Not the greatest list this year, but still nowhere near the bottom of the barrel. Really, it’s going to come down to two songs, one of which I will vote for, though I’m sure it will come in second. Would really like to vote for Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians because I’m such a fan, but I’ve got to give it up to what I think is a better song.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was a real eye opener when it came out. Finally a new song that rocked!
I was just looking at the top 10 billboard hits threads and then started reading ahead on Wikipedia. My God the 90s sucked for top 10 hits. I got up to 2004 and it was still sucking. No wonder I switched over to talk radio in about 2000.
Toughie. Great bunch of songs, pretty much. I’m probably not alone in saying that it came down to R.E.M., the Peppers, and Nirvana. In all cases (as so often with the standard Billboard #1’s), they are good songs on even better albums with even better cuts.
Like Leaffan, I had to go with Nirvana.
I think I’ll have a come-to-Jesus (Jones) moment. 
And here I am, voting for Smells Like Teen Spirit. I blame society.
R.E.M., full stop. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a great song, and it’s from a stronger album (arguably), but it’s absolutely no “Losing My Religion”.
Smells Like Teen Spirit, followed very closely by Losing My Religion and Give It Away.
So I gave S&tB’s “Kiss them for Me” their one vote so far, for personal reasons as well as the fact I like the song…OK, it’s no “Cities in Dust” but still.
It helped that
a) my favorite song from Nevermind - “Come As You Are” - is not in the chart (although clearly Smells was going to be on the chart one way or nothing - it was that pervasive at the time, kiddies)
b) my favorite song from Blood Sugar Sex Magic, “Under The Bridge” is also not there (surprisingly, it is NOT on the 1992 charts when it was released as a single either - weird); instead the meh “Give it Away” is.
c) “Mysterious Ways” shows up again on the 1992 charts, against some rather average (although still way above the regular pop charts) competition, so I can vote for it then.
Losing My Religion is an amazing song.
But Smells Like Teen Spirit was fresh and changed the course of Rock for the next decade, or more.
I love both songs equally, for very different reasons, but had to give it to Nirvana on this one, hands down.
It’s a tough choice; Nevermind doesn’t have anything as worthy of mockery as “Shiny Happy People” or “Radio Song”, but it also doesn’t have as many transcendent album tracks (“Half A World Away”, “Country Feedback”, “Low”), IMO.
There are at least 6 songs on this list that I would rank above every song on the Hot 100 list, but the vote here has to go to Nirvana. I wasn’t a big fan back at the time (I was still listening to 60s-70s rock) but my appreciation for what they were doing has only grown over the years.
I had to vote for Nirvana, because, how could I not, given the splash they made at the time and shadow they have ended up casting?
I would follow it by Give it Away, and Mysterious Ways. I am not a U2 guy, but Achtung Baby is their best to me, by far, and MW is great song. If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel - on your knees, boy!
Second vote for “Kiss Them For Me” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. But Nirvana, U2, and Sting could have got the vote also.
I agree that both are amazing songs. I voted for “Losing My Religion” only because I really value songs that do not sound dated 20 years later. “Teen Spirit” is very much a product of its era, while “Losing My Religion” still sounds fresh today.
I’m still not sure what the big deal was w.r.t. grunge, and Nirvana in particular. What I remember most was the diversity that this year’s list demonstrated soon became history-as subsequent polls will undoubtedly show.
For me it has to be U2-one of their most energetic cuts.
Nirvana and grunge opened up a whole new sound. It’s not a sound I particularly like, but it’s certainly relevant from a “history of music” standpoint.
In fact, my vote for Smells Like Teen Spirit this year is probably a surprise to a lot of people I know. I’m not a fan of Nirvana, but I do like that particular song.
It’s very close with REM. I actually like REM as a band and generally appreciate their music… but they’re not really my style.
Yeah, there’s simply no way to overstate how Smells Like Teen Spirit altered the course of modern rock. A game changer in every way, radio, new bands, sounds, concerts and so forth everything took its cue from it for at least a decade.
Now this is an alternative list I like. There’s hardly a song I’m not fond of on this list. I even like both U2 numbers, especially “Mysterious Ways.” I ended up going with the obvious/boring choice “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” for its place in history (and because it is a damned good song, which pretty much started me on my exploration of alternative music.)
Yes, I am fully aware of all of that. And that is precisely why I didn’t particularly care for the genre (tho I do have the 1st Pearl Jam album). I would hardly call the sound thus generated innovative, however.
It’s either going to be Nirvana or R.E.M. but Siouxsie & The Banshees’ Kiss Them For Me gets my vote.