthy grove"
-- DAK454, YouTube
#063: Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger
1996
from (What's The Story) Morning Glory
YouTube
"...the first Oasis song to feature Noel [Gallagher], who considers it one of his finest compositions, on lead vocals. He has since described the tune as a cross between the Beatles and Bob Dylan."
-- Rolling Stone
"sally must be very patient... "
-- Mickey ONeill, YouTube
#062: The Cardigans - Love Fool
1995
from First Band On The Moon
YouTube
"'Dear, I fear we’re facing a problem'
Uh, do we have to do this now babe? The game’s on.
'Lately I have desperately pondered, spent my nights awake and I wonder.'
Shit, is this going to be one of those state-of-the-union kind of things? I’m not really in the mood.
'Love me! love me! Say that you love me!'
Fine, I love you, now can I watch the end of the game please? You’re in my way.
'Just say that you need me'
Baby, I need you. I need you more than air. Now can you turn the TV back on?
'Mama tells me I shouldn’t bother…'
Don’t get me started on your mother!
'I can’t care about anything but you.'
(massaging temples) You’re going to be in my head all fuckin’ day, aren’t you?"
-- Stylus Magazine
"So, she know that he's a dick, that cheats on her and stuff, but, since she "don't care about anything but him", it's okay to be fooled.
Yeah. Nice song and video. Reminds me of real life."
-- Adler Post HC, YouTube
#061: Blur - Girls & Boys
1994
from Parklife
YouTube
"'Girls & Boys' is a party song about the delights of omnisexual hedonism, but it's smarter and more cutting about the circumstances of omnisexual hedonism (pre-packaged travel, unemployment, language barriers, drugs, kids whose idea of 'romance' comes from condom packages) than any other song of its kind. It's also a tart, sneering rocker, full of ingenious musical gestures: an undiluted disco bass part, bounding octaves and all; trilling synths echoed by Albarn's fake-ecstatic oh-oh-ohs; that monomaniacal right-left-left-right barrage of a chorus."
-- Pitchfork
"I love the sexy whistle Damon makes with his teeth when he lingers on the letter 'S'."
-- Penelope Taynt, YouTube
#060: The Lucksmiths - Guess How Much I Love You
1997
from A Good Kind Of Nervous
YouTube
"A long-distance love song from a year later, 'Guess How Much I Love You', accentuates the way emotions and places are tied together – the protagonist chronicles his longing across visits to the post office, the Laundromat, bookstores. That song is also where the compilation’s title comes from. The song’s mini-cartography lesson is that maps lie. On a map she’s just three fingers away, but in reality? 'It’s more than that.'"
-- Popmatters
"This was my 'song' with my ex-girlfriend. We were long-distance and every phone call was a strange stab in the gut. Now whenever I hear this song I smile over what we had. I miss that girl. :-)"
-- uhsfeth, YouTube
#059: The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
1996
from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
YouTube
"In fifty years, '1979' will be one of the oldies we request when we are alone and wistful in nursing homes. If we don't have memories left, this song will substitute nicely"
-- Stylus Magazine
"i know the songs called 1979 but this is 90s as fuck"
-- Kieran Maharaj, YouTube
#058: Dr. Dre f. Snoop Dogg - Still D.R.E.
1999
from 2001
YouTube
"'Still D.R.E', the lead single, adds a far-east (see: Asian) vibe to the age old G-Funk sound...and basically lets us know Dre's back with some of that, as Snoop so eloquently puts it, sticky-icky-icky (ooh wee). It also proves that while Dre's 'creation' of the G-Funk sound is debatable, he's definitely made it his own."
-- Sputnik
"This brings out my inner gangsta ;)
I'm black from the waist down."
-- xxShirpTacoxx, YouTube
#057: Pulp - Common People
1995
from Different Class
YouTube
"'Common People' is quite deliberately a pub sing-along, a set of lyrics quite basic and brash by the Cocker standard, and one could imagine that it's for these reasons that it was a successful summer anthem. It's one of the rare times his narrative would be so easy to relate to, reductive enough to rope in both the usual weirdoes and perverts that share the Cocker mindset, along with, well, the 'common people.'"
-- Stylus Magazine
"The over-romanticising of the working class still exists today on a very large scale, and it's as incredibly patronising as ever. There do exist a great deal of people who like to convince themselves they're from more difficult backgrounds than they actually are, as it fits in to some degree with the idea of the self-made man. If anything, this emphasis on the differences between classes just fuels class discrimination."
-- Will Neill, YouTube
#056: Souls Of Mischief - 93 'Til Infinity
1993
from 93 'Til Infinity
YouTube
"One of the first notable examples of significantly speeding up a sample to rhyme over, the track was punctuated with neck-snapping drums and an echoing horn hits. The resulting track is so full of youthful energy and optimism that it's become almost mandatory for any 'lyrical' rapper to take a stab at their own version"
-- Complex
"This song is a perfect example of chill hip hop. It has a dream quality and I love the fact that someone chose to film this out in the mountains / the countryside and at the end of the earth aka the beaches."
-- elthe3rd, YouTube
#055: The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By
1993
from Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
YouTube
"...a classic tale of unrequited love that I related to on many levels. Even for a 9-year-old, I was something of a romantic."
-- Stylus Magazine
"My theme song in middle school. One of the prettiest and most popular girls in school thought I was cute and I could tell because everytime she got on the bus or passed me in the hallway I saw her staring. One day at my locker I overheard her tell her friends that I was cute and her friends looked at me and I know they were thinking "hes not popular enough". Dang. I could write a 4th verse to this song."
-- goodfellabeats, YouTube
#054: Robin S - Show Me Love
1993
from Show Me Love
YouTube
"Not many people remember this song, but just about everyone who does absolutely loves it, and for good reason. That minimal, spooky hook is ridiculously compelling, and Robin...glides over the beat with unbelievable grace."
-- Stylus Magazine
"It's funny, I know this song was hugely popular in 1993 and still is now. But it's almost like she predicted the future, if this was released today it would have shot straight to no.1 it almost predicted the rise of popularity in house/club music...."
-- georgia chapman, YouTube
#053: Yo La Tengo - Tom Courtenay
1995
from Electr-O-Pura
YouTube
"One of the catchiest and most fully realized pure pop songs Yo La Tengo ever recorded, 1995's 'Tom Courtenay' is nonetheless a typical mid-period Yo La Tengo track; it doesn't have a chorus at all, and by the final verse, the lyrics have gone from an opaque narrative with teasing references to the Swinging London of the Carnaby Street era (Julie Christie, Eleanor Bron, and Paul McCartney all get name-checked beside the titular actor) to a distracted mumble eventually overtaken by the ultra-poppy 'ba-ba-ba' backing vocals."
-- Allmusic
"my name is tom courtney,
great song!"
-- tomcourtneydog, YouTube
#052: The Sundays - Here's Where The Story Ends
1990
from Reading, Writing And Arithmetic
YouTube
"Behind Harriet Wheeler's winsome vocals, 'Here's Where the Story Ends' expertly inhabits the blurred intersection between nostalgia and regret. Wheeler's jilted narrator feels ill at ease and tongue-tied, and she spends most of the song kicking herself for the things she's said and done. Yet when she sings with bittersweet affection for a 'little souvenir of a terrible year' it is easy to imagine that for many listeners this song has become just such a keepsake."
-- Pitchfork
"If you had never seen a picture of her, you would think sirens were real.
What an unreal voice, to this day."
-- raspycellist, YouTube
#051: Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
1999
from Windowlicker [EP]
YouTube
"James' music was always about wild contrast-- oscillating between harsh, uncompromising noise and remarkably warm ambient texture-- and that all comes together in "Windowlicker". The song moves through so many stages that it's hard to pick a favorite part: there's the tech-y drum'n'bass intro, the gooey middle section, the abrasive noise coda, and several smaller asides in between."
-- Pitchfork
"Was there a reason why this was call WindowLicker?"
-- Communistpeppers, YouTube
#050: Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks On Me
1991
from We Can't Be Stopped
YouTube
"This is one of those hiphop songs that you know EVERY. WORD. BY. HEART—an ensemble piece by three guys that live the life, that know the material they’re rapping from experience, that describe it in painful detail. And with a sense of humor—Willie D mistakes “three blind crippled and crazy senior citizens” for his arch-enemies."
-- Lineout
"How can a song have such dark content but be so uplifting at the same time"
-- Giannis Mav, YouTube
#049: Beastie Boys - Sabotage
1994
from Ill Communication
YouTube
"...the meatiest slab of moshpit rap-rock aggression the Beasties ever put to tape..."
-- Pitchfork
"Anyone else feel like grabbing their friends, a 84 Ford LTD Crown Vic, some fake 'staches, some walkie talkies and recreating this music video for funzies?"
-- Captialist Fox, YouTube
048: The Cure - A Letter To Elise
1992
from Wish
YouTube
"Plinky toy piano under a beautiful keyboards part with a relatively loud bass make this a cosily warm sounding track. This is probably the strongest track on the album, and its straining at the chains of futility love story lyric plucks at the heart strings for a time when this sort of song was the norm not the rarity on a Cure album."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I was named after this song...(:"
-- Elise Emerson, YouTube
#047: Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
1998
from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
YouTube
"...the ear-opening title-track of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, where the narrator of the album looks forward, sees his death, and accepts it. The lines,
'And one day we will die
And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young
Let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see'
strike you set out on paper, being so simple in their ideas (and also strangely logical), but sung in Mangum's emotionally climaxing voice, they assume a significance that seems utterly religious in their fervour."
-- Sputnik Music
"Okay yes but why is her head a slice of turnip"
-- SanguisBibiturus, YouTube
#046: Pulp - This Is Hardcore
1998
from This Is Hardcore
YouTube
"And there’s Thomas’ odd horn-driven rhythm pushing it along every time it moves on from a climax. The song is structured so oddly–there’s no real verse, chorus or bridge. It drifts with Cocker’s stream of consciousness, piling on the cinematic grandeur as it goes along."
-- Every Great Song Ever
"This is absolute, unbridled brilliance. The musical backdrop to the sexually deviant lyrical raunch is mind blowing in its poignancy. Build, release, repeat gradually until finally the ending climax - which lets a few bars linger quietly as if it's the "afterglow" moment of lying back to light the cliche (but necessary) cigarette. It is, in essence the soundtrack of our darkest fantasies done bluntly but executed with perfection. "
-- ASocialCJ, YouTube
#045: The Magnetic Fields - All My Little Words
1999
from 69 Love Songs
YouTube
"Equal parts deflected wit and affected heartbreak, Stephen Merritt's urbane adult pop turns love into the miniature production we all imagine it to be. Here, Merritt uses his poison pen to carve up an unrequited lover who's just now figured out that the slick sophistry of his wordplay can't save him in the end. It's not too much of a stretch to read self-deprecation in this portrait of a spurned pop poet, but rather it's the sense of impotent rage in the realization, 'I could make you pay and pay/but I could never make you stay' that remains the cruelest and truest twist of the knife."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I was looking for actual magnetic fields......nice diversion tho...good song"
-- Kile Pike, YouTube
#044: Teenage Fanclub - The Concept
1991
from Bandwagonesque
YouTube
"It's a three part paragon of power-pop: a 70s rock section leads into a dreamy sequence of 'ahhh-ahhh's more beautiful than a young indie fan could have thought possible in late 1991, before a mind-melting guitar solo brings it home."
-- Record Rewind Play
"Makes me proud to be Scottish. That guitar tearing shreds through the second half."
-- Gerard O'Rourke, YouTube
#043: The Notorious B.I.G. - Gimme The Loot
1994
from Ready To Die
YouTube
"Notorious Big and an accomplice embark on a horrifying crime spree, which concludes in a shoot out with the cops. Along the way, they threaten to “leave niggers in the gutter” and quarrel over who should rob a young woman of her fur coat and diamonds. It shouldn’t be an enjoyable listen—but the brutality of the beat, and the bracingly dark humour are undeniably thrilling."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I play this song when I go raid muthafuckas on Clash of Clans."
-- I'm Infinite, YouTube
#042: Underworld - Born Slippy .NUXX
1996
from Born Slippy .NUXX [12"]
YouTube
"Therein lies the appeal of Underworld: rock'n'roll posturing, real techno flavor. Hyde helped the trio Trojan Horse a 10-minute trance epic into mainstream consciousness. The song made no concessions to secure its fame; it is meaty and tough and blaring. Originally a B-side, 'Born Slippy .NUXX' needed Trainspotting's publicity, probably, but not its association: the song smells enough of stale excess and self-imposed dementia on its own. Like its likely inspirations, "Born Slippy" is ugly and fun and awfully tough to stop. (Sidenote: coolest song title on this list, easy.)"
-- Pitchfork
"Born Slippy is british slang. It means quick and alert. The band got the name from a greyhound they won money on at a romford racing track. The term mentally applies to someone who is on pills (specifically esctasy because it was the buzz drug of the 90's) or someone with anxiety because in both situations you'd have racing thoughts and would not be able to calm down and keep still. A stoned person who is zonked out and relaxing is not born slippy. The pacing of this track along with the way it is edited from euphoric keyboard choir and synth stabs visually expressed with long single frame shots to frantic drum pounding shown with lighted quick snippets of film is meant to represent the intake and come down of the effects of a drug. People on drugs like ectasy have heightened sensors and move and react quickly and twitching fashion this is visually expressed in the video with it's onslaught on flashing text and lights as well as Karl rapidly bobbing his head as if he was possessed. Born Slippy is structured like a trance song because it has a epic build up and break down but it really is more of a techno song. I would classify this song as tech trance
Read more"
-- lasoo88, YouTube
#041: Blackstreet f. Dr. Dre and Queen Pen - No Diggity
1996
from Another Level
YouTube
"The beat, damn near grimy, screamed "hip-hop" louder than the rhymes, while the vocals carefully balanced showboat melisma with catchy nonsense. What put it over the top, though, was something even [Teddy] Riley couldn't have planned: the hook that becomes a catch phrase, one that swallowed the summer of 96 whole."
-- Pitchfork
"Dem low piano keys, tho...
NO DIGGITY"
-- TheHabitman, YouTube
#040: Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph
1997
from Wu-Tang Forever
YouTube
"Each stanza is shockingly thought provoking. Rhymes are mixed, effective, and counterintuitive..."
-- Kyle Reviews Rap
"My all time favorite WU track, I think I blew out a car speaker on this one."
-- Jason Adams, YouTube
#039: Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
1995
from Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
YouTube
"RZA’s off-kilter piano production on 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya' was a perfect counterpoint to ODB's unhinged drunken master flow. It epitomized the Ol' Dirty Bastard persona in musical terms, a drunken saloon pianist plunking a two-note melody (via Stevie Wonder’s 'Knocks Me Off My Feet,' appropriately enough) over an ungainly, limping breakbeat (The Emotions’ 'I Like It') that seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment."
-- Allmusic
"Alright, hot shots, time for a pop quiz.
How does Ol' Dirty Bastard like it?
a) rare
b) medium
c) well done
d) rawwwwwww"
-- Captain Freedom, YouTube
#038: UGK - One Day
1996
from Ridin' Dirty
YouTube
"Highlight 'One Day' completely forgoes the usual opening fanfare in favor of a slow burner that cops its crooning lament from The Isley Brothers' 'Ain't I Been Good to You.' Multi-instrumentalist and producer Pimp C infuses the track with equal parts trunk thump and Memphis soul, finding time to split lines with Bun B's slippery cadence and guest 3-2's polished drawl. While the rhymes put slangin' front and center, UGK colors around the edges, showing the trapper in a more dynamic light: as brother, friend, and target. Despite the pair's magnum egos, the stories of hard-won gains, abandonment, and murdered friends are plentiful, delivered with thousand-yard stares."
-- Stylus Magazine
"RIP PIMP C THE GAME AINT THE SAME WITHOUT YOU..."
-- ludicrous503, YouTube
#037: Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever
1996
from Now In A Minute
YouTube
"It’s the kind of song that you’d give your left arm to be the inspiration behind, and then your right arm to be the recipient of. Even the best love songs are often too selfish, but 'I Love You Always Forever' strikes the perfect balance between 'I can’t believe how much in love I am' and 'I can’t believe how much in love you are making me feel.' It even verges on being too selfless ('You’ve got the most unbelievable blue eyes I’ve ever seen / You’ve got me almost melting away'), but then the bridge kicks in, and suddenly and unexpectedly Lewis demands validation and reciprication of her feelings ('Say you love, love me forever, never stop, never whenever'), which seems fair enough, since she’s already made more than done her part."
-- Intensities In Ten Suburbs
"Hey! I'm a metal-head and I even love this song! Real substance......real heart and soul!!! \m/"
-- David Lake, YouTube
#036: R. Kelly - Bump N' Grind
1994
from 12 Play
YouTube
"another absolutely brilliant four minutes of tantalization, 'Bump n' Grind,' which eases in some throbbing beats"
-- Allmusic
"This man helped me get soo much fuckin pussy. Thanks R. Kell."
-- Orlando Scandrick, YouTube
#035: Dr. Dre f. Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg - The Next Episode
1999
from 2001
YouTube
"However, the song is saved into classicness by the INCREDIBLE outro performed by Nate Dogg. Nate Dogg comes on with his seductive and ghetto voice, and immediately gets your head bouncing. I wish he was on the actual chorus. You think the song is over, and he pops in! Genius!"
-- Hiphop Certified
"Watching this on 4/20"
-- TheGamingBear, YouTube
#034: Beastie Boys - So What'cha Want
1992
from Check Your Head
YouTube
"The most simple drum beat in hip-hop, distorted vocals, a choppy organ riff and a 3-note guitar lick is all there is to it, and it's hard to explain exactly why such a simple song makes the listener feel like they're the baddest mother***er around, but it does. It's punchy enough to soundtrack a fight scene, AND sleazy enough to get played in a strip club. Really, what's to dislike?"
-- Sputnik Music
"That guitar riff though "
-- Habs WC, YouTube
#033: Massive Attack - Angel
1998
from Mezzanine
YouTube
"It's starts with a slow thumping bass intro and gradually builds up with the medium-slow deformed drum beat that doesn't feel like an artificial beat. The reggae singer Horace Andy doesn't sound like a reggae singer here at all...his voice is perfectly in disguise. I love it when the song whips into the guitar melody."
-- Sputnik Music
"This song gives the emotion of smug/arrogant power. Video aside. Just listening to it gives this feeling."
-- Roman RiemanJohns, YouTube
#032: Jay-Z f. UGK - Big Pimpin'
1999
from Vol. 3... Life and Times Of S. Carter
YouTube
"And Timbaland's creatively lucrative infatuation with Eastern sounds hits its first jackpot here, with its trilling bellydance melodies refitted into a super-widescreen ass-propulsion motivator. The only thing that hasn't maintained its freshness: Hova's declaration that he'll never give his heart to a woman-- though his staccato-yet-sleek time-shifting flow makes it easy to forget he reneged on that by 'Crazy in Love'"
-- Pitchfork
""Me give my heart to a woman, not for nothing, never happen, I'll be forever mackin....'" lol. Then comes Bey"
-- Shon T, YouTube
#031: Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
1990
from Violator
YouTube
"Every sonic element is widescreen, the synths are gothic cathedrals, the guitars as vast and lonely as the Wild West, the electronic underpinning of the drums evoking a warehouse rave and an elegant singalong chorus that would've scored big even if David Gahan was reading the Yellow Pages."
-- Pitchfork
"How am I supposed to enjoy the silence if I just can't stop raping the play button?"
-- Alexand s, YouTube
#030: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha Crossroads
1996
from E. 1999 Eternal
YouTube
"...rapping and singing and harmonizing...but fast! It's a thoughtful and serious song, but the first nine words are "bone.""
-- Pitchfork
"It's rare that a song can have such a profound feeling to it when I hear it but Crossroads is definitely one of those songs. I feel the same every time it's played. One of the greatest songs of the 90's hands down. Classic album too."
-- Black Al Bundy, YouTube
#029: Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
1991
from Nevermind
YouTube
"Nirvana helped ensure that hard rock in the 90s (and in the 2000s) was based in grunge, and that youthful rebellion was based in a mix of big riffs and some semblance of punk roots. Modern rock radio changed-- out went the Anglophile and dance influences there (they'd return in the new decade). In the American underground, the response to the sheer size and weight and force of alternative rock was to re-focus on the lo-fi, on textures, on a new set of retro influences (exotica, krautrock, dub, minimalism, to name a few at first; garage rock, underground disco, and new wave a few years later)."
-- Pitchfork
"I wish there was a way to be a teenager....forever."
-- Sarah Beckford, YouTube
#028: Snoop Doggy Dogg - Gin & Juice
1994
from Doggystyle
YouTube
"Snoop's single and party song 'Gin & Juice' came complete with a party-ready G-Funk sample and a party-depicting video and paved the way for an 18-year-and-counting career during which this party rights activist has tirelessly devoted himself to the cause of partying and party awareness. Taken this way-- as a new artist's statement of intent-- 'Gin & Juice' is pretty great. But as a statement of desiring to party, possibly while drinking, it's even better."
-- Pitchfork
"only way to roll"
-- tom hellmann, YouTube
#027: OutKast - SpottieOttieDopaliscious
1998
from Aquemini
YouTube
"Aquemini found both MCs growing looser and more loquacious by the track, and 'Spottie'-- all seven minutes of lax, billowy horns and slinky southern smoke-- allows both MCs room to talk out every tangent, explore every aside."
-- Pitchfork
"Man I love the horns in this song if I owned a caddy I would drive doing 10 mph letting this bump "
-- edward moore, YouTube
#026: Guided By Voices - Game Of Pricks
1995
from Alien Lanes
YouTube
"At his prime, it seemed like Guided by Voices mastermind Robert Pollard couldn't touch a guitar pick without writing a new classic, and "Game of Pricks" flows forth as such, as if all he did was open his mouth for the melody to come out."
-- Pitchfork
"Economy of rock. One of the best songs ever!"
-- dner75, YouTube
#025: House Of Pain - Jump Around
1992
from House Of pain
YouTube
"From the annoyingly contagious siren-like screech that weaves in and out of the song, to the excellent combination of old-school and dancey music that backs up Everlast’s assured vocal delivery, everything clicks perfectly in this sublime and infectious piece."
-- Sputnik Music
"How many tuned in on St. Patrick's Day to listen?"
-- Larry Michael Hinty, YouTube
#024: Pavement - In The Mouth A Desert
1992
from Slanted And Enchanted
YouTube
"One of the things that makes Slanted and Enchanted so great is that I never know what Malkmus is singing about, but it always kills me. 'I’ve been crowned the king of it / and it is all we have'…and I’m floored. "
-- Stylus Magazine
"I somehow feel this lay the blueprint down for a lot of post-hardcore as much as it did for indie...I just hear a lot of influence here. The simple, punk inspired melody, the big hook in the refrain, mid-tempo, the darker sound (I've always found this song to be sonically darker compared to a lot of Pavement's other stuff). I may have gone a little far when I said it laid down the blueprint, but it sounds like it could have helped influence some of it. That's just what I infer."
-- Jem S, YouTube
#023: Jim O'Rourke - Eureka
1999
from Eureka
YouTube
"When O’Rourke first sang on 'Eureka', his voice stuck out like a crumpled bag of Cheetos on Queen Elizabeth’s dinner table. Part of the charm of the music came from hearing a guy who could not sing gamely do so, voicing complicated melodies while surrounded by luxurious production. It made no sense and somehow, because of that, it worked."
-- Pitchfork
"Those horns are exquisite..."
-- TommasoDegliEsposti, YouTube
#022: The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
1996
from Life After Death
YouTube
"The lead single 'Hypnotize' is perhaps the best post-Golden Age single in rap: punctual, effortless linguistic pyrotechnics and braggadocio ('Lexus, LX, four-and-half / bulletproof glass tints if I want some ass') over a unforgettable bass line (ripped from Herb Alpert)"
-- Stylus Magazine
"sicker than your average..."
-- Jdevy, YouTube
#021: Lauryn Hill - Ex-Factor
1999
from The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
YouTube
"the typically painful, stuttering break-up of a long relationship made Ex Factor almost unbearable to listen to, dealing, as it does, with a drawn-out mess of a couple in meltdown. It's accusatory, resigned and confused. The refrain: 'You said you'd die for me … why won't you live for me?' cuts like a knife."
-- The Guardian
"We've all lived these words at some point. Either directly or through helping someone we love get through the process. If we open our hearts to love, we open our hearts to pain. Somehow it's worth it."
-- Thornless Rosie, YouTube
#020: The Notorious B.I.G. f. Puff Daddy and Ma$e - Mo Money, Mo Problems
1997
from Life After Death
YouTube
"'Mo Money' is more propulsive and that Mase verse is classic. Never mind 'B-I-G P-O-P-P-A, no info, for the, D-E-A' aka the best verse opening line ever."
-- I Love Music
"Problems must not be too bad, I see Puff Daddy proclaim "Mo Money Mo Problems" but has he EVER turned down a check?...I think not!"
-- John Doe, YouTube
#019: Ol' Dirty Bastard f. Kelis - Got Your Money
1999
from Nigga Please
YouTube
"It somehow makes sense that the Wu-Tang Clan's resident madman would find his most timeless expression constrained within a party tune, but when the party is as unhinged and filthy as 'Got Your Money', constraint has nothing to do with it. Here it serves to hint at its opposite, at the tightness of the Neptunes' peerless bass-driven groove underscoring the looseness of Ol' Dirty Bastard's now-barking, now-hollering performance. He comes on crazed, lewd, menacing, and seductive all at once. Or as he puts it more succinctly: 'Recognize I'm a fool and you love me.'"
-- Pitchfork
"Odb makes pimpin' sound so fun. Lol his uniqueness is definitely missed in the music industry"
-- Gd Flo, YouTube
#018: Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck
1992
from Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
YouTube
"Even today's grittiest radio rap sounds like a late-90s Bad Boy single when thrown up against something as stark as 'Protect Ya Neck'. But despite its (deserved) rep as a 'let's see you top this!' line in the sand, the track still provides plenty of rap's traditional, visceral thrills: the rowdy virtuosity of the rhymes, the what-did-he-just-say? wordplay, the star-in-the-making charisma of certain Clan members, and one of the few kick-you-in-the-ass beats in the early Wu catalog."
-- Pitchfork
"Certified classic, one of the most hype songs ever in hip hop. This shit got so much energy, you can feel their hunger. GZA closes it perfectly, 'First of all, who's ya A&R, a mountain climber who plays an electric guitar, but he don't know the meanin of dope, when he's lookin for a suit and tie rap that's cleaner than a bar of soap'"
-- Ric Smith, YouTube
#017: Björk - Hyperballad
1996
from Post
YouTube
"'Hyperballad' is ultimately an optimistic song, tapping into common neuroses and exploring them in a way that seems manageable. If only by the strength of her brave, uncompromising voice, Björk makes you believe that love can work, and that being part of a couple doesn't have to mean giving up your individuality."
-- Stylus Magazine
"Exactly what letting your guard down feels like in commitment. Never take for granted the struggle"
-- Jason Pizarro, YouTube
#016: Foo Fighters - Everlong
1997
from The Colour And The Shape
YouTube
"It's about as perfect a chord progression as rock has ever produced, a cycle of open-ended harmonies that never seem to find their natural resolution. Every change just seems to ratchet up the tension, and the searing, louder-than-loud production only contributes to the apocalyptic urgency of the thing."
-- Pitchfork
"One of David Letterman ' s favorite songs!"
-- Chris Delacroix, YouTube
#015: Daft Punk - Around The World
1997
from Homework
YouTube
"For the first time on this album Daft Punk get a little long-form on our asses and it’s glorious, with the best vocodered sample ever and a surprisingly lush tune given the relative lack of ingredients. Lots of similar efforts get boring at some point before seven minutes, but “Around The World” stays golden."
-- Stylus Magazine
"I feel like there is a deeper underlying meaning to all this..."
-- R462venom, YouTube
#014: Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
1990
from I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
YouTube
"If nothing else, this article has reassured me that I do, in fact, love this song for reasons other than that tear running down the cheek in the video. Not that there’d be anything wrong if it were otherwise, but even without that Sinéad is harrowing, flicking between trying to hold herself together and her urgent, desperate anguish, demanding to sprawl across the canvas; this ain’t your everyday ballad. There is no big moment, no key notes to hit, just awesome, gutting, raw frailty. The backing’s just sat there, regardless, bringing the sighs and gentle sways that you only notice cos you’ve hit that point of loneliness that chills you so far down, because the thought strikes you that this might actually be…it. A one-hit wonder for one big reason—how the hell can you expect anyone to follow this? "
-- Stylus Magazine
"My friend perfoms this while wearing a banana suit, its bizarre"
-- Leo Sodan, YouTube
#013: Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
1990
from Sex Packets
YouTube
"OK this was unavoidable – easily the most noticeable aspect of this cut’s production is the swooping bass part, which simultaneously tests your secondhand speakers and gets that wedding reception/ class reunion/ family gathering grooving."
-- Stylus Magazine
"The national anthem to Hump Day!"
-- live4marilyn, YouTube
#012: Warren G f. Nate Dogg - Regulate
1994
from Regulate...G Funk Era
YouTube
"Regulation implies not just power but stasis, and what makes this track so addictive is its utter insouciance, the way Warren G and Nate Dogg treat stick-ups and orgies with the same sweet Zen glide."
-- Pitchfork
"I think this song is one of the greatest examples of blending rap, with a pre-existing music track.. The music just won't freakin quit. it keeps pulling you back in.. Warren an Nate, do an amazing job of pulling up lyrics that emote with the music.. plus there unique phrasing, unlike 99 percents of the raps you hear.."
-- mark styles, YouTube
#011: Ginuwine - Pony
1996
from Ginuwine... The Bachelor
YouTube
"Wherein the sound of a burping processed voice personifies sex. That belching roll came courtesy of Timbaland in his first jaw-dropper, and Elgin Lumpkin-- Ginuwine's wisely ditched government name-- obliged with the sort of on-the-nose sexual metaphor that made 90s R&B such a delightfully literal piece of American musical history. 'If you're horny, let's do it; ride it, my pony.' That is a masterful exegesis on cut-to-the-chase."
-- Pitchfork
"Timbaland had the most interesting sounds for beats... I like the sound of someone burping... The sound of a police siren and a car screeching in the background... LMAO he was too dope back in the day"
-- Jeff Roberts, YouTube
#010: Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
1998
from Music Sounds Better With You [12"]
YouTube
"...this is repetitive, yes. But when it’s a deliciously disco-y loop this lovely, it’s best to just give your body up and dance to it, as that’s clearly how God intended it. Easy, breezy, beautiful. "
-- Stylus Magazine
"How is this song so repetitive, yet so attention holding?"
-- datgoatfilms, YouTube
#009: Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody?
1998
from Dr. Dolittle [Original Soundtrack]
YouTube
"But the aspects that might come across as goofy at first-- the baby coo sourced from Prince's 'Delirious'; the beatboxing that sounds like broken castanets; the fact that it first emerged on the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy version of Dr. Doolittle-- are offset by Aaliyah's characteristically deft performance, balancing an uncanny ability to wring new angles out of a deceptively simple melody and the chops to let her singing naturally jump from smooth longing to nimble rhythmic counterpoints. The moment in the chorus where her voice finally wraps itself entirely around that stagger-step beat and rolls out with the same fluidity as the frenetic bassline-- 'causeIreallyneedsomebody/tellmeareyouthatsomebody'-- is everything great about late-90s R&B in one burst of inspiration."
-- Pitchfork
"When I first heard this, the baby crying in the background threw me off. Now that I think of it, the baby in the background make this song unique."
-- EdgeofGlory261, YouTube
#008: Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II
1995
from The Infamous
YouTube
"Ah, the sound of sheer terror. 'I'm only 19 but my mind is older/ And when the things get for real/ My warm heart turns cold.' That's Prodigy, the 5'6", sickle cell anemia-afflicted Queensbridge resident who, for the five minutes and 26 seconds of 'Shook Ones Part II', is the most dangerous person on the planet. Threatening to 'stab your brain with your nose bone,' P raps like a sullen zombie, on the loose and hungry for flesh. But 'Shook Ones' is not a phantasmagoric song-- it feels utterly real, with stakes in the streets, around the wrong corner, in immature and dangerous hands."
-- Pitchfork
"one of the best beats in history of rap if not the best"
-- Manwlis Kmkzi, YouTube
#007: Dee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart
1990
from World Clique
YouTube
"We’re all agreed that 'Groove Is In The Heart' is magnificent, right? Right?...Because if we’re agreed on that, then we can get along much better."
-- Stylus Magazine
"Just delovely and delicious...."
-- Stacy Frazer, YouTube
#006: Bell Biv Devoe - Poison
1990
from Poison
YouTube
-- Scrubs
"Whoever created this beat, you are the real MVP"
-- Maiaki Mickey Broadnax, YouTube
#005: Weezer - Say It Ain't So
1995
from Weezer
YouTube
"There's the specificity and shorthand in the lyrics ('Somebody's Heine is crowdin' my icebox'), and the shaded references to a father (and stepfather) addicted to alcohol. And, oh, the little things: Matt Sharp's tender backing vocals, Patrick Wilson's Spartan kickdrum, Cuomo's surprisingly forceful vocal. But when something like Ric Ocasek's swallow-you-whole production is this huge and roiling, subtleties wilt away. And so we're left with the memory of a chest-grabbing, karaoke-ready chorus and that 'wrestle with Jiiiiiimmy!' line."
-- Pitchfork
"Not a note wasted, or wandering: A perfect sonic elixir. It is at once melancholy and humorous, the sweet and the sour- with equal parts drone, bounce and aggression; expertly blended and poured over magic silver ice in a anodized tumbler by Mr. O- aural perfection"
-- Compulsor, YouTube
#004: Portishead - Glory Box
1995
from Dummy
YouTube
"'Glory Box' tastefully lays down a loop of sleek strings from Isaac Hayes' 'Ike's Rap II' and accents it with taut snares, vinyl crackle, and Utley's moaning guitar. But the song still belongs to Gibbons, whose alternately lacerating and shivering delivery throws down the gauntlet. 'Give me a reason to love you/ Give me a reason to be a woman.' She's begging for an answer, and sings with a deep understanding of how futile it may be to pose the question. "
-- Pitchfork
"Excuse me....I need to go have sex now."
-- IStillGotTheFever, YouTube
#003: Radiohead - Paranoid Android
1997
from OK Computer
YouTube
"The song's three-movement structure is a surgical wonder, suturing together the band's strengths up to that point-- half-reluctant guitar crunch, fragile acoustic melodies-- and coming away with an evil Frankenstein's monster that set the template for the rest of their career, most accurately when Jonny Greenwood's closing guitar solo disintegrates into wet modem squelches."
-- Pitchfork
"i don't know what exactly these guys meant when they made this song, but i relate to the lyrics a lot. i have anxiety issues, and it perfectly describes me being literally paranoid. it makes me feel better for sone weird reason."
-- Emma Tachikawa, YouTube
#002: Dr. Dre f. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang
1992
from The Chronic
YouTube
"Dr. Dre is a notorious studio perfectionist, the type of producer who will drive rappers to exhaustion by recording 20 takes of the same verse. But the greatest product of that perfectionism is maybe the calmest, most languid song ever to bear the man's name. ''G' Thang' boasts little in the way of structure or rigor; it's just Dre and a very young Snoop Dogg lazily tossing boasts back and forth, cycling back to the chorus whenever the mood strikes them, as a whistling keyboard line snakes through a bed of woozy bass."
-- Pitchfork
"Selling your company for over 3 billion? Nuthin but a g thang baby"
-- Tom Smith, YouTube
#001: The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy
1994
from Ready To Die
YouTube
"Smack in the middle of Ready to Die, 'Juicy' is a personal narrative that doubles as a tale of rap's rise. If you knew Mr. Magic and Marley Marl's pioneering early 80s 'Rap Attack' radio show or black teeny-bopper magazine Word Up or the absurd John Wayne-spoofing 1984 novelty track 'Rappin' Duke' or Mtume's bubble-funk classic 'Juicy Fruit', Biggie's memories were your memories. And if you didn't know, well, now you know."
-- Pitchfork
"I don't think there's a song more quotable than this one"
-- Kome O, YouTube
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