Dougystyle's 90s Alternative Timeline
Alice in Chains
OK so one last post about 90s Alternative and Grunge. As I have discussed in the last 2 posts I am so obsessed with the rise and fall of the Alternative Nation in the 90s that I have been making timeline mixes for this decade constantly since 2002. I did three separate sets of timelines on cassette tape during my last 2 years of high school, which got to about twenty 90 minute tapes total by the 3rd and final time on cassette. I made 20 mix CDs for 90s Alternative after college which came to 2 CDs per year and all those mix CDs are still residing in a CD booklet in my car. I also made a big timeline playlist of all my favorite songs from the 50s through now on iTunes for my iPod with 90s Alternative truly dominating. For my last semester at college I did every year of the 90s for 10 weeks straight on my radio show Alternagold on the school’s internet radio station VIC. After college I ran my own online radio station on Live365 called Dougystyle’s Alternative for almost 5 years between 2009 and 2014. For 3 months in late 2010 I did a timeline special for Dougystyle’s Alternative where for each week for 12 weeks straight I played music from a certain year of Alternative Rock from 88 to 99 in chronological order which was a huge success with listeners. I also did a lot of research into the Alternative rock chart for those 12 weeks of programming and I discovered so many hidden gems that have since become some of my favorite songs ever. Recently I have composed playlists on Spotify for my favorite Alternative Rock songs for each year of the 90s. On YouTube I have done the same thing except with music videos. My YouTube playlists for 90s Alternative have been astonishingly successful. My playlist for 1999 alone has over 140,000 views on Youtube! Not to toot my own horn, but I feel these YouTube playlists have been so successful because no one else has put together playlists for each year of 90s Alternative as all-encompassing and detailed as I have done.
The Foo Fighters
It couldn’t be more obvious that I was obsessed with this genre and era for so long and that’s because I find the story arc of the rise and fall of Alternative Rock during the 90s to be one of the most fascinating and compelling narratives in all of popular music. It’s the story of how the underground rose up and took over the mainstream challenging people’s perceptions of music as well as giving voice to those who didn’t fit into mainstream society as a whole. Yet, like everything else over time this movement got its edges sanded down and became more and more compromised until we got to the end of the decade with bands who were not alternative at all, like Matchbox 20 and Limp Bizkit, dominating Alternative Rock radio. Nonetheless even in the declining years at the end of the decade there are still a solid amount of songs I love and 97-99 is when I first got into music so those years have a nostalgic pull for me even if they are not quit as strong as the early to mid ‘90s.
This is an era and genre I have spent way too much time thinking about and even though Queer Pop has most of my attention now I would hate for my knowledge of 90s Alternative to just go to waste. This is why I am going to present to you, kind readers, the links to my playlists on Spotify and Youtube for every year of 90s alternative. I’m also going to give a little summary of how I view each year musically and my top 20 Alternative Rock songs from each year as well ranked. If you want to immerse yourself into this genre & era or you just want to discover some songs and bands you probably don’t know yet then please jump right in because there is a lot here to sift through! This is an article that you can lose yourself in for months if you want to! Also please leave comments below this post. I would love to know which songs and bands jumped out for you. Alright lets dive in shall we 😊.
1990
Just like pop music that year, alternative rock in 1990 was still very much the 80s. English bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode and The Psychedelic Furs defined the sound of college rock radio still. The music on college radio in 1990 was more jangly and still had synths as opposed to the more distortion laden sound that would soon dominate. That said, bands like Sonic Youth, The Pixies and The Jesus and Mary Chain were bringing more distortion to the format and setting the groundwork for Grunge’s explosion soon. Jane’s Addiction released their era defining album Ritual De Lo Habitual with a pair of singles that still get play on alternative rock and classic rock radio to this day with Stop! and Been Caught Stealing. 1990 is also stuffed with great songs by bands who have been completely erased and forgotten after the explosion of Grunge. Songs from this year by bands like The Railway Children, The Connells, An Emotional Fish, The House of Love and Ultra Vivid Scene are the definition of hidden gems that are ripe for rediscovery. One last note 1990 is when the Shoegaze genre truly came into its own and for the next several years it would grace alternative rock with some of the most endearing, timeless and influential songs of the entire decade.
My Top 20 Songs of 1990 Ranked:
1. Roam by the B-52s
2. Sweetness & Light by Lush
3. Policy of Truth by Depeche Mode
4. Every Beat of the Heart by the Railway Children
5. Been Caught Stealing by Jane’s Addiction
6. I Don’t Know Why I Love You by The House of Love
7. Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
8. Vapour Trail by Ride
9. Head On by The Jesus & Mary Chain
10. Stop! By Jane’s Addcition
11. The Only One I Know by The Charlatans
12. Celebrate by An Emotional Fish
13. Suicide Blonde by INXS
14. Dig For Fire by the Pixies
15. Dirty Boots by Sonic Youth
16. Waterfall by the Stone Roses
17. Istanbul by They Might Be Giants
18. Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails
19. Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants
20. Stone Cold Yesterday by the Connells
1991
Dubbed by the music press as the year Punk Broke, 1991 did see the release of countless iconic and era defining alternative rock albums that would help shift the course of music history by bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, U2, R.E.M., My Bloody Valentine, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Temple Of the Dog and more. Still this was very much a transitional year for the genre and many of the albums I just listed wouldn’t truly take off until 1992. In the meantime Shoegaze and Madchester were still in their prime and many of the 80s college rock hold overs like The Psychedelic Furs, Simple Minds and Siouxsie and the Banshees would score their last # 1 hits on the Alternative Rock chart in 1991. There was also a lot of fun one hit wonders in 1991 like Jesus Jones, The Divinyls and EMF who would also cross over to the pop charts that year as well. R.E.M. and U2 both tightened their grip over Alternative rock with Out of Time and Achtung Baby and achieved more success on the pop charts than any of their alternative rock peers that year. Then there was Primus a band that never could have achieved mainstream success in any other era but the early 90s who found themselves with a surprise hit with the bizare left field single Jerry Was a Race Car Driver. Still the biggest story of the year occurred at the end of 1991 and was centered around a trio from Seattle whose music video set in a dark gymnasium was about to turn the world upside down.
My Top 20 Songs of 1991 Ranked:
1. Alive by Pearl Jam
2. Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
3. Drive That Fast by Kitchens of Distinction
4. 3 Strange Days by School of Fish
5. Silent Lucidity by Queensyrche
6. Catch the Breeze by Slowdive
7. Diane by Material Issue
8. Unbelievable by EMF
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
10. Is It For Me? by Toad the Wet Sprocket
11. Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.
12. Man in the Box by Alice in Chains
13. Mysterious Ways by U2
14. Mind Riot by Soundgarden
15. I Touch Myself by The Divinyls
16. De-Luxe by Lush
17. Jerry Was A Race Car Driver by Primus
18. Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones
19. Hunger Strike by Temple of the Dog
20. Letter to Memphis by The Pixies
1992
From a music standpoint 1992 is the year everything changed! Nirvana’s Nevermind dethroned Michael Jackson’s Dangerous from #1 on the Billboard 200 which in turn ignited a sea change within music that had not been experienced in years if not decades. Nevermind became THE album of the 90s but it wasn’t alone. Pearl Jam, whose album Ten was released a month before Nevermind in 1991, had much more of a slow burn than Nirvana initially but over the course of 1992 Pearl Jam kept picking up more and more fans with the release of each single until their music video for Jeremy went supernova that summer. At that point Pearl Jam actually surpassed Nirvana in terms of sales and popularity and would continue to do so until Kurt’s death, which is something most rock critics and music historians seem to forget. Grunge began to infiltrate all facets of pop culture throughout 1992 from inspiring a fashion runway line by Marc Jacobs to the film Singles which featured music and cameos from all the major Grunge acts besides Nirvana. Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots both released their albums Dirt and Core on the exact same day and have since become landmark albums for the decade. Shoegaze continued its peak with Ride, Lush and Catherine Wheel releasing some of their best work in 1992 but two singles released that year (The Drowners & Popscene) from U.K. based bands called Suede and Blur were the first hints that the U.K. music scene was about to have a huge shift of its own in the near future.
My Top 20 Songs of 1992 Ranked:
1. Ordinary World by Duran Duran
2. Evenflow by Pearl Jam
3. All I Want by Toad the Wet Sprocket
4. Would? by Alice in Chains
5. One by U2
6. Constant Craving by K.D. Lang
7. In Bloom by Nirvana
8. Dizz Knee Land by Dada
9. Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots
10. Jeremy by Pearl Jam
11. Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
12. Leave Them All Behind by Ride
13. Black Metallic by Catherine Wheel
14. Little Heaven by Toad the Wet Sprocket
15. Come As You Are by Nirvana
16. Popscene by Blur
17. Good Stuff by The B-52s
18. So What’cha Want by the Beastie Boys
19. Unsung by Helmet
20. Superblast! by Lush
1993
1993 is the year Grunge reached a fever pitch. Nirvana’s In Utero and Pearl Jam’s Vs were the 2 most anticipated albums of the year with Vs breaking sales records at the time for most albums sold in a single week! It’s also the year many female fronted rock bands truly came to the fore and gave the men a run for their money with acts like The Breeders, Belly, The Juliana Hatfield 3, PJ Harvey and especially The Cranberries. Lots of great alternative rock songs also crossed over to the mainstream in 1993 like Creep by Radiohead, Plush by Stone Temple Pilots, Two Princes by The Spin Doctors, Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms, and Runaway Train by Soul Asylum. The music video for Runaway Train, which depicted the horrors of child abduction and featured real life photos of missing kids, gained so much attention that 3 of the kids whose missing photos were shown in the video were actually found! This exemplified the beauty of this era as music videos were not just seen as a shiny commercial for your music but were part of the art and were making a statement as strong as the music itself. The city of Chicago also had a moment in the sun where critics declared it the next Seattle with Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville topping all the critic’s year end lists for 1993. Yet it was another Chicago based act, The Smashing Pumpkins, who would explode in popularity that year with the release of their era defining masterpiece Siamese Dream. This album made Billy Corgan an icon who was brilliant, outspoken, fascinating, conceited and frustrating all once.
My Top 20 Songs of 1993 Ranked
1. Plush by Stone Temple Pilots
2. Linger by the Cranberries
3. Low by Cracker
4. Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana
5. Wicked Garden by Stone Temple Pilots
6. Dreams by the Cranberries
7. Two Princes by The Spin Doctors
8. Go By Pearl Jam
9. Not Sleeping Around by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
10. Runaway Train by Soul Asylum
11. Cherub Rock by The Smashing Pumpkins
12. Animal by Pearl Jam
13. Find the River by R.E.M.
14. Villa Rosie by Blur
15. Mayonnaise by the Smashing Pumpkins
16. Down in a Hole by Alice in Chains
17. Feed the Tree by Belly
18. When the Sun Hits by Slowdive
19. Creep by Radiohead
20. Cannonball by The Breeders
1994
In my opinion 1994 was the height of the Alternative Nation. It’s the moment Alternative Rock and Grunge had seeped into all aspects of music and culture but it had not been completely watered down yet like it would be in a few short years. The list of classic albums by Alternative Rock bands this year is seemingly endless. Grunge acts like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots released their best albums ever and they were all rewarded when their albums all hit # 1 on the billboard 200. Pearl Jam also scored another #1 album later that year with Vitalogy. Britpop also exploded across the pond where bands like Blur, Suede, Oasis, Pulp and Elastica became the new British rock vanguard. Girls and Boys by Blur in particular was the standout hit for Britpop in 1994 and in my opinion it’s the best gay anthem of the 90s after Madonna’s Vogue even if it wasn’t intended as such. Punk Pop also came out nowhere with bands like The Offspring and Green Day dominating Alternative Rock Radio and MTV all year, which set up both bands to be rock radio institutions for the rest of their careers. Nine Inch Nails had a huge hit with a chorus that was shocking but hard to resist. Meanwhile Courtney Love became another huge icon that decade with the Release of Hole’s Live Through This, which continues to resonate with younger music fans today (especially women and gays.) Still as great as 1994 was there was a price to pay and it came in the form of Kurt Cobain’s suicide from a self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head. All of sudden the wind was taken out of everybody’s sails. The Alternative Nation seemed too good to last and with Kurt’s death the first blow to Alternative Rock’s armor had been dealt. Grunge didn’t die that year like critics claim as it actually seeped into even more Alternative Rock over the next 2 years but the beginning of the end had arrived.
My Top 20 Songs of 1994 Ranked
1. Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots
2. No Excuses by Alice in Chains
3. Closer by Nine Inch Nails
4. Girls & Boys by Blur
5. Shine by Collective Soul
6. Found Out About You by the Gin Blossoms
7. Selling the Drama by Live
8. Vasoline by Stone Temple Pilots
9. I Stay Away by Alice in Chains
10. The World Has Turned and Left Me by Weezer
11. Welcome to Paradise by Green Day
12. Spoonman by Soundgarden
13. I Alone by Live
14. Sabotage by the Beastie Boys
15. Rock ‘N Roll Star by Oasis
16. Fly from Heaven by Toad the Wet Sprocket
17. Undone (The Sweater Song) by Weezer
18. Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots
19. Nutshell by Alice in Chains
20. Violet by Hole
1995
1994 is my favorite year of 90s Alternative but 1995 is the year Alternative rock reached a saturation peak. It’s the year that has the most songs I like from Alternative Rock. In America Grunge was influencing just about everything and the differences between the Alternative Rock chart and Mainstream Rock chart were negligible at best by 1995. The first wave of bands influenced by Grunge arrived to critical backlash but nonetheless found a huge audience still thirsty for distortion laden rock with bands like Bush, Sponge, Silverchair, The Toadies, Local H, and Hum just to name a few. While I like most of the first wave Grunge bands more I can’t deny I love these bands too whose take on Grunge in some ways whittled the genre down to its core essence and appeal while still being thankfully devoid of toxic masculinity (which would eventually rear it’s ugly head again by the end of the 90s.) The U.K. on the other hand had moved on to Britpop, which completely dominated British culture throughout all of 1995 in the same way Grunge had dominated American culture in 1992. The hysteria around Britpop would reach its peak when the genre’s 2 leading bands, Blur and Oasis, decided to release their new singles on the exact same day. The British Media had a field day with this battle over Britpop supremacy, which sold papers, ads and music in equal measure. Blur won the battle when Country House beat Roll With It to # 1 on the U.K. singles chart that fall, but Oasis would go on to win the war with the release of their next single Wonderwall. Wonderwall not only became THE British Anthem of the decade but it also gave Oasis something that had eluded most of their Britpop peers and that was huge crossover success in America. Meanwhile women continued to do well in Alternative Rock on both sides of the Atlantic with some of the most beloved and era defining albums of the 90s being released by women in 1995. There was Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morsette, Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt and Garbage’s Self-Titled debut, the latter of which fit neatly into both Grunge and Britpop. Then there was The Smashing Pumpkins’ double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which ended up defying the odds and becoming one of the biggest albums of the year. The success of this double album helped The Smashing Pumpkins rule the alternative nation for a brief time during late 1995 and all of 1996. Meanwhile Radiohead, who had been declared a one hit wonder 2 years prior with Creep, released their sophomore album The Bends in 1995. Radiohead’s second album was not a huge smash, but it slowly gained them many fans, including rock critics, and set Radiohead up for greater things in the near future. Oh and U2 released my favorite song in all of Alternative Rock this year, which was attached to a film featuring my favorite fictional character of all time Batman!
My Top 20 Songs of 1995 Ranked:
1. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me by U2
2. Name by the Goo Goo Dolls
3. Comedown by Bush
4. Corduroy by Pearl Jam
5. Common People by Pulp
6. Kiss from a Rose by Seal
7. Wonderwall by Oasis
8. When I Come Around by Green Day
9. Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter
10. Plowed by Sponge
11. December by Collective Soul
12. And Fools Shine On by Brother Cane
13. Bullet with Butterfly Wings by the Smashing Pumpkins
14. Supervixen by Garbage
15. I’ll Stick Around by The Foo Fighters
16. Judy Staring at the Sun by Catherine Wheel
17. Acquiesce by Oasis
18. River of Deceit by Mad Season
19. Vow by Garbage
20. This is a Call by The Foo Fighters
1996
In a lot of ways 1996 feels like an extension of 1995 as many of the year’s top songs came off 1995 albums. The saturation of the Alternative Nation was still strong through most of the year but by the end of the year the writing was on the wall. In a lot of ways 1996 feels like the last true year of The Alternative Nation. At the very least 1996 is the last year Alternative Rock radio still valued “weirdness” from the genre. Songs as strange as Novacaine for the Soul by the Eels became chart toppers on the format. There was also Primitive Radio Gods whose song, which had an insanely long title (Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In Hand), crossed over from Alternative Rock Radio to Pop Radio where it became one of the most random and unlikely hits of 1996. Yet, no song that year exemplified what made the Alternative Nation years so wonderfully weird and different than the huge success of Pepper by The Butthole Surfers, which topped the Alternative Rock Chart and dominated MTV all year. Back in the 80s only “freaks” listened to the Butthole Surfers according to most people and with a name like that there was no way they would ever get on the radio and yet that is just what happened in 1996! Pepper is still heavily rotated on Alternative Rock Radio and beloved by every person I have EVER met from my generation. Unfortunately, this fluke success was one of the last for Alternative Rock radio and by the end of 1996 The Alternative Nation’s days were numbered. Many of the first wave Grunge bands also released their last albums before breaking up or disappearing such as Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. The Screaming Trees released their last but best album in 1996 called Dust, which in retrospect sounds like the sad goodbye to the Grunge years. Pearl Jam’s No Code became the group’s last # 1 album and quickly tumbled down the charts. This was the moment Pearl Jam went from being the biggest band in the world to the biggest cult band in the world. Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots also started his rotating cycle of going in and out of jail/rehab due to drug abuse therefore constantly derailing STP from touring, recording and promoting from that point forward. Still nothing represented the winds of change more than the sudden success of The Spice Girls toward the end of 1996. The success of Wannabe in its own way was just as unexpected and influential as Nirvana’s success had been 5 years prior and it was about to change the course of pop music forever.
My top 20 Songs of 1996 Ranked:
1. Champagne Supernova by Oasis
2. Tonight, Tonight by the Smashing Pumpkins
3. Barely Breathing by Duncan Sheik
4. Stupid Girl by Garbage
5. Counting Blue Cars by Dishwalla
6. Machinhead by Bush
7. Love Rollercoaster by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
8. Long December by the Counting Crows
9. Follow You Down by the Gin Blossoms
10. In the Meantime by Spacehog
11. 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins
12. Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage
13. Lady Picture Show by Stone Temple Pilots
14. Pepper by the Butthole Surfers
15. Stereotypes by Blur
16. Bound for the Floor by Local H
17. Down by 311
18. Photograph by the Verve Pipe
19. The World I Know by Collective Soul
20. Peaches by Presidents of the United States of America
1997
1997 is a year I have mixed feelings about because on the one hand this is the year Alternative Nation died thanks to teen pop and poppier bands taking over the Alternative Rock format such as Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth. Fly and Walking on the Sun were cute at first but wore out their welcome eventually unlike most of the big songs on Alternative Rock Radio before 1997. Yet at the same time it was the teen pop of acts like The Spice Girls that got me into music at age 11 so I still have a lot of nostalgia for this year. Plus, there was still a lot of great songs in 1997 especially towards the beginning of the year. Many of the second wave Grungers released some of the last big hits that still had a lot of distortion and edge to them such as Greedy Fly by Bush, Lakini’s Juice by Live, Abuse Me by Silverchair, and Volcano Girls by Veruca Salt. It’s the year Electronica had its brief moment in the spotlight with acts such as The Chemical Brothers and Prodigy. 1997 also was the year Marilyn Manson stormed through the gates and became the most infamous musician of the entire decade with his landmark album Antichrist Superstar, which ignited protests across the country wherever he and his band toured. Meanwhile, The Foo Fighters, after having success with their self-titled debut 2 years prior, solidified their status as the new kings of rock radio with The Color and the Shape. The 3 singles off that album, Monkey Wrench, Everlong and My Hero, became staples for both the band and the genre as a whole and set The Foos up to be rock royalty for the rest of their career. Then there was Radiohead who blew everyone away with OK Computer and ended up becoming figureheads for the genre as a result. That said, Radiohead's success on Alternative Rock Radio itself would decline more and more proving that weirdness and artistry were no longer things the format valued anymore. Now a band as vanilla and bland as Matchbox 20 could dominate the format easily despite the fact that their music is the 90s equivalent of 70s soft rock punching bag Bread. I didn’t like Matchbox 20 back in the late 90s and I still don’t. I can see why people flocked to them but it doesn’t mean I have to like it either. Meanwhile Creed and Limp Bizkit both released their debut albums this year, which would both prove to be detrimental to the genre and radio format very shortly. The Britpop bubble also burst that summer when Oasis released their highly anticipated 3rd album Be Here Now. Be Here Now had a great first single in Do You Know What I Mean? and lots of good press initially, but then there was a slow realization it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and people began to move on. Oasis’ peers also jumped the Britpop ship with Blur and Pulp exploring darker and more American sounds. Lollapalooza, which had been an Alternative Rock institution every year since its inception in 1991, did so poorly in 1997 that it was cancelled. 1997 for me starts off on a strong note but by the end of the year the great songs in alternative rock are becoming fewer and farther in between.
My Top 20 Songs of 1997 Ranked:
1. Everlong by The Foo Fighters
2. If You Could Only See by Tonic
3. Song 2 by Blur
4. Hitchin’ a Ride by Green Day
5. Do You Know What I Mean? by Oasis
6. Superman’s Dead by Our Lady Peace
7. The End is the Beginning of the End by the Smashing Pumpkins
8. Lakini’s Juice by Live
9. Rings by Toad the Wet Sprocket
10. Greedy Fly by Bush
11. Monkey Wrench by the Foo Fighters
12. Whatever I Fear by Toad the Wet Sprocket
13. Abuse Me by Silverchair
14. Drop Dead Gorgeous by Republica
15. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind
16. One Headlight by the Wallflowers
17. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
18. Volcano Girls by Veruca Salt
19. The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson
20. Paranoid Android by Radiohead
1998
This is my least favorite year of 90s Alternative, which means I still like it and I like it more than a lot of the years in the 00s, but it doesn’t give me the same thrill and rush as previous years from this decade. If 1995 was the year in which the differences between the Alternative Rock Chart and the Mainstream Rock Chart became mute, then 1998 is the year the Alternative Rock chart looked no different from the pop charts except less black people and less women. In fact, besides the success of Hole’s Celebrity Skin and Garbage’s Version 2.0 (two great albums from a year that was in short supply of great albums) women were disappearing from the format at an alarming rate despite or maybe even because of the success of Lilith Fair. Lilith Fair was a great idea and a huge success but it had an unintended and unfortunate effect where it began to segregate women and men on Alternative Rock Radio formats. Alternative Radio started getting rid of women from their playlists and the radio formats that were built around the success of Lilith Fair died swiftly and quickly. When Lilith Fair itself ended in 1999 most of these female musicians had few media outlets left to promote their work. In 1998 Alternative Rock radio was dominated by one hit wonders such as Marcy Playground, Fastball, Harvey Danger, Semisonic and Eve 6. These bands would have one HUGE hit that would stay #1 for weeks if not months on Alternative Rock radio and cross over to the pop top 10, but then their follow up single would only do decently at rock radio but not on pop radio and then they disappeared from the radio altogether never to be heard from again. Now I liked these songs, especially the singles by Semisonic with Singing in My Sleep being a personal favorite of my husbands, but these band’s albums were littered with filler and none of their success led to any kind of career. All of a sudden it felt like Alternative Rock Radio was just as flaky and disposable as top 40 radio but with less diversity and somehow less edge. At the end of the day 1998 is a year where I still like most of the songs that were on Alternative Rock Radio and MTV, but I don’t love most of them either. Plus most of those good songs were not connected to great albums to boot.
My Top 20 Songs of 1998 Ranked:
1. Closing Time by Semisonic
2. I Think I’m Paranoid by Garbage
3. Celebrity Skin by Hole
4. My Hero by the Foo Fighters
5. Singing in my Sleep by Semisonic
6. I Lie in the Bed I Make by Brother Cane
7. Redundant by Green Day
8. Hit the Skids by Local H
9. High by Feeder
10. Sunday by Sonic Youth
11. Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward
12. Fire Escape by Fastball
13. Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd
14. Cool Magnet by Local H
15. Lucky Man by the Verve
16. Perfect by the Smashing Pumpkins
17. Slide by the Goo Goo Dolls
18. The Way by Fastball
19. Push It by Garbage
20. Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger
1999
1999 is the year when Teen Pop dominated the pop music discussion thanks to MTV’s Total Request Live. That year Latin Pop also made headway as well and both sub-genres pushed Alternative Rock out of the mainstream even more. Yet even though Alternative Rock kept losing its cache I find I like more songs from 1999 than 1998. Maybe that’s because a lot of the veterans had some of their best singles this year (even if some singles were initially from 1998 albums) such as Malibu by Hole, The Chemicals Between Us by Bush, Take a Picture by Filter, Black Balloon by The Goo Goo Dolls, Ana’s Song by Silverchair, We’re in This Together by Nine Inch Nails, Rock is Dead by Marilyn Manson, Scar Tissue by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Down and Sour Girl by Stone Temple Pilots, Coffee & TV by Blur, New by No Doubt, Nice Guys Finish Last by Green Day, Body Moving (The Fatboy Slim Remix) by The Beastie Boys, Come Original by 311, Learn to Fly and Stacked Actors by the Foo Fighters and last but certainly not least Heavy and Run by Collective Soul. All the trends that were eroding the Alternative Nation were in full force throughout 1999 but the songs from most of the leading acts in the Alternative Rock genre that year (who were not Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit) were actually pretty damn good. I tend to view 1999 as this small bump up in quality for Alternative Rock during it’s declining years before the bottom truly dropped out in 2000 & 2001. After this year the songs I liked were fewer and farther in between than ever before in Alternative Rock and I liked even less albums throughout all of the 2000s. Nonetheless it was a great 10 year run for what was my favorite genre and era of music until the advent of Queer Pop in the late 2010’s.
My Top 20 Songs of 1999 Ranked
1. Heavy by Collective Soul
2. Sour Girl by Stone Temple Pilots
3. Malibu by Hole
4. Black Balloon by The Goo Goo Dolls
5. Take a Picture by Filter
6. Run by Collective Soul
7. Down by Stone Temple Pilots
8. Stacked Actors by the Foo Fighters
9. You Look So Fine by Garbage
11. The Chemicals Between Us by Bush
12. Learn to Fly by the Foo Fighters
13. Nice Guys Finish Last by Green Day
14. You Wanted More by Tonic
15. Porcelain by Moby
16. Keep Away by Godsmack
17. Awful by Hole
18. New by No Doubt
19. Ana’s Song by Silverchair
20. Body Movin’ (The Fatboy Slim Remix) by The Beastie Boys
I hope you enjoyed this look back at 90s Alternative done the Dougystyle Way! Please leave comments about your favorite songs, albums and bands from this remarkable era of music below because I can talk about and critique 90s Alternative for days!
