Ever since the beginning of 2023, I’ve been in my 90s girl era. No shortage of Fiona Apple, Radiohead, etc. I love the music of the time and the emotion that tons of artists were conveying in their songs. Here’s my top 10 songs on my 90s playlist:
1. Carnival by Natalie merchant
“Carnival” is one of 10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant’s solo songs, and her best in my opinion! “Carnival” is funky, with rock undertones as Natalie sings about being confused and lost in her life. She sings about what many other 90s women do: lamenting about their confusion, their deep emotions, and their heartbreak in the catchiest way possible. I listen to this song literally everyday since discovering it and I hope you’re just as obsessed as I am!
2. Paper bag by fiona apple
“Paper Bag” hits unlike any other heartbreak song you’ll find. Fiona Apple never fails to hit the nail on the head when it comes to men and their antics. My favorite line from this song is when she switches from her line in the chorus of “I thought it was a bird, but it was just a paper bag” to “I thought he was a man, but he was just a little boy”. The pain in her voice is audible, and you can tell she really feels the lost hope she’s singing about. We’ve all been there with a boy, where our hopes are high and he feels like the man of our dreams only to turn out to be a total letdown. If you’re in that place, please cry your heart out to “Paper Bag” and feel its magnitude!
3. Subterranean homesick alien by Radiohead
“Subterranean Homesick Alien”, along with a few other songs on “OK Computer” give Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” vibes. With the slow, spacey first 2 minutes leading up to heavy guitar and drums, lulling back into psychedelic sounds and leading back to more heavy instrumental I really feel like I’ve journeyed back to the 70s. But Radiohead always has this ability to put a sort of dystopian touch that “Dark Side of the Moon” doesn’t necessarily have. I can tell the band is heavily influenced by psychedelic rock but is also drawing on the Nu Metal of the time, giving this album an extremely unique sound which I see highlighted in Subterranean Homesick Alien.
4. Lover you should’ve come over by jeff buckley
For real, the day my roommate showed me this song my life was changed forever. Jeff Buckley created one of the most beautiful love ballads I’ve ever heard, with so much pain and yearning encompassed in these 6 minutes. With lyrics like “Too young to hold on/ And too old to just break free and run”, this is truly a song that never gets old, never gets skipped, and always gets played all the way through. His vocals are absolutely hypnotizing and this song puts me in a trance from his powerful emotions he conveys throughout the entire song. A MUST listen song for every 90s playlist.
5. Thru The eyes of ruby by the smashing Pumpkins
It wouldn’t be a 90s playlist without The Smashing Pumpkins. An alternative to their more popular “1979” from the same album, “Thru the Eyes of Ruby” is a true 90s rock moment. Similar to “Subterranean Homesick Alien”, it goes between these psychedelic moments to more instrumental rock with heavy guitar solos that make you feel like the main character blasting this with the windows down.
6. Closer to fine by the indigo girls
This is the ultimate pick-me-up song for when you need a brighter perspective. This song never fails to cheer me up and has been on my playlists for years. It’s great lyrics and instrumentals highlighting feelings of being lost that we all know and experience, but they give us a more optimistic way to look at our struggles. That the more we stop associating with our pain and stop trying to figure things out, the closer we’ll be to fine!
7. Untouchable face by ani difranco
This is a song of pure breakup hatred, and I love it. Over everything, my favorite part of this song is the lyrical genius. She says “F*ck you/And your untouchable face/F*ck you/For existing in the first place/And who am I?/ That I should be vying for your touch?/Said, Who am I?/I bet you can’t even tell me that much”. Like I seriously feel bad for this guy Ani Difranco wrote this about because she went off! But considering these lyrics and the harsh words, he probably deserved it. But it was for the better because we got this song out of it, and like many 90s women, her words about men still ring true today.
8. Give Me one reason by tracy chapman
It was hard to pick just one Tracy Chapman song for this article, but this song encompasses her true talent. Tracy is always making the audience feel something real, but when I listen to her songs I just wanna dance around. I don’t know how she does it! There’s not even much to say about her because her music is just good- the instrumental, the vocals, the lyrics, they never fail. If this song isn’t on your playlist already, it should be.
9. Otherside by the red hot chili peppers
This was 1999 so it barely makes the cut BUT this entire album is too good to leave out. Honestly, I’ve been a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan since I was young and my mom would play it all the time so I downloaded it on my little iPod nano. The drums and the guitar have always been so addicting to me- once I listen to one RHCP song another favorite is immediately queued. If I had to pick one, it’d be “Otherside” because of the way it flows through the entire song. It’s so easy to listen to and is a little more calm than some other RHCP songs, at least at the start.
10. COUNTERFEIT by limp bizkit
OK- I’ll admit that the rest of the songs are a little more easy listening rock than this is. But we all get angry, don’t we?? And nothing is better than getting your rage out by blasting this at full volume. I didn’t get it the first time I heard it, but my friend is a huge Limp Bizkit fan and has slowly converted me too.There’s truly nothing like the feeling of blasting metal in the car and the energy in the music gives you goosebumps. If you’re not usually a metal fan, I highly suggest this song as it changed my mind about Nu Metal all together.