1990s nostalgia rules: Salon's massive guide to the one-hit wonders of the '90s (part 2)

From the Verve to the Verve Pipe, "Your Woman" to "A Girl Like You," a decade in unforgettable one-hit wonders

Published July 9, 2014 11:42PM (EDT)

The pop charts went so screwy in the '90s that sometimes it seemed like anyone could have a hit -- whether white rappers or punk-rock legends who probably never dreamed of scraping the top-40. It was a time of deep-voiced singers who all sounded like Collective Soul, of boy bands, of would-be Nirvanas, British dance-rock hybrids and so much more. So let's follow up our list of 80 one-hit wonders of the '80s with 90 from the '90s. Yes, bands like Fastball and Go West and Toad the Wet Sprocket technically had more than one hit, but these certainly defined them. And yes, Edwyn Collins and Siouxsie Sioux had long, influential careers, but this was the one moment where they broke through and captured a mainstream audience for the first time. Add your own favorites in the comments.

For Part 1 of this list, click here

Jesus Jones, "Right Here, Right Now"

Kris Kross, "Jump"

Len, "Steal My Sunshine"

Lightning Seeds, "Pure"

Lisa Loeb, "Stay"

Los del Rio, "Macarena"

Luscious Jackson, "Naked Eye"

Marcy Playground, "Sex and Candy"

Biz Markie, "Just a Friend"

Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get"

Shawn Mullins, "Lullaby"

Nada Surf, "Popular"

New Radicals, "You Get What You Give"

OMC, "How Bizarre"

Joan Osborne, "One of Us"

Presidents of the USA, "Lump"

Primitive Radio Gods, "Standing Outside a Broken Phonebooth With Money in My Hand"

Joe Public, "Live and Learn"

Raekwon, "Ice Cream"

Rednex, "Cotton Eye Joe"

Tony Rich Project, "Nobody Knows"

Right Said Fred, "I'm Too Sexy"

School of Fish, "Three Strange Days"

Semisonic, "Closing Time"

Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Jump, Jive and Wail"

Duncan Sheik, "Barely Breathing"

Silverchair, "Tomorrow"

Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Kiss Them for Me"

Sir Mix-a-Lot, "Baby Got Back"

Sister Hazel, "All for You"

Soho, "Hippychick"

Soup Dragons, "Divine Thing"

Spacehog, "In the Meantime"

Stereo MCs, "Connected"

Sublime, "What I Got"

Superdrag, "Sucked Out"

Take That, "Back for Good"

Toad the Wet Sprocket, "All I Want"

Toadies, "Possum Kingdom"

Tonic, "If Only You Could See"

Urban Dance Squad, "Deeper Shade of Soul"

Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby"

Veruca Salt, "Seether"

The Verve, "Bittersweet Symphony"

The Verve Pipe, "The Freshmen"

White Town, "Your Woman"


By Salon Staff

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