The growl of grunge in the '90s erased all evidence of early MTV dance hits, electronics and hairsprayed rock the '80s had to offer. On its way out, grunge and its cries of disassociation transitioned to teen pop, where the demands for love and desire came crooning out of fresh-faced artists too young to vote. And while the decade established musical acts who cemented its trajectory with their influence - many whom still enjoy success today - there were a wide array of groups who burned brightly but briefly. Some only managed to chart a song once, but don't let fleetingness fool you. Their contribution to the sound of the '90s was just as important as those who managed multiple hits. Here we celebrate the ten best one-hit wonders of the 20th century's final decade.
#10 "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinéad O'Connor (1990)
The song that makes all bald women cry, Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" was written by Prince, though its title is spelled as if written by a pauper. Slow, sad and sweeping, this 1990 cover has all the brooding of the '80s, but with a maturing turn of the decade sound. O'Connor never topped this one, and her antics didn't help, which included tearing a picture of the pope in half on "Saturday Night Live." Had it been Donald Trump's she might have just been a serial hit producer.
#9 "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix-A-Lot (1992)
![90s one hit wonders, sir mix-a-lot baby got back]()
If America didn't know that black men liked big-butted black women, that all changed in 1992. As the story goes, Sir-Mix-A-Lot was frustrated with all the skinny white bitches traipsing about Super Bowl ads, and "Baby Got Back" was his retort. Usually the rap songs that had come before celebrated bullets, bucks and booze. So this frisky beat was a breath of fresh air. Which is uncommon for anything that has to do with someone's keister.
#8 "Jump Around" - House of Pain (1992)
![90s one hit wonders, house of pain jump around]()
If we ever needed a song to jump around to it doesn't get much better than "Jump Around." It's squealing, dramatic intro signals something big to follow and what follows is just that. This is Hip Hop at its tipsy Irish best, with "Public Enemy-like" authority sung by a scrappy white Celtics fan. Everlast was his name, and while he had his own solo one-hit-wonder, this House of Pain collaboration has been getting people up on their feet since 1992.
#7 "Cannonball" - The Breeders (1993)
A tug of war between bass and guitar topped off with some screechy feedback, "Cannonball" was the ladies' answer to grunge, with some surf rock and reggae thrown in. The vocals are placid and spoken and then spark into an explosive chorus. The Breeders were a supergroup born out of female empowerment - women who had been stuck behind frontmen but now finally had a vehicle of their own to step up and take the lead. Their sound was both soft and edgy and a true complement to the new beat of the '90s. The Breeders had a fan in Kurt Cobain, who championed them until his own untimely death.
#6 "Steal My Sunshine" - Len (1999)
![90s one hit wonders, len steal my sunshine]()
Is this a '90s song? It's hard to tell because the sound is so timeless. But yes, right on the edge at 1999. It's also a party, not the brew-fueled ones coming before and after on this list, but something sleeker and sexier, and just damn happy. The alternating male/female vocals are a deliberate nod to Human League's "Don't You Want Me," but there's all sorts of genres mingled about here, resulting in one very memorable tune. Also immortalized in the sleek, sexy, damn happy film "Go's" soundtrack, the name Len may not be right on anyone's lips, but the infectious melody and so-silly lyrics certainly are.
#5 "No Rain" - Blind Melon (1993)
The song is a triumph, with simple lyrics that don't succeed in masking the heart of a troubled soul. Here inertia and depression are distilled into a burst of bright, lifting music. This is dark grunge sung with a smile full of sunshine, a contradiction that only adds to the impact of the song. If you didn't know his name, "No Rain" made loyal fans of Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon's glorious, unsettled voice. There may have been more hits in store for the band had Hoon not overdosed at the tender age of 28.
#4 "You Get What You Give" - New Radicals (1999)
![90s one hit wonders, new radicals you get what you give]()
There's passion and soul here, an epic song really, not some novelty or cast off. A desire for celebrity and all the phoniness that it brings is its subject, but singer/songwriter Gregg Alexander manages to uplift this cynical message with uncommon brightness and beauty. You don't just want to sing along to the lyrics, you want to belt them out until the neighbors call the cops. And what is significant about this song, to trivia hounds and all of us perhaps, is that it is believed to be the first time the word "frenemies" was released into mainstream popular culture.
#3 "Flagpole Sitta" - Harvey Danger (1998)
Green Day may have cornered the market on '90s songs about madness and masturbation, but major props must be given to Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta," a song title that should probably be blurred or bleeped. Intense, volatile fun, this tune puts '80s angst to shame with its wickedly wry wordplay and driving musical mania. And though we would have happily followed Harvey into whatever Danger he got us into next, no such hits arose, leaving us only to play with ourselves.
#2 "Groove is in the Heart" - Deee-Lite (1990)
![90s one hit wonders, deee-lite groove is in the heart]()
No offense to John Travolta, but this is why God created dance floors. Part funk, part hip-hop, with a chill rap towards the end, "Groove is in the Heart" took a '70s sensibility and flipped it with a '90s spin. Its psychedelic beat and frenzied frolic could have ushered in a new retro sound revolution to define the decade, but the weight of grunge's flannel was way too heavy. Without actually going pop, this groove is poppin', shaking up the scene while somehow keeping its platform boots firmly stuck to the ground.
#1 "Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba (1997)
Narratively speaking, the song is not very deep or complex. Basically, there are three separate sections repeated over and over and over again. But somehow "Tubthumping" is the most satisfying '90s one-hit wonder there is. Getting drunk was one of that decade's greatest pastimes, and this UK import is that activity's anthem. Imagine if you will, a bar full of revelers, singing this gem for the world to hear. Now imagine every bar on every corner of the globe doing the same, all in unison. This may be the very answer to world peace. Fun fact: the title has nothing to do with "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas." We checked.
#10 "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinéad O'Connor (1990)
The song that makes all bald women cry, Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" was written by Prince, though its title is spelled as if written by a pauper. Slow, sad and sweeping, this 1990 cover has all the brooding of the '80s, but with a maturing turn of the decade sound. O'Connor never topped this one, and her antics didn't help, which included tearing a picture of the pope in half on "Saturday Night Live." Had it been Donald Trump's she might have just been a serial hit producer.
#9 "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix-A-Lot (1992)
If America didn't know that black men liked big-butted black women, that all changed in 1992. As the story goes, Sir-Mix-A-Lot was frustrated with all the skinny white bitches traipsing about Super Bowl ads, and "Baby Got Back" was his retort. Usually the rap songs that had come before celebrated bullets, bucks and booze. So this frisky beat was a breath of fresh air. Which is uncommon for anything that has to do with someone's keister.
#8 "Jump Around" - House of Pain (1992)
If we ever needed a song to jump around to it doesn't get much better than "Jump Around." It's squealing, dramatic intro signals something big to follow and what follows is just that. This is Hip Hop at its tipsy Irish best, with "Public Enemy-like" authority sung by a scrappy white Celtics fan. Everlast was his name, and while he had his own solo one-hit-wonder, this House of Pain collaboration has been getting people up on their feet since 1992.
#7 "Cannonball" - The Breeders (1993)
A tug of war between bass and guitar topped off with some screechy feedback, "Cannonball" was the ladies' answer to grunge, with some surf rock and reggae thrown in. The vocals are placid and spoken and then spark into an explosive chorus. The Breeders were a supergroup born out of female empowerment - women who had been stuck behind frontmen but now finally had a vehicle of their own to step up and take the lead. Their sound was both soft and edgy and a true complement to the new beat of the '90s. The Breeders had a fan in Kurt Cobain, who championed them until his own untimely death.
#6 "Steal My Sunshine" - Len (1999)
Is this a '90s song? It's hard to tell because the sound is so timeless. But yes, right on the edge at 1999. It's also a party, not the brew-fueled ones coming before and after on this list, but something sleeker and sexier, and just damn happy. The alternating male/female vocals are a deliberate nod to Human League's "Don't You Want Me," but there's all sorts of genres mingled about here, resulting in one very memorable tune. Also immortalized in the sleek, sexy, damn happy film "Go's" soundtrack, the name Len may not be right on anyone's lips, but the infectious melody and so-silly lyrics certainly are.
#5 "No Rain" - Blind Melon (1993)
The song is a triumph, with simple lyrics that don't succeed in masking the heart of a troubled soul. Here inertia and depression are distilled into a burst of bright, lifting music. This is dark grunge sung with a smile full of sunshine, a contradiction that only adds to the impact of the song. If you didn't know his name, "No Rain" made loyal fans of Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon's glorious, unsettled voice. There may have been more hits in store for the band had Hoon not overdosed at the tender age of 28.
#4 "You Get What You Give" - New Radicals (1999)
There's passion and soul here, an epic song really, not some novelty or cast off. A desire for celebrity and all the phoniness that it brings is its subject, but singer/songwriter Gregg Alexander manages to uplift this cynical message with uncommon brightness and beauty. You don't just want to sing along to the lyrics, you want to belt them out until the neighbors call the cops. And what is significant about this song, to trivia hounds and all of us perhaps, is that it is believed to be the first time the word "frenemies" was released into mainstream popular culture.
#3 "Flagpole Sitta" - Harvey Danger (1998)
Green Day may have cornered the market on '90s songs about madness and masturbation, but major props must be given to Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta," a song title that should probably be blurred or bleeped. Intense, volatile fun, this tune puts '80s angst to shame with its wickedly wry wordplay and driving musical mania. And though we would have happily followed Harvey into whatever Danger he got us into next, no such hits arose, leaving us only to play with ourselves.
#2 "Groove is in the Heart" - Deee-Lite (1990)
No offense to John Travolta, but this is why God created dance floors. Part funk, part hip-hop, with a chill rap towards the end, "Groove is in the Heart" took a '70s sensibility and flipped it with a '90s spin. Its psychedelic beat and frenzied frolic could have ushered in a new retro sound revolution to define the decade, but the weight of grunge's flannel was way too heavy. Without actually going pop, this groove is poppin', shaking up the scene while somehow keeping its platform boots firmly stuck to the ground.
#1 "Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba (1997)
Narratively speaking, the song is not very deep or complex. Basically, there are three separate sections repeated over and over and over again. But somehow "Tubthumping" is the most satisfying '90s one-hit wonder there is. Getting drunk was one of that decade's greatest pastimes, and this UK import is that activity's anthem. Imagine if you will, a bar full of revelers, singing this gem for the world to hear. Now imagine every bar on every corner of the globe doing the same, all in unison. This may be the very answer to world peace. Fun fact: the title has nothing to do with "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas." We checked.