Best Songs of 1993

I have two simple rules when making my "Best of" song lists. First, an artist can't appear more than once. Second, I will not rank my lists. The first rule makes the list-making harder, and the second makes it easier. This paradox creates a happy medium.

For all of 2013, I have been working on lists representing 30, 20, and 10 years ago, along with a list for this year. The weird thing about making these lists after the fact is the use of hindsight, for I have discovered new artists and new songs in the interim years and, in some cases, during this process of trying to fill out a 100-song list.

Even more interesting to me, an perhaps best evidenced in this particular list, is the commingling of pop songs that I'd eschew on a similar list today, alongside obscure tracks—ones I might not never even have heard of back in the day—that have only emerged through time.

Still, what you see below is an honest attempt to assess a year in time, merging the reality of a list made 20 years later with the idea that, had I been able to conceive of such a list not as a 15-year-old, but as the adult I am now, I would have included pop hits and obscure tunes, aging favorites and new artists.

For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available, but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

Show Grid

Rocket

Smashing Pumpkins

Siamese Dream

Virgin

Notes
Believe

Dig

Dig

Radioactive

Notes
Cannonball

The Breeders

Last Splash

Elektra

Notes
Do You Right

311

Music

Volcano

Notes
Really Drunk

Lotion

Tear EP

Kokopop

Notes
Kicked In

Superchunk

Foolish

Merge

Notes
Web in Front

Archers of Loaf

Icky Mettle

Alias

Notes
Start Choppin'

Dinosaur Jr.

Where You Been

Sire

Notes
She Don't Use Jelly

The Flaming Lips

Transmissions from the Satellite Heart

Warner Bros.

Notes
Low

Cracker

Kerosene Hat

Virgin

Notes
Fallin'

Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul

Judgment Night

Immortal

Notes
Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings

LL Cool J

14 Shots to the Dome

Def Jam

Notes
C.R.E.A.M.

Wu-Tang Clan

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

RCA

Notes
The Return of the Crazy One

Digital Underground

The Body-Hat Syndrome

Jake Records

Notes
I Get Around

2Pac

Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.

Jive

Notes
Slow and Easy

Zapp & Roger

All the Greatest Hits

Warner Bros.

Notes
Knockin' Da Boots

H-Town

Fever for Da Flavor

Luke Records

Notes
Unconditional Love

Hi-Five

Faithful

Jive

Notes
Dreamlover

Mariah Carey

Music Box

Sony

Notes
Right Here (Human Nature Remix)

SWV

Free Willy

Epic

Notes
Return to Innocence

Enigma

The Cross of Changes

Virgin

Notes
Sweet Lullaby

Deep Forest

Deep Forest

Work Hard Play Hard

Notes
Connected

Stereo MCs

Connected

Island

Notes
Big Time Sensuality

Björk

Debut

Elektra

Notes
Yesterday's Gone

Beth Orton

SuperPinkyMandy

Toshiba Japan

Notes
Regret

New Order

Republic

London

Notes
Break It Down Again

Tears for Fears

Elemental

Mercury

Notes
Possession

Sarah McLachlan

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

Arista

Notes
Looking Through Patient Eyes

P.M. Dawn

The Bliss Album…?

Gee Street

Notes
When Can I See You

Babyface

For the Cool in You

Epic

Notes
That's the Way Love Goes

Janet Jackson

janet.

Virgin

Notes
In the Meanwhile

Jodeci

Diary of a Mad Band

MCA

Notes
Show Me Love

Robin S.

Show Me Love

Atlantic

Notes
What Is Love

Haddaway

Haddaway the Album

Arista

Notes
Whatta Man

Salt ’N’ Pepa with En Vogue

Runaway Love

Arista

Also featured on the Salt ’N’ Pepa album Very Necessary
Whoomp! (There It Is)

Tag Team

Whoomp! (There It Is)

Bellmark

Notes
If I Had No Loot

Tony! Toni! Tone!

Sons of Soul

Polygram

Notes
All I Wanna Do

Sheryl Crow

Tuesday Night Music Club

A&M

Notes
Let the Mystery Be

Iris DeMent

Infamous Angel

Warner Bros.

Notes
Wheat Kings

The Tragically Hip

Fully Completely

MCA

Notes
Fields of Gold

Sting

Ten Summoner's Tales

A&M

Notes
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)

Billy Joel

River of Dreams

Columbia

Notes
Opelousas (Sweet Relief)

Maria McKee

Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams

Columbia

Notes
Anna Begins

Counting Crows

August & Everything After

Geffen

Notes
Letter From a Friend

Blues Traveler

Save His Soul

A&M

Notes
Go Slow Down

BoDeans

Go Slow Down

Slash

Notes
At Last We Meet Again

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Warner Bros.

Notes
One Sweet World

Dave Matthews Band

Remember Two Things

Bama Rags

Notes
In a Daydream

The Freddy Jones Band

Waiting for the Night

Capricorn

Notes
Could It Be Another Change

The Samples

The Samples

Arista

Notes
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

Crash Test Dummies

God Shuffled His Feet

Arista

Notes
Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)

Sebadoh

Bubble and Scrape

Sub Pop

Notes
Lovers

David Gray

Wisdom

HUT Recordings

Notes
Fifteen Keys

Uncle Tupelo

Anodyne

Caroline

Notes
This Moment

Matthew Sweet

Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams

Columbia

Notes
Into Your Arms

The Lemonheads

Come on Feel the Lemonheads

Atlantic

Notes
Never Said

Liz Phair

Exile in Guyville

Matador

Notes
Feed the Tree

Belly

Star

Sixteenth Avenue Sound

Notes
Dream All Day

The Posies

Frosting on the Beater

Geffen

Notes
Double Dare

Yo La Tengo

Painful

Matador

Notes
Cure for Pain

Morphine

Cure for Pain

Rykodisc

Notes
Heaven Help

Lenny Kravitz

Are You Gonna Go My Way?

Virgin

Notes
I Can't Stand the Rain

Cassandra Wilson

Blue Light 'Til Dawn

Blue Note

Notes
Trust Me

Guru

Jazzmatazz Volume 1

Chrysalis

Notes
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

Us3

Hand on the Torch

Blue Note

Notes
One in a Million

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth

Poetic Justice

Epic

Notes
Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

Digable Planets

Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)

Columbia

Notes
Award Tour

A Tribe Called Quest

Midnight Marauders

Jive

Notes
Grits

The Roots

Organix

Cargo

Notes
Breakadawn

De La Soul

Buhloone Mindstate

Tommy Boy

Notes
93 'Til Infinity

Souls of Mischief

93 'Til Infinity

Jive

Notes
Hip Hop Hooray

Naughty By Nature

19 Naughty III

Tommy Boy

Notes
Six Feet Deep

Geto Boys

Till Death Do Us Part

Rap-A-Lot

Notes
Getto Jam

Domino

Domino

Def Jam

Notes
You Know How We Do It

Ice Cube

Lethal Injection

Priority

Notes
Gin and Juice

Snoop Doggy Dogg

Doggystyle

Death Row

Notes
Insane in the Brain

Cypress Hill

Black Sunday

Ruffhouse

Notes
Livin' on the Edge

Aerosmith

Get a Grip

Geffen

Notes
Mary Jane's Last Dance

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Greatest Hits

MCA

Notes
Dissident

Pearl Jam

vs.

Epic

Notes
American Jesus

Bad Religion

Recipe for Hate

Atlantic

Notes
Rebel Girl

Bikini Kill

Pussy Whipped

Kill Rock Stars

Notes
Crank

Catherine Wheel

Chrome

Fontana

Notes
Creep

Radiohead

Pablo Honey

Parlophone

Notes
Fade Into You

Mazzy Star

So That Tonight I Might See

EMI

Notes
Dreams

The Cranberries

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

Island

Notes
Sometimes (Lestor Piggott)

James

Laid

Mercury

Notes
Is It Like Today?

World Party

Bang!

Papillion

Notes
Photograph

R.E.M. featuring Natalie Merchant

Born to Choose

Warner Bros.

Notes
Arms of Love

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians

Respect

A&M

Notes
Love Is Stronger Than Death

The The

Dusk

Epic

Notes
Soul to Squeeze

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Soul to Squeeze

Warner Bros.

Notes
Pets

Porno for Pyros

Porno for Pyros

Warner Bros.

Notes
Far Behind

Candlebox

Candlebox

Maverick

Notes
Prison Sex

Tool

Undertow

Grand Master Studios

Notes
Mother '93

Danzig

thrall-demonsweatlive

American

Notes
I Feel You

Depeche Mode

Songs of Faith and Devotion

Mute

Notes
Come Undone

Duran Duran

Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)

Parlophone

Notes
The Wanderer

U2 featuring Johnny Cash

Zooropa

Island

Notes
All Apologies

Nirvana

In Utero

DGC

Notes