"Tonight, Tonight" is the best song of the 90s.

[schild]

Phildo and I were in a diner at 2am listening to 90s music and reminiscing on how utterly shitty it is. We came to conclusion that Smashing Pumpkin's Tonight, Tonight is the best song of the 90s bar none in every category. Music, Lyrics, Production, Video, everything. Mostly because we couldn't come up with something better. Can someone help us find something better? Please?

And if you say anything from Nirvana, you're not only wrong, but you're an asshole.

Other contenders:
Crossroads - Bone Thugs
Glycerine - Bush
Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
Everlong - Foo Fighters
Regulators - Warren G
Changes - Tupac
That Thing You Do - The Oneders
Kiss from a Rose - Seal
Losing My Religion - REM
One Headlight - Wallflowers
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden (stipulations: Was recorded 5 years later, not in Seattle, and not by amateurs, and had more Kim Thayil)

Help us. Surely the 90s isn't as horrible as we're remembering. Or is it?

Out of personal masturbatory interests, I'll add Once in a Lifetime - Wolfsheim.

[Azaroth]

The 90's are a tricky thing to gauge. Plus, much of it has been ruined by being overplayed in bars for many, many years.

However, when you get down to it, it's infinitely better than the shit that's being put out now.

Smashing Pumpkins is fairly solid. You also have RATM. Tupac has a million good songs, so it's hard to just list one and leave it there.

Plus, there are some hilariously bad songs from the 90's. How could a Jackass movie ever be made without the 90's.

I hope you didn't just list Seal, though. You know, unless there are strewn rosepetals and gay sex going on in a room.

[schild]

No no, we're not talking about artists.

Single songs.

We're looking for a single song better than Tonight, Tonight. Something where the total package is better.

[Azaroth]

OIC.

[Phildo]

What the fuck is your problem with Seal anyway?  He's the fucking man.

[Azaroth]

If you happen to be fucking a man.

[schild]

Look, I get not liking Seal. I get not liking pop/R&B - I don't. But Kiss from a Rose is a pretty great song. That said, why are you fixating on that INSTEAD OF OFFERING SUGGESTIONS, THX.

[Azaroth]

Well, I'll be honest. A lot of 90's music makes me want to stab myself in the fucking face after spending many, many years in cheap bars getting far too drunk. I could probably suggest a lot of things, but since I have a somewhat irrational hate for much of it, it might be difficult.

Long story short would be that I stopped being useful in this thread somewhere before "OIC".

[schild]

Well, I'll be honest. A lot of 90's music makes me want to stab myself in the fucking face after spending many, many years in cheap bars getting far too drunk.

This is where we started actually. Trying to find actual decent music in the 90s.

[Azaroth]

90's movies would be easier.

Adam Sandler.

Which one?

Who cares. They're all the exact same movie. But they're GREAT.

[stu]

I'd pick Bullet With Butterfly Wings or 1979 before Tonight, Tonight. Closer from NIN beats them all. Awesome song, badass vid.

Also, O.P.P. from Naughty By Nature. I still get a kick out of that song.

[FatuousTwat]

listening to 90s music and reminiscing on how utterly shitty it is.

So what decade sets the bar?

[Xuri]

Phildo and I were in a diner at 2am listening to 90s music and reminiscing on how utterly shitty it is

Hm strange. I like 90s music, for instance:

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Californication
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Scar Tissue
Oasis - Wonderwall
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Rage Against the Machine - Wake Up
Marilyn Manson - Rock is Dead
Green Day - Basket Case
Rammstein - Du Hast
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Metallica('s version of) - Whiskey in the Jar
Rob Zombie - Dragula
Also, any Nirvana song. 

Then again, I like most 80s music as well. And most 70s music. And most 60s music. And most 50s music. And so forth. My taste in music is so bland and shitty I pretty much enjoy everything you can throw at me.

[Ozzu]

Alice in Chains - I Stay Away

Greatness on all levels.

[Hindenburg]

Prodigy: Breathe
            Smack my Bitch Up
Fatboy Slim: Rockafeller Skank
                  Praise You
Michael Jackson: Black or White

[Falconeer]

Easily Sabotage by Beastie Boys.

[NowhereMan]

Prodigy: Smack my Bitch Up

Yes.

[IainC]

Faithless - Insomnia
Death in Vegas - Aisha
Underworld - King of Snake
Fields of the Nephilim - Sumerland (What Dreams May Come)
Doctor Jeep - Sisters of Mercy
One Way - The Levellers
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction

There was loads of ace music in the 90s. Get tae fuck.

[Velorath]

No no, we're not talking about artists.

Single songs.

We're looking for a single song better than Tonight, Tonight. Something where the total package is better.

When you say "single songs" are you referring to singles that had mainstream airplay (as your list would seem to suggest)?

[Tale]

The most awesome, timeless thing I have heard this week is Daddy's Gone - Glasvegas.

As for the 1990s, it was a decade that US and UK musical tastes headed in different directions. Schild's list to me seems very US centric. I would have to include some stuff like this:

There She Goes - The La's
A Design For Life - Manic Street Preachers (won't play unless you click through to YouTube)
Everybody in the place - The Prodigy (because you can't have the 1990s without the rave scene, and this was what 1992 sounded like for me)

[Velorath]

Eric Clapton - Layla (acoustic) - 1992
Duran Duran - Ordinary World - 1993
Aerosmith - Don't Want to Miss a Thing - 1998
Bilnd Melon - No Rain - 1993
Cranberries - Zombie - 1994
The Cure - Friday I'm in Love - 1992
Queen - The Show Must Go On - 1991

Pick your favorite song from Garbage, Green Day, No Doubt, Offspring

I could go on for a long time but it feels somewhat pointless.

[FatuousTwat]

Aerosmith - Don't Want to Miss a Thing

I want to vomit every time I hear that song.

[Chenghiz]

It really depends on whether you're talking about what got radio play or everything. A lot of good stuff got ignored by the radio (or my town's radio, anyway). Great singles off the top of my head:

Cake - The Distance
Bjork - Bachelorette
Radiohead - really anything off OK Computer
anything from Massive Attack's Mezzanine

[Aez]

Hum, Black hole sun is absolutely terrible.  It's the first song I deleted from my winamp list back in the days.

From the suggestions I would have gone with :
Losing My Religion - REM

Then Chengiz reminded me Ok computer is from the 90s... (I guess I'm officially old now)
After some research, Creep is not even from Ok computer.

My pic :
Creep - Radionhead (Pablo Honey, 1992)

[Tale]

More suggestions:
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Paranoid Android - Radiohead
Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
Killing In The Name Of - Rage Against The Machine
Groove Is In The Heart - Dee Lite
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) - De La Soul
Justified & Ancient (Stand By The JAMS) - The KLF

Australians might pick: No Aphrodisiac - The Whitlams. Personally of Aussie music in the 1990s I would pick this: Heavy Heart - You Am I

[Tale]

OK I've decided. My nomination for song of the 1990s is: Lightning Crashes - Live

[Bunk]

Phildo and I were in a diner at 2am listening to 90s music and reminiscing on how utterly shitty it is

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Metallica('s version of) - Whiskey in the Jar
Rob Zombie - Dragula

Dude, you started well, and then... ugh. Turn in your heavy metal fanclub membership card.

[Baldrake]

I may be an asshole, but I'm not wrong: Come as you are - Nirvana.

Or...
Vasoline - Stone temple pilots
Zero - Smashing pumpkins
Give it away now - Red hot chili peppers

[Signe]

My list would have been closer to IainC's with a few Tale thrown in. Prodigy and Radiohead would have made it, too.  Nothing much from the original list would have made it.  Sorry. There wouldn't have been any Smashing Pumpkins on it at all.  Not that I don't like them, I do, just not enough to include any of their songs as one of my tops on any short song list.  They would have maybe made it on a really, really long song list though!   

Ittu and IainC are stoners.  So naughty.  

[Nevermore]

A lot of good stuff here.  For a specific song with a great video, I'll go with Radiohead - Just

[Bunk]

Sorry Schild, first thing that came to mind was:

 - Smells like Teen Spirit

I'll add a few of my faves:
 - Losing my Religion, REM
 - You oughta Know, Alanis Morissette
 - I think I'm Paranoid, Garbage
 - Love Me, the Cardigans
 - Thunder Kiss '65, White Zombie
 - Seether, Veruca Salt

[Tale]

Every time I play the following song, somebody says "I like this, is it a new REM album?" It's from 1996.

How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us - REM


edit - Falconeer's triphop mention (Portishead) reminded me of Tricky.

Black Steel - Tricky (Public Enemy cover, but very different from the original).

[Falconeer]

I think too much stuff up there is just "personal favourite" material. Some don't even have a proper videoclip, or a terrible one anyway.

My personal faves list would be huge and obscure, I guess. Still, I feel like adding a couple more songs that are definitely suitable for the award.

Where the Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue
Glory Box - Portishead

Finally, Wonderwall - Oasis. I hated it, and the video sucks. But boy that was huge, wasn't it in the US too?

[JWIV]

I got nothing of real use here - I grew up without MTV (lived in the sticks without cable), so can't comment on total packages.  During the 90's though, I was mostly listening to The Connells, R.E.M, The Cranberries, Belly, and Velocity Girl,  which is to say jangly guitars and chick bands.

[Nevermore]

I think too much stuff up there is just "personal favourite" material. Some don't even have a proper videoclip, or a terrible one anyway.

My personal faves list would be huge and obscure, I guess. Still, I feel like adding a couple more songs that are definitely suitable for the award.

Where the Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue
Glory Box - Portishead

Finally, Wonderwall - Oasis. I hated it, and the video sucks. But boy that was huge, wasn't it in the US too?

Wonderwall is like fingernails on a chalkboard.  It's just a hideous song.

There are tons of songs from the 90s that I love but most didn't make it very high up the charts.  I love Portishead (first two albums, the 3rd is putrid), but I don't believe Glory Box was even released as a single in the US.  While popularity by no means automatically = good, to reach a consensus 'best' the song should at least be moderately popular, imo.  By the way, you linked to Numb, not Glory Box.