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VH1 Finishes The WORST 90's Top 100 List

Posted about 1 year ago
So this entire past week, VH1 ran a giant series on the top 100 songs of the 1990's. Let me start of by saying that I have a playlist of ninety-three 90's hits on my ipod. Less than one-fourth of these instantly recognizable hits (and in many cases the entire artist) were found in VH1's top 100. On the other hand, many not-so-recognizable songs were found in the top 100. Other songs clearly misplaced: U2 at #2? Excuse me, yes they were iconic in the 80's, but this is the 90's... And how about the Goo Goo Dolls at #39? The album Dizzy Up The Girl went 3x Platinum, but yet club fad "Jump Around" by House of Pain is placed higher. In fact, it seems like club music is over-represented in this list. What, are we counting every time a song was played on the dance floor??Perhaps, because the system of choosing was based off of public voting, the list is currupt with personal biases instead of objective evaluation, as well as possibly a small cross-section of the community from lack of widespread voting. Or maybe some other reason... but whatever the reason, the list is bogus.Example:If this list was truly legitimate, the song "Criminal" by Fiona Apple would NOT be halfway up the list whereas the song "Breakfast At Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something does not EVEN APPEAR. Wow! Everyone - _everyone_ - knows that song. How many people do you know who throw on Mrs. Apple when discussing 90's music? My guess is... ZERO.Other songs that did not make the list (and this is a small sample, naturally):- Closing Time - Semisonic- Inside Out - Eve 6- Tubthumping - Chumbawamba- No Rain - Blind Melon- Hard To Handle - The Black Crowes- Torn - Natalie Imbrugalia- Kiss Me - Sixpence None The RicherOther unrepresented artists with multiple hits:- Smashing Pumpkins- Ace of Base- Smash Mouth- The Offspring (pretty fly for a white guy, anybody??)...all superceded by lesser-knowns such as:- Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch with "Good Vibrations."- The Presidents of the United States of America with "Peaches." (I love this song, but it by no means screams "90s!" at me)- The Breeders with "Cannonball." (never even heard of them)- Weezer with "Buddy Holly." - Blackstreet with "No Diggity."The only thing that this list did correctly was place "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at #1.Well, this is how I feel. Check this list out for yourself and let me know what you think."VH1's Greatest Songs of the 90's":http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/127759/episode_featured_copy.jhtml
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Comments (10)

  1. Torch
    Torch says I'll agree with you, the bottome quarter of that list is pretty week, with some notable absences Beyond that, I hate getting into sorting wars, because it becomes completely subjective after a while.
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  2. Hutchster
    Hutchster says Seriously top 100 and you leave out Sublime, Smashing Pumpkins, Offspring, and No Doubt. But they didnt forget the Spin Doctors did they, what a joke!
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  3. TBoom
    TBoom says I agree that all top 100 lists leave out important songs but is there really anything even remotely like "objective evaluation." Lots of important artists were left off the list but "Criminal" is an iconic late 90s song and you can't be serious that you never heard of the Breeders. Ever heard of Kim Deal from the Pixies. Cannonball was a bigger hit than any songs of the Pixies and was completely an icon of early 90s videos. The success of Cannonball probably opened up the Pixies to a greater following.
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  4. holyfool
    holyfool says I'm guessing you were pretty young when the 90's were going down (and that is in no way meant as a put down or to sound like a dick). Speaking as someone who lived through the 90's as a living, breathing music nerd. I agree that the omission on the list of Blind Melon's "No Rain" was a complete bonehead move, but for the most part, a lot of those songs are the songs that take me right back to that time. "Breakfast At Tiffany's" may be an okay song, but I don't think anyone who grew up or was listening to music considers that to be an iconic song from the era. And when it comes to the Offspring, I think most children of the 90's think of "Come Out and Play" before they think of "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" (which, I'm sorry, is just a totally lame song). "Jump Around" was way more than just a "club fad" (I don't think anyone who was musically aware at the time that song came out ever forgot the lyrics to that one). And "Tubthumping" had to be one of the worst songs to come out of the 90's, period. And I don't think I'll ever know how you consider Weezer's "Buddy Holly" to be a lesser-known. That song put them on the map and gave them the career they enjoy today. But that's the nature of these lists. Personally, I felt the list was a very good representation of what was going on in the 90's and every one of those songs took me back to that time. I think you just had to be there and aware to realize what a huge impact songs like "Jump Around" and "No Diggity" had on musical culture. Re-reading what I've written, it sounds like I'm bashing you, which is totally not the case. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and you are certainly entitled to yours. There's a lot of amazing music that came out during that time that is slowly being forgotten (Mad Season, anyone?) I always enjoy talking about the music from that time, so feel free to message me if you want to exchange some more opinions!
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  5. holyfool
    holyfool says I'm guessing you were pretty young when the 90's were going down (and that is in no way meant as a put down or to sound like a dick). Speaking as someone who lived through the 90's as a living, breathing music nerd. I agree that the omission on the list of Blind Melon's "No Rain" was a complete bonehead move, but for the most part, a lot of those songs are the songs that take me right back to that time. "Breakfast At Tiffany's" may be an okay song, but I don't think anyone who grew up or was listening to music considers that to be an iconic song from the era. And when it comes to the Offspring, I think most children of the 90's think of "Come Out and Play" before they think of "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" (which, I'm sorry, is just a totally lame song). "Jump Around" was way more than just a "club fad" (I don't think anyone who was musically aware at the time that song came out ever forgot the lyrics to that one). And "Tubthumping" had to be one of the worst songs to come out of the 90's, period. And I don't think I'll ever know how you consider Weezer's "Buddy Holly" to be a lesser-known. That song put them on the map and gave them the career they enjoy today. But that's the nature of these lists. Personally, I felt the list was a very good representation of what was going on in the 90's and every one of those songs took me back to that time. I think you just had to be there and aware to realize what a huge impact songs like "Jump Around" and "No Diggity" had on musical culture. Re-reading what I've written, it sounds like I'm bashing you, which is totally not the case. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and you are certainly entitled to yours. There's a lot of amazing music that came out during that time that is slowly being forgotten (Mad Season, anyone?) I always enjoy talking about the music from that time, so feel free to message me if you want to exchange some more opinions!
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  6. Conspire2ignite
    Conspire2ignite says Perhaps tubthumping was a weaker example, but I suppose I have a bias towards it because I find it to be a really fun song. After Hutchster reminded me of Sublime, I'll mentally replace Tubthumping with "What I Got" or "Santeria." As for The Offspring, Pretty Fly is a fun song too! I like fun songs. Don't be decieved, I thought of Come Out And Play, as well as Self Esteem, The Kid's Aren't Alright, etc. Notice how I put them under "unrepresented artists with multiple hits." I threw Pretty Fly out there as it struck me as a song more well-known by fans of all genres and fans of all ages. As for Weezer, my experience is that only fans of Weezer really know anything about the band beyond the songs "Hash Pipe" and "Beverly Hills." While "Buddy Holly" got them on the radar, the song is mostly forgotten to all but fans of the band. In my experience. To TBoom: Perhaps I should have compared "Criminal" to "Torn." Torn strikes me as much more iconic than Criminal, and doesnt appear on the list. And I know the Pixies quite well, but I didnt learn of them from The Breeders.
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  7. Slicing
    Slicing says I didn't even watch the last half of the top 100 list because i knew it wouldn't be up to snuff. some of those songs i actually hated in the 90's, actually i still do. i don't know that many people who actually knew that you could vote on the songs that should up on the list. i guess you would actually have to enjoy going on vh1 to notice something like that.
    Permalink posted 12/23/2007
  8. holyfool
    holyfool says Geez, I hadn't even noticed that "What I Got" or "Santeria hadn't made the cut either, yet the Backstreet Boys make it to number 3 on the list. I have lots of warm, fuzzy memories about that Sublime album. I suppose I have a bias toward the darker songs (in contrast to your bias to more fun songs) because, especially at the beginning of the decade, what I remember most is people being sad and angsty, and that's the music that I identify with that time, as well as, in my opinion, that being one of the greatest periods in hip hop history and when hip hop really went global. It was a really intersting time, in hindsight, because there was a lot going on creatively, even outside the whole Seattle "grunge" thing. Oh, and apologies for my last post posting twice...
    Permalink posted 12/24/2007
  9. Wade
    Wade says i caught some of this but after christina aguilera it just served to remind me of how much terrible music was made in the 90s.
    Permalink posted 12/26/2007
  10. holyfool
    holyfool says It's true there was a lot of terrible music made in the 90's, particularly late 90's. But I'm still struck by how much diversity there was during that time. There was grunge, hip hop was entering a golden age and started taking over the world both on the streets (Tupac, Dr. Dre, Biggie) and in the mind (Arrested Development, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul), there was hippie rock (Blind Melon, the Dead were the highest grossing band of 93, 94 and 95), art rock (Jane's Addiction, Tool, Primus), punk made it onto MTV (Sonic Youth, Bad Religion, Offspring), women made a big splash and proved they could write awesome music too (Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, PJ Harvey, the Breeders), stuff I just can't pigeonhole (Fishbone, Faith No More) and industrial reared its mis-shapen head (Ministry, Nine Inch Nails). The Brits also threw their hats into the ring and showed everyone they could take a hoary old concept like rock and roll and make it seem new (Stone Roses, Blur, Oasis, the Verve, Chemical Brothers, My Bloody Valentine). There were a lot of people doing a lot of great stuff. These days I get a feeling that everything is a little cookie-cutter and the main intent is to sell ringtones. There's still some great stuff coming out like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, M.I.A., !!!, MuteMath, Eisley and Radiohead, but I don't see a wole lot of excitement and willingness to take chances and create real art. Too many bands play it safe. And people have such small attention spans a lot fo really good bands never make a second record because people have already consumed and disposed of them by the time they get around to making that next record. Hell, even the album as a concept is a dying idea...geez, I sound like an old fogey. Somebody put me out to pasture.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007

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