My 300 Favorite Alternative Songs of the Nineties, #251-300

Have you guys seen NatGeo’s little mini-series documentaries about the decades of the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties? They are all pretty good, but I always felt as though the series covering the Nineties had the best subtitle, The Nineties: The Last Great Decade. They may have been right. At least, it may have been for music.

During the Nineties, music was exploding all over. The music industry was raking in the big bucks from the sales of CDs, which where pennies to make but sold for $12-15. So, the artists were signing huge contracts, then going out on the road to make even larger piles of money. Never were rock stars going loom larger than in the Nineties. Then, just as the decade was coming to an end and TRL was breaking boy bands and big-voiced Lolitas, Napster popped the bubble.

But, let’s honor the rich alternative nation of artists and their brilliant songs. The alternative music of the Nineties was diverse, from grunge to power pop, alternative rap to nu-metal. Here are the first 50 songs in My 300 Favorite Alternative Songs of the Nineties. Let’s do it!

251. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – “Happy” (1991)

252. Toadies – “Possom Kingdom” (1994)

253. U2 – “The Fly” (1991)

254. Suede – “Metal Mikey” (1991)

255. The Rentals – “Friends of P” (1995)

256. Massive Attack – “Karmacoma” (1995)

257. Suzanne Vega – “In Liverpool” (1992)

258. Manic Street Preachers – “If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next” (1998)

259. Alanis Morissette – “Hand in My Pocket” (1995)

260. Lenny Kravitz – “Are You Gonna Go My Way” (1995)

261. That Dog – “Never Say Never” (1997)

262. The Cardigans – Lovefool (1996)

263. No Doubt – “Spiderwebs” (1995)

264. Beck – “Jackass” (1996)

265. Depeche Mode – “Walking in My Shoes” (1993)

266. blink-182 – “What’s My Age Again?” (1999)

267. Nirvana – “Pennyroyal Tea” (1993)

268. They Might Be Giants – “Birdhouse in Your Soul” (1990)

269. Cake – “The Distance” (1996)

270. Smashing Pumpkins – “Tonight, Tonight” (1995)

271. Beastie Boys – “Root Down” (1994)

272. The Cranberries – “Linger” (1993)

273. Republica – “Ready to Go” (1996)

274. Sugar Ray – “Every Morning” (1999)

275. Sheryl Crow – “Leaving Las Vegas” (1994)

276. Rusted Root – “Send Me on My Way” (1995)

277. U2 – “The Sweetest Thing” (1998)

278. Wilco – “Misunderstood” (1996)

279. Marilyn Manson – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (1995)

280. Silverchair – “Tomorrow” (1995)

281. Tal Bachman – “She’s So High” (1999)

282. Lisa Germano – “Geek the Girl” (1994)

283. Semisonic – “Closing Time” (1998)

284. Natalie Imbruglia – “Torn” (1997)

285. Vertical Horizon – “Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)” (1999)

286. Limp Bizkit – “Nookie” (1999)

287. Adam Ant – “Wonderful” (1995)

288. Jesus Jones – “Right Here, Right Now” (1991)

289. Joan Osborne – “One of Us” (1995)

290. Meredith Brooks – “Bitch” (1997)

291. The Presidents of the United States of America – “Lump” (1995)

292. EMF – “Unbelievable” (1991)

293. Paula Cole – “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” (1997)

294. Harvey Danger – “Flagpole Sitta” (1997)

295. Len – “Steal My Sunshine” (1999)

296. Dishwalla – “Counting Blue Cars” (1996)

297. Natalie Merchant – “Carnival” (1995)

298. Green Jelly – “Three Little Pigs” (1990)

299. Goo Goo Dolls – “Name” (1995)

300. “Weird Al” Yankovic – “Alternative Polka” (1996)

Yes, you saw this correctly! “Weird Al” is really in this countdown. This was probably was a lifetime achievement award, but so what! He has been brilliant his whole career. And, what better way to honor Alternative Music than with a polka medley of alternative songs by the master parodist? I could not come up with a better way to get this decade rolling. Until tomorrow, follow the words of the prophet Casey Kasem, “keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”