The New Classic Rock: 50 Songs From the ’90s That Don’t Suck

Classic rock didn’t end with the ’80s.

As you’ll see in the list of songs below, the ’90s offered plenty of reason for rock music fans to tune into something other than the same records they had been playing for years. From veteran artists like Bob Dylan and Neil Young to ’80s heavyweights R.E.M. and Guns N’ Roses to emerging acts forging a new sound from the underground, the ’90s were met with limitless possibilities.

The songs, voted on by the UCR staff, run from ’70s-inspired classic rock and still-thriving synth-pop to roots-covering heartland rock and the developing grunge genre. It made for a wildly diverse decade that continued to break down radio’s archaic rules and elevate once-independent artists into the mainstream.

No, classic rock didn’t die in the ’90s; it evolved to reflect its times, as the best music always does.

50. Pearl Jam, “Alive” (1991)

Pearl Jam‘s debut single was released three months before Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” helped steer the decade’s course. While its commercial and critical impact wasn’t as immediate as their Seattle brethren’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten is every bit as significant in the growth of grunge and, in turn, once-underground music’s history-changing turning of the tides in the early part of the ’90s. “Alive” announced their arrival.

49. New Radicals, “You Get What You Give” (1998)

New Radicals’ brief stay in the spotlight belies leader Gregg Alexander’s time in the trenches. Before he released his group’s only album, 1998’s Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, Alexander put out two solo records. He later wrote Santana‘s Grammy-winning “The Game of Love” and was nominated for an Academy Award for “Lost Stars” from Begin Again. The super-catchy “You Get What You Give” is his jewel.

48. Pretenders, “I’ll Stand by You” (1994)

Pretenders were in the middle of a career renovation in 1994 following the release of their sixth album, the legacy-reclaiming Last of the Independents. Spurred by the forward-charging lead single “Night in My Veins,” follow-up “I’ll Stand by You” aligns more with Chrissie Hynde‘s recent turns toward reflective ballads. It became their first Top 40 hit in eight years and the last time they’d make it into the Top 20.

47. Extreme, “More Than Words” (1990)

Many hard rock bands’ gateway to the Top 40 in the ’80s came with a power ballad that softened their usually rougher styles. Boston rockers Extreme started the ’90s with the trick, putting aside their usual glam-metal sound in favor of the stripped-back acoustics of “More Than Words.” It went to No. 1 on the pop chart, their first charted single, before the band settled back into the album-oriented tracks more suited to their background.

46. David Bowie, “I’m Afraid of Americans” (1997)

David Bowie never strayed from the creatively restless path that defined his life. Even the ’90s, often earmarked as his most fallow period, sprouted musical gems for those willing to search. Case in point: 1997’s “I’m Afraid of Americans,” from the Earthling album but originally tracked for his 1995 Brian Eno collaboration that marked a reunion for the pair. Stuttering with techno hallmarks, the song pulses with electronic energy.

45. Bon Jovi, “Bed of Roses” (1992)

Bon Jovi ended the ’80s with two consecutive No. 1s, so breaking from a successful formula wasn’t a strategy for the new decade. While 1992’s Keep the Faith stalled at No. 5, it was more a case of timing than music – with fans gripped by grunge and blossoming alternative rock, the New Jersey band’s quaint pop-metal was being pushed from favor. “Bed of Roses,” however, remains a highlight of the era.

44. Weezer, “Buddy Holly” (1994)

The alternative rock revolution allowed unconventional artists to focus their eccentricities on their music. No band took greater advantage of these new frontiers than Weezer, who played up their general nerdiness onstage, in their videos and even in their songs. “Buddy Holly,” from their 1994 debut, celebrates suburban blandness in many shades, including its award-winning video that takes place on a Happy Days set.

43. Beck, “Loser” (1993)

Incorporating a Dr. John sample and a string of nonsequiturs, Beck‘s breakthrough song defined its era: a slacker anthem about self-defeat and self-loathing set atop a hip-hop-meets-alt-folk music bed. The melange became common practice as modern rock acts grew in stature, but as one of the first to take advantage of this widening field, Beck set a template for the next few years. Few imitators, though, come close to “Loser.”

42. Neil Young, “Harvest Moon” (1992)

Neil Young was on a career uptick after a near-calamitous ’80s. Following two albums of plugged-in rage, one made with frequent comrades-in-arms Crazy Horse, Young recorded a stripped-down country record hailed at the time as a sequel to 1972’s commercial high-water mark Harvest. Lovingly played, with backing vocals by Harvest singer Linda Ronstadt, ”Harvest Moon” is the sound of a late-summer night rolling by.

41. Ozzy Osbourne, “No More Tears” (1991)

As with many of his contemporaries, the later part of the ’80s wasn’t the best of times for Ozzy Osbourne. Commercial slumps, coupled with often-crippling personal issues, left the singer with little hope as the decade turned into the ’90s. But with Motorhead‘s Lemmy Kilmister contributing songs, his sixth solo album No More Tears turned out to be one of the best of Osbourne’s long career. The seven-minute title track is a highlight.

40. Bob Dylan, “Love Sick” (1997)

Like fellow folk singer-songwriter turned rock icon Neil Young, Bob Dylan’s 1980s were some of the lowest points in his entire career. By the mid-’90s, however, coming off two stripped-down albums of folk and public-domain covers, the voice of his generation found new life with some of his best songs since the late ’70s. Time Out of Mind marked a staggering comeback for Dylan, led by the moody and despairing “Love Sick.”

39. AC/DC, “Thunderstruck” (1990)

AC/DC spent much of the ’90s struggling for position and relevance in a world that was increasingly requiring more from music than the three-chord boogie rock the Australian band had perfected over the preceding decades. One bright spot: this 1990 single from their 12th album, The Razors Edge, which features one of AC/DC’s greatest riffs (put to use in many movies over the years). “Thunderstruck” rarely left their set lists since then.

38. Radiohead, “Creep” (1992)

Nobody could have guessed from their breakthrough single that Radiohead would become the most important band of the 21st century by decade’s end. On its surface, “Creep” shares DNA with other self-hating songs from the era, such as Beck’s “Loser” and Stone Temple Pilots‘ same-named “Creep.” But lurking below the mopey facade is a band itching to break from type. Grunge soon behind them, they’d reinvent art-rock.

37. Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun” (1994)

1994 was a big year for so-called grunge bands finding their footing, with Seattle mainstays Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden all resting near the Top 10. The latter’s fourth album, the No. 1 Superunknown, broke from style a bit, adding psychedelia and acoustic tones to its signature mix of Black Sabbath-inspired alt-rock. “Black Hole Sun” is the LP’s centerpiece, a swirling dose of tripping ’60s rock sporting new colors.

READ MORE: Pearl Jam Albums Ranked

36. The Smashing Pumpkins, “1979” (1995)

As the ’90s progressed, it became clear the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most ambitious groups of the era. From the wild animal charge of debut Gish through the double-LP opus Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and the decade-ending synth-goth of Adore, Billy Corgan was guided by imagination. The sweet nostalgia of the Mellon Collie single “1979” features the Pumpkins at their most openhearted and best.

35. U2, “Mysterious Ways” (1991)

It wasn’t only the members of U2 who were ready for something new at the start of the ’90s; their longtime producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno were itching to move on, too. With Achtung Baby, they reworked their image and music, injecting everything from krautrock to world beat into their stadium rock. “Mysterious Ways” adds dance music to the quotient, upping the funk guitars with buoyant percussion and bouncing bass.

34. Oasis, “Champagne Supernova” (1995)

The closing song on Oasis‘ second album seems like an unlikely single: Running more than seven and a half minutes and with a slow-build structure that emphasizes its length, “Champagne Supernova” nevertheless became one of the band’s biggest songs, hitting No. 1 on the modern-rock chart. Like several Oasis songs, there’s no clear meaning – even writer Noel Gallager isn’t quite sure what it’s about.

33. Guns N’ Roses, “Don’t Cry” (1991)

Guns N’ Roses released two versions of “Don’t Cry” on their simultaneously issued Use Your Illusion albums. Axl Rose sings different verses in each; the Use Your Illusion I version gets the nod even though the music backing and choruses are virtually the same. The power ballad was one of the first new songs, and a Top 10 single, by the hot band following the surprise success of their 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction.

32. Duran Duran, “Ordinary World” (1993)

Stung by public indifference at the end of the decade they helped popularize, Duran Duran returned in 1993 with their seventh album, a self-titled LP that placed them back in the Top 10 after 10 years. The first single, “Ordinary World,” is a dream-like meditation written about the death of a good friend of singer Simon Le Bon’s. It became one of the band’s biggest songs, a favorite cherished by both longtime and new fans.

31. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Scar Tissue” (1999)

Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ songs can be divided into two camps: the funk-fried bro-downs that marked their earliest recordings and the serious tracks aimed at folks not hanging around the kegs. “Scar Tissue” falls into the latter category, and, like 1991’s “Under the Bridge,” deals with healing from past mistakes. The song is taken from the album Californication, which signaled the return of ace guitarist John Frusciante.

30. Aerosmith, “Livin’ on the Edge” (1993)

It’s easy to underestimate Aerosmith‘s comeback in the late ’80s. The band was all but lost to both their destructive behavior and fans’ indifference to new music. But cleaned up and sparked by revived inspiration, their late ’80s and early ’90s records bristle with reborn firepower. The initial single from their first No. 1 album, Get a Grip, reflects their commitment to their second chance and proves their return was no fluke.

29. Nirvana, “All Apologies” (1993)

After Kurt Cobain died in 1994, “All Apologies” became a requiem for the late Nirvana singer and guitarist in a posthumously released live version on MTV Unplugged in New York. But the mournful studio take that closes 1993’s In Utero carries the same emotional weight thanks to the trio’s dialed-back performance, aided by Kera Schaley’s melancholy cello. It’s a fitting end: serene, moving and, ultimately, resigned to fate.

28. Bonnie Raitt, “Something to Talk About” (1991)

After nearly two decades of making music and nine albums, Bonnie Raitt found herself the hot new artist of 1989. The Grammy-winning Nick of Time was her first No. 1; her highest-charting LP until then was the No. 25 Sweet Forgiveness from 1977. The attention gave her next album, 1991’s Luck of the Draw, a bigger spotlight for her singing and guitar playing. “Something to Talk About” is a blues-soaked standout.

27. Aerosmith, “Cryin'” (1993)

Aerosmith’s career resuscitation at the end of the ’80s gave them their largest and arguably most passionate audience at the dawn of the ’90s. With 1989’s Pump barely out of chart view, the band released Get a Grip, their 11th album and first No. 1, sparked by a long run of FM-radio-ready songs. “Cryin'” just missed the Top 10, thanks to its glistening on-the-edge-of-power-ballad hook and a heavy-rotated video.

26. The Beatles, “Free as a Bird” (1995)

Stitched together from a 1977 John Lennon demo as its basis, “Free as a Bird” was the first new Beatles music heard in 25 years, put together for the Anthology TV series by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The results are what you’d expect from a Frankenstein’s Monster project with Jeff Lynne behind the board. But damn if it isn’t bittersweet to hear the Fab Four together again on record. A Top 10 hit, too.

25. Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing” (1990)

Los Angeles’ Jane’s Addiction left the ’80s as a buzzed-about band, renowned for both their live shows and the hard rock-meets-psychedelic-funk muscle of their 1988 debut, Nothing’s Shocking. The follow-up, 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual, turned up the weird factor but also gave the band its biggest hit in “Been Caught Stealing,” a relatively straightforward alternative-rock track on an album of dark, deathly ruminations.

24. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Under the Bridge” (1991)

It took a low-key song about singer Anthony Kiedis’ substance abuse problems to break Red Hot Chili Peppers into the mainstream following several years as a mediocre funk band. Producer Rick Rubin helped shape 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the Peppers’ fifth album and the one to capture their energetic spirit on record finally. The midtempo “Under the Bridge” builds over four and a half minutes to a soul-cleansing finale.

23. Soundgarden, “Spoonman” (1994)

“Spoonman” is almost an outlier on the album it comes from, 1994’s Superunknown. Though the LP, and song, helped break Soundgarden into the mainstream – following rock-radio success with 1991’s Badmotorfinger, the track carries the same driven rhythm heard on their previous three records – it is best known for type-dismantling tracks like “Black Hole Sun” and “Fell on Black Days.” Then there’s that spoons solo.

22. Aerosmith, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (1998)

Aerosmith spent the ’90s repairing the damage of their late-’70s excess. Two No. 1 albums, sold-out concerts and a steady run of hit singles marked a decade of one laurel after another. But their biggest accolade arrived late in the ’90s: their first No. 1 single, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Written by Diane Warren for the movie Armageddon, the ballad irked some fans, but there’s little denying the pull of this sublime song.

READ MORE: Top 30 Album-Closing Songs

21. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” (1993)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were putting together their first greatest hits compilation and wanted to fill it out with a couple of new songs. So he pulled a song he was working on from his yet-to-be-released second solo album, Wildflowers. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” was better suited to the group and became an unexpected hit in 1993, serving as a bridge between band eras. A new record company was next.

20. Meat Loaf, “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (1993)

Meat Loaf was all but MIA since the unexpected success of 1977’s debut LP Bat Out of Hell. But a reunion with songwriter Jim Steinman and a return to lyrical and musical themes explored on the first album made Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell a worthy successor. The truly epic “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” – 12 minutes in its LP version – remains a milestone moment for the singer. It never wavers.

19. Green Day, “Longview” (1994)

Songs celebrating a slacker lifestyle were common in 1994; Beck, Pavement and Sonic Youth added to the expanding list of earlier tracks by Radiohead, Dinosaur Jr. and others. Green Day‘s “Longview” takes a stand from its opening lines: “I sit around and watch the tube, but nothing’s on / I change the channels for an hour or two, twiddle my thumbs just for a bit.“ This song about doing nothing launched the punk trio’s career.

18. Green Day, “Basket Case” (1994)

Green Day’s major-label debut, Dookie, was a huge hit at modern rock radio stations. Three of its songs reached No. 1; “Basket Case” was the biggest. Running the edges of a panic attack, the song blankets its issues in a near-cheery pop-punk design that borders ’70s power pop. Billie Joe Armstrong snarls and whines as the music balloons around him, almost suffocating him in its chopping, three-instrument attack.

17. Guns N’ Roses, “November Rain” (1991)

Guns N’ Roses’ self-indulgent, two-LP Use Your Illusion reached its apex in ”November Rain,” the nine-minute, rain-washed power ballad at the center of the first volume. Heavily inspired by Elton John, and swinging from one instrumental crescendo to the next with a force befitting one of the best hard-rock bands of their generation, the song wears ambition on its sleeve. Even in the year of grunge’s onset, an undeniable song.

16. Stone Temple Pilots, “Interstate Love Song” (1994)

Riding grunge’s wave and armed with a melody that skirts the lines between pop, alternative and even country, “Interstate Love Song” elevated Stone Temple Pilots from their designation as fad-glomming B-listers. The song, and its parent album, Purple, made STP one of the biggest bands of the period, even though they never really shook some of that initial criticism. If nothing else, “Interstate Love Song” gave them credibility.

15. The Black Crowes, “She Talks to Angels” (1990)

The Black Crowes came out of nowhere at the start of the ’90s with a mix of Faces– and Stones-like swagger laced through a Southern gothic veil. Even with well-targeted rock ‘n’ roll songs like “Jealous Again” and an amped-up cover of Otis Redding‘s “Hard to Handle,” debut album Shake Your Money Maker‘s most durable song is an acoustic lament about drug addiction seen through the eyes of a helpless friend.

14. The Cure, “Friday I’m in Love” (1992)

Despite their reputation as goth doom merchants, the Cure has released many upbeat songs over the decades, starting with the 1982 come-on “Let’s Go to Bed” to this 1992 favorite riding the overwhelming success of 1989’s Disintegration. “Friday I’m in Love” is upfront about its joy; Robert Smith has said there’s no underlying deepness to the song, calling it a “let’s get happy kind of record.” A worldwide hit from 1992’s Wish.

13. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Learning to Fly” (1991)

Tom Petty needed a career turnaround as the ’80s drew to a close. His most recent records had neither chart success nor critical support. Then Jeff Lynne arrived. The Electric Light Orchestra mastermind helmed Petty’s 1989 solo debut Full Moon Fever and returned for 1991’s album with the Heartbreakers, Into the Great Wide Open. Both were huge hits. “Learning to Fly” is the strummy lead single from the latter.

12. Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know” (1995)

Alanis Morissette came out of nowhere in 1995 (well, Canada, where she released a pair of forgettable pop records in the early ’90s), knocking down alternative nation’s boys-club barriers with Jagged Little Pill. The album hit No. 1, thanks in no small part to “You Oughta Know,” a female-empowerment evisceration of a former partner (“I’m not gonna fade as soon as you close your eyes“) that’s both levelheaded and off the rails.

11. Radiohead, “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)

Nobody expected the band behind 1993’s another-slacker-lament “Creep” to have much longevity let alone a creative burst that would stay with them for another two-plus decades. The Bends is another type of Radiohead record: art-rock for the next generation, multilayered experimental pop that stokes a dormant fire. “Fake Plastic Trees” builds like few other songs of the era – an instant classic of scalding release.

10. Beastie Boys, “Sabotage” (1994)

Beastie Boys straddled the line between rock and rap from day one. Before they became the first rap artists to have a No. 1 album, they were a hardcore punk trio bashing away on their instruments in their New York bedrooms. By 1992’s Check Your Head they were combining live instruments with hip-hop samples; 1994’s Ill Communication dives even further into this crossbreed. “Sabotage” says it all.

9. U2, “One” (1991)

1991’s Achtung Baby was designed to break U2 from their signature sound and move them into the new decade as innovative trailblazers. For the most part, the album succeeds as a chapter-opening introduction to modern electronic and dance music. “One,” however, is closer to the U2 sound the band was trying to escape, with room-shaking vocals and an epic slow build over four and a half pulsating minutes.

READ MORE: The Black Crowes Albums Ranked

8. Nine Inch Nails, “Closer” (1994)

Though labeled industrial rock, Nine Inch Nails shared many traits with ’70s prog acts, including long, complex songs and a penchant for conceptual threads running through their albums. The Downward Spiral, the second LP by Trent Reznor‘s one-man-band project, is an hourlong meditation on one person’s descent toward suicide; “Closer” was its surprising hit single, with the ”I wanna fuck you like an animal” chorus a center point.

7. Bruce Springsteen, “Streets of Philadelphia” (1994)

Coming off a career misstep that found him dismissing the E Street Band and then making a pair of simultaneously released albums with hired studio hands, Bruce Springsteen rebounded with a song written for Jonathan Demme’s AIDS-related 1993 drama Philadelphia. Quiet, reserved and humbling in ways his recent works were not, “Streets of Philadelphia” earned Springsteen an Oscar and four Grammy Awards.

6. Foo Fighters, “Everlong” (1997)

Foo Fighters‘ 1995 self-titled debut was shaped by Dave Grohl‘s grief following the death of his Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain. Holed up by himself, he crafted the LP as a way to cope; for the follow-up, he enlisted a real band and was writing anthems of unbridled uplift. “Everlong” remains the crown jewel of his band’s catalog, filled with hope and a celebration of life that the debut didn’t dare get too close to.

5. Pearl Jam, “Jeremy” (1991)

By the time Pearl Jam’s 1991 debut album Ten reached its peak in 1992, the band found itself at the center of a new music movement as well as some controversy from the song “Jeremy,” about a school kid who commits suicide in front of his classmates. The extra attention propelled Ten to the upper reaches of the chart and set Pearl Jam on a course for a decades-spanning and consistently evolving career.

4. Metallica, “Enter Sandman” (1991)

Metallica was ready to take things to another level at the start of the ’90s, having tested commercial grounds with 1988’s … And Justice for All. With help from producer Bob Rock, the quartet fashioned a hard-rock record that deliberately pulled away from its thrash metal origins. The result was the epic Metallica in 1991, a radio behemoth that launched with the initially brooding, ultimately triumphant “Enter Sandman.”

3. Oasis, “Wonderwall” (1995)

Taking title inspiration from an early George Harrison soundtrack album, melodic stimulus from his famous group and firsthand acquaintance with ’90s Britpop, “Wonderwall” is Oasis’ masterwork, a once-in-a-lifetime track that has defied time. The band was on its way to becoming one of the biggest in the U.K. when “Wonderwall” hit in 1995; by year’s end, they were known all over the world. This song is why.

2. R.E.M., “Losing My Religion” (1991)

R.E.M. began their second decade with the second album of a multimillion-dollar deal signed with Warner Bros. a few years earlier. This one made them one of the biggest bands in the world. A newfound sense of songcraft, and Michael Stipe‘s clearer enunciation, drove Out of Time to No. 1, their first LP to do so. “Losing My Religion” was a big part of its success, a finely honed pop-rock song at the dawn of a new beginning.

1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)

The song that changed it all. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”‘s mythmaking over the decades has rendered the stories to hyperbolic stature since its release in September 1991. But the significance of Nirvana’s breakthrough song can’t be understated. Rock music was indeed in a precarious place at the end of the ’80s, acts consumed with materialism, status and fashion rather than art in their music. The Seattle trio didn’t singlehandedly dismantle the structure but it certainly played a big part in saving rock music in the ’90s. The lead cut from the landscape-shifting Nevermind still sounds like a call to arms, its ringing guitar echoing 1970s classic rock while brandishing punk credibility for a new age. The ’90s weren’t the same after this, and Nirvana’s masterpiece can be thanked for that.