100 Greatest Songs From 1990

Criteria: Songs listed are from Rock 'n' Roll and related sub-genres. Rankings are based on initial and lasting popularity and on acclaim received from critics and musicians.

Note: Yearly song lists go by earliest 'release date' (Single, Album, or Country of first release). Not necessarily the year a song peaked in the U.S. charts.

1. Nothing Compares 2 U
Sinéad O'Connor
2. Enjoy The Silence
Depeche Mode
3. U Can't Touch This
MC Hammer
4. Vogue
Madonna
5. Groove Is In The Heart
Deee-Lite
6. Thunderstruck
AC/DC
7. More Than Words
Extreme
8. Man in the Box
Alice In Chains
9. Vision of Love
Mariah Carey
10. Wind of Change
Scorpions
11. Poison
Bell Biv Devoe
12. Can I Kick It?
A Tribe Called Quest
13. Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J
14. Freedom '90
George Michael
15. Gonna Make You Sweat
C & C Music Factory
16. Crazy
Seal
17. Hard to Handle
Black Crowes
18. Unbelievable
EMF
19. Been Caught Stealing
Jane's Addiction
20. Cemetary Gates
Pantera
21. Sadeness (Part 1)
Enigma
22. Silent Lucidity
Queensrÿche
23. Justify My Love
Madonna
24. Right Here Right Now
Jesus Jones
25. Suicide Blonde
INXS
26. Hold On
En Vogue
27. She Talks To Angels
Black Crowes
28. Feels Good
Tony! Toni! Tone!
29. It Must Have Been Love
Roxette
30. Around The Way Girl
LL Cool J
31. All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You
Heart
32. I Touch Myself
Divinyls
33. Get Here
Oleta Adams
34. The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)
Cher
35. All The Man That I Need
Whitney Houston
36. Blaze of Glory
Jon Bon Jovi
37. Tom's Diner
D.N.A. (featuring Suzanne Vega)
38. Candy
Iggy Pop with Kate Pierson
39. Save Me
Fleetwood Mac
40. The King of Wishful Thinking
Go West
41. Cradle Of Love
Billy Idol
42. Praying For Time
George Michael
43. Everybody Everybody
Black Box
44. Close to You
Maxi Priest
45. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Guns N' Roses
46. I've Been Thinking About You
Londonbeat
47. Here's Where The Story Ends
The Sundays
48. Loaded
Primal Scream
49. Cliffs Of Dover
Eric Johnson
50. Murder Rap
Above the Law

51. Someday
Mariah Carey
52. I'll Give All My Love To You
Keith Sweat
53. More Than Words Can Say
Alias
54. Brothers Gonna Work It Out
Public Enemy
55. Unskinny Bop
Poison
56. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Ice Cube
57. Signs
Tesla
58. Blue Sky Mine
Midnight Oil
59. Hurting Kind (I've Got My Eyes on You)
Robert Plant
60. (Can't Live Without Your) Love & Affection
Nelson
61. Painkiller
Judas Priest
62. Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em
Eric B. & Rakim
63. The Ship Song
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
64. Just The Way It Is, Baby
The Rembrandts
65. Step On
Happy Mondays
66. Bonita Applebaum
A Tribe Called Quest
67. High Enough
Damn Yankees
68. Mercy Mercy Me - I Want You
Robert Palmer
69. Hold On
Wilson Phillips
70. The Obvious Child
Paul Simon
71. Giving You The Benefit
Pebbles
72. 21st Century (Digital Boy)
Bad Religion
73. Knockin' Boots
Candyman
74. Coming Of Age
Damn Yankees
75. From A Distance
Bette Midler
76. Send Me An Angel
Scorpions
77. I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)
Hi-Five
78. Only Your Love
Bananarama
79. My, My, My
Johnny Gill
80. She's So High
Blur
81. Rock Dis Funky Joint
Poor Righteous Teachers
82. Don't Treat Me Bad
Firehouse
83. Velouria
Pixies
84. Energy Flash
Joey Beltram
85. In The Ghetto
Eric B. & Rakim
86. Serious
Duran Duran
87. Release Me
Wilson Phillips
88. What Time Is Love?
The KLF
89. Gold Digger
EPMD
90. Looking At The Front Door
Main Source
91. Hold You Tight
Tara Kemp
92. Rhythm Of The Rain
Dan Fogelberg
93. Step By Step
New Kids on the Block
94. Something To Believe In
Poison
95. Good Clean Fun
The Allman Brothers Band
96. Policy Of Truth
Depeche Mode
97. Kinky Afro
Happy Mondays
98. The Only One I Know
The Charlatans
99. Hole Hearted
Extreme
100. Kool Thing
Sonic Youth
20 more worth mentioning.
101. Stranded
Heart
102. Do Me!
Bell Biv Devoe
103. Miles Away
Winger
104. Civil War
Guns N' Roses
105. Empire
Queensrÿche
106. Being Boring
Pet Shop Boys
107. Let's Talk About Sex
Salt-n-Pepa
108. Crying In The Rain
a-ha
109. Killer
Adamski
110. For You
The Outfield
111. Dig For Fire
Pixies
112. Jealous
Gene Loves Jezebel
113. More
Sisters of Mercy
114. Runaround
Van Halen
115. Joey
Concrete Blonde
116. The First Time
Surface
117. Texas Twister
Little Feat
118. Put The Message In The Box
World Party
119. So Hard
Pet Shop Boys
120. We're All In The Same Gang
West Coast Rap All-Stars
DigitalDreamDoor Editor Picks for 1990
An unheralded great record from 1990
Lew's choice:
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
Concrete Blonde
Brett's choice:
Unique Blue Tube
A'me Lorain & The Family Affair
Ryan's choice:
Heavenly Pop Hit
The Chills
    1989   |   1991

Edited By:
Last Updated: 2022-05-12