The 1990’s are viewed by many as one of the best decades for music and are fantasized by an era of millennials that like to insist that they were “born too late.”

Cringe aside, some of the most creative and influential music of our time. Many of it would go on to inspire completely new genres or affect the industry as a whole, but much of it has still gone unheard by the majority of the population.

In an effort to amend that, here’s a list of some of the 90’s best songs, ranging from just below the mainstream to some deeper sections of the underground (in no particular order).

1. Electricity - The Avalanches

Built off of a Daft Punk sample, as well as a plethora of others, pushed plunderphonics to a new level. The first single to The Avalanches debut record, “Electricity” set a new standard for what sample-based dance music could sound like, and almost two decades later there’s still nothing that sounds quite like it.

2. Medicine Bottle - Red House Painters

This magnum opus of the “slowcore” details the rise and fall of lead man Mark Kozelek’s with a Japanese woman and serves as a personal exercise in catharsis. Said feeling is passed along to the listener through the heavily reverbed instrumentation and Mark’s detailed melancholia.

3. Scentless Apprentice - Nirvana

While a majority of people will have heard In Utero’s singles “Heart-Shaped Box” or “All Apologies” (both of which had their mixes altered to sound more commercial), album highlight “Scentless Apprentice” is less known. Unique in Nirvana’s discography for being a largely groove driven track, built off of a backbone of visceral drums, instantly identifiable as the work of the album’s original producer, Steve Albini.

4. Randy Described Eternity - Built to Spill

Cutting their teeth on bright indie rock and pop, they went for something much more ambitious on their album “Perfect From Now On,” and this song, the opener of that record, is a perfect example of that. The song boasts a constantly building linear structure, akin to music in the developing post-rock scene at the time, and incredibly layered guitar work.

5. East Hastings - Godspeed You! Black Emperor

The tension-building centerpiece of their first record, which revolutionized post-rock, breaking it free of its jazz-infused roots, and creating something much more abstract and orchestral. This and their subsequent record would serve as the blueprint for all “crescendo-core” bands to follow.

6. Pete Standing Alone - Boards of Canada

Strange, dynamic, and nearly psychedelic, this stands as one of the ambient/IDM group’s most engaging songs.

7. Blueprint - Fugazi

The most melodic cut off of post-hardcore’s defining album, the effects of this album can still be felt in rock music today. Powerful, political, and catchy, this serves as one of the 90s finest rock anthems.

8. Unravel - Bjork

Possibly her most gorgeous track, this song has been referenced by Radiohead as being a huge influence in the creation of their record “Kid A,” and also is a bit of a framework for the sound Bjork would move to on her follow up record “Vespertine.”

9. To Here Knows When - My Bloody Valentine

The be-all end-all of shoegaze records, this song is unendingly pretty, sucking your senses in like a vacuum.

10. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space - Spiritualized

Building a vocal melody interspersed with the lyrics of Elvis Pressley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” Spiritualized creates a poignant, syrupy space-rock love song that is wholly unique.

11. What Do You Want Me To Say? - The Dismemberment Plan

Combining both of the band’s strengths into perfect harmony on a single track, resulting in a quintessential mix of angular, mathy guitar work and warmly melodic indie rock choruses.

12. Delphium - Aphex Twin

One of the catchiest tracks off of Aphex’s defining statement of IDM (Intelligent Dance Music).

13. Good Morning Captain - Slint

The most iconic track off of arguably the most important rock record in the 90s, it pushed the boundaries of math rock and post-hardcore while the genres were still in their infancy, and is the earliest example of the more “hardcore” inspired side of post-rock.

14. Let Down - Radiohead

Not as immediate as Karma Police or Paranoid Android, this song is often overlooked on OK Computer for its focus on gentle, spacey guitar work and repetition. But, that’s also exactly why it’s so good.

15. Earth Moon Transit - Duster

A triumphant space rock scorcher on a record of mostly lo-fi slowcore (with some space rock influence), this serves as the climax of the tracklist as this song quite literally takes you into orbit.

16. Beep Street - Squarepusher

One of the most important pieces of drill n’ bass style IDM, Squarepusher’s insane drumming ability and knack for subtlety have rarely been on better display at the same time.

17. Room Temperature Suite - Don Caballero

Equal parts manic and beautiful, this song exemplifies the incredible interplay between the band's drummer and guitarist to the fullest extent and is a highlight on one of math rock’s most defining albums.

18. Foil - Autechre

One of the most ominous sounding tracks on their second record Amber, it still holds up as one of greatest pieces of ambient techno to this day.

19. Boilermaker - The Jesus Lizard

Produced by Steve Albini, his fingerprints can be heard all over the band’s brand of noisy, mathy, post-hardcore, which possessed an unmatchable level of energy.

20. Today - Ride

A melancholia-tinged cut from one of the shoegaze band’s early EPs, it builds and builds to a fantastic emotional payoff.

21. Puddle Splashers - Cap’n Jazz

Notable as being the favorite emo song of the Chili’s restaurant franchise, this is one of the best displays of the band’s frantic math rock infused Midwest Emo.

22. Ascension Day - Talk Talk

Perhaps the most forward-thinking track on the band’s final record, which set the foundation for the chamber jazz and ambient inspired post-rock that would rule the 90s.

23. Mojo Pin - Jeff Buckley

Most know him solely from his timeless rendition of “Hallelujah,” but he in fact released an entire record of incredible songs, including this one. Mojo Pin is dynamic, featuring multiple tone shifts through the course of the song, and immaculate guitar work that sounds greatly ahead of its time.

24. Kobresia - Biosphere

An incredibly somber cut off of his essential work of ambient music, using washes of synths and gently plucked strings to evoke the listener.

25. A Dog’s Life - Nina Nastasia

Steve Albini lends his hand in production again, but this time on a charming folk ballad that tells the story of a dream the singer had in which she was a dog exploring an amusement park with a fellow canine.