Top 10 '90s Songs That Defined Our Childhood

The Atlanta, Georgia duo released their first single, “Jump” in 1992 when they were just 12 and 13 years old. These two went from unknown to having the third best-selling song of the year all before they could drive. So, not only did “Jump” define our childhoods in the 90s, it defined the childhood of Kris Kross as well. And not only did this track make us all jump, jump. But talk to someone who came of age in the early 90s and there’s a pretty good chance they tried wearing their clothes backward as well - at least once.

Two of the biggest R&B stars of the 90s were Brandy and Monica. Both mononymous teen stars had made a name for themselves with their debut albums, but “The Boy Is Mine,” which they both released on their 1998 sophomore efforts, blew them up. The song was huge - taking home a Grammy and earning a Video of the Year nomination at the MTV Video Music Awards. You couldn’t escape it on the radio or on MTV. Not that we wanted to escape it. Whether you were team Brandy or team Monica, at the end of the 90s, we were all team “The Boy Is Mine”.

Talk about starting the decade off with a bang. On January 13th, 1990 MC Hammer dropped “U Can't Touch This” in the United States, and for good or bad, the song defined a decade for all those who grew up in it. We couldn’t all pull off the side–to-side Hammer dance. But all these decades later that’s the first thing we do when we hear this song (often to the dismay of the younger generation around us). And while we’re on the subject of 1990 hip-hop, we have to stop, collaborate and listen to, “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice.

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote “Good Riddance” as an angry song about his girlfriend who left and moved to Ecuador. But while the song might not be about happy memories for Armstrong, the track is seeped in happy reminiscence for those of us who grew up listening to it in the late 90s. Most of us can remember at least one sweet, happy-cry video montage with this song playing over it - whether it was an anniversary, a graduation, or even the end of “the clip show” episode of “Seinfeld” that aired before the finale.

We have The Bayside Boys to thank for this mid-90s earworm. You see, Los del Rio released the original “Macarena” in 1993 to some success. But it wasn’t until those producers from Miami, The Bayside Boys, got their mixing little hands on it a couple of years later that the song became the international sensation it was. To put the song’s success in perspective, VH1 called Los del Rio the “No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time.” Few weddings, or nights out at the club, were complete without a round of inebriated “Macarena” line dancing. This was the “Chicken Dance” of our childhood.

Is there any way this one couldn’t be on our list? By 1998, “Titanic” became the highest-grossing movie of all time and Celine Dion’s song from the film was the best-selling single of the year. And even if we weren’t one of the 18 million people who bought the single, we still heard the song on the radio and all of the multiple times we went to see “Titanic” in the theater. Dion was the Queen of the world in the late 90s and “My Heart Will Go On” was the reason why.

Not only did “No Scrubs” define our childhood, but it also defined the dating lives of everyone who came of age in the late 90s and early 2000s. TLC’s song was such a hit in 1999 that the term “scrubs” has since ingrained itself into our popular lexicon. What millennial woman hasn’t warned a friend, or been admonished herself, for dating a potential “scrub.” And not only did TLC warn us about chasing after scrubs, but earlier in the decade they’d reached another musical high point telling us not to go chasing “Waterfalls.”

Much of our 90s childhood was spent either loving or hating boy bands. But regardless of which side of the fence you stood on, there was no escaping the music. And 1997 epitomized that with the release of NSYNC’s first album and Backstreet Boys’ second - featuring the hit tracks “Tearin' Up My Heart” and “Everybody (Backstreet's Back)” respectively. But a couple of years later, as the decade was coming to a close, the Backstreet Boys returned with their signature song, “I Want It That Way.” And we’ll admit that, for a while, that song was our fire, our one desire.

What song was the best-selling track of 1999? What tune was ranked 205 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time? What track was voted the number one video of the 90s by Billboard? The answer to all those questions is “...Baby One More Time” - the song that Rolling Stone called the greatest debut single ever. Before all the tabloids, the head shaving, and the hashtag ‘FreeBritney,’ there was “...Baby One More Time” and we can’t imagine what our childhoods would have been like without it.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Livin' la Vida Loca” (1999), Ricky Martin
We’ll Never Forget Our Crazy ‘90s Life

“MMMBop” (1997), Hanson
The Song Reached Number One in 12 Countries, and in Our Hearts, in 1997

“Wonderwall” (1995), Oasis
Growing Up in the ‘90s, You Either Played This Song on the Guitar or Had a Friend Who Did

“Baby Got Back” (1992), Sir Mix-a-Lot
Oh My God Becky, This Song Defined Our Childhood in the ‘90s

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991), Nirvana
A Smell We Will Never Wash Off

The Spice Girls told us that if we wanted their future we had to forget their past, but we can’t. We can’t because their past is so intertwined with ours. Released in 1996, “Wannabe” and the group were an international sensation. From the colorful outfits to the platform shoes to the girl power attitude - the Spice Girls were everywhere for the latter half of the decade. And this was the song that started it all. It’s also the song that gave the world “zigazig, ah”. That’s a win-win in our books.