1990's

Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You (1994)

99) The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode (1992)

98) Babybird - You're Gorgeous (1996)

97) Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook remix) (1997)

96) They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul (1990)

95) New Order - World In Motion (1990)

94) The Charlatans - The Only One I Know (1990)

93) Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me (1997)

92) Skunk Anansie - Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good). (1996)

91) Madonna - Ray Of Light (1998)

90) New Radicals - You Get What You Give (1998)

89) Divine Comedy - National Express (1998)

88) TLC - Waterfalls (1995)

87) Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun (1994)

86) KLF - 3am Eternal (1991)

85) Puff Daddy + Faith Evans - I'll Be Missing You (1997)

84) Happy Mondays - Step On (1990)

83) Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart (1990)

82) Blink-182 - What's My Age Again? (1999)

81) Ash - Girl From Mars (1995)

80) Everything But The Girl - Missing (Todd Terry Remix) (1995)

79) The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl (1999)

78) Blackstreet + Dr Dre - No Diggity (1996)

77) The La's - There She Goes (1990)

76) MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This (1990)

75) Faith No More - Epic (1990)

74) The Cranberries - Dreams (1993)

73) The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight (1995)

72) D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better (1993/1997)

71) Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (1990)

70) Snap! - Rhythm Is A Dancer (1992)

69) Radiohead - Karma Police (1997)

68) Fugees - Killing Me Softly (1996)

67) Chumbawumba - Tubthumping (1997)

66) McAlmont & Butler - Yes (1995)

65) Weezer - Buddy Holly (1994)

64) Suede - Animal Nitrate (1993)

63) Baby D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy (1992)

62) Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me? (1999)

61) N Trance - Set You Free (1994/1995)

60) Fatboy Slim - Praise You (1998)

59) Stereophonics - Just Looking (1999)

58) Beastie Boys - Sabotage (1994)

57) Shed Seven - Chasing Rainbows (1998)

56) Blur - Girls and Boys (1993)

55) Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know (1995)

54) Michael Jackson - Black or White (1991)

53) Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (1997)

52) Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (1994)

51) House of Pain - Jump Around (1992)

50) Shakespears Sister - Stay (1992)

49) Pulp - Disco 2000 (1995)

48) Pearl Jam - Alive (1991)

47) 2Pac + Dr Dre - California Love (1995)

46) George Michael - Freedom 90 (1990)

45) Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (1995)

44) Paul Weller - You Do Something To Me (1995)

43) The Stone Roses - Love Spreads (1994)

42) Take That - Back For Good (1995)

41) No Doubt - Don't Speak (1995)

40) Ocean Colour Scene - The Day We Caught The Train (1996)

39) Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith (1992)

38) Britney Spears - Baby, One More Time (1998)

37) Green Day - Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) (1997)

36) James - Sit Down (1990)

35) The Cure - Friday I'm In Love (1992)

34) Adamski ft. Seal - Killer (1990)

33) Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (1998)

32) Green Day - Basket Case (1994)

31) Blur - Song 2 (1997)

30) Spice Girls - Wannabe (1996)

29) 4 Non Blondes - What's Up? (1992)

28) Ace of Base - All That She Wants (1992)

27) Baddiel + Skinner + Lightning Seeds - Three Lions (1996)

26) Underworld - Born Slippy .Nuxx (1996)

25) Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (1990)

24) Metallica - Enter Sandman (1991)

23) Alanis Morissette - Ironic (1995)

22) The Prodigy - Firestarter (1996)

21) AC/DC - Thunderstruck (1990)

20) U2 - One (1992)

19) Radiohead - Creep (1992)

18) REM - Losing My Religion (1991)

17) B52's - Love Shack (1990)

16) Foo Fighters - Everlong (1997)

15) Manic Street Preachers - A Design For Life (1996)

14) Guns N' Roses - November Rain (1991)

13) Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2U (1990)

12) Oasis - Champagne Supernova (1995)

11) Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (1998)

10) Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy (1991)

9) Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (1991)

8) Faithless - Insomnia (1995)

7) Pulp - Common People (1995)

6) Robbie Williams - Angels (1997)

5) Oasis - Live Forever (1994)

4) The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony (1997)

3) Oasis - Wonderwall (1995)

2) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)

1) Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger (1995)

2000's

• Damian Marley, ‘Welcome to Jamrock’

• Gorillaz, ‘Feel Good Inc.’

• Amy Winehouse, ‘Back to Black’

• Fleet Foxes, ‘White Winter Hymnal’

• A single brief verse (repeated three times) about a snowy epiphany, some exquisite close harmonies, wordless falsetto doubled by understated surf guitar. What more could you ask from scruffy young men?

• RELATED:

• • Fleet Foxes Get Existential on Second Album, 'Helplessness Blues'

• • Breaking: Fleet Foxes

•  

• 96

• Lady Gaga, ‘Poker Face’

• Let's (poker) face it — any decade that ends by making a star out of a screwed-up Italian girl like Stefani Germanotta can't be all bad. This hit defined her style of cool — both an art freak and a mainstream prom fave, singing about crushing out on another woman while she's in bed with a man. Will Gaga still be riding the fame monster this time next decade? Any fool who bets against her obviously can't read her poker face.

• RELATED:

• • The Ultimate Ranking of Lady Gaga's Catalog

• • Photos: Lady Gaga's Universe

• • Videos: A Complete Guide to Lady Gaga's Music Videos

•  

• 95

• Mary J. Blige, ‘Family Affair’

• "Don't need no hateration," cries Mary J. Blige — but how could anyone haterate while MJB is testifying over Dr. Dre's rousingly plus-sized beat? The self-proclaimed (and universally recognized) Queen of Hip-Hop Soul delivers a perfect dance song about the spiritual bliss of perfect dance songs. Leave your situations at the door.

• RELATED:

• • Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All TIme: Mary J. Blige

• • Video: T.I. and Mary J. Blige Examine Hardships of Prison Life in "Remember Me" Video

•  

• 94

• Radiohead, ‘Pyramid Song’

• Snoop Dogg, ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’

• The boasts are vintage Snoop: "I'm a gangsta, but y'all knew that." But the Neptunes' beat was light years from G-funk: a couple of tongue clicks, the odd drum machine hit and synth chord or two – the most deliciously minimalist music every to slink its way to the top of Billboard Hot 100.

• RELATED:

• • Video: Willie Nelson & Snoop Dog Perform 'Superman' on Letterman

• • Photos: Excerpts From Neil Strauss' Wild Romp Through Celebrity Culture in 'Everyone Loves You When You're Dead'

• • Photos: 1990s Polaroid Portraits

•  

• 92

• Brad Paisley, ‘Alcohol’

• Paisley was one of the era's great country artists, a Nashville-factory star who also happened to pull duty as a stunning singer, songwriter and guitarist. He sings this song from alcohol's point of view: "Since the day I left Milwaukee, Lynchburg, Bordeaux, France/I've been making a fool out of folks just like you/And helping white people dance." Another round!

• RELATED:

• • Photos: Brad Paisley, Martina McBride and More at CMA Music Fest

•  

• ROBERTS/REDFERNS

• 91

• Bruce Springsteen, ‘My City of Ruins’

• The Boss's 9/11 anthem was actually written in 2000 about the decline of Asbury Park, New Jersey. Built around the chords of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," it became the climactic prayer of his album The Rising.

• RELATED:

• • Photos: Bruce Springsteen, The Vintage Photographs

• • Videos: 17 Great Bruce Springsteen Collaborations

• • Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Bruce Springsteen

•  

• 90

• Midlake, ‘Roscoe’

• The dream of the Seventies was alive in Denton, Texas, home to the quintet behind this meticulously layered evocation of the foreboding, psychedelic soft rock of their youth and the craftsmen of a century earlier.

• RELATED:

• • Breaking: Midlake

• • Photos: Rolling Stone's Texas Takeover

•  

• 89

• Bright Eyes, ‘Lua’

• Conor Oberst tells a sad story about a girl whose crappy life is about to get much, much worse, because she's about to fall in love with Conor Oberst. "Me, I'm not a gamble," he sings. "You can count on me to split." By the end of the song, they're stuck in druggy depression — yet they're still together, and the folkie melody gives you hope it might last until morning.

• RELATED:

• • Video: Fireworks Light Up 'Jejune Eyes' in New Bright Eyes Music Video

• • Bright Eyes Crank Guitars, Drop Rasta Knowledge on New Album

• • Video: Bright Eyes Perform Synth-Rock 'Jejune Stars' on 'Letterman'

•  

• 88

• Jay-Z, ‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.)’

• Jay-Z finally cracked the pop Top 10 with this Horatio Alger tale, narrating the rapper's rise from Brooklyn crack dealer to hip-hop's "eighth wonder of the world." The buoyant beat was supplied by fresh-faced 23-year-old producer Kanye West. All together now: H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay…

• RELATED:

• • Photos: Hip-Hop Royalty, How Jay-Z and Beyonce Run This Town

• • Photos: Jay-Z and Eminem's NYC Blowout With Kanye West, Chris Martin, Drake, and Nicki Minaj

• • Jay-Z on What Makes a Classic Track

•  

• 87

• The Knife, ‘Heartbeats’

• Two mysterious Swedish siblings make romantic nostalgia sound futuristic with blocky neon-hued synths, electronic steel drum fills and a vocal performance that's yearning yet weirdly alien.

• RELATED:

• • The Decade in Rolling Stone Covers: 2000 – 2009

• • The Best Music of the Decade: Inside the Ballots

• ​

• 86

• Aaliyah, ‘Try Again’

• ​

• The Dirty Projectors, ‘Stillness Is the Move’

• ​

• The Clipse, ‘Grindin”

• The Gossip, ‘Standing in the Way of Control’

• P!nk, ‘Get The Party Started’

• Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, ‘Gone Gone Gone’

• The Everly Brothers recorded the original version in 1964, but it was the chemistry between Plant's urgent gasps and Krauss's bluegrass coo that made their stripped-down rockabilly remake catch fire.

• RELATED:

• • Robert Plant Opens Up About Led Zeppelin Reunion, Failed Follow-Up With Alison Krauss

• • Photos: Rarely Seen Led Zeppelin Photos From "Good Times, Bad Times"

• • Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Robert Plant

•  

• 78

• LCD Soundsystem, ‘Daft Punk is Playing at My House

• A 30-something shlub entertains the ultimate fantasy of every techno-loving suburban kid over a whiplash rhythm scheme. Why? Because eight times out of 10, great pop is bottled adolescence.

• RELATED:

• • Rob Sheffield: LCD Soundsystem Pull Out the Stops for Epic Farewell Show

• • Video: Muppets Perform LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yrself Clean" in Unofficial Video

• ​

• 77

• Dixie Chicks, ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’

• In which Natalie Maines and company, erstwhile Nashville darlings, lash out at the country music establishment that spurned them for having the temerity to criticize George W. Bush. Revenge is a dish best served cold – with stirring three-part harmonies and rocking Rick Rubin production.

• RELATED:

• • Video: Watch the Court Yard Hounds Perform Live

• • Photos: Rock & Roll Moms

•  

• 76

• Madonna, ‘Hung Up’

• Arcade Fire, ‘Rebellion (Lies)’

• TV On the Radio, ‘Wolf Like Me’

• Queens of the Stone Age, ‘No One Knows’

• Kings of Leon, ‘Use Somebody’

• Justice, ‘D.A.N.C.E.’

• Arctic Monkeys, ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor’

• Santigold, ‘L.E.S. Artistes’

• Coldplay, ‘Viva La Vida’

• Wilco, ‘Jesus, Etc.’

• Madonna, ‘Music’

• Green Day, ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’

• U2, ‘Vertigo’

• Lil Wayne, ‘A Milli’

• Alicia Keys, ‘Fallin”

• Jet, ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’

• Beyoncé, ‘Irreplaceable’

• The Strokes, ‘Hard to Explain’

• In which the saviors of New York rock perfect their attack: two interlocking guitars; one whip-cracking rhythm section; and a gloriously louche frontman sneering at the rubes: "Raised in Carolina/I'm not like that." Beneath the torrid groove, you can practically hear the squeak of black leather on denim.

• RELATED:

• • Video: Elvis Costello Joins the Strokes Onstage

• • Video: The Strokes Reveal New Album Details at Bonnaroo 2011

• • The Strokes, Elegantly Wasted: Rolling Stone's 2003 Cover Story

•  

• 58

• The White Stripes, ‘Fell In Love With a Girl’

• Love, Jack White style: On this 2001 single — a key moment in the garage-rock revival — White's completely smitten, howling about her red curls over a ragged guitar groove that sounds like a rusty Impala barreling through a bad part of Detroit. Jack's warped blues genius is evident; so is Meg's asymmetrical bounce. Together the pair would make more popular songs, but none this exuberant.

• RELATED:

• • The White Stripes, Reluctant Rock & Roll Saviors: Rolling Stone's 2002 Feature

• • Photos: The Many Guises of Jack White

• • Jack White on Jack White: Rolling Stone's 2005 Cover Story

•  

• 57

• The Shins, ‘New Slang’

• The song Natalie Portman told Zach Braff would change his life (see Garden State) is a sweet ballad of what might've been, but wasn't. "I'm looking in on the good life I might be doomed never to find" nails a generational mindset like a baby T-shirt slogan.

• RELATED:

• • The Shins Reflect on Success

•  

• BERGEN/REDFERNS

• 56

• Radiohead, ‘Idioteque’

• The band go cyborg on this vision of life during wartime, all tricky digitized beats and ghostly drones, with Thom Yorke insisting, "We're not scaremongering/This is really happening." They weren't – it was.

• RELATED:

• • Photos: Fifteen Years of Radiohead, From 'Pablo Honey' to 'In Rainbows'

• • Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Radiohead's 'Kid A'

• • Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Radiohead

•  

• 55

• OutKast, ‘Ms. Jackson’

• Inspired by Andre 3000's beef with the mother of one-time girlfriend Erykah Badu, OutKast's first Number One hit is the funniest, catchiest thing they ever did. Over a head-snapping beat that quotes Wagner's wedding march, Dre and Big Boi rap hyper-fluidly about cheating girlfriends and custody wars, delivering a chorus that's both P-Funk and totally pop. Scores of white sorority girls had no choice but to sing along.

• RELATED:

• • Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: OutKast's 'Stankonia'

•  

• 54

• Coldplay, ‘The Scientist’

• Chris Martin apologizes in Technicolor on an indelible, slow-burn piano ballad, all laser-guided falsetto and earworm melody. Dramatic empathy played as an Olympic sport.

• RELATED:

• • Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Coldplay's 'A Rush of Blood to the Head'

• • Photos: Coldplay Rock 5,000 Fans at London Free Show

• • Video: Coldplay Frontman Chris Martin Talks to Rolling Stone

•  

• 53

• The Rapture, ‘House of Jealous Lovers’

• More cowbell! With this cowbell-propelled banger, Brooklyn’s the Rapture – with help from production genius James Murphy – introduced hipster wallflowers to the pleasures of shaking their butts, and made dance-punk the new It Sound of urban bohemia.

• RELATED:

• • The Decade in Rolling Stone Covers: 2000 – 2009

• • Photos: The Decade in Music

•  

• 52

• Christina Aguilera, ‘Beautiful’

• The apex of opera-pop. Or is it Oprah-pop: a magnificently schmaltzy anthem of female survival and self-esteem, delivered with full-fathom force by the bottle-blond with the biggest voice.

• RELATED:

• • Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time: Christina Aguilera

• • Photos: Pop Divas on the Cover of Rolling Stone

•  

• 51

• D’Angelo, ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’

2010's

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2020's

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