The Best Rock Songs of the 90s

What are the best rock songs from the 90s?

By the 1990s, rock was dominated by slick and commercial glam metal, hair metal and arena rock artists. MTV had arrived and promoted this excessive focus on image and style. Disaffected by this, in the mid-1980s, bands in Washington state (particularly in the Seattle area) formed a new style of rock music which sharply contrasted the mainstream rock of the time.

The developing genre came to be known as "grunge", a term meaning "dirt" or "filth". The term was perhaps seen as appropriate due to the dirty sound of the music and the unkempt appearance of most musicians. Grunge fused elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal into a single sound, and made heavy use of guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback. The lyrics were typically apathetic and angst-filled, and often concerned themes such as social alienation and entrapment, although it was also known for its dark humor and parodies of commercial rock.

Bands such as Green River, Soundgarden, the Pixies, the Melvins and Skin Yard pioneered the genre, with Mudhoney becoming the most successful by the end of the decade. However grunge remained largely a local phenomenon until 1991, when Nirvana's album Nevermind broke into the mainstream. Pearl Jam also contributed to this with their album Ten. Both bands were more melodic than their predecessors and were instant sensations worldwide, but they refused to buy in to corporate promotion and marketing mechanisms.

During 1991 and 1992, other grunge bands such as Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Candlebox gained a wider audience. Commercial rock and metal faded almost completely from the mainstream.

Located below you will find a list of some of the best rock songs of the 1990s. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.

Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.

These singles are considered among the best rock songs to hit the charts in the 1990s.

"Black Hole Sun" performed by Soundgarden
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"Crash Into Me" performed by Dave Matthews Band
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"Creep" performed by Radiohead
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"Enter Sandman" performed by Metallica
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"Iris" performed by Goo Goo Dolls
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"Jeremy" performed by Pearl Jam
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"Losing My Religion" performed by R.E.M.
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"Man in the Box" performed by Alice in Chains
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"Mr. Jones" performed by Counting Crows
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"November Rain" performed by Guns N Roses
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"Only Wanna Be With You" performed by Hootie & the Blowfish
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"Semi-Charmed Life" performed by Third Eye Blind
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"Shine" performed by Collective Soul
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"Smells Like Teen Spirit" performed by Nirvana
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"Smooth" performed by Santana featuring Rob Thomas
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"Two Princes" performed by Spin Doctors
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"Under The Bridge" performed by Red Hot Chili Peppers
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"Wonderwall" performed by Oasis
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