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“What really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films — these things matter.”
— High Fidelity

Etcetera

Best Songs of 1994

For all of 2014 (and some of 2013), I have been working on lists representing 30, 20, and 10 years ago, along with a list for this year. Unlike every other list, this one might best represent what I actually would have done at the time.

It might also be a representation of my favorite year of music in my lifetime. It's hard to separate the music itself from the fact that I was 15 and impressionable, making a truly objective statement on the matter next to impossible. Still, objectivity is irrelevant when it comes to lists like this. And besides, I can let the music (and my audience) speak for itself.

If the music could speak, it might talk about how 1994 found a great merger between the popular and the critically acclaimed, or how genres like hip hop had matured enough to begin to provide an ever-expanding array of voices and sounds. One might say the same about the evolution of ’80s college rock into what would become known by the middle of the decade as indie rock and its more commercially successful cousin, that nebulous distinction known as “alternative”.

So maybe the greatness of 1994 wasn’t just about my teenage years, but the corresponding teenage years of certain kinds of music. We both found out who we were, and began to see the possibilities that lay before us. Back then, in a time of youth and prosperity and safety and optimism, they were endless.

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 and my preferred outlet, Rdio. Sadly all 100 tracks aren't available, but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.

  1. Ill Communication

    Sure Shot

    Beastie Boys

    Ill Communication

    Grand Royal

    Notes

  2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

    Cut Your Hair

    Pavement

    Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

    Matador

    Notes

  3. Mellow Gold

    Loser

    Beck

    Mellow Gold

    DGC

    Notes

  4. Bee Thousand

    Tractor Rape Chain

    Guided by Voices

    Bee Thousand

    Revolver

    Notes

  5. File Under: Easy Listening

    Your Favorite Thing

    Sugar

    File Under: Easy Listening

    Rykodisc

    Notes

  6. Whip-Smart

    Supernova

    Liz Phair

    Whip-Smart

    Matador

    Notes

  7. Cardinal

    Dream Figure

    Cardinal

    Cardinal

    Flydaddy

    Notes

  8. Red Right Hand

    Red Right Hand

    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

    Red Right Hand

    Mute

    Notes

  9. Pulp Fiction

    Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon

    Urge Overkill

    Pulp Fiction

    MCA

    Notes

  10. Holiday

    Strange Powers

    The Magnetic Fields

    Holiday

    Merge

    Notes

  11. The Sea and Cake

    Jacking the Ball

    The Sea and Cake

    The Sea and Cake

    Thrill Jockey

    Notes

  12. Aware 2 The Compilation

    The Wishing Time

    Catfish Jenkins

    Aware 2 The Compilation

    Aware

    Notes

  13. DGC Rarities

    Einstein on the Beach

    Counting Crows

    DGC Rarities Vol. 1

    DGC

    Notes

  14. Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete

    Hey Sandy

    Polaris

    Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete

    Mezzotint

    CD actually released in 1999.

  15. Without a Sound

    Feel the Pain

    Dinosaur Jr.

    Without a Sound

    Sire

    Notes

  16. Diary

    Seven

    Sunny Day Real Estate

    Diary

    Sub Pop

    Notes

  17. Encendedor

    Shrine

    The Dambuilders

    Encendedor

    Atlantic

    Notes

  18. full Isaac

    She Is Weird City

    Lotion

    full Isaac

    spinART

    Notes

  19. Meet the Real You

    My Pathetic Friend

    Noise Addict

    Meet the Real You

    Grand Royal

    Notes

  20. Light Music for Dying People

    Barbarossa

    Sordid Humor

    Light Music for Dying People

    Capricorn

    Notes

  21. Teenager of the Year

    Headache

    Frank Black

    Teenager of the Year

    Elektra

    Notes

  22. Wildflowers

    A Higher Place

    Tom Petty

    Wildflowers

    Warner Bros.

    Notes

  23. Dance Naked

    Wild Night

    John Mellencamp featuring Meshell Ndegeocello

    Dance Naked

    Mercury

    Notes

  24. I Love Everybody

    Penguins

    Lyle Lovett

    I Love Everybody

    Curb

    Notes

  25. West Coast Boogaloo

    Tenor Man

    The Greyboy Allstars

    West Coast Boogaloo

    Greyboy

    Notes

  26. Lucacentric

    Lucas With the Lid Off

    Lucas

    Lucacentric

    Big Beat

    Notes

  27. Reality Bites

    Revival!

    Me Phi Me

    Reality Bites

    RCA

    Notes

  28. Resurrection

    I Used to Love H.E.R.

    Common

    Resurrection

    Relativity

    Notes

  29. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

    The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

    Prince

    The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

    NPG

    Notes

  30. Hard to Earn

    Mass Appeal

    Gang Starr

    Hard to Earn

    Noo Trybe

    Notes

  31. Age Ain't Nothing But a Number

    Back and Forth

    Aaliyah

    Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number

    Jive

    Notes

  32. Crazysexycool

    Creep

    TLC

    Crazysexycool

    LaFace

    Notes

  33. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

    Crumblin' Erb

    Outkast

    Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

    LaFace

    Notes

  34. Protection

    Protection

    Massive Attack

    Protection

    Virgin

    Notes

  35. Amplified Heart

    Missing

    Everything But the Girl

    Amplified Heart

    Atlantic

    Notes

  36. Seal

    Fast Changes

    Seal

    Seal

    ZTT

    Notes

  37. Definitely Maybe

    Live Forever

    Oasis

    Definitely Maybe

    Epic

    Notes

  38. Sixteen Stone

    Machinehead

    Bush

    Sixteen Stone

    Interscope

    Notes

  39. Second Coming

    Love Spreads

    The Stone Roses

    Second Coming

    Geffen

    Notes

  40. Parklife

    Girls & Boys

    Blur

    Parklife

    Food

    Notes

  41. This Timeless Turning

    Shipwrecked

    Sky Cries Mary

    This Timeless Turning

    World Domination

    Notes

  42. Under the Pink

    God

    Tori Amos

    Under the Pink

    Atlantic

    Notes

  43. Dummy

    Glory Box

    Portishead

    Dummy

    Go! Beat

    Notes

  44. The Downward Spiral

    Closer

    Nine Inch Nails

    The Downward Spiral

    Interscope

    Notes

  45. Throwing Copper

    White, Discussion

    Live

    Throwing Copper

    Radioactive

    Notes

  46. Ruby Vroom

    Screenwriter's Blues

    Soul Coughing

    Ruby Vroom

    Slash

    Notes

  47. Tical

    Bring the Pain

    Method Man

    Tical

    Def Jam

    Notes

  48. Project: Funk Da World

    Flava in Ya Ear

    Craig Mack

    Project: Funk Da World

    Bad Boy

    Notes

  49. One More Chance

    One More Chance (Stay With Me Remix)

    The Notorious B.I.G.

    One More Chance

    Bad Boy

    Notes

  50. Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age

    Give It Up

    Public Enemy

    Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age

    Def Jam

    Notes

  51. Zingalamaduni

    Ease My Mind

    Arrested Development

    Zingalamaduni

    Chrysalis

    Notes

  52. G. Love & Special Sauce

    This Ain't Living

    G. Love & Special Sauce

    G. Love & Special Sauce

    Epic

    Notes

  53. Fearless

    American Life in the Summertime

    Francis Dunnery

    Fearless

    Atlantic

    Notes

  54. Together Alone

    Locked Out

    Crowded House

    Together Alone

    Capitol

    Notes

  55. Stoned and Dethroned

    Sometimes Always

    The Jesus and Mary Chain

    Stoned and Dethroned

    Warner Bros.

    Notes

  56. Love Spit Love

    Am I Wrong

    Love Spit Love

    Love Spit Love

    Imago

    Notes

  57. Toward the Within

    American Dreaming

    Dead Can Dance

    Toward the Within

    4AD

    Notes

  58. There's Nothing Wrong With Love

    Reasons

    Built to Spill

    There's Nothing Wrong With Love

    Up

    Notes

  59. Pisces Iscariot

    Whir

    Smashing Pumpkins

    Pisces Iscariot

    Virgin

    Notes

  60. Grace

    Last Goodbye

    Jeff Buckley

    Grace

    Columbia

    Notes

  61. Cracked Rear View

    Not Even the Trees

    Hootie & The Blowfish

    Cracked Rear View

    Atlantic

    Notes

  62. Under the Table and Dreaming

    Warehouse

    Dave Matthews Band

    Under the Table and Dreaming

    BMG

    Notes

  63. Aware 2 The Compilation

    Eleanor

    Shannon Worrell

    Aware 2 The Compilation

    Aware

    Notes

  64. This Perfect World

    Bad Reputation

    Freedy Johnston

    This Perfect World

    Elektra

    Notes

  65. Reality Bites

    Stay

    Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

    Reality Bites

    RCA

    Notes

  66. Welcome to the Cruel World

    Walk Away

    Ben Harper

    Welcome to the Cruel World

    Virgin

    Notes

  67. Home

    Hole in the Bucket

    Spearhead

    Home

    Capitol

    Notes

  68. Blunted on Reality

    Nappy Heads (Remix)

    Fugees

    Blunted on Reality

    Ruffhouse

    Notes

  69. It Takes a Thief

    I Remember

    Coolio

    It Takes a Thief

    Tommy Boy

    Notes

  70. Murder Was the Case

    Murder Was the Case (Remix)

    Snoop Doggy Dogg

    Murder Was the Case

    Death Row

    Notes

  71. Regulate

    Regulate

    Warren G featuring Nate Dogg

    Regulate… G Funk Era

    Def Jam

    Notes

  72. Behind Bars

    Behind Bars (Dum Ditty Dum Mix)

    Slick Rick

    Behind Bars

    Def Jam

    Notes

  73. Illmatic

    It Ain't Hard to Tell

    Nas

    Illmatic

    Columbia

    Notes

  74. Do You Want More

    Swept Away

    The Roots

    Do You Want More?!!!??!

    DGC

    Notes

  75. Natural Ingredients

    Rollin'

    Luscious Jackson

    Natural Ingredients

    Grand Royal

    Notes

  76. Out of Range

    Buildings and Bridges

    Ani DiFranco

    Out of Range

    Righteous Babe

    Notes

  77. Big Blue Sky

    Pandora

    Shawn Mullins

    Big Blue Sky

    SMG

    Notes

  78. Roman Candle

    No Name #3

    Elliott Smith

    Roman Candle

    Kill Rock Stars

    Notes

  79. Dulcinea

    Windmills

    Toad the Wet Sprocket

    Dulcinea

    Columbia

    Notes

  80. Philadelphia

    Streets of Philadelphia

    Bruce Springsteen

    Philadelphia

    Epic

    Notes

  81. Loose

    Crazy Mary

    Victoria Williams

    Loose

    Mammoth

    Notes

  82. Maybe You Should Drive

    Alternative Girlfriend

    Barenaked Ladies

    Maybe You Should Drive

    Sire

    Notes

  83. Necktie Second

    If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself)

    Pete Droge

    Necktie Second

    American

    Notes

  84. Aware 2 The Compilation

    Good

    Better Than Ezra

    Aware 2 The Compilation

    Aware

    Notes

  85. Too High to Die

    Backwater

    Meat Puppets

    Too High to Die

    London

    Notes

  86. Rubberneck

    Possum Kingdom

    Toadies

    Rubberneck

    Interscope

    Notes

  87. Dookie

    Longview

    Green Day

    Dookie

    Reprise

    Notes

  88. Smash

    Self Esteem

    The Offspring

    Smash

    Epitaph

    Notes

  89. Let's Go

    Salvation

    Rancid

    Let's Go

    Epitaph

    Notes

  90. Stranger Than Fiction

    Stranger Than Fiction

    Bad Religion

    Stranger Than Fiction

    Atlantic

    Notes

  91. Weezer

    Say It Ain't So

    Weezer

    Weezer

    DGC

    Notes

  92. Hips and Makers

    Your Ghost

    Kristin Hersh

    Hips and Makers

    Reprise

    Notes

  93. Swamp Ophelia

    Touch Me Fall

    Indigo Girls

    Swamp Ophelia

    Epic

    Notes

  94. Monster

    Star 69

    R.E.M.

    Monster

    Warner Bros.

    Notes

  95. Purple

    Still Remains

    Stone Temple Pilots

    Purple

    Atlantic

    Notes

  96. Superunknown

    Superunknown

    Soundgarden

    Superunknown

    A&M

    Notes

  97. Vitalogy

    Corduroy

    Pearl Jam

    Vitalogy

    Epic

    Notes

  98. Jar of Flies

    I Stay Away

    Alice in Chains

    Jar of Flies

    Sony

    Notes

  99. Live Through This

    Asking for It

    Hole

    Live Through This

    DGC

    Notes

  100. Unplugged in New York

    Where Did You Sleep Last Night

    Nirvana

    Unplugged in New York

    DGC

    Notes