Starting Monday, VH1 will be paying tribute to the eclectic music of the '90s with 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s, a countdown of hits from Nirvana to Hanson and everywhere in between. A while back, the network asked viewers to vote on their favorites from a pre-selected list of 100 songs, and this week-long special will reveal how those votes shook out.
Clocking in at No. 1: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." U2s "One" is next, then the Backstreet Boys with "I Want It That Way" at No. 3. Whitney Houston, Madonna, Britney Spears, Sir Mix-a-Lot, TLC, REM, and Sinead O'Connor all make appearances in the top 10, making for a list that sounds a lot like the soundtrack to my junior high dances.
Looking over the list again, I am impressed that it's so comprehensive, with entries from The Cranberries, Spin Doctors, Beck, Weezer, Counting Crows, and pretty much every other artist whose music I ever tried to tape off the radio during Rick Dees' weekly top 40. But I still can't believe there's no "The Sign." How can you have a Best of the '90s list without Ace of Base? A few of the other biggies that didn't make the list — "Gangsta's Paradise," "Just a Girl," "No Rain," "Whoomp! There It Is" — at least get a mention in this set of 50 songs that barely missed the cut.
Check out the full ranking of the 100 songs and let me know: What's right — and what's just horribly wrong? You can also see the top 25 when you read more
