# What are the worst songs from the 90s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305 "2010-04-25T16:18:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/121 "2010-04-28T23:47:13Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > You don’t like Pearl Jam > [@Valgard](#): > > No. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Soundgarden > [@Valgard](#): > > No thank you. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Screaming Trees > [@Valgard](#): > > Absolutely not. Come on now. I have a hard time believing that someone who didn’t like grunge music to begin with would remember the Screaming Trees at all. I’m not saying you _would_ like them, you probably wouldn’t, but even at the height of grunge-mania the Screaming Trees weren’t all that well-known – certainly not among people who disliked their entire genre. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/122 "2010-04-28T23:50:58Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Come on now. I have a hard time believing that someone who didn’t like grunge music to begin with would remember the Screaming Trees at all. I’m not saying you _would_ like them, you probably wouldn’t, but even at the height of grunge-mania the Screaming Trees weren’t all that well-known – certainly not among people who disliked their entire genre. To be fair, “Nearly Lost You” was a pretty big hit (their only?) in the early 1990’s… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/123 "2010-04-28T23:51:01Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > You’re right, and that’s why I attached “bubblegum” to the term “pop” to differentiate between crap like Britney Spears, the Macarena, etc from decent pop bands like Matchbox 20, Goo-Goo Dolls, etc. Ohhhh, how I SOOOO wish that “fixed that for you” was allowed here 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/124 "2010-04-29T00:05:30Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > To be fair, “Nearly Lost You” was a pretty big hit (their only?) in the early 1990’s… Not all _that_ big of a hit. I can easily believe that someone who didn’t care for grunge/alt-rock still heard songs by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and to a somewhat lesser extent Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, a lot more than they would have liked, but the Screaming Trees? I doubt it. I guess it’s possible **Valgard** had a hallmate who kept playing the _Singles_ soundtrack on repeat or something, but it seems pretty unlikely to me that someone who hated alt-rock radio in the '90s would have heard enough of the Screaming Trees to form an opinion about them at all. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/125 "2010-04-29T00:30:30Z")
As long as nobody puts the Goo Goo Dolls on this list, I’ll be good, ha. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/126 "2010-04-29T01:32:22Z")
I would probably agree that the 90’s were subpar in terms of pure bubblegum pop. There was some good stuff like “MMMBop,” the Spice Girls, Cher’s “Believe,” (or would that be dance-pop?), the early Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears singles (which were not crap; they are incredibly well-produced, catchy, and created a sea of imitators) at the tail end of the decade, but I’m drawing a blank on other stuff I’d consider good bubblegum pop. The aughts were a lot better in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/127 "2010-04-29T01:34:17Z")
Boom Boom Boom - The Outhere Brothers is terrible. A song I rediscovered the other day on Sirius was Jellyhead by Crush. A perfect example of what 90’s dance music should sound like. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/128 "2010-04-29T02:33:27Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Then you have one-hit wonders like Jill Sobule, Fastball, and Lisa Loeb. Hey! Hey! Hey! Fastball had _ **two** _ hits. Although I do own their last three CDs, so maybe I’m biased. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/129 "2010-04-29T02:42:53Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Hey! Hey! Hey! > > Fastball had _ **two** _ hits. Although I do own their last three CDs, so maybe I’m biased. You’re right, I had completely forgotten about “Out of my Head,” which I liked quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/130 "2010-04-29T02:53:48Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Not all _that_ big of a hit. I can easily believe that someone who didn’t care for grunge/alt-rock still heard songs by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and to a somewhat lesser extent Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, a lot more than they would have liked, but the Screaming Trees? I doubt it. I guess it’s possible **Valgard** had a hallmate who kept playing the _Singles_ soundtrack on repeat or something, but it seems pretty unlikely to me that someone who hated alt-rock radio in the '90s would have heard enough of the Screaming Trees to form an opinion about them at all. Just to be safe I went on to YouTube and listened to “Nearly Lost You”. I’ve heard it before, didn’t care for it then, don’t care for it now. My opinion, which despite what you may think is actually based on having heard too much damn grunge, is that it’s an odious pile of poo from the 90s. This is obviously not a popular sentiment with the Society For Grunge Appreciation so if you like it, go listen to it all you want. Tattoo your skin plaid if it makes you happy, just understand that not everyone thinks your favs are cool. This is like something from **The Onion** - “Area Man Amazed That Others Don’t Like Death Metal”: “Seriously? Oh my God, how can they even say that? Haven’t they heard Cannibal Corpse or Necrocide? KittenSlaughterer? If they would just sit down and listen to BloodSpitter’s classic second album, _Feasting On The Brains Of The Innocent_, ESPECIALLY tracks 3, 4 and 9, then there is no freaking WAY that they could not appreciate the sound.” PS - I think “Mambo Number 5” is kinda catchy. So there 😃 ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/131 "2010-04-29T02:56:08Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > You’re right, I had completely forgotten about “Out of my Head,” which I liked quite a bit. Come to think of it, I also really liked “You’re An Ocean.” I used to hear it on the radio but I don’t know that it was a hit. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/132 "2010-04-29T02:56:39Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > I would probably agree that the 90’s were subpar in terms of pure bubblegum pop. There was some good stuff like “MMMBop,” the Spice Girls, Cher’s “Believe,” Good? Spice Girls? Cher’s “Do You Believe In Life After Drugs”? Yikes. Different strokes and all. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/133 "2010-04-29T03:02:33Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Come to think of it, I also really liked “You’re An Ocean.” I used to hear it on the radio but I don’t know that it was a hit. I don’t think it was, although it was played a bit on Modern Rock stations. The album its from, The Harsh Light of Day, was about 100x better than it had any right to be. The whole thing is great from top to bottom. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/134 "2010-04-29T03:17:08Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Good? Spice Girls? Cher’s “Do You Believe In Life After Drugs”? > > Yikes. Different strokes and all. Yep, I’ll totally defend “Believe” and the various Spice Girls hits as great pop songs - they’re well-produced, catchy, and fun. They’re exactly what they’re supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/135 "2010-04-29T03:39:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t think it was, although it was played a bit on Modern Rock stations. The album its from, The Harsh Light of Day, was about 100x better than it had any right to be. The whole thing is great from top to bottom. I think I might check that out, actually. Thanks for the recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/136 "2010-04-29T04:07:07Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Grunge may have started as some kind of outgrowth of punk by people who hated the whole hair metal thing but it took about 15 minutes for everybody and his grandpa to dig out their old flannel and slap together yet another whiny album about how dark and miserable life is and sing it in an annoying monotone. > > Same bandwagon as LA metal saw in the 80s, sans S/M outfits, hair products and songs about things that are at least theoretically fun (partying and girls). This. I heard somewhere the theory that the emergence of grunge and rap is largely responsible for the massive swell in popularity country music experienced in the 1990s. Rock & roll fans traditionally poked fun at country music for it’s tendency to put out whiny, miserable songs about getting drunk and drowning your sorrows because yer woman done left you and your dog died and you lost your job (that image was so pervasive that even today I find people who never listen to country, yet if they hear some they immediately start making sad-sounding howling dog noises, without bothering to listen to what the singer’s actually singing about). Rock & rollers wanted **fun** music. In the 1990s, rock stopped being fun. And rap … the old-school rockers just couldn’t relate to that. And then about that time, country music started being fun and positive. The sad “cheating” songs and drown your sorrows songs gave way to songs about having a good time, and the good things in life, and being happy, and other positive things. And the old rockers liked it, and started listening to it. ETA: Also, rock in the 1990s seemingly abandoned the guitar solo, which distressed the rockers, who then discovered that the guitar solo was alive and well in country music … and a lot of those Nashville pickers “can _play_, man!” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/137 "2010-04-29T07:50:46Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > Yep, I’ll totally defend “Believe” and the various Spice Girls hits as great pop songs - they’re well-produced, catchy, and fun. They’re exactly what they’re supposed to be. I agree. I even have a Pandora station called “Gina G” for when I’m in that ear-wormy, bubblegum pop sort of mood. “Ooh, aah, just a little bit, ooh, aah, a little bit more…” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/138 "2010-04-29T10:53:08Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > “No Scrubs” was vastly inferior to “Unpretty.” And “Unpretty” is essentially the same song as “MMM-bop.” Seriously - listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/139 "2010-04-29T12:00:18Z")
When I refer to Pop in this thread - I’m specifically thinking of what made the charts - at least the top ten - but I am speaking from a UK perspective - A lot of 90s Dance music may have worked perfectly well in a sweaty club at one o clock in the morning but not necessarily to “listen to” on the radio or on CD. Yet someone was buying this stuff to make the mainstream charts over here- though not in quantities that would have made a hit sungle in the previous decade. For some time , The “rave” culture had taken over. Probably in a way that never touched you folks over the water. You had grunge perhaps, we had, the so called “britpop” bands , including Oasis and Blur, one eared kings in a kingdom of the deaf, who while they had their musical moments, mostly stood out because the “competition” was so mediocre. Of course there was “quality” in any decade if you look for it but my gut feeling is that more of the the 90s chart music was not as creative,original nor memorable than previous decades. But of course maybe it a generational/age thing. While I hold 80s music with the most fondness, I do think there is a similar kind of plurality around now , where anything is possible, though I find myself amazed at how often critics rave at pretty mediocre derivative stuff. “This (insert flavour of the month) is album of the year?” - oh for the classics of the past… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305/140 "2010-04-29T12:16:56Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I didn’t want to have to do this, but… [No Way No Way by Vanilla](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m9n5Uv0bp0) > > [Even the producers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_(band)) thought it was terrible: Gah! I try to pretend that song doesn’t exist since it didn’t chart in the US - but man it certainly is the worst song ever in my book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-worst-songs-from-the-90s/537305.md?page=8)