60. Harvey Danger – “Save It for Later”
The 1982 hit “Save It For Later” by second wave ska innovators the Beat (or the English Beat as they were known on this side of the pond) is one of the greatest alt-rock songs ever written, covered by the likes of Pete Townsend, Pearl Jam, and Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Harvey Danger of “Flagpole Sitta” fame scored a minor hit with a string-heavy version of the introspective classic, which the band recorded for the quintessentially late-’90s ensemble flick 200 Cigarettes. — MAGGIE SEROTA
59. Shootyz Groove – “L Train”
Shootyz Groove were a sticker band: Go to enough record stores, all ages venues, or skateparks, and you could spot their tribal wildstyle logo from a hundred yards. It was an underground ad campaign, a trail of evidence proving that SG were one of the hardest working bands to emerge from the early-’90s NYC underground. By 1999 these ambitious aggro-fusionists had gone from DIY band to major label act to indie act and back again and, like many of their peers, they were wrestling with pop vibes and corporate expectations. Those pressures certainly polished the edges off their sound, but left us with this chart-anchoring earworm, a love letter to pre-avocado-toast Brooklyn. — SEAN MALONEY
58. Filter – “Welcome to the Fold”
“You think you’re precious / and I think you’re shit.” Fair enough, Richard Patrick! After the success of the Nine Inch Nails alum’s first album, Patrick’s Filter moved beyond being the type of band that was perfect for projects like the Spawn and The Crow: City of Angels soundtracks. The debut single from their sophomore album Title of Record split the difference between TRL-friendly nü-metal and the less-compromising work of former mentor Trent Reznor. The key to its modest charm is the dichotomy between the soaring chorus melodies and the strangled screams of the verse. Title of Record‘s second single, about Patrick blacking out on an airplane, would make Filter known far beyond the sphere of alternative rock radio the following year. But it was “Welcome to the Fold” that set the course toward bigger things. — WINSTON COOK-WILSON
57. Smash Mouth – “Then the Morning Comes”
The third single from Smash Mouth’s smash Astro Lounge was a shimmying cocktail-rock about the tour grind. “Well, the first thing you hear is an alarm clock, then it’s like Groundhog Day,” guitarist Greg Camp told SongFacts. “You open the door to your bus and you walk out into the club or an arena or whatever it was, and try to figure out where you are and what you did the night before and with who. So that’s what that song is, just sort of a circus feel.” — CHRISTOPHER R. WEINGARTEN
56. Semisonic – “Secret Smile”
The Minneapolis band’s warm and buttery third hit single is nearly forgotten in the states, lingering in the shadow of “Singing in My Sleep” and the indelible “Closing Time.” “Secret Smile” supposedly came to lead singer Dan Wilson in a dream. The song—a UK juggernaut—is probably about what it seems to be about: a dodgy, self-pitying sort of bloke in need of validation from an absent lover. With a different beat and more soulful vocal melisma, it could have been Jamiroquai’s handiwork. — WINSTON COOK-WILSON
55. Godsmack – “Whatever”
As Seattle grunge spread across the country throughout the ’90s, it reached decade’s end in a somewhat different place, both geographically and spiritually. A quartet of Massholes from a suburb of Boston, Godsmack named themselves after one of the bleakest Alice in Chains album tracks about heroin, but wrote macho songs about whiskey. Still, their debut single “Whatever” was an irresistible hard rock jock jam with screeching guitars and vocalist Sully Erna bellowing “go away!” As guitarist Tony Rombola told Loudwire last year, the lyric was, “Sully’s answer to his girlfriend when we were going through the whole struggle between rehearsing five nights a week, and trying to keep a relationship going at the same time.” — AL SHIPLEY
54. Jimmie’s Chicken Shack – “Do Right”
Alt-rock also-rans Jimmie’s Chicken Shack of Annapolis, Maryland, started off by making vaguely antisocial funk-metal in the vein of early Incubus, before shifting to the more affable slacker-party-guy vibe on their second album. “Do Right,” their lone brush with radio airplay, is a charming sing-along about disappointing your loved ones—leader Jimi Haha wrote it about his then-girlfriend years before it was recorded for Bring Your Own Stereo—and the auditory equivalent of a lager with a lime shoved in it. In the Annapolis area, “Do Right” has had an extended life at backyard parties, and as a go-to cover for the sort of bands whose lead singers wear shorts and play Ovation acoustic guitars. For everyone else, it probably passed through your life briefly and unmemorably, but not unpleasantly. There are worse things in the world than Corona Light. — ANDY CUSH
53. Buckcherry – “Lit Up”
By the time 1999 lurched around, grunge had started to curdle into its sullen post-peak form. But the Los Angeles cock-rock revisionists Buckcherry took off in the other direction with their debut single, a riff-heavy paean to getting utterly trashed off yayo (“I love the cocaine, I love the cocaine,” its swaggering—and extremely bleepable—chorus went). “It’s not a song that’s telling people to do a lot of cocaine,” frontman Josh Todd informed SPIN in 1999. “It’s just a song about getting loaded, you know?” — MAURA JOHNSTON
52. Citizen King – “Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out)”
This Milwaukee, Wisconsin, crew were consistently misidentified on file-sharing services as “Sublime” thanks to their dusty hip-hop drums, breezy acoustic guitars, dancehall-inflected delivery, and the distinct sense that the singer had a bottle opener on the sole of his flip-flop. The song was inspired by leader Matt Sims’ days working at a dollar store. “I decided music had to be all or nothing,” he told Billboard. “Not much has changed though. I’m still pinching pennies.” — ANDY CUSH
51. Bare Jr. – “You Blew Me Off”
“You Blew Me Off,” a bubble-grunge sorta-hit about conflicted hetero sexiness, made a minor impact on the charts but major impact on its hometown. The song is a sort-of-blueprint for the hook-heavy garage rock that would elevate Nashville’s underground scene to an international concern in the 21st Century, all shouty chorus and flailing fuzz. Bandleader Bobby Bare Jr., son of country star Bobby Bare, would mentor dozens of musicians over the years, including folks in the liner notes of your favorite new country acts, eventually joining Guided By Voices. Guitarist Mike Grimes would start Grimey’s New & Pre-Loved Music, one of America’s best record shops. The twang-scream “You Blew Me Off” stands as a reminder that Southern Rock was under-appreciated during the Clinton era. — SEAN MALONEY
