15 Best 90s Bands

#15 Green Day

 
It's hard to start a 90s band list with Green Day considering they had a strange return to stardom as late as 2007 when they changed their makeup and hired a new marketing agent. But mid-90s stoner-punk songs like "Welcome to Paradise," "When I Come Around," and "Basketcase" turned everyone's heads. And have you ever been to a graduation where "Good Riddance (Time of your Life)" wasn't the floor music?
 

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15: Green Day
It's hard to start a 90s band list with Green Day considering they had a strange return to stardom as late as 2007 when they changed their makeup and hired a new marketing agent. But mid-90s stoner-punk songs like "Welcome to Paradise," "When I Come Around," and "Basketcase" turned everyone's heads. And have you ever been to a graduation where "Good Riddance (Time of your Life)" wasn't the floor music?
14: Creed
By the time "My Sacrifice" hit the charts, it was already the 2000s and Creed front-man Scott Stapp might have actually thought he was Jesus. But there's no denying they deserve a spot on the list for completely embodying the genre of "Mom Rock."
13: Blink 182
These So Cal skater bras surfaced in the mainstream late in the 90s, but songs like "What's My Age Again?" and "Adam's Song" made every one love hearing about funny high school angst. Plus, Blink 182 was naked in like every one of their videos. And doesn't Travis Barker rap now or something?
12: Counting Crows
This guy made it okay for white guys anywhere to have dreadlocks. Oh wait... no he didn't. Either way "Mr. Jones" and "Long December" are two of every 90s geek's guilty pleasures.
11: Everclear
Just look at these guys. Can anything scream "90s" more? Well, they were on Now That's What I Call Music #1... So there's that.
10: Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish is a great band name. They established their own genre of 90s/country/rock and with lyrics like "I sat back down, had a beer, and felt sorry for myself," it's hard not to bump these guys through your boombox.
9: Smashing Pumpkins
These dudes made everyone pretty emotional in the 90s with their album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." Plus, you gotta give Billy Corgan some props for making it famous and looking that weird.
8: No Doubt
Gwen Stefani's still roaming around the music industry somewhere. But this band brought ska to the mainstream and had all of us throwing up girl-power fists and moshing to "Spiderwebs" and "I'm just a girl."
7: NSYNC
We're sure there's a bunch of Boy Band freaks who are sad these guys aren't #1. But the boy band category overshadows the fact that they were popular in the 90s. So sorry, JT lovers. They're #7.
6: Backstreet Boys
These guys were the beginning of the end for boy bands, but the Backstreet Boys beat out N'Sync solely because they're entirely stuck in the 90s. Seriously, Nick Carter, where are you and your bleach-blonde bowl cut now?
5: Pearl Jam
Eddie Vedder's famous for looking like Jesus, singing the soundtrack for "Into the Wild," and having lyrics you can barely understand. Not stereotypically "90s music," but never the less, a classic band.
4: Nirvana
Nirvana's another one that doesn't necessarily fall under the stereotype of "90s music," but Kurt Cobain's stardom and the band's lasting influence on the music industry lands them the #4 spot. Hold up - isn't that dude from Foo Fighters on the left?
3: Matchbox 20
"3 am" might be the greatest 90s karaoke ballad of all time... Or Carlos Santana's "Smooth," which features Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas on vocals. Gosh, he's so 90s dreamy.
2: Third Eye Blind
There was a point in time where you couldn't go anywhere without hearing that "doo-doo-doo-doo" of "Semi-Charmed Life" blaring from someone's Jetta. Plus, rumor has it that lead-singer Stephan Jenkins was valedictorian of his class at UC Berkeley. Wait. What?
1: Goo Goo Dolls
Whether you're jamming out to "Black Balloon," "Iris," or "Slide," there's no denying that these feather-haired mom-rockers are the epitome of the 90s. Now go fall in love with a stranger, break up with her, and write an album about it.