Lauryn Hill initially penned “Ex-Factor” for another group but felt it was too personal to give away. This beautiful, heart-wrenching, breakup song was on repeat on many a Discman due to its relatability and stirring vocal performance. 29: Aaliyah – One In A Million

Not to be confused with the Bee Gees’ classic, this song instead is all about Dru Hill’s sexual prowess. This single also helped the group blow up when it appeared on their sophomore album Enter The Dru. It had all the hallmarks of the classic Dru Hill sound: impeccable harmonies, staccato production flairs, and Sisqo’s unmistakable vocal runs. 73: Immature – Never Lie While a colossal share of the world's most recognized rave anthems from the '90s come from Europe, we decided to narrow our search and concentrate on those that were born and bred in the USA. From NYC's Twisted America Records to LA's City Of Angels imprint, Chicago's Relief Records, Detroit's Transmat and Philadelphia's Ovum Recordings, from sea to shining sea... there are plenty of bangers in the running. Rave anthems are intimate and subjective, varying in size, sound and popularity. It's safe to say that hundreds are produced, reinterpreted, lost and rediscovered with each passing year.What song makes you want to get on the dance floor even when you hear it today? "What Is Love" by Haddaway was such a hit it was played consistently on Saturday Night Live during the infamous Night at the Roxbury sketches. "Barbie Girl" is so infectious that anyone who hears it can't help but sing along. And then of course, there's "Wannabe" by Spice Girls, which was the girl anthem to end all girl anthems. This feel-good love song came out in 1998 and remains Tamia’s most recognizable hit. Over the years the song has been covered by Brandy, Fabolous (with Tamia singing the hook), and in 2015 Childish Gambino. 61: K-Ci & JoJo – All My Life

Given the crowded field, we’ve been ultra-selective in compiling this all-bangers, no-clangers playlist and limited it to one song per artist. Whether the ‘90s was the greatest decade for music is mostly a generational debate, but as you’ll hear, one thing’s for sure: it was never boring. Having perfected the blueprint for early 90s R&B songs, New Edition proved they were no longer just a fresh-faced boy band and were all grown up with “I’m Still In Love.” The second single from the fittingly titled Home Again album saw the group reunite with frontman Bobby Brown along with their veteran production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to create a sensual jam that stormed the charts. 55: Dionne Farris – HopelessMore than 20 years after its initial release, “It’s Friday night and the weekend’s here, I need to unwind” remain some of the most resonant words in R&B history. With a swinging beat and soft, lush production, Zhané’s “Hey Mr. DJ,” from the duo’s debut album, Pronounced Jah-Nay, is the perfect representation of R&B’s prime objective: to be the sonic expression of the soul of the everyman and everywoman. 4: Montell Jordan: This Is How We Do It One of the most unforgettable videos of the decade, Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” was a three-minute murder-mystery-romance that helped to launch the second wave of the R&B impresario’s career. A runaway hit, “Twisted” is infectious and danceable, and Sweat’s distinctive vocal style makes it a song only he could have pulled off. 36: Erykah Badu – On & On Another Babyface produced hit, this sultry tune won the Soul Train Music Award for Best Male R&B, Soul single and Johnny Gill proved that like Bobby Brown and Bell Biv Devoe, he too could be a success on his own, outside of New Edition. 65: Somethin’ For The People – My Love Is The Shhh! There’s one more thing that makes ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ the song of the decade, and that’s Samuel Bayer’s now iconic video. His lo-fi, sepia-saturated take on a school concert that descends into madness – complete with slo-mo cheerleaders, smashed up guitars and smoke and fire in a sports hall full of sweaty headbanging teens – was as disturbing and anarchic as the song itself. Everyone watched it. Everyone knew they would never forget it. Tim Arthur

No decade is a musical monolith, but seeing the best songs of the ‘90s listed all in one place, the era seems especially scattered. History has boiled it down to grunge and gangsta rap on one end, boy bands and Britney Spears at the other, but it’s the stuff in the middle and on the fringes that makes the period difficult to sum up. Don’t let the name fool you, Immature were wise beyond their adolescent ages, making grown R&B jams to slow drag to. “Never Lie” was off the group’s second album, Playtime is Over, which saw the group catering to an older audience than their usual teenaged fanbase, and hitting No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100. 72: Faith Evans – Soon As I Get Home This heavy soul song is a response to James Brown’s 1966 hit “This Is a Man’s World”. Neneh Cherry discusses the strength, resilience, and power that transcends and remains despite everything this woman has been put through. By the end of the song, it is clear that this is a woman’s world. 68: Paula Abdul: Rush Rush

32: D’Angelo – Brown Sugar

R&B meets bubblegum pop in Soul IV Real’s bouncy debut single “Candy Rain.” Powered by the youthful voice of the youngest brother Jason “Jase” Dalyrimple of their family band, the single still slapped thanks to production by their mentor and Uptown labelmate Heavy D. 25: Usher – You Make Me Wanna The widow of Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans’s musical talent is often overshadowed by her personal life. But the church-choir-bred vocalist had a talent that was leaps and bounds beyond many of her peers. Honeyed and at once yearning and comforting, Evans’ velvet voice skims over this wistful romantic ballad with depth and precision. 71: Silk – Freak Me After suffering through heartache Deborah Cox is surprised to find a new love possessing the key to her heart. The unlikely, gospel-inflected hit helped establish Cox as a household diva of the 90s and eventually became a gay anthem, thanks to a remix by Hex Hector. 62: Tamia – So Into You Two R&B divas are better than one, and “The Boy Is Mine” combined the powerhouse vocal stylings of Brandy and Monica. The iconic duet completely dominated the charts (and culture) the summer of 1998, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks, selling over 3 million copies, and earning them both a Grammy Award. 26: Soul IV Real – Candy Rain

Written and produced by the legendary Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, this inspiring gospel/R&B song reminds listeners to, “keep your head up to the sky” and “to hold on to your dreams.” In 1991, this song went all the way to No.3 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop songs chart. 63: Deborah Cox: Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here

Putting their “Freek’n You” of days of Jodeci behind them, brothers K-Ci and JoJo Hailey returned to their traditional roots with their side project, Love Always, consisting of more wholesome R&B fare. When JoJo penned “All My Life” for his daughter, he had no idea it would become the duo’s longest-running number-one single of their career and one of the most popular wedding songs of all time. 60: Sade – No Ordinary Love Freak Like Me” not only served as Adina Howard’s sex-positive debut but paved the way for fellow female R&B vocalist to own their sexuality on record. It was one of the first 90s R&B songs where a woman talked unapologetically about her desires, plus the beat thumps to this day. 15: TLC – Waterfalls Before Bey went solo there was Destiny’s Child. Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, this song demands to know if the man they love is cheating. This was Destiny’s Child’s breakthrough song, the one that put them on the map. 45: Brownstone – If You Love Me