# Top 200 90s Alternative Rock Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052 "2009-05-02T02:27:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/1 "2009-05-02T02:27:09Z")
I was browsing the internet the other day and come across this website: [http://www.therockczar.com/by-genre/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs.html](http://www.therockczar.com/by-genre/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs.html) I am a huge 90s alternative rock guy so I am loving going down this list and listening to all the songs. I am also a nerd so I converted this to an Excel spreadsheet and have been listening to the songs and rating them so I can later do some analysis and figure out when my favorite year was and notice any trends. Who do you guys think was overrepresented or underrepresented? Obviously none of us are likely to do a top 200 ourselves, but what would you change about this one? ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/2 "2009-05-02T03:11:32Z")
I’m just going to come out and say Karma Police was a shitty song. If there is one thing I’d change about the list, it would be to NOT have that song at number one. Also, whoever wrote this list is on Alice in Chain’s dick. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Keen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Commander\_Keen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Keen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/3 "2009-05-02T03:17:57Z")
Seriously, who would have known that Alice in Chains can claim 10 of the top 50 alternative rock songs of the 90s? If I’m just switching around the songs on the list without adding any new ones, #1 should be Everlong. If I can add a new song, then Basket Case might be #1. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/4 "2009-05-02T03:37:56Z")
I would move _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ to #1. That song seems to me to be \*the \* iconic 90’s alternative song. ---
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/5 "2009-05-03T00:45:28Z")
> [@Flander](#): > > I’m just going to come out and say Karma Police was a shitty song. If there is one thing I’d change about the list, it would be to NOT have that song at number one. > > Also, whoever wrote this list is on Alice in Chain’s dick. Just saying. I agree. It’s a good song, and I am a big Radiohead fan but that song is no way number 1. If you really want a Radiohead song number one, I could see putting Paranoid Android. That, IMO, is an excellent song. Karma Police wasn’t even the best song on that album let alone of the 90s. I also like Alice in Chains and thought they were overrepresented. Nutshell, Down in a Hole, Junkhead, Would?, Love Hate Love and the less well known Sunshine are all better than No Excuses and Heaven Beside you. > [@Commander\_Keen](#): > > Seriously, who would have known that Alice in Chains can claim 10 of the top 50 alternative rock songs of the 90s? > > If I’m just switching around the songs on the list without adding any new ones, #1 should be Everlong. If I can add a new song, then Basket Case might be #1. Everlong is a terrific song and I could see it being at least top 10. And Basket Case absolutely should have made it. I am surprised to not see it there. I am not a huge fan of that song so I couldn’t have put it at number 1, but it should at least have made the list. > [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I would move _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ to #1. That song seems to me to be \*the \* iconic 90’s alternative song. Yeah, it definitely is and I don’t think anyone can put a respectable list together for 90s alternative rock songs without having that song number 1. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/6 "2009-05-03T00:56:00Z")
So this guy owned what, 20, 30 CDs in the 90s? I too dislike _Karma Police_, ftr. No way in hell should it be ranked as better than _Creep_. #1 should have been something by Nirvana. ---
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/7 "2009-05-03T01:02:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So this guy owned what, 20, 30 CDs in the 90s? For what it’s worth, I ran a filter in Excel and counted 118 different CDs. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/8 "2009-05-03T03:36:59Z")
Pearl Jam didn’t even make the top 150? There are SIX Stone Temple Pilots songs before there’s any Pearl Jam, and nine Stone Temple Pilots songs total vs. only two Pearl Jam. That just don’t make any kind of sense. And as much as I like Bruce Springsteen, I don’t see how he qualifies as “90s Alternative Rock”. ---
**Author:** ![FrustratedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@FrustratedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrustratedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/9 "2009-05-03T03:51:22Z")
How the hell did this guy manage to leave Sponge’s “Plowed” off this list? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/10 "2009-05-03T04:13:31Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Pearl Jam didn’t even make the top 150? There are SIX Stone Temple Pilots songs before there’s any Pearl Jam, and nine Stone Temple Pilots songs total vs. only two Pearl Jam. That just don’t make any kind of sense. Exactly. Pearl Jam should have at least one song in the top 10. _Jeremy_ could contend with Nirvana’s _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ for the #1 spot as the most iconic 90’s alternative rock song. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/11 "2009-05-03T04:22:37Z")
The list is alright, but as someone who considers himself a 90s alternative rock conesseuir (I know, it’s spelled wrong), some of the selections are just baffling. I think the biggest problem I have with it is there’s only _one_ Green Day song on the list. One! I like “Brain Stew”, everyone likes “Brain Stew”, but I would add the entirety of Dookie before most of those Alice of Chains songs. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/12 "2009-05-03T04:50:30Z")
As everyone else mentioned, I think this list is so idiosyncratic as to be practically worthless. It’s more like a blog post than a serious attempt to rank the top 200 90s alternative rock songs. Just for starters, I’d say 15-20% of the list are songs that weren’t even released as singles. I can see including a couple neglected gems on a list, but this is ridiculous. Also, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains alone account for fully 9% of the songs. And idiosyncratic (read: baffling) ratings abound. The highest rating Rage Against the Machine song? No Shelter, of course. Smashing Pumpkins get 14 songs (!) including Hello Kitty Kat, Rhinoceros, Rocket, and Quiet. Find the River and Drive by R.E.M. are also perplexing inclusions. Columbia by Oasis? I like that album, but I have no memory of a song by that name on it. Personally, I share the author’s evident dislike of Pearl Jam, but if you’re going to make a serious list, you have to include even the stuff you don’t personally like. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/13 "2009-05-03T05:00:24Z")
If you look at his list, you see other idiocies. He has a “top 40 One Hit Wonders” list that includes Simple Minds (who had at least one other Top 10 song, “Alive and Kicking”), but doesn’t include Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come on Eileen”. :rolleyes: OMG, he has “Forever in Blue Jeans” in his “Top 30 Classic Rock Songs” list! ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/14 "2009-05-03T05:00:53Z")
> [@dgrdfd](#): > > For what it’s worth, I ran a filter in Excel and counted 118 different CDs. Yeah, and only a few of them by female artists/female-fronted bands. Alanis Morissette, Mazzy Star, Joan Osborne, The Cranberries and Natalie Merchant. What a narrow frame of reference. This is done by one of those types of guys who make up a Desert Island Disc list and only include male artists/fronted-bands. I always think, wow, really? You would live out the rest of your life never hearing a female voice ever again? Really? Seriously? You sure you don’t want to re-think that? I used to think that was a gay thing, until I realized that no gay person I’ve ever known would never want to go without ever hearing a female voice again. Anyway, the person who made the list is not very alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/15 "2009-05-03T05:09:20Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Find the River and Drive by R.E.M. are also perplexing inclusions. “Drive” is REM’s second best song. There, I said it. But a few more baffling exclusions: Ben Folds, Tori Amos, Matchbox 20 (“Push” deserves to at least be #200), “Superman’s Dead”, Fiona Apple, Beck (BECK for god’s sakes!) and “Laid” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/16 "2009-05-03T06:14:16Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > If you look at his list, you see other idiocies. He has a “top 40 One Hit Wonders” list that includes Simple Minds (who had at least one other Top 10 song, “Alive and Kicking”), but doesn’t include Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come on Eileen”. :rolleyes: > > OMG, he has “Forever in Blue Jeans” in his “Top 30 Classic Rock Songs” list! The [Top 250 Indie songs from the past five years](http://www.therockczar.com/by-genre/top-100-indie-rock-songs-since-2003.html) list is a bit better (though hardly as esoteric as he intended considering I can count the unfamilar names on my fingers. I only have 42 of the songs on the list in my MP3 collection, though), but it still has tons of songs by the same bands _over and over_ again. There really are more than 100 indie bands out there; I could reel off the names of several hundred if given the time and motivation. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Keen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Commander\_Keen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Keen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/17 "2009-05-03T07:21:36Z")
> [@FrustratedIdiot](#): > > How the hell did this guy manage to leave Sponge’s “Plowed” off this list? I prefer “Molly”, but yeah I would put Plowed in the top 200. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/18 "2009-05-03T15:06:55Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But a few more baffling exclusions: Ben Folds, Tori Amos, Matchbox 20 (“Push” deserves to at least be #200), “Superman’s Dead”, Fiona Apple, Beck (BECK for god’s sakes!) and “Laid” I didn’t even notice that Beck was left off. I’d put “Loser” within the top 40 easily. ---
**Author:** ![dujo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dujo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dujo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/19 "2009-05-03T16:19:23Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Exactly. Pearl Jam should have at least one song in the top 10. _Jeremy_ could contend with Nirvana’s _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ for the #1 spot as the most iconic 90’s alternative rock song. _Jeremy_ in the top ten for sure, and _Even Flow_ somewhere in the neighborhood as well. Even now half the mainstream rock songs you hear sound like an echo of Pearl Jam. I’d add Jane’s Addiction’s _Jane Says_ which was maybe the biggest pre-Nirvana single, it seems like the person who made the list wasn’t actually around in the 90’s, at least at the beginning. I never was a big alternative rock fan but those two songs were huge. _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ really needs to be number one and _Come As You Are_ should probably be top ten as well. Also no Pixies, Breeders, Veruca Salt, Flaming Lips, Primus, Ministry… And that’s from someone who was only half paying attention, the only Radiohead I was even aware of during the 90’s was _Creep_ so I don’t know where this guy’s coming from. But whatever, it’s just one person’s opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052/20 "2009-05-03T17:18:00Z")
One fucking Everclear song? Sure, Santa Monica is an astonishingly great song but to have it at #51 is foolish. And where’s the other stuff like Heartspark Dollarsign, Heroin Girl and Father of Mine? Songs this guy listed as better than ‘Santa Monica’… GRr. Forget it. This is pitiful. No Spin Doctors One Cracker song (Low) Nothing by the Gin Blossoms No Blues Traveller No ‘Cannonball’ by The Breeders (Kim Deal would eat this guy’s heart) No ‘No Rain’ by Blind Melon No Mighty Might Bosstones. (They were so irrelevant that the HFStival had them in three years running) No Cardigans No Belly No Lemonheads No Barenaked Ladies No Primus What a maroon. This is a guy without a sense of humor or something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-200-90s-alternative-rock-songs/495052.md?page=2)