Greatest Rock Songs 1990s (Revision Version)

[Lew]

Criteria: Songs listed are from Rock Music and related sub-genres from the 1990s. These songs are ranked based upon their intitial and lasting popularity, as well as their influence and impact on the evolution of Rock and Roll and its sub-genres.

Edited By: Brian
Last Updated: 2024-11-07

Link: https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_songs90s.html

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
2. Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
3. One - U2
4. Nuthin' But a "G" Thang - Dr. Dre
5. Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Jeremy - Pearl Jam
7. Waterfalls - TLC
8. Loser - Beck
9. Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio
10. Wonderwall - Oasis
11. Creep - Radiohead
12. California Love - 2Pac
13. Enter Sandman - Metallica
14. Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
15. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinéad O'Connor
16. Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
17. Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
18. Killing Me Softly - The Fugees
19. Come As You Are - Nirvana
20. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
21. Song 2 - Blur
22. 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
23. Paranoid Android - Radiohead
24. My Name Is - Eminem
25. Alive - Pearl Jam
26. Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode
27. Jump Around - House of Pain
28. Don't Speak - No Doubt
29. No Diggity - BLACKstreet
30. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
31. Sabotage - Beastie Boys
32. Killing In the Name - Rage Against The Machine
33. Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
34. November Rain - Guns N' Roses
35. It Was a Good Day - Ice Cube
36. Smooth - Santana and Rob Thomas
37. Black or White - Michael Jackson
38. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You - Bryan Adams
39. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
40. Vogue - Madonna
41. Regulate - Warren G
42. Zombie - The Cranberries
43. Everlong - Foo Fighters
44. Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot
45. Juicy - The Notorious B.I.G.
46. Basket Case - Green Day
47. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
48. Say My Name - Destiny's Child
49. Heart-Shaped Box - Nirvana
50. Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
51. No Scrubs - TLC
52. Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
53. Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.
54. Wannabe - Spice Girls
55. Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
56. I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys
57. Gin & Juice - Snoop Doggy Dogg
58. Karma Police - Radiohead
59. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day
60. Still D.R.E. - Dr. Dre
61. All the Small Things - Blink 182
62. Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
63. Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
64. Friday I'm in Love - The Cure
65. Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
66. C.R.E.A.M. - Wu Tang Clan
67. Dear Mama - 2Pac
68. Buddy Holly - Weezer
69. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
70. Big Poppa - The Notorious B.I.G.
71. What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
72. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
73. Lovefool - Cardigans
74. Closer - Nine Inch Nails
75. Believe - Cher
76. Groove Is in the Heart - Deee-Lite
77. Ironic - Alanis Morissette
78. O.P.P. - Naughty by Nature
79. Self Esteem - The Offspring
80. Insane in the Brain - Cypress Hill
81. I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy
82. Thunderstruck - AC/DC
83. All Star - Smash Mouth
84. Linger - The Cranberries
85. Firestarter - Prodigy
86. What Is Love - Haddaway
87. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins
88. When I Come Around - Green Day
89. Kiss from a Rose - Seal
90. I Try - Macy Gray
91. Fantasy - Mariah Carey
92. Hard Knock Life - Jay Z
93. What I Got - Sublime
94. Tha Crossroads - Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony
95. Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
96. No Rain - Blind Melon
97. Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
98. The Boy Is Mine - Brandy and Monica
99. Two Princes - Spin Doctors
100. Freak on a Leash - Korn

101. Lithium - Nirvana
102. Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorious B.I.G.
103. Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
104. Angels - Robbie Williams
105. Forgot About Dre - Dr. Dre featuring Eminem
106. That's the Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
107. Missing - Everything but the Girl
108. More Than Words - Extreme
109. Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
110. End of the Road - Boyz II Men
111. Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis
112. Shook Ones, Pt. 2 - Mobb Deep
113. Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen
114. Say It Ain't So - Weezer
115. Black - Pearl Jam
116. No Surprises - Radiohead
117. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
118. Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
119. Ready or Not - The Fugees
120. You Get What You Give - New Radicals
121. Around the World - Daft Punk
122. Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
123. Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer
124. What's My Age Again - Blink 182
125. Creep - TLC
126. Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison
127. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
128. Remember the Time - Michael Jackson
129. Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
130. Bulls on Parade - Rage Against The Machine
131. This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan
132. Don't Cry - Guns n' Roses
133. All That She Wants - Ace of Base
134. Man In the Box - Alice In Chains
135. Live Forever - Oasis
136. Vision of Love - Mariah Carey
137. Wind of Change - Scorpions
138. Poison - Bell Biv Devoe
139. Always - Bon Jovi
140. Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
141. Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
142. Changes - 2Pac
143. On and On - Erykah Badu
144. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
145. I'll Make Love to You - Boyz II Men
146. Common People - Pulp
147. Big Pimpin' - Jay-Z
148. Can I Kick It? - A Tribe Called Quest
149. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
150. Jump - Kris Kross
151. All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow
152. Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
153. Drive - Incubus
154. Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
155. N.Y. State of Mind - Nas
156. Mind Playing Tricks on Me - Geto Boys
157. Even Flow - Pearl Jam
158. Closing Time - Semisonic
159. Keep Ya Head Up - 2Pac
160. Ordinary World - Duran Duran
161. Would? - Alice in Chains
162. Freedom '90 - George Michael
163. Real Love - Mary J. Blige
164. I'd Do Anything for Love - Meat Loaf
165. Santeria - Sublime
166. Music Sounds Better with You - Stardust
167. Livin' la Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
168. I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly
169. One Headlight - The Wallflowers
170. Girls and Boys - Blur
171. All My Life - K-Ci & JoJo
172. Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
173. Gonna Make You Sweat - C & C Music Factory
174. Porcelain - Moby
175. Protect Ya Neck - Wu-Tang Clan
176. All Apologies - Nirvana
177. Glory Box - Portishead
178. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
179. Ray of Light - Madonna
180. Dreamlover - Mariah Carey
181. Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz
182. Crash into Me - Dave Matthews Band
183. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
184. Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith
185. You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
186. Just a Girl - No Doubt
187. Come Out and Play - The Offspring
188. Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
189. One Week - Barenaked Ladies
190. Ex-Factor - Lauryn Hill
191. Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins
192. Crazy - Seal
193. Man on the Moon - R.E.M.
194. Hero - Mariah Carey
195. Candle in the Wind 1997 - Elton John
196. Cryin' - Aerosmith
197. One Sweet Day - Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
198. Are You That Somebody - Aaliyah
199. Alright - Supergrass
200. Push - Matchbox Twenty

201. Daughter - Pearl Jam
202. Hard to Handle - Black Crowes
203. In Bloom - Nirvana
204. Mysterious Ways - U2
205. Shiny Happy People - R.E.M.
206. Flava in Ya Ear - Craig Mack
207. Spoonman - Soundgarden
208. Born Slippy (NUXX) - Underworld
209. My Lovin' - En Vogue
210. Rooster - Alice In Chains
211. Together Again - Janet Jackson
212. Longview - Green Day
213. Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
214. Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground
215. The World Is Yours - Nas
216. Santa Monica - Everclear
217. Whatta Man - Salt 'n' Pepa with En Vogue
218. Walk - Pantera
219. The Distance - Cake
220. Lightning Crashes - Live
221. 3 AM - Matchbox 20
222. Rosa Parks - Outkast
223. Frozen - Madonna
224. Bump 'n' Grind - R. Kelly
225. One of Us - Joan Osborne
226. Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman
227. Where It's At - Beck
228. Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check - Busta Rhymes
229. Hey Boy Hey Girl - Chemical Brothers
230. Glycerine - Bush
231. Better Man - Pearl Jam
232. Unbelievable - EMF
233. Been Caught Stealing - Jane's Addiction
234. I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By - Method Man
235. Higher - Creed
236. Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog
237. Celebrity Skin - Hole
238. Walkin' on the Sun - Smash Mouth
239. Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb
240. Name - Goo Goo Dolls
241. Never Ever - All Saints
242. Only Wanna Be With You - Hootie & the Blowfish
243. Cannonball - The Breeders
244. Thong Song - Sisqó
245. Change the World - Eric Clapton and Babyface
246. Tennessee - Arrested Development
247. Shine - Collective Soul
248. Set Adrift on Memory Bliss - PM Dawn
249. Hey Jealousy - Gin Blossoms
250. Cream - Prince

[Dubrow555]

Am I crazy to think that "My Heart Will Go On" should be on this list somewhere?

[Fido]

Not really a rock song though. Celine Dion has always been more in line with pure adult contemporary.

[ManPerson]

I Will Always Love You, My Heart Will Go On, and the like have generally been excluded from these lists it seems.

[Dubrow555]

Not really a rock song though. Celine Dion has always been more in line with pure adult contemporary.

Yes - but I feel you could say the exact same thing about Mariah Carey, but she is on this list.

[Zach]

Yeah, it's a tricky thing, knowing where to draw the line. I guess one might argue Mariah largely has one foot in R&B and the other in adult contemporary pop. But then again, a song like "Hero" is much more AC than R&B.

[ManPerson]

Mariah is clearly more rock than Dion, even though she definitely has a lot of AC influence in her music.