The 90s gave us so many cult songs that this decade is rightly considered one of the most important in the history of music.
If we talk about rock and metal, in the 90s literally everything was noted by cool releases: Guano Apes, Limp Bizkit, Green Day, Manowar, Nightwish, Iron Maiden and dozens of other artists.
It’s very difficult to choose 10 compositions from the whole variety, so don’t be surprised that there will not be any iconic singles of those years - they simply did not fit.
10. Scorpions - Wind of Change | 1990
The first month of 1990 gave the world one of the main hits of Scorpions, which became a real anthem.
Impressed with a visit to Moscow in 1988, Klaus Meine decided to write a song about new times that should come soon.
The end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall fell perfectly into the lyrics.
9. Nirvana - Smells like a Teen Spirit | 1991
The time of writing the song coincided with the time when the Teen Spirit youth deodorant was actively advertised on TV in the USA, but Kurt Cobain, who rarely watched TV and even more so commercials, had no idea about it.
This did not bother the producer, and after the song became a hit, the company began to brazenly refer to it in its advertising, beating the name.
Now you can not find a person who would not recognize Smells like a Teen Spirit from the first seconds.
8. Queen - The Show Must Go On | 1991
Brian May, who wrote the song, discussed every line with Freddie Mercury until the final version appeared.
The Queen members doubted that Freddie would be able to record her in the studio: he was so bad.
May later said that despite serious health problems, Mercury said: “I will do it, sweetheart!”, After which he drank vodka and perfectly performed the vocal part for one take.
7. Guns N 'Roses - November Rain 1991
The famous piano melody from this composition appeared back in the 80s, but Axl Rose, who wrote it, for several years did not know what to do with it.
He played it to other members of the group, everyone liked it, but a worthy application for it was found only in 1991.
The initial version of November Rain lasted 25 minutes, but in the end the single was reduced to 9, although it was also a lot.
Until now, this song remains the longest ever to reach the top lines of the Billboard chart.
The video, shot later, cost the musicians $ 1.5 million in space by the standards of the 90s.
6. Metallica - Enter Sandman | 1991
If Smells like a Teen Spirit is considered the best rock song of all time, many people call Enter Sandman the best metal song.
The song was released as an independent single 2 weeks before the release of the album and it sold over 500,000 copies, and longplay sold in excess of 15 million records.
The title riff around which the entire song is built was composed by Kirk Hammett (he studied under Joe Satriani), but was originally short.
Lars Ulrich advised him to expand it, after which he became one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in history.
This also includes the Nothing Else Matters, which “Broom” released in the same year.
5. R.E.M. - Losing My Religion | 1991
The phrase “Losing My Religion” is a South American slang expression meaning “I'm losing patience.” Around her is the frontman of R.E.M. He built a story about unrequited love, with which almost every listener could associate himself, and this is practically the key to success.
It is noteworthy that the single was first criticized, and the clip was scolded on it directly on MTV, but after the group took 2 Grammy statuettes, one of which was just received for the video work.
4. The Cranberries - Zombie | 1994
A song dedicated to the peace between Ireland and England was written after the deaths of two boys who were injured in the bombing of terrorists from the IRA.
The single, as well as the clip on it, are considered one of the best on the theme of war to this day.
The video shows real footage of the work of the British military patrol, but the most interesting thing is that the soldiers had no idea that they were being shot for the clip. They were sure that they became the heroes of the documentary.
Shortly after the release of Zombie, the IRA group announced the cessation of activity and, although this is hardly related to the song, the fact The Cranberries clearly added this fact.
3. Rammstein - Du Hast | 1997
In the 90s, Rammstein sounded from every iron. In the zero - too. Now their popularity is again at its peak in connection with the release of a new album, the first singles from which have already made a fuss.
It is not known whether they will be listened to after 10, 20 or 50 years, but the Du Hast motif will probably remain recognizable for a very long time.
It was with this composition that the Germans began to conquer the world, including the CIS countries, where the rude voice of Till Lindemann could be heard even in the Ryazan minibus, not to mention rock clubs.
2. No Doubt - Don’t Speak | 1995
This song is unique in a way: it harmoniously combines rock sound and typical “pop”, and the latter even prevails due to Gwen Stefani’s vocals.
Nevertheless, the song belongs to rock and brought to the genre a lot of new listeners just from the "pop" camp.
The composition “No Doubt” perfectly “appealed” to everyone: it was listened by adults, brutal men, teenage girls, housewives with children and even the older generation.
1. AC / DC - Thunderstruck | 1990
This song has one of the most famous introductions among all, although at first Angus Young did not know what to do with the melody he invented.
Thunderstruck appeared only a few months later, when Malcolm got down to business, and became a hit for all time: thanks to her mood, she is still often used in video games, films and sports. So, boxer Manny Pacquiao and the Juventus Turin football club used it.