Lists – John Collings

Year in Review – The Best Posts of 2022

Greece had always been one of the places I always wanted to visit, but it is in such a strange location in Europe that makes getting to it a little difficult by Eurorail. It became a no-brainer though when I moved to Jordan. It is a short flight to the islands, and with Spring Break being open to the world again this year, we took advantage of that fact to explore two of the islands, Santorini and Naxos. It was fun to see one of the more touristy islands, Santorini, compared to one of the quieter islands, Naxos, and get to experience them right before the Summer season started in full. It is easily a place that we will eventually come back to.

Sleipnir’s Footprint – Asbyrgi, Iceland

Iceland was another place that I had never been to that I always wanted to explore, and this last summer was the perfect time to do so. Covid restrictions were being loosened and we could spend the whole time outside where any exposure to it would be minimum. The funny thing about this trip is that I caught Covid right before we landed, so we were the ones that people needed to stay away from. The hike that we took on this day was absolutely beautiful, and I would have probably enjoyed it more if I wasn’t sick on this day. It was still a stunning place to visit in a country full of stunning places to see.

Akrotiri Ruins – Santorini, Greece

There are many things to do on the island of Santorini, Greece, but one that is skipped by many of the people that go there is the Akrotiri Ruins on the tip of the island. This is Greek’s answer to Pompeii. This city was destroyed by the volcano that turned the island into a ring instead of the massive mass of land that it used to be. So far, archeologists have just started unearthing the ruins that were left behind, but it is cool to see what Greek life used to be like, and imagine being a part of it.

Ode to Mary

This was one of my poems that people enjoyed a lot this year. Usually they do not make it into the top ten posts for the year, but I guess people connected with the story of Mary. I had been watching It’s a Wonderful Life for the first time in a long time over the Christmas holiday, and I noticed one part of the story that did not hold up as well as I remembered it to be. The awful life that Mary had because George Bailey had never been born is almost absurd if compared to today’s standards. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great movie, but I’m having a hard time getting over this little part of the story.

Snow Day

This is the second poem of the year that ended up on the list of top ten poems for the year. I love the snow, and I have not been able to see it much ever since I moved abroad. It was a nice treat to see it early in the year, and it made for a nice inspiration for a poem. Evidently, many of you thought the same as well because it was the most popular poem of 2022.

The House of Dionysus – Paphos, Cyprus

This last year was spent learning a lot about the Greeks, and Romans, but one of my favorite trips was to a place that many people forget about when thinking of these two ancient civilizations, Cyprus. It is a short flight from Jordan, and it is filled with ruins all over the place. One of the best places to check out is the House of Dionysus. It has mosaic floors from ancient times that are still being uncovered. They do a great job of telling old Greek stories, and are worth the time to check out.

A Snowy New Year

Growing up, my family had a tradition of getting together on New Year’s Eve and playing game until we could ring in the New Year. As I grew older, my siblings kept up the tradition, and not being able to attend has always been one of the bigger regrets I have had about moving abroad. Luckily, this year was started revisiting that tradition at my brother’s house. It was fun to ring in the New Year this way, and it is amazing that this post was one of the more popular ones as the year continued.

I Failed My Test

Considering that things have started to return to normal after the couple of years of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is hard to remember that it was still going on at the beginning of the year. This made travel exceptionally difficult. Not only did you need to be vaccinated in order to travel, and some countries had not gotten up to speed with that yet, you also needed to prove that you were Covid free. I had to stand in two line in the cold of Portland, Oregon at the beginning of the year to make sure that I could travel back to my job, and this post was an exploration of what that was like.

Happy Campers vs. Go Campers – Iceland by Camper Van

When summer rolled around, restrictions relaxed, and I was able to enjoy my first real travel experience after a couple of years of not being able to do so. Of course, we went big by renting a camper van and driving around Iceland for three weeks. It is a beautiful country, but we were there during the coldest June they have had in thirty years. Because of this, we got to know our camper vans really well. This post has been viewed by a lot of people who are going to travel there as they wonder which camper van company will be right for them. I hope the post guides them in the right direction and they can enjoy the country the way it is meant to be enjoyed.

Blue Wine – Cyprus

My first trip of the year took me to Cyprus, only an hour flight from Amman, and a world of difference from each other. Cyprus is wine country, and one of only three places in the world where you can get the rare blue wine. This was the most popular post of the year, and I can understand why. The wine is a novelty, and it sparked a lot of people’s interest. It is fun to try, but for the most part, it is just like white wine, except the process of making it turns it blue.

Honorable Mentions

Elk in the Backyard – Black Butte Ranch, Oregon

This was a post from a year early that is still getting a lot of traffic. Apparently people love the combination of elk and the forests of Oregon. It was a treat for me to see them instead of the typical deer that roam the ranch, and apparently a lot of other people agreed.

Meow Wolf – Denver, Colorado

This was actually a post that went live at the end of 2021. I was visiting family in Colorado, and my brother and his family took me down for the opening on Meow Wolf. I had never heard of this place, and it sounded interesting. It was cool to see the craziness that it had to offer, and it took until this year before people started visiting the post.

Oath: Chronicle of an Empire & Exile – A Review

During the pandemic, I found my way back to hobby that I enjoyed a lot when I was younger, board games. This was a game that I got for Christmas, and I was able to play it at the end of 2021. This is the review of the game, and it has apparently helped a lot of people decide if the game is right for them or not because it was regularly visited during this year.

The Dead Sea, Jordan – The Salt Flats

This was one of my biggest posts of 2021, and it continued to be a favorite of people’s again this year. It tells people how to visit this cool part of the Dead Sea that is a little ways away from all of the resorts that are further up the road. It is a great day trip and I expect people to visit it often again in 2023.

Bend Sucks! Move Somewhere Else – Around the World Day 39

It always surprises me what people connect with and what they do not. This was supposed to be a throw away post based on a bumper sticker I saw while driving through Bend, Oregon. It has endured over the years, and is always one of my top posts. It is one of the few ones that I have posted that does not even have a picture to accompany it with, but people continue to come back to it again and again even though it has fallen off in popularity this last year.

Wingspan versus Everdell

This is by far my most popular board game review. It pits two of the top board games against each other and helps people decide which one is right for them. Even though I have been able to play Wingspan more over the last year, I still think that Everdell is the better game, and I have even started to see it for sale at Target, making it an even bigger game than when this was first posted.

The Bat Cave – Railay, Thailand

This is far and away this most visited post that I have. It talks about a little hike that you can take if you find yourself in Railay, Thailand. It must be the one that people go to on a regular basis to help them find the way to the bat cave because it gets visits on a daily basis. I am glad that I have been able to help people find there way there, and I hope, if you are reading this blog, that you some day make it there as well as all the other places that I write about. The world is a great place, and you should go explore all of its nooks and crannies while you still can, especially now that travel is a thing again.

Thanks again, until next time.

Hindsight – The Best Posts of 2020

It is that time of the year again where we all look back at where we have been, and reflect on the lessons learned there. By far, 2020 will be remembered where there was a lot to be learned. I hope that we can take a lot from the experiences of this year and use it to grow not only as people but also as a world wide society.

When looking back at the posts that got the most views this year, I noticed that they had a sense of positivity to them, and I know that not all that I posted this year could say that they had that spin on them. It is nice to know that even though I might have found some dark places in this dark time, it did not bring people down and they still searched for that positivity in their lives.

I hope you enjoy the look back as much as I enjoy presenting it to you, and I hope, like me, that you look forward to 2021 with a new sense of revitalization as to what great prospects it may bring.

#10 To Choose a Side of the Valley – Wangen versus Murren

Most of my posts come from the first few days of 2020 when there was only a hint of disease taking over a small town in China. At this time, the hope of the year was still in front of me and I was wrapping up one of the best trips I have been on in a long time. It was great seeing snow again, and being forced to wear winter weather. This picture was taken on one of the last days on this trip as I sat on the balcony of our hotel room in Murren, Switzerland. My mind often wandered back to the beauty of this part of the world.

https://johncollings.com/2020/01/10/to-choose-a-side-of-the-valley-wangen-versus-murren/

#9 In a Valley in the Swiss Alps – Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Like I said, many of the most popular posts come from my trip to Europe and the beginning of the year, and this is no exception. Lauterbrunnen is a small town in a valley in the Swiss Alps and is the perfect home base for exploring these mountains. It is not nearly as cold in the valley as it is when you find your way to the towns closer to the top, and the views from down below are still as dramatic as they are up top.

https://johncollings.com/2020/01/06/in-a-valley-in-the-swiss-alps-lauterbrunnen-switzerland/

#8 A Phuket Sunset – Siam Summer

After a tough semester of teaching on-line and being quarantined, Thailand had done well enough with the world-wide pandemic to allow travel to open up again, but only for those who were living in the country. It was never my plan to get to know Thailand as well as I did this summer, and it was interesting to drive down to Phuket and see how much this island had been affected by Covid-19. It has picked up since then, but it is still wrangling with the devastating effects it had on its economy. I got to experience it with mainly only its residents, and I still wonder what it would be like to see it when it is full with its regular amount of tourists.

https://johncollings.com/2020/07/20/a-phuket-sunset-siam-summer/

#7 Never Forget Dachau – Germany

I am actually really glad that this post had the reception that it had. Dachau was one of the more earnest moments of an unforgettable year. I did not know it at the time that I walked around the site of the Nazi’s first concentration camp, but a lot of the images and lessons learned there would haunt me all year long as I saw similar things play out on the political stages all around the world. It is one of the places that I believe everybody should see at least once in their lifetimes, right up there with Auschwitz and Hiroshima.

https://johncollings.com/2020/01/04/never-forget-dachau-germany/

#6 Koh Yao Yai – Siam Summer

Koa Yao Yai was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. I was able to travel to this exclusive island in mid-July just as it was starting to open its doors again, and they were trying to entice tourists to come and stay. The prices were too good to pass up on this amazing island, and I am so happy that I was able to stay in this little paradise. I am pretty sure I will never be able to afford it again, but it is one of those things that make me look back at this year and realize that I was pretty lucky to be stuck in Thailand for this worldwide crisis.

https://johncollings.com/2020/07/17/koh-yao-yai-siam-summer/

#5 Fortress Hohensalzburg – Salzburg, Austria

This was one of the more touristy posts I gave on this trip. It is a must do if ever traveling to Salzburg, and it is really hard to forget about because no matter where you are in town, this imposing fortress is staring down at you from its hill. It is a fun way to spend a day in Salzburg and really lets you feel that medieval experience that you want to get when you travel to Europe.

https://johncollings.com/2020/01/01/fortress-hohensalzburg-salzburg-austria/

#4 James Bond’s Peak – Schilthorn, Switzerland

When I was in this part of the world back in 2007, I was on a very limited budget and could not afford the brunch at the top of this Swiss peak. I almost did not believe it was worth the price earlier this year, but I am glad that I decided against being frugal and went up to this restaurant and had breakfast. It was fun going up and coming down this mountain, and I will never forget this experience. The post really picked up after the death of Sean Connery which is weird because this peak is most famous for the first Bond movie after he stopped playing the iconic character.

https://johncollings.com/2020/01/08/james-bonds-peak-schilthorn-switzerland/

#3 Their Insanity

I have only had one of my other poems make the top ten list, but there was something that struck a nerve with a lot of people when I first posted this poem. It was early in the lockdown stage that everybody in the world was feeling, and they might have understood the sentiment I was trying to get at with this poem even though that was not what it was written about.

https://johncollings.com/2020/05/03/their-insanity/

#2 A Toast to the End of the Semester

The image of a half full bottle of champagne sitting in front of this statue on the university campus in Salzburg is what inspired this poem. I did not post the poem with this picture until the end of the last school year, but it was around the holiday season this year that the poem started to gain in popularity. It took a year to get back to that feeling of the end of the semester, but I hope it helped everybody rejoice when the difficulty of both school semesters ended.

https://johncollings.com/2020/05/18/a-toast-to-the-end-of-the-semester/

#1 It’s No Rayong – Siam Summer

The title of this post started as a joke between a few people that I travelled to Rayong with earlier this summer. It was one of the first places that opened up after lockdown, and we went there for a couple of days before traveling to Koh Samet when that finally opened up. Rayong was not the best place to stay, but it was nice to be out of Bangkok. This post was about a comparison between Rayong and the amazing island of Koh Yao Yai, and people must have really loved it because the still visit it today. I do not know if it is because they want to know more about Koh Yao Yai, or if the title makes them laugh, but either way thank you for visiting it.

https://johncollings.com/2020/07/16/its-no-rayong-siam-summer/

Honorable Mentions

As always, these are posts that received a lot of traffic this year even though they were not posted this year. Some of them have taken a couple of years to gain in popularity, but the last one is the one I can guarantee somebody visits on a daily basis. The funny thing about “Bend Sucks! Move Somewhere Else” is that it was a throw away post that has now become one of the ones that gets the most traffic. It just goes to show that I do not know what will speak to the public, and what will not. It is always surprises me which posts do well, and which just disappear into obscurity.

You Can’t Go Back to the Green – The Holidays Day 20

https://johncollings.com/2019/01/09/you-cant-go-back-to-the-green-the-holidays-day-20/

Being Indiana Jone – Hua Hin, Thailand

https://johncollings.com/2019/10/13/being-indiana-jones-hua-hin-thailand/

Lessons from Ankor Wat

https://johncollings.com/2017/10/11/lessons-from-angkor-wat/

Bend Sucks! Move Somewhere Else – Around the World Day 39

https://johncollings.com/2018/07/25/bend-sucks-move-somewhere-else-around-the-world-day-39/

Thank you for joining me in my travels this year. I am sorry that it was not as diverse as it has been in previous years, but it has been an interesting year for everybody. I hope that when things loosen up again next year that you find these posts and the other ones that I will continue to post inspiring and that you get out there and see the world. It is a great way to experience life and I would love to hear about some your adventures some day.

Thanks again for the interesting year.

The Best Movies of the Year 2018 – The Holidays Day 7

It has been awhile since I have done a list and since it is the end of the year, I thought that this would be the perfect time to put together what I considered the best movies of 2018.

10. Deadpool 2

It was not as fun as the first one, but this story still made me laugh, and took superhero movies into a new region that they needed to go into for a long time. The introduction of new characters and the story added just enough to the story, and of course the fact that it does not take itself too seriously make Deadpool one of the best superhero franchises out there.

9. Crazy Rich Asians

Yes, it is a totally predictable romantic comedy, and you know exactly how it is going to end even before it begins. But there is something more here that makes this movie worth watching, especially if you live in Asia. There are satirical jokes in this movie that point to some of the truths of Asian culture that an American audience might not get, but I thought were hilarious.

8. Bohemian Rhapsody

Even though I am over hearing Queen songs wherever I go (Give it a break Seoul), I still loved watching Freddie Mercury’s story. I do remember watching his iconic performance during the Live Aid concert, but I did not know all of the moments that led up to this performance. And speaking of performances, Rami Malek delivers a spot on one of this legendary rock star.

7. Isle of Dogs

I love Wes Anderson’s directing style. He creates this great cartoon feel with his cinematography and tells some of the quirkiest stories ever. This works even better when he makes cartoons. I loved the fact that he set the story in Japan so we would never be able to understand what the humans were saying, but could completely follow the reasoning of the dogs.

6. The Avengers: Infinity War

I heard that there were over fifty cast members in this movie, and I wondered how they would be able to pull off a coherent story with that much going on. But Marvel has always known what it was doing when putting together their universe. Since I had spent ten years watching various movies, I got to know all of the characters, and it was not hard to follow all of these various story arcs in the movie. Then they placed the focus of the story directly on Thanos which gave the whole movie unity. Nothing like this has ever been done in movies before, and the sheer scope of it is amazing.

5. Annihilation

I first was introduced to Alex Garland when my wife handed me a copy of his first book, The Beach. I have ever since followed his career as he moved away from writing books, to writing movies, 28 Days Later, to directing them, Ex Machina, to doing his first adaptation. He is just starting to find his stride, and I expect amazing things in the coming years. This is a tour de force that will keep you guessing and stick with you long after the final credits have rolled.

4. Hereditary

Last year’s Get Out showed how the horror genre was capable of making social commentary, and this year’s Hereditary shows that this genre should be taken seriously. First of all, this is a creepy story. Secondly, it takes from the pages of H.P. Lovecraft, never really showing you what is going on, and making you guess if what you are seeing are actually in the minds of the characters or if they are really happening.

3. Black Panther

I will be honest. When I saw that this movie was coming out, I instantly thought this would be one of the Marvel movies I could easily skip. I was sick of the formula, and I did not think that the creators could bring anything new to the Hero’s Journey that I had not seen from them before. Plus, I did not need to see another villain that I would instantly forget about. I was drug to this movie, and was blown away by it. Marvel fixed all of the problems that they had with their storytelling in this story, giving a blurred line between what was good and bad, a villain who had a reason for doing what he was doing instead of just being bad, and an ending that was significant for more than just the title character. To date, this is the best Marvel movie out there.

2. A Star is Born

From the opening bluesy guitar rift, I was hooked into this story. Yes, it surprised me because I thought I would watching more of a folksy singer-songwriter going through his missteps, and was not expecting music with a little more power behind it. And even though this story has been told a few times before in Hollywood, this update of the story was great. Bradly Cooper did not only do a great job of acting, but directing as well. And Lady Gaga, whose music I am not a big fan of, showed off some acting chops that I was not ready for. This movie was a big surprise this year.

1. BlackkKlansman

Spike Lee has made some great movies. He has also made some movies that I could have easily skipped. I loved the premise of this movie, but I had no idea if it would be one of his better movies or one that I should have turned the other way for. I am glad that I watched this movie, even though it gives my home state a bad name. But this movie calls back the reason that he was a force to contend with when he released Do the Right Thing. It made me think about the tension caused by race relations in the United States forty years after the action in this true story movie have taken place. I especially loved the digs to modern politics that were snuck into the movie. Spike Lee should be considered for best picture with this movie, and it will be a travesty if the academy once again snubs him.

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s – 20 – 11

20 – Soma – The Smashing Pumpkins

It might be the English teacher in me, but this song about the drug from Aldous Huxley’s novel about the world we live in really hits home with me. I loved it the first time I listened to it, and I have never gotten bored with every time I get to listen to it again.

19 – My Name Is – Eminem

A complete unknown who burst on the scene towards the closing down on the century, Eminem would eventually become the star that we know him as today, but it started off with this raunchy, obnoxious track that was fun and at the same time brilliant.

18 – Breathe – Prodigy

A few bands emerged quickly during the start of the electronic movement in music, and Prodigy was the one that demonstrated the most power with this song with hypnotic beats yet with still enough of an edge to make the blood in your veins to pump faster.

17 – Hey Man, Nice Shot – Filter

The bassline from the very start of this song gets me excited to hear the rest of it, but when I first heard the song I had no idea what it was about. When I found out it was about Robert Dwyer, the power behind the song became more meaningful. It is a song that should be played at a lot of politician rallies today, and maybe they will get the hint that they should start working for us and not themselves.

16 – Been Caught Stealing – Jane’s Addiction

When the 90s started, Jane’s Addiction was already well established in the underground rock clubs, but it was this song that brought them to the limelight. It also set the tone for the rest of the decade as this was the song that allowed so many other alternative artists to break through to the mainstream.

15 – Song 2 – Blur

If you would ask me who won the British Invasion medal for being the best rock band, Oasis or Blur, I would have to give it to Blur. They pushed the boundaries with their music more than Oasis did and this is the best example of how it can be done and still be commercially viable.

14 – Jeremy – Pearl Jam

This was the song that caused Pearl Jam to decide to no longer make any music videos because it pushed them into a place in the music world where they no longer felt comfortable, but was it really the video that did this or the power of the song that went with it? Jeremy’s story is tragic and one that we will never be able to forget thanks to this song.

13 – Paranoid Android – Radiohead

Radiohead produced another great groundbreaking video with this song, but the song itself took you on a journey. Often hailed as the “Bohemian Rhapsody” of the 90s, the three movements of this song blend so well together that takes the song from just another pop tune to an epic musical experience rarely reached in songs.

12 – Drown – The Smashing Pumpkins

Finding the complete version of this song is difficult because it is not on any of the greatest hits the band has put out. Instead, you need to look for the soundtrack to Singles which is the only place where the song first got released, but it is well worth the search because this is by far the best song the Smashing Pumpkins ever wrote.

11 – Tennessee – Arrested Development

This song always felt like summer. Every time I hear it I want to just go outside and have a backyard bar-b-q with a few of my closest friends. The mellow vibes makes your head bob up and down as the corners of your mouth push out to a smile.

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s – 30 – 21

30 – Charlie Brown – Widespread Panic

On the surface this might appear to be just another song playing tribute to Charles M. Shulz’s most iconic cartoon character, but a closer listen will reveal that there is a darker tale behind this song from one of the 90s greatest jam bands.

29 – Doo Wop – Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill changed the rap game with the release of The Miseducation of. It showed that soul could blend with rap to create an amazing sound and women didn’t have to be nasty in order to sell records. “Doo Wop” was the song that set the standard is still one of the best dance tunes out there today.

28 – Longview – Green Day

This song just proved that no subject was taboo during the 90s. Also, outside of San Francisco, it was the introduction to a band that would make a huge impact on the rock with world. The bassline is also one of the most original in all of pop music.

27 – Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve

Even though they never made a dime off of the song, there is not one person that does not think that the simple cello melody does not belong to this band. It is the perfect song from the 90s to show the unfounded bitterness that many people felt during the decade.

26 – Yellow Ledbetter – Pearl Jam

If you get to see this band live, this is the song that they end more than half of their shows with. Half way through the iconic guitar melody that Mike McCready plays, he will bust into another classic rock tune. I have versions of him playing music from the Who, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, all of which shows that this song belongs up with the likes of the classics. The strange thing about the song is it never appeared on an album except for some obscure greatest hits.

25 – River of Deceit – Mad Season

If you have never sat down to listen to the only Mad Season album out there, you are missing one of the best albums ever made during the 90s. It features some of Layne Staley’s best vocal recordings as well as bringing in some of the biggest musicians from the Seattle area such as Mike McCready, John Baker Saunders, and Barrett Martin. This is the most haunting and greatest song off of the album.

24 – You Get What You Give – New Radicals

This was the only big hit from this band, and it is still unforgettable. It features a catchy piano melody and lyrics that rip into the decadent behavior of some of the bigger pop stars of the time. It is a great representation of what a person can do if they put their mind to it, and it is even better when Gregg Alexander ran away from the limelight after it became such a success.

23 – Sabotage – Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys picked up their instruments for this song to prove to the world that a rap song could have original music with it. The screaming lyrics were a lot of fun as well. Bring in one of the best videos ever directed by Spike Jones and you have one of my favorite Beastie Boys tunes.

22 – Lie in Our Graves – Dave Matthews Band

What I love the most about the Dave Matthews Band is the fact that their early lyrics represented this Carpe Diem mentality. They begged for you to go out and live your life before it was gone, and this was one of the best examples of that philosophy. I also really like the ending of the song; it has such a joyous spirit behind it.

21 – Hunger Strike – Temple of the Dog

What happens when you combine two of the greatest grunge bands, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, together? You create a super group that nobody else will ever be able to match again. Add in the fact that you have two of the best vocalists, Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell, and you would be amazed at well these two harmonize together.

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s – 40 – 31

40 – Basket Case – Green Day

From the opening shout to the very last moment Billy Joel Armstrong finishes quickly strumming his guitar there is nothing else you can do but sing along because this is really a song about you, whether you want to admit it or not.

39 – Karma Police – Radiohead

Once again,, Radiohead stunned the world by demonstrating that they could combine an awesome song with an amazing video. Both of them left you wondering what you had just experienced which proves why this band was on the top of the music ladder during the release of OK Computer.

38 – Killing Me Softly – The Fugees

This is another of the remakes to appear on the list, and once again it might have been an improvement on the original. Even though Lauryn Hill delivered the lyrics with as much soul as the original, it was the additions of the words, “One time, two times,” which made this version stand out from the original.

37 – Hurt – Johnny Cash

Even though the previous song on this list took a great tune and reintroduced it to the world, Johnny Cash took this Nine Inch Nails song and shot it into the stratosphere. He recorded this song shortly after June Carter’s death and you feel the same pain he felt as you listen to the track.

36 – Jimi Thing – Dave Matthews Band

This band not only had hit records during the 90s, but they sold out concert after concert due to their jazzy fusion of rock music. This song is one of their staples during their live performances, and each time it is a little different. To be able to create such a song shows that it deserves this place on the list.

35 – Sober – Tool

What Dave Matthews Band is to jam bands, Tool is to prog rock. They put on memorable shows, and create amazing songs that push the boundaries of music. They also make some unforgettable videos that feature the songs and not the band. This song was the first one that sent them down the path to the creativity we all now get to enjoy.

34 – No Excuses – Alice in Chains

Written during a time when the band had a difficult time getting Layne Staley to the studio, they were still able to put together enough songs to out an ep that included this track. The song really highlighted their ability to harmonize as well as presenting another great song from their catalogue.

33 – Criminal – Fiona Apple

This girl stunned America when she demonstrated that somebody so young could have so much soul in her voice and write music with such adult themes. The video that accompanied this song just added a new level to the song when it showed Fiona Apple felling regret among the ruins after some party.

32 – Self Esteem – The Offspring

Another great song depicting the truth of what it was like being a college student in the early 90s. We all struggled with our self-esteem and this song just demonstrated the lengths we were willing to go through in order to battle with this disorder

31 – Killing in the Name of – Rage Against the Machine

Add some of the most original guitar riffs with a social conscience and you have Rage Against the Machine. You can’t help but to feel the anger anytime you listen to any of the tracks from their debut album, and this is one of the songs packed with the most anger.

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s – 50 – 41

50 – Story of My Life – Social Distortion

Add one part punk to one part rock-a-billy to one part poetic master. Blend it together, and you create an overall great song. Often one of the bands overlooked by radio, but they were one of the guiding forces through this decade of many giants.

49 – Get Off This – Cracker

I know many people are going to wonder why this song made this list when so many other radio hits did not make the list. This wasn’t even Cracker’s biggest hit. But that wasn’t what the 90s were about. It was always about finding that hidden gem that radio didn’t know about and this song always brought a smile to my face.

48 – Midnight Radio – Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Play this song late at night while you drive down a lonely highway. Make sure to roll down the window and feel the cool summer air race through your hair. Afterwards, you might wonder if this song does not deserve a higher spot on the list.

47 – Insane in the Brain – Cyprus Hill

This track introduced a new style of rap to the world, one laced with a mellow vibe but still had a defiance within its lyrics that made you want to stand up against those who have repressed you. It also introduced to the world one of the most unique voices from the rap world, Mellow Man Ace.

46 – Daughter – Pearl Jam

From a band who made so many great character studies into five minute epic songs, this was one of the best they ever told. It was also the first giant song that proved you did not need a video to be important.

45 – So Watchya Want – Beastie Boys

One of the leading voices in the hip hop market came from three punks from New York. Any time they came out with a new album, the rules of the game would change. This song blended the old school style with the elements of punk rock that allowed bands like 311 and Sublime to follow in this giant’s long shadow.

44 – Say It Ain’t So – Weezer

First, they had us come undone with their sweater song, and then they told us about the greatness of Buddy Holly, but it was the third single from their debut blue album that was the best offering that Weezer gave to us, insuring that they would be a force for many years to come.

43 – Don’t Look Back in Anger – Oasis

Even though the Gallagher brothers always denied the Beatles influence to their music, it was hard not to hear that influence on this track. It is often ignored by the radio so they can overplay another one of their songs, but when the day is done, this is definitely the better of the two tracks.

42 – Bullet with Butterfly Wings – The Smashing Pumpkins

This song displays the raw power that this band had. Not only did the guitar riff recklessly guide you to the inevitable conclusion, but Billy Corrigan’s growling vocals leaves you feeling that you have just been attacked by some strange kind of vampire.

41 – In Bloom – Nirvana

Just because I don’t think “Smells Like Teen Spirit” deserves a place on this countdown does not mean that I do not think that Nirvana should be kicked off completely. There are just other songs I would rather listen to, and this one has always been one of my favorites.

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s – 60 – 51

60 – Lucky Man – The Verve

The story of the Verve is one of the saddest from the 1990s. They produced a big hit with “Bitter Sweet Symphony” but never earned a dime from it because the Rolling Stones sued them for copyright infringement. But few people from the United States know about this other song which is just as good from the same album.

59 – Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-a-Lot

Not only does this song have some of the best innuendos and double entendres ever written, but it also has one of the best record scratches ever recorded. It might even be one of the best one hit wonders of all time.

58 – Iris – Goo Goo Dolls

The Goo Goo Dolls were in danger of falling into the same trap that Sir Mix-a-Lot found himself in with their hit, “Name”. This was until they wrote this song for City of Angels, and shot themselves to the next level of rock stardom. It still remains one of the best ballads from the decade.

57 – Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang – Dr. Dre

This song brought gangsta rap to the forefront so even kids from suburbia started to listen to the genre, but it also introduced the world to one of its biggest players, Snoop Doggy Dogg. It remains, to this day, one of the greats from that genre.

56 – Do the Evolution – Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam had stopped making videos, letting the music speak for itself, but when they put out this track, they enhanced its already power with an animated short from Spawn creator Todd McFarlan that showcased the bitter message hidden within its lyrics.

55 – Cannonball – The Breeders

Kim Deal proved to everyone that women could also come up with some amazing bass lines as well as delivering one of the most memorable ones with this gem of a song.

54 – Everlong – Foo Fighters

This song proved to the world that Dave Grohl was not just some drummer, but was a force to be dealt with in the rock world. The music was reminiscent of the 70s, but the music was all 90s.

53 – What I Got – Sublime

Tragedy had come to the band right before they hit it big when Bradley James Nowell, the lead singer, overdosed on heroin. But they were able to pen this blend of rock, reggae and rap that has held up throughout the years to still bring joy to a listener’s heart every time it is played.

52 – I Hope I Just Didn’t Give Away the Ending – New Radicals

Gregg Alexander had produced albums for popular stars before saying that anybody could do the same and went off to prove himself right. When he penned his classic album, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed, Too, only one of the songs made radio airplay, but each one in its own right was a classic with this one being one the more memorable stories.

51 – Nightswimming – R. E. M.

A simple haunting piano melody is the heart of this song that as soon as you are done listening to it, you want to instantly listen to it again just so you can feel the feeling it invokes again. Why wouldn’t this song make the list?

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s 80 – 71

80 – Laid – James

A fun little song about a guy with an obsessive girlfriend who he wishes he could get rid of, but never really does because it always comes back to the thing that was most important for him. One of the more fun songs from the alternative scene.

79 – Jump Around – House of Pain

Not even a Pringle’s advertisement can ruin this Irish rap song. Play this song at party today and watch everybody make a mad dash for the dance floor so they can jump around like a bunch of fools.

78 – Zombie – Cranberries

Many people thought that this Irish band was done for when they released their hardest song to date. It was a departure from the other soft songs they had been releasing but it was the one that has stood the test of time.

77 – All Mixed Up – 311

Who ever thought that there would be hip hop rock fusion band from Omaha that would make it big, especially one so obsessed with aliens? But that was the brilliance of the 90s, and this song marked the height of 311’s career.

76 – No Rain – Blind Melon

There was a time when I would wear nothing but henley shirts because of this video. It definitely was one of the more memorable ones from the decade and it wasn’t just because of the dancing bumblebee, but because it was accompanied by a real good song.

75 – Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters

Power chords strummed really fast, and awesome drums were not the only things going for this song; it also had a screaming bridge in the middle that was so much fun to try to sing along to if you never ran out of breath before you got to the end of it.

74 – One Week – Barednaked Ladies

Half the time you sat wondering what this song was really about. The other half of the time you didn’t care because you were having so much fun singing along to the goofy lyrics.

73 – Shine – Collective Soul

Yes, the marketing geniuses who put together Collective Soul’s debut song clad them in too much flannel in the hope to sell lots of records, but that didn’t stop this song from being great even though it never really had a chorus.

72 – Freak on a Leash – Korn

Even though they claim to be the first band to blend rap and rock (they weren’t), they still put together a great song that had you screaming along. They proved that metal music could be funky as well as hard.

71 – El Scorcho – Weezer

Even though Pinkerton flopped as an album when it was first released, it has grown to be one of the most revered from Weezer fans, and this song is a big part of the reason why. It is such a good song, and it is sad that not more people know about it.

The Other Top 100 Songs from the 90s 90 – 81

90 – Slide Away – Oasis

Before Oasis remade the Beatles song that they never wrote, they had a whole album full of edgier tunes and epic rock masterpieces. The name of the album even had more creativity behind it than the one that broke them, Definitely Maybe. This track from the album was one of the catchier songs that even made it on to the radio even though it clocked in at over six minutes.

89 – Waterfalls – TLC

In an age when gangsta rap and ballads ruled the R & B charts, this gem came out that blew them all away. Not only was it an amazing tune, but it had a social message to it that forced you to listen.

88 – Ray of Light – Madonna

During the 80s, I could be often heard talking about how Madonna had destroyed music and she was nothing more than an image selling sex, and I wished she would just go away. But then I heard this song and I couldn’t deny the creative genius that went behind it. It was the perfect dance song to help usher in the age of electronic music, and it was pretty awesome to dance to at the same time.

87 – Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind

Right when you started to think that alternative music was losing its edge because it was being taken over by big music corporations, Third Eye Blind came out with this song. It had a fun beat to it, and I remember playing it at many weddings because of guests requesting it, but I always had a smile on my face when I played it. Listen to lyrics some time and you will understand why.

86 – Unbelievable – EMF

Before the alternative music move really took off, a song from the genre would find itself on mainstream radio. The punky rock tune from the English band EMF was one of these songs. To this day, I want to get up and dance every time I hear this song on the radio.

85 – Better Man – Pearl Jam

Some people might claim that Pearl Jam, not Nirvana, was the most important band from the 90s. They had a music style all their own with a front man whose growling vocals were the most original since Robert Plant. Combine in the fact that his lyrics rival those of Bob Dylan’s and you have a force to deal with. This is one of those songs that present a picture of a character that only Eddie Vedder could write about. It has also become the sing-along at every one of their concerts.

84 – Otherside – Red Hot Chili Peppers

When the Red Hot Chili Peppers released Californication right before the end of the century, they were already a force to be dealt with, but people wondered if the best material they had written had already come. This was before John Frusciente rejoined the band, and Anthony Kiedis reached a new level with vocals. This track highlights both of their achievements in one of the beand’s best songs.

83 – November Rain – Guns ‘n Roses

Guns ‘n Roses will always be known as the band that created that bridge between the big hair bands of the 80s to the more substantial music of the early 90s, and this ballad was part of that connection. It went against the rules of radio airplay time by clocking in at almost nine minutes, but still had the solos and mighty vocals reminiscent of the time when rock held little substance. Without this song, a lot of the songs on this list would have never been heard.

82 – Just – Radiohead

If you have never seen the video for this song, go watch it on YouTube right now. It tells a story that will have you scratching your head for months. Add into that, one of the gritiest guitar rifts ever, and you have one of the best songs from any decade that nobody has ever listened to.

81 – 911 is a Joke – Public Enemy

Before “Cop Killer”, this song put to the forefront one of the biggest problems in America still persisting to this day. Public Enemy always had a social and political voice, and this song highlighted it better than any of their others.