Every decade produces songs people wish they could forget. Here’s the countdown to the worst songs of the 90s, according to readers polled by Rolling Stone:
10. “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes - I’m obsessed with lead singer Linda Perry’s voice and unique style in this video, but the song lacked a lot in the lyrical content department.
9. “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred – This one-hit wonder is the anthem of strip clubs everywhere to this day.
8. “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men -I’m ashamed to say that I still know all the lyrics to this song, and will randomly bark it out at the most inappropriate times.
7. “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion -This might just be the most overplayed movie theme song ever, although we shouldn’t be surprised considering that Titanic is the second-highest grossing movie of all time.
6. “MmmBop” by Hanson -The cutest boy band of brothers to ever grace our heart-filled notebooks (come on, they’re way cuter than the Jonas Brothers).
5. “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba – This is the 90s drunk college kids anthem, mainly because of its repetitive nature and reference to multiple alcoholic drinks.
4. “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice -Who can forget the original white rapper? He had great style, cool dance moves, and his song was all about him.
3. “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus -I’m not sure which is more famous: the lyrics of this song or the awesome “business in the front, party in the back” mullet that Billy Ray sported in the video.
2. “Macarena” by Los Del Rio -The song that tried to draw everyone in the dancing scene, even though we didn’t ask them to do it.
1. “Barbie Girl” by Aqua – Possibly the most inappropriate lyrics ever written about a child’s toy.
What songs would you add to the list?
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daffodil / 1615 posts
This song isn’t from the ’90s, but it’s probably the worst song ever written, recorded, and made into a music video:
Alcohol by Millionaires
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I’d add “Unbreak My Heart,” by Toni Braxton. That song is just…ugh. I can’t stand it.
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I really like “What’s Up”
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i’ll give them most of these, BUT MMMBOP IS A TIMELESS CLASSIC
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Sod Rolling Stone; like most critics, they’d be better off zipping it. I love half the stuff in there.
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What??!? These were the BEST songs of the 90s.
rose / 834 posts
I used to be annoyed at how Vanilla Ice “ripped off” Queen’s “Under Pressure” bassline, but as an avid electronic music listener… I now know that as “sampling” and I fully support it
daisy / 599 posts
Rolling Stone is a bunch of douche bags anyway.
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I GET KNOCKED DOWN, BUT I GET UP AGAIN
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i can’t believe.
Celine Dion is on it.
and Aqua. LOL
I used to love that song when I was a kid, not knowing the lyrics exactly. but now that I read the lyrics NOW, it’s hilarious.
sunflower / 255 posts
haha Mmbop was epic..
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i absolutely LOVE i’m too sexy, mmmbop, tubthumping, ice ice baby, and barbie girl.
sunflower / 296 posts
I still haven’t gotten sick of Tubthumping. Mostly because now I know what “Tubthumping” was supposed to be. Hint: they call a pitcher of beer a tub.
orchid / 193 posts
I’ve only heard a few of these and I grew up in the 90s… of course, I listened to country..soo… I am highly offended that Achy Breaky Heart was on here. That was one of my favorite songs as a kid! :O
dahlia / 2382 posts
Rolling Stone isnt as good as it used to be anyway. I love all these songs! And I’m very mad My Heart will go on is even on any worst list!! That song won like a bajillion awards, is covered frequently, not to mention it broke records. Need we not mention it’s attached to the highest grossing movie in the history of cinema?!
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Well, this is bullshit.
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Psht, these were fucking EPIC songs. Come on now. =P
My childhood wouldn’t've been complete without these songs…!
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hahaha
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Hey, I actually like most of those songs!
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I’m not sure why but I picture Katy Perry doing a cover of “Barbie Girl” sometime in the future.
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@labelledesreves@xanga - haha, me too!
rose / 903 posts
Yeah, they played the shit out of “My Heart Will Go On”… but that’s because it’s so good.
sunflower / 338 posts
Aww but I love “MMMBop”. And “My Heart Will Go On” won an Oscar, btw.
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How many times are they going to make these lists? A million with the same top ten? I disagree with Celine Dion.
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The top 10 worst songs of any decade aren’t published, because they’re terrible. Well, until the internet, and Rebecca Black.
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I love who let the dogs out, I just boogie to that. And plus, the worst decade for music isn’t the 90s but the 80s. Trust me sister. I know.
Sam
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Ahem – these songs MADE the 90′s! The decade wouldn’t be the same without them.
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lame. this is a really bad list. these are SUPER popular songs from the 90′s..and while yes, some of them may be pretty bad..but come on, there were WAY worse songs..how about ANYTHING by ace of base, that “mmm mmm mmm mmm” song by crash test dummies (lol), anything from that shitty pseudo-electronic band the real mccoy, helllooooo wilson phillips anyone?! amy grant?! maybe there is just too much terrible music from the 90′s..too much to compile a top 10 list. BUT-for all of the BAD music, there sure is a lot of awesome music to go along with it!
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@diamond_daffodil@xanga - OMG..lol, agreed! HATE that song! so why do i know every single word to it..?! ugh! :s
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I resent this. I WILL BLAST BARBIE GIRL IN MY CAR IF I WANT, ROLLING STONE! *shakes fist*
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I’m sure there’s worse from the 90′s than Tubthumping. :/
Anyway, I know that Rolling Stone changed their minds on this, but they also called Weezer’s Pinkerton one of the worst albums of all time. Sometimes they kind of miss the mark when it comes to musical quality and reviews.
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Do You Believe in Life After Love- Cher. hahahahha. (: I still sing it.
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Now I feel a little ashamed as I grew up dancing to many of these songs as a toddler or young child.
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@ShimmerBodyCream@xanga - YOU AIN’T NEVER GUNNA KEEP ME DOWN.
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I will have Who Let the Dogs Out and Ice, Ice Baby, and Barbie Girl stuck in my head for a week now. My Heart Will Go On is still heartbreakingly beautiful.
I hadn’t thought about/heard about the Hanson brothers in ages. I remember having a cassette, their first I believe, but I don’t remember their music. There’s nothing wrong with Tubthumping!
Ahh, but Achy Breaky Heart tugs at my nostalgic heartstrings. I’ll still get up and do the Macarena with the song playing in my head, lol.
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TOTALLY DISAGREE.what’s up is one of my favourite songs!my heart will go on is a classic.macarena has more decent lyrics than most 90′s songs.this is not even close to the worst 90′s songs.
rose / 791 posts
@the_Undercloud@xanga - hahah oh my God I used to be OBSESSED with that song.
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I still have Aqua on my mp3! “My heart will go on?” are you kidding me???? They played that songs 90 times on the radio in 95′ so it couldn’t have been that bad plus, I loved it. Yeah, Manson sucks…..
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Yeah, Rolling Stone. There’s a magazine I read.
cherry blossom / 36 posts
gigglez, number seven does suck, but what’s going on? That’s a cool song! but achey brakey heart, yeah that’s bad
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@ask_ashleyyy@xanga - actually we should et there two groups together, they seem perfect for each other.
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@ask_ashleyyy@xanga - I nominate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_DT1Vbxak as the worst song ever. in any context lol
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um i kind of (secretly) love all these songs
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I think they mean “Worst Hits of the 90′s” because the worst songs, no one would know. It’s not like we had youtube where bad songs can go viral easily.
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i like hanson lOl and im 17. i also like nsync and backstreetboys *kinda 2 bsb lOl but nsyncs 1st is a classic. i also love christian music like plus 1 natalie grant steven curtis chapman
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These are far from the worst, but the worst that were popular… Which in many cases was partly due to their quality.
Oh, & above Hanson or Jonas, what about Proclaimers?
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c’mon man, i love most of those songs.
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STILL LOVE ‘BARBIE GIRL’ TO THIS DAY. ‘My Heart Will Go On’ is too freaking heartfelt to be awful, ‘I’m Too Sexy’ is too tongue-in-cheek to be awful, and ‘Ice Ice Baby’ grew on me after Glee tried to give it a comeback. Plus, it’s spent over a decade being made fun of, it’s finally fun again
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I really like “What’s Up!”
and I really AM too sexy for my shirt.
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“My heart will go on” doesn’t belong on this list and seriously harms Rolling Stone’s image to say such a thing. They also heavily overplayed “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston but I don’t see them putting that on here because it was overplayed. Just because they’re not Rock songs doesn’t make them bad. Rolling Stone is just mad because people like Celine Dion gets far more attention than Rock performers.
Celine Dion is the highest selling singer of all time, to say her songs are bad is just naive and closed minded, her and Whitney Houston are the greatest female singers of all time.