The 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s is a show created by VH1 and is an attempt to compile a list of 100 songs that define the decade.

The 90s was a great decade for music in my opinion. We have seen grunge, alternative rock and Gangsta rap artists become popular during the decade. Some of the artists who became famous during this decade are still active in their music careers. Some are also one-hit wonders just like those artists who became famous in the 80’s. I don’t know if there is a singular defining type of music that defined the decade but it seems that the 90’s is more a combination of different genres that became popular during the period.

As expected the list is heavily favoring American artists. What do we expect ? It’s an American TV show and it is heavily influence by the opinion of American music fans. What would the Russians, Polish , British, or Chinese think of this “100 Greatest Songs of the 90s”? I’m sure they and music fans around the world will have a different set of top 100. Heck, even I have a different list of 100 greatest songs for that decade. I guess to be politically correct. This should be called the “100 Greatest Songs of the 90s for American music fans in the opinion of VH1 producers. Quite long and boring yah. So, the producers decided to just cut it to the “100 Greatest Songs of the 90s“. Now, that’s easy to understand.

Now for the list
Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana, whom I think is a really great band, topped the list with their song “Smells like Teen Spirit“. I really like this song and it’s definitely a classic. It has become the anthem of teen angst at that time. For many people, I think this is a great choice for a number one song. It’s a really great song choice but in my list it ain’t number one. U2’s song “One” came in at number two. This Irish band definitely deserves to be up there in the charts. The 90’s was probably their best decade. I love “One” a lot and I think it deserve the number two slot in the list. I’m not into BackStreet Boys so I’m just going to stop at number two. Check out the full list below (from wikipedia).

1. Nirvana - “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991, #6 US)
2. U2 - “One” (1991, #10 US)
3. Backstreet Boys - “I Want It That Way” (1999, #6 US)
4. Whitney Houston - “I Will Always Love You” (1992, #1 US)
5. Madonna - “Vogue” (1990, #1 US)
6. Sir Mix-A-Lot - “Baby Got Back” (1992, #1 US)
7. Britney Spears - “…Baby One More Time” (1999, #1 US)
8. TLC - “Waterfalls” (1994, #1 US)
9. R.E.M. - “Losing My Religion” (1991, #4 US)
10. Sinéad O’Connor - “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990, #1 US)
11. Pearl Jam - “Jeremy” (1991, #79 US)
12. Alanis Morissette - “You Oughta Know” (1995)
13. Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg) - “Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang” (1992, #2 US)
14. Mariah Carey - “Vision of Love” (1990, #1 US)
15. Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Under the Bridge” (1991, #2 US)
16. MC Hammer - “U Can’t Touch This” (1990, #8 US)
17. Destiny’s Child - “Say My Name” (1999, #1 US)
18. Metallica - “Enter Sandman” (1991, #16 US)
19. Beastie Boys - “Sabotage” (1994)
20. Hanson - “MMMBop” (1997, #1 US)
21. Celine Dion - “My Heart Will Go On” (1997, #1 US)
22. Beck - “Loser” (1994, #10 US)
23. Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue - “Whatta Man” (1993, #3 US)
24. House of Pain - “Jump Around” (1992, #3 US)
25. Soundgarden - “Black Hole Sun” (1994)
26. Eminem - “My Name Is” (1999, #26 US)
27. Counting Crows - “Mr. Jones” (1993)
28. Ricky Martin - “Livin’ la Vida Loca” (1999, #1 US)
29. Vanilla Ice - “Ice Ice Baby” (1990, #1 US)
30. *NSYNC - “Tearin’ Up My Heart” (1998)
31. Radiohead - “Creep” (1993)
32. BLACKstreet - “No Diggity” (1996, #1 US)
33. Spice Girls - “Wannabe” (1997, #1 US)
34. Third Eye Blind - “Semi-Charmed Life” (1997, #4 US)
35. Oasis - “Wonderwall” (1995, #8 US)
36. C+C Music Factory - “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” (1991, #1 US)
37. Green Day - “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1998)
38. Christina Aguilera - “Genie In A Bottle” (1999, #1 US)
39. Goo Goo Dolls - “Iris” (1998)
40. Color Me Badd - “I Wanna Sex You Up” (1991, #2 US)
41. Spin Doctors - “Two Princes” (1993, #7 US)
42. Collective Soul - “Shine” (1994, #11 US)
43. En Vogue - “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” (1992, #2 US)
44. The Fugees - “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (1996)
45. Hootie & the Blowfish - “Only Wanna Be With You” (1995, #6 US)
46. Shania Twain - “You’re Still the One” (1998, #2 US)
47. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch - “Good Vibrations” (1991, #1 US)
48. Matchbox Twenty - “3 A.M.” (1997)
49. Jewel - “Who Will Save Your Soul” (1996, #11 US)
50. Alice in Chains - “Man in the Box” (1990)
51. 2Pac (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) - “California Love” (1996, #6 US)
52. Sugar Ray - “Fly” (1997)
53. Naughty by Nature - “O.P.P.” (1991, #6 US)
54. Joan Osborne - “One of Us” (1995, #4 US)
55. Fiona Apple - “Criminal” (1996, #21 US)
56. L.L. Cool J - “Mama Said Knock You Out” (1990, #17 US)
57. Jay-Z featuring Amil and Ja Rule - “Can I Get A…” (1998)
58. Sophie B. Hawkins - “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover” (1992, #5 US)
59. Weezer - “Buddy Holly” (1994)
60. Bell Biv DeVoe - “Poison” (1990, #2 US)
61. Sheryl Crow - “All I Wanna Do” (1993, #2 US)
62. Live - “I Alone” (1994)
63. The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Mase & Puff Daddy - “Mo Money Mo Problems” (1997, #1 US)
64. The Presidents of the United States of America - “Peaches” (1995)
65. Digital Underground - “The Humpty Dance” (1990, #11 US)
66. Edwin McCain - “I’ll Be” (1998, #5 US)
67. Deee-Lite - “Groove Is In The Heart” (1990, #4 US)
68. Will Smith - “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” (1998, #1 US)
69. Korn - “Freak on a Leash” (1998)
70. Jamiroquai - “Virtual Insanity” (1997)
71. Arrested Development - “Tennessee” (1992, #6 US)
72. Barenaked Ladies - “One Week” (1998, #1 US)
73. Marcy Playground - “Sex and Candy” (1998, #5 US)
74. Cher - “Believe” (1999, #1 US)
75. Kris Kross - “Jump” (1992, #1 US)
76. Blues Traveler - “Run-around” (1995, #8 US)
77. Ice Cube - “It Was a Good Day” (1992, #15 US)
78. Lenny Kravitz - “Are You Gonna Go My Way” (1993)
79. Meredith Brooks - “Bitch” (1997, #2 US)
80. Right Said Fred - “I’m Too Sexy” (1992, #1 US)
81. Paula Cole - “I Don’t Want to Wait” (1997, #11 US)
82. Geto Boys - “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” (1991, #23 US)
83. The Breeders - “Cannonball” (1993)
84. Snow - “Informer” (1993, #1 US)
85. Cypress Hill - “Insane In The Brain” (1993, #19 US)
86. The Cranberries - “Linger” (1993, #8 US)
87. Billy Ray Cyrus - “Achy Breaky Heart” (1992, #4 US)
88. Duncan Sheik - “Barely Breathing” (1997, #16 US)
89. Liz Phair - “Never Said” (1993)
90. New Radicals - “You Get What You Give” (1998, #37 US)
91. Sarah McLachlan - “Building a Mystery” (1997, #13 US)
92. Public Enemy - “911 Is a Joke” (1990)
93. Lisa Loeb - “Stay (I Missed You)” (1994, #1 US)
94. Fastball - “The Way” (1998)
95. Montell Jordan - “This Is How We Do It” (1995, #1 US)
96. Nelson - “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” (1990, #1 US)
97. Prince & The New Power Generation - “Gett Off” (1991, #27 US)
98. EMF - “Unbelievable” (1991, #1 US)
99. Missy Elliott - “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” (1997)
100. Gerardo - “Rico Suave” (1991, #7 US)

I hate some of the songs on the VH1 list above but hey its not my list so that’s cool. I have my own “100 greatest songs of the 90s“. From the above, I like the songs from Nirvana, Pearl Jam, REM, U2 and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name a few.

What about you? What song do you like from the above?

TV Show Schedule
For the schedule of the show on your market, you should check VH1 and other music channels in your area. I know that reruns of the “100 greatest songs of the 90s” are still shown. I don’t know if there are videos available for download or if it is in iTunes.

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