Chaeha Kim

Madonna, “Ray of Light”

Remember when Madonna got really into kabbalah? This is what it sounded like.

Sheryl Crow, “Strong Enough”

Every song on Sheryl Crow’s 1993 debut album Tuesday Night Music Club is fantastic, including “Strong Enough.” If “All I Wanna Do” is Crow’s major commercial success, “Strong Enough” is her sleeper hit, as new generations of artists like Haim add the tender ballad to their rotation of covers.

Britney Spears, “…Baby One More Time”

“…Baby One More Time” is one of many incoherent bops on this list that still slap.

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The Cranberries, “Dreams”

Who knew a song featuring an Irish woman yodeling at the top of her lungs could be so damn delightful?

Selena, “Bidi Bidi Boom Boom”

Straight from the Queen of Tejano music comes this cumbia pop track named after the sound a racing heart makes. On “Bidi Bidi Boom Boom,” Selena is young and in love. She bottles up her joy so we can feel it, too.

The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”

Just when you thought the ’90s couldn’t possibly deliver another song about disaffected youths and the woes of a jilted generation, the Verve released “Bitter Sweet Symphony” in 1997. Is it just me or is “Tryna make ends meet, tryna find somebody, then you die” the perfect slogan for Gen X?

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Rage Against the Machine, “Killing in the Name”

“Killing in the Name” is the quintessential Rage Against the Machine track. Everything they excel at is evident in their debut single: Tom Morello’s precise guitar playing, Zack de la Rocha’s pissed-off poetry, and the band’s signature hip-hop-meets-metal sound. The song’s strong stance against police brutality and systemic racism made it a target for censorship in Tipper Gore’s America. Looking back, “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me, motherfucker!” seems like a completely reasonable reaction to the LAPD’s treatment of Rodney King.

Hole, “Violet”

Hole’s 1994 album, Live Through This, is a primal scream that detailed the final months of Love’s marriage to Kurt Cobain, who died one week before Live Through This was released. But the album’s ferocious opening track, “Violet,” has nothing to do with Cobain. Instead, it’s a giant middle finger to Billy Corgan. No one sounds better mad than Courtney Love firing on all cylinders.

Tracy Chapman, “Give Me One Reason”

“Give Me One Reason” is the standout track from Chapman’s second album, New Beginning, and her biggest song to date. Yes, bigger than “Fast Car,” which was given a new lease on life in 2023 thanks to a cover from country star Luke Combs. “Give Me One Reason” is the perfect song to play if you’re pissed at your partner but not in the mood to talk about it. It’s the sonic equivalent of silently seething.

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Built to Spill, “Carry the Zero”

A perfect rock song.

Radiohead, “Paranoid Android”

Thom Yorke wouldn’t be a genius from the UK if he didn’t create an over-the-top, indulgent rock odyssey a la the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” or Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This six-minute lead single from OK Computer is as ambitious as it is absurd. But it’s also brilliant and, assuming you have the stamina for it, an exhilarating ride through prog rock, choral arrangements, key changes, and Yorke’s never-ending sense of existential dread. Buckle up!

Mazzy Star, “Fade Into You”

The ultimate ’90s alt-rock make-out jam. Put it on and picture yourself kissing a dejected Ethan Hawke.

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Wu-Tang Clan, “C.R.E.A.M.”

You try picking which Wu-Tang Clan song to include on this list.

Janet Jackson, “Together Again”

“Together Again” is more than an optimistic chart-topper. The song’s disco-house beat helped transform Jackson’s grief over friends she’d lost to AIDS into a communal dance-floor catharsis for millions of queer people across the country.

The Cardigans, “Lovefool”

There were so many god-awful one-hit wonders in the ’90s. “Macarena,” “Here Comes the Hotstepper,” “Barbie Girl,” “Mambo No. 5” … I could do this all night. However, one major exception is “Lovefool” by the Cardigans. This infectious crying-on-the-dance-floor disco bop by the Swedish group became a massive hit in the U.S. thanks to its prominent placement on the Romeo and Juliet and Cruel Intentions soundtracks.

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Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody”

Missy Elliott and Timbaland understood Aaliyah in ways that R. Kelly never did. The sounds they gave her to sing on top of on “Are You that Somebody” were noisy and disjointed, a perfect contrast to her soft and calm vocals. The track also helped solidify Aaliyah’s mysterious streetwise persona. Gen Zers take note. This is what rizz looked like in the ’90s. And also today.

Pulp, “Common People”

Alexa, play a ’90s anthem about disillusioned youth, but this time make it British and also more about sex! True story: Once, at a dive bar in New Zealand, I told a bunch of Brits that I knew every word to this song, which is kind of like a British person claiming to know every word to “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” by R.E.M. Anyway, the bartender let me perform “Common People” for karaoke and, long story short, my microphone was unplugged. All in all, a great 25th birthday.

Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”

Not every massively popular song from the ’90s sucked. Need proof? Here’s Whitney Houston’s blockbuster cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

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Cher, “Believe”

Long before T-Pain and “Bartender,” there was Cher and “Believe,” the first track to unabashedly use Auto-Tune like an instrument. “Believe” was a Bat-Signal for gays in the ’90s, summoning us to the dance floor so we could make out with strangers amid strobe lights and fog machines.

Portishead, “Glory Box”

Portishead discovered sample gold in an old Isaac Hayes track that, when combined with Beth Gibbons’s seductive vocals, created one hell of an ode to horniness.

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