The Essential Songs: 1990

As the 1990s kicked off, Neil Young and Crazy Horse were still ragingly brilliant; their Ragged Glory album topped the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop Poll.  Sinead O’Connor recorded a relatively unknown Prince composition and found international fame.  Public Enemy and Sonic Youth were receiving critical raves in their respective genres and made a successful collaboration on “Kool Thing.”  Norman Quentin Cook had left the British pop band The Housemartins and was creating a new style of sampling influenced dance music with Beats International.  He would later better be known as Fatboy Slim.

All Around the World, Lisa Stansfield
 
Birdhouse in Your Soul, They Might Be Giants
 
Blue Sky Mine, Midnight Oil
 
The Dance, Garth Brooks
 
Dub Be Good to Me, Beats International
 
Epic, Faith No More
 
Everybody Everybody, Black Box
 
Farmer John, Neil Young
 
Groove Is in the Heart, Deee-Lite
 
Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart, Randy Travis
 
Heavenly Pop Hit, The Chills
 
The Humpty Dance, Digital Underground
 
I’m Free, Soup Dragons
 
Kool Thing, Sonic Youth
 
Ladies First, Queen Latifah
 
Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em, Eric B. & Rakim
 
Love Letter, Bonnie Raitt
 
No Myth, Michael Penn
 
Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O’Connor
 
The Obvious Child, Paul Simon
 
The Power, Snap!
 
Roam, The B-52s
 
Slack Motherf**ker, Superchunk
 
Tom’s Diner, DNA Featuring Suzanne Vega
 
Thunderstruck, AC/DC
 
Vogue, Madonna
 
Welcome to the Terrordome, Public Enemy
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