FragChart Top 200 of the 1990s (complete!)

[frag]

Time to unleash a project I've been working on for some time now: a top 200 of the 1990s!

I wasn't yet in school when the 1990s began, and my music tastes have changed significantly since the 90s ended, so obviously a good few of these songs are those I first heard sometime after the 90s, whether in films, on the radio, or during my journeys through various back catalogues in the early 2000s.

Quite a number of these songs have memorable videos too, starting with #200...


200 Fatboy Slim - Praise You (1998, You've Come A Long Way Baby)


Looking almost like an early flashmob, with a troupe dancing in public, and a wannabe breakdancer almost stacking it - what's not to like?!

199 Rob Dougan - Clubbed To Death (1995, Furious Angels)

The first of a few movie-soundtrack songs to make it to the top 100 - this one appearing in one of my favourite movies, The Matrix.

198 Catatonia - Mulder and Scully (1998, International Velvet)
197 The Cranberries - Dreams (1993, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?)
196 Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity (1996, Travelling Without Moving)

[frag]

195 Blur - There's No Other Way ( 1991 , Leisure )

The Oasis vs Blur battle was all the rage in the 90s, and the two bands have 19 songs between them in this rundown. Who will come out on top?

194 Sash! feat. Rodriguez - Ecuador ( 1997 , It's My Life )

German dance act Sash! were big in the late 90s. This is their only entry this time around. Who else hears his shout of "Ecua-DOR!" each time the South Americans play at a world cup?

193 The Beautiful South - Don't Marry Her ( 1996 , Blue Is The Colour )

An early entry for lyric of the 90s: She's a Ph. D in 'I told you so', you've a knighthood in 'I'm not listening'.

192 Muse - Unintended ( 1999 , Showbiz )

My favourite band were just getting started in 1999, and to be fair, Showbiz is one of their weaker albums. I'm pretty sure I scrawled the chorus to this song on a school folder at some point: "I'll be there as soon as I can, but I'm busy mending broken pieces of the life I had before" 

191 The Soup Dragons - I'm Free ( 1990 , Lovegod )
The Soup Dragons gave a distinctly early-90s flavour to what I've just learned was originally a 60s track. Freedom? check. Reggae? check. Psychadelic video? Dodgy haircuts? check!

[frag]

190 Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid ( 1998 , Version 2.0 )



189 Chumbawamba - Amnesia ( 1997 , Tubthumper )

"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss / I don't remember"

188 The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl ( 1999 , Surrender )

One of the top 10 videos of the 90s? I might have to make a separate list for those...


187 Pixies - Where Is My Mind? ( 1997 , Death to the Pixies )

There was a time in my 20s when all house parties ended with someone getting their guitar out and playing this... "uplifting"... track.

186 Cast - Guiding Star ( 1997 , Mother Nature Calls )

[TheThorne]

Great start can't fault any of those but to be fair I would be surprised if you loved something that I hate hehe

"There's No Other Way" is actually my favourite Blur song, but there are half a dozen that run it close.

[greendemon]

Pleasantly surprised to see 'Guiding Star', that's my favourite Cast song by a long way.

[Jordan]

A great reminder of how much the 90s had to offer musically - looking forward to seeing what's to come

[frag]

185 Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI ( 1999 , Do The Collapse )

A song - and band - I got into thanks to the Buffy soundtrack. That sound track actually produced a #1 in an all-time top 200 in the early 2000s ('Pain' by Four Star Mary - ahh, teen angst), but this is the only song from the soundtrack to have stood the test of time.

184 Ash - Goldfinger ( 1996 , 1977 )

The first of nine appearances by one of the bands that got me into rock music - International Sonic 7"s was a brilliant compilation album that introduced me to this song and most of the other eight.

183 The Seahorses - Love Is The Law ( 1997 , Do It Yourself )


182 R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People ( 1991 , Out Of Time )


181 The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony ( 1997 , Urban Hymns )
Another memorable video, although I wouldn't recommend walking through a busy city like this! Watch out for the angry woman from 1:55

[frag]

Apr 9, 2023 9:34:07 GMT 1 Jordan said:

A great reminder of how much the 90s had to offer musically - looking forward to seeing what's to come

Yep, it was great, and a lot of these songs were also very successful commercially - the chance that this sort of single had of charting seemed to fall off a cliff after about 2002.

[frag]

Apr 9, 2023 8:43:26 GMT 1 TheThorne said:

"There's No Other Way" is actually my favourite Blur song, but there are half a dozen that run it close.

You'll find out mine soon enough, or at least my fave 90s blur song. I don't have my records right now, but i think my only Blur #1 was Crazy Beat - to be fair, I only started charting in '99 and my tastes were quite different then!

[frag]

A lot of rapping in this set!

180 Rage Against The Machine - Take The Power Back ( 1992 , Rage Against The Machine )
Quite a bit of 90s music I've heard seems almost unrelentingly positive: Brit pop, girl power, fun-and-freedom type songs. RATM bring an entirely different angle, reminding us through rap metal that social battles remain to be thought. They were thus my go-to soundtrack when I was travelling to protests in 2010. Taking the power back indeed.

179 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World ( 1999 , Californication )

Some songs are slow burners, some hit you in the first ten seconds - this is firmly in the latter camp. Not the last we'll be hearing from this album.

178 TLC - No Scrubs ( 1999 , Fanmail )
"Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride, tryna holler at me"

Back when RnB was actually tolerable to listen to! Also, one of many music videos from this period to have been filmed inside a cheese grater:
 

177 Wildchild - Renegade Master ( 1995 , Renegade Master )
One of several one hit wonders in this list. Using the Spotify metric (plays of this song / plays of next most played), Wildchild get a one-hit wonder score of  roughly 118.

176 Feeder - My Perfect Day ( 1997 , Polythene )
Oh look, singing! This was an album track from Feeder's first full-length album.

[frag]

175 The Goo Goo Dolls - Slide ( 1998 , Dizzy Up The Girl )

"I wanna wake up where you are"

174 The Beautiful South - Perfect 10 ( 1998 , Quench )

Body positivity that somehow feels like it was ahead of its time?

173 Blur - Charmless Man ( 1995 , The Great Escape )

I never actually owned this album - somehow, the only Blur albums I owned were Modern Life Is Rubbish and a best of, which did feature this track.

172 Apollo 440 - Lost In Space (Theme) ( 1999 , Gettin' High On Your Own Supply )

I haven't seen either the film or the series, but this is up there with the best film themes. Moby also released a song that remixed the James Bond theme and has similar motifs (interspersing the music with snippets of dialogue), but this one somehow flows better.

171 The Mavericks - Dance The Night Away ( 1998 , Trampoline )
It's the "dancing in a supermarket video"! One of my favourites from when I used to watch the chart videos on Saturday mornings (Channel 4 maybe?)

[TheThorne]

Apr 11, 2023 21:23:29 GMT 1 frag said:

175 The Goo Goo Dolls - Slide ( 1998 , Dizzy Up The Girl )

"I wanna wake up where you are"

174 The Beautiful South - Perfect 10 ( 1998 , Quench )

Body positivity that somehow feels like it was ahead of its time?

173 Blur - Charmless Man ( 1995 , The Great Escape )

I never actually owned this album - somehow, the only Blur albums I owned were Modern Life Is Rubbish and a best of, which did feature this track.

172 Apollo 440 - Lost In Space (Theme) ( 1999 , Gettin' High On Your Own Supply )

I haven't seen either the film or the series, but this is up there with the best film themes. Moby also released a song that remixed the James Bond theme and has similar motifs (interspersing the music with snippets of dialogue), but this one somehow flows better.

171 The Mavericks - Dance The Night Away ( 1998 , Trampoline )
It's the "dancing in a supermarket video"! One of my favourites from when I used to watch the chart videos on Saturday mornings (Channel 4 maybe?)

The Chart Show had moved to ITV by then and would soon be replaced with CDUK in that year actually

[frag]

Apr 12, 2023 9:22:13 GMT 1 TheThorne said:

Apr 11, 2023 21:23:29 GMT 1 frag said:

175 The Goo Goo Dolls - Slide ( 1998 , Dizzy Up The Girl )

"I wanna wake up where you are"

174 The Beautiful South - Perfect 10 ( 1998 , Quench )

Body positivity that somehow feels like it was ahead of its time?

173 Blur - Charmless Man ( 1995 , The Great Escape )

I never actually owned this album - somehow, the only Blur albums I owned were Modern Life Is Rubbish and a best of, which did feature this track.

172 Apollo 440 - Lost In Space (Theme) ( 1999 , Gettin' High On Your Own Supply )

I haven't seen either the film or the series, but this is up there with the best film themes. Moby also released a song that remixed the James Bond theme and has similar motifs (interspersing the music with snippets of dialogue), but this one somehow flows better.

171 The Mavericks - Dance The Night Away ( 1998 , Trampoline )
It's the "dancing in a supermarket video"! One of my favourites from when I used to watch the chart videos on Saturday mornings (Channel 4 maybe?)

The Chart Show had moved to ITV by then and would soon be replaced with CDUK in that year actually

Ah, I think it might have been on Sky One or something - a programme that simply played the music videos and didn't have any live performances.

[frag]

170 Ultra Naté - Free ( 1998 , Situation: Critical )

The second song in this rundown to feature 'Free' in the title - this time "You're freeeeee" instead of "I'm Free". Conveniently released when I was leaving primary school, and thus free to do what I wanted to do, as long as what I wanted to do was start secondary school.

169 Radiohead - Creep ( 1993 , Pablo Honey )

"I wish I was special. You're so f***ing special..."

168 The Smashing Pumpkins - Today ( 1993 , Siamese Dream )


More psychadelia, this time from Smashing Pumpkins, the band I still can't hear of without then thinking of "Homer Simpson, smiling politely".


167 Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box ( 1993 , In Utero )\
"Your adviiiiiiiice"
One of the more in-your-face tracks from the self-titled album that I had growing up.

166 The Mock Turtles - Can You Dig It? ( 1990 , Turtle Soup )
One hit wonder score: 47.

[frag]

Five great bands in this set, all of which have more to come.

165 Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz ( 1995 , I Should Coco )

164 Oasis - Columbia ( 1994 , Definitely Maybe )

"I can't tell you the way I feel because the way I feel is oh so new to me"

163 Green Day - Hitchin' A Ride ( 1997 , Nimrod )


162 Radiohead - No Surprises ( 1999 , OK Computer )
A simple, yet brilliant, video:




161 Blur - Sunday Sunday ( 1993 , Modern Life Is Rubbish )

[frag]

In a sign of things to come, the late 90s rules the roost in this quintet, which features just two top 40 singles.

160 Imperial Racing Club - Big Day Out ( 1998 , Big Day Out )

One of a couple from this list that came to me from Milliways's mix CDs. It isn't on Spotify, but is on YouTube here:


159 Stereophonics - A Thousand Trees ( 1997 , Word Gets Around )
"It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees"
- This lyric may grossly underestimate both the match-making power of trees and the tree-burning power of matches, but I still think about it often (usually when looking for or coming across matches).

158 Oasis - Acquiesce ( 1998 , The Masterplan )

This euphoric track originally appeared as a B-side to a song that's still to come on this chart.

157 The Lightning Seeds - Life's Too Short ( 1999 , Tilt )

156 Stereophonics - T-Shirt Sun Tan ( 1999 , Performance And Cocktails )
I remember someone from dotmusic (Helen? Not sure what her user name was) raving about this song.

[Milliways]

Apr 15, 2023 0:13:11 GMT 1 frag said:

160 Imperial Racing Club - Big Day Out ( 1998 , Big Day Out )

One of a couple from this list that came to me from Milliways's mix CDs. It isn't on Spotify, but is on YouTube here:

WOW, I never would have thought that song would have made such an impression on you. I hardly ever play it nowadays, but absolutely a defining song of my youth.

[frag]

155 R.E.M. - Man On The Moon ( 1992 , Automatic For The People )

One of REM's most iconic songs narrowly misses out on the top 150.

154 Oasis - Whatever ( 1994 , Whatever (EP) )

Another song embodying the 90s spirit of freedom. "I'm free to do whatever I choose, and I'll sing the blues if I want"

153 Dodgy - Staying Out For The Summer ( 1994 , Homegrown )

So uplifting, it made some old vans fly!


152 Savage Garden - Affirmation ( 1999 , Affirmation )
"I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality"
Much less famous than 'Truly Madly Deeply', but a lot more interesting, with an energy that keeps going throughout.


151 No Doubt - Just A Girl ( 1995 , Tragic Kingdom )
One of two massive hits for No Doubt in the mid-90s.

[frag]

150 Cornershop feat Norman Cook - Brimful of Asha ( 1997 , When I Was Born for the 7th Time )
"Forty-five!"


149 Robbie Williams - Old Before I Die ( 1997 , Life Thru A Lens )

I'm just about old enough to remember Take That splitting up. Robbie definitely had the most successful solo career. He had four FragChart #1s in 2000 and 2001, along with several other hits.

148 The Chemical Brothers - Out Of Control ( 1999 , Surrender )

"October, and as Prince William announces his engagement, Chelsea begin their relationship with a new manager..."

147 James - She's A Star ( 1997 , Whiplash )
"Oh no, she knows where to hide in the dark

Oh no, she's nowhere to hide in the dark"

146 Nirvana - Sliver ( 1992 , Incesticide )

In which Kurt gets babysat by his grandparents, but misses his parents. Aww.

[frag]

145 Feeder - Anaesthetic ( 1999 , Yesterday Went Too Soon )

An album track here, from perhaps my favourite album of the 90s. Much more to come from it!

144 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication ( 1999 , Californication )

Definitely one of my favourite videos to watch growing up.


143 Chumbawamba - Tubthumping ( 1997 , Tubthumper )

"I get knocked down, but I get up again"

142 Oasis - Stand By Me ( 1997 , Be Here Now )
Another Oasis classic that needs no introduction.


141 Primal Scream - Rocks ( 1994 , Give Out But Don't Give Up )
A retro rock n roll anthem that I keep having to double check because it sounds like it predates the 90s.