Yuck. Under the Bridge makes me feel like sitting under a bridge and shooting heroin.
Smells hands down.
No, I think you have your cutoff date set a little too early. I think Kid A was the seismic shift that took Radiohead out of the “rock” category (whatever that is). As inventive, complex, and technically stunning as OK Computer is, I think it still falls well within the bounds of rock music. Even in their experiments with unconventional song structures and studio production techniques you can still hear echos of their influences in such bands as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Beatles
I agree with you completely and think our disagreement is just a matter of quibbling over definitions. I picked Paranoid Android strictly on what I believe is its artistic merit. I just chose not to include popularity and influence in my definition of “best”.
With regard to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, I think Give it Away was their one really kick-ass single of the decade. If you want to discuss influential music, this one presaged the rap-metal wave of the late 90s.
Gotta go with Hodge on this one. The g/f (now wife) turned me on to OK Computer, and I haven’t looked back…
I understand the draw of Smells Like Teen Spirit, but I always preferred Foo Fighters, myself.
Hodge - I see you live in Ontario, what do you think of The Hip? Nautical Disaster or Grace, Too could be on my list as well…
I think Flagpole Sitta was just a blip on the radar. I actually had to go look it up. I had no idea it was held in such high regard by some.
As far as Under the Bridge, good song, but I’d say it’s even trumped by a few tracks off of Green Day’s Dookie album, or Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill for generational anthem status.
Smells Like Teen Spirit immediately came to mind when I saw the thread title. Hands down, there is no other.
Now there’s a good sig line.
I think the best rock song of the '90s is, um… How about “The Alternative Polka” by “Weird Al” Yankovic?
Big Hip fan, here. Road Apples stayed in my CD carousel for months after its release. I think they lost it somewhere around Trouble at the Henhouse and, despite the occasional great single, they still haven’t fully recovered :(. Anyway, Grace, Too is a classic, but my heart still lies with Little Bones.
Hmmm, You Oughta Know may also be a good candidate. I think that song got regular radio play for a solid 3 or 4 years after its release. In fact, that entire damn album got driven into the ground before the radio stations were through with it.
Ooh, Road Apples has so many great tracks on it. I don’t get why so many people think Fully Completely is their best album when RA is out there. Music @ Work was pretty good, but I bought the newest one right when it came out and listened to it only once. Disappointing.
I guess this is a hijack since I’m no Canadian, so I can’t make any comments on how popular any of the Hip’s songs were though. It’s strange how I’m the only one I know in the lower 48 who listens to them.
Right here, Right Now by Jesus Jones (1991)
pssst, Harvey Danger got some airplay with a remake of the beat’s “save it for later”.
My vote for best Rock song of the 90s: Plowed by sponge.
True, they also had another song off their first album that got some radio play, if memory serves it was “Carlotta Valdez” and then off their second album they had “sad, sweet heart of the rodeo.” And i wouldn’t say “flaggpolesitta” was a small blip on the radar…it was on the first instalment of “NOW” later renamed “Now thats what I call music”
It’s to bad so many people just thought of them as OHWs, they had some really good songs…and now they broke up 
originally posted bu fizgig:
Well, I’m in the States, and I love 'em! Of course I’m originally from Buffalo, NY (some people claim that Buffalo may as well be Canada)
I got my nick at a Hip concert, Another Roadside Attraction Tour. My friends had lost me for the day, and were yelling,“Anyone seen a little redguy?!” They knew I had to be burnt to a crisp.
“Little Bones” came into it that night, too:
Friend1 (shouting): $2.50 for a redguy!!
Friend2 (also shouting): And a Buck and a Half for his ear!!
Here’s a question though:
Perhaps Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit changed the face of poular music in the 90’s. But can anyone name a single follower of Nirvana that didn’t make you want to wretch?
I hold that Nirvana (through no fault of their own, mind you) actually changed the face of popular music for the worse.
What the hell is so great about that song? Pretty much all their lyrics are garbled or mumbled.
Spoken like one who wasn’t there.
meyer, good catch. SmileyDeath mentioned in another thread that he/she is 14, making him/her 4 at the time of the release 
oh dear. i don’t even know this song of which you speak…
i don’t think it was that big over here.
i think the concensus on this side of the atlantic would be with the SMLT brigade.
although Blur’s Song 2 would be high up on my list.
What are you talking about? It is a scientific fact that the greatest songs in the history of music have garbled or mumbled lyrics. Let me throw a few names out at you - R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Radiohead… see what I mean?
It is impossible to understand what they’re saying (hint: it’s not ‘coney jahwayka’) and therin lies the brilliance.
Now this carries over into the teen anthem of all time, (despite it not being Nirvana’s best song). But in addition to the mumbled lyrics about mullatos and mosquitos, we have a ferocious unforgettable riff, a pummelling drum attack that instantly elevated Dave Grohl to legend status and one of the best choruses ever written. Not to mention the eerie two note guitar sequence echoing through the verses and Kurt Cobain’s brilliantly versatile voice swooping from apathetic drone to anthemic scream.
It was as huge as rock and as throwaway and dirty as punk. And best of all, it confined hair-metal to the category of musical joke, where it has stayed ever since.
I was seven years old when I first heard this song. I saw the video on TV, and I knew it was special. I got hold of the album, made a tape of it and listened to it for hours. I tried to write my own grunge song, which consisted of a lot of screaming. I’m very glad I’ve lost the lyrics to that, incidentally.
But the best rock songs of the nineties?
For me, I’m thinking I’ll have to mention Nirvana, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Beastie Boys (Sabotage, anyone?), Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and Beck. I couldn’t confine it to any individual songs, though. And I’m sure I’ll think of some more, too.
I would go for Under The Bridge, but i also really love Good Riddance (Time of your life) by Greenday by Greenday just touches me I dont know why
Fingolfin’s Top 5 Songs of the 90s
1. Closer- NIN
2. 1979- Smashing Pumpkins
3. Bulls on Parade- Rage Against the Machine
4. Sweetness- Jimmy Eat World
5. With Arms Wide Open- Creed [Ducks for cover]
mmmmm “Sex Type Thing” by The Stone Temple pilots?