So I feel like I didn't make the point of this topic clear enough originally, so I am editing this to be a little more clear:
I want to build a list of songs that distinctly - almost to the point of stereotypifying - defined the common sounds heard in the 90s and early 2000's (early aughts)
These would be chart toppers of that era among any other bands you think have built their sound strictly upon that era.
I'm not limiting this by genre; so we can have our Grunge with Hip Hop and early days House, so long as they are all very distinct with that 90s feel. I realize "distinct 90s sound" is a vague and somewhat subjective opinion. So for an example, I would not consider "Massive Attack" distinctly 90s, even though they got their start in the 90s because their style is uniquely their own and therefore does not typify the common tonality that was predominantly present in any genre of the 90s.
I am making a change to the bands section. Bands listed are bands that really only had their peak in the 90s/early aughts and ultimately disappeared there after. This will keep the list cleaner.
BANDS:
Alice In Chains (1987-2002)
Backstreet Boys (1993-2000/Present)
Britney Spears (1998-2005/Present)
Cranberries (1989-2003)
Culture Beat (1989-2001/Present)
Nirvana (1987-1994)
NSYNC (1995-2002)
Pearl Jam (1990-Present)
Soundgarden (1984-1997)
songs sorted by domain *read below to understand "domain"
SONGS:
Electronic:
"No Limit" - 2Unlimited
"Days Go By" - Dirty Vegas
"Personal Jesus" - Depeche Mode
"What is Love" - Haddaway
"You Make Me Feel Alright" - Amadin
"Mr. Vain" - Culture Beat
"Hymn" - Moby
"Porcelain" - Moby
"Crucified" - Army of Lovers
"Last Train to Trancentral" - The KLF
"Power of American Natives" - Dance 2 Trance
"Right In The Night" - Jam & Spoon
"Out of the Blue" - System F
"For an Angel" - Paul van Dyk
"Delerium" - Silence or maybe it's Tiesto or Paul Okenfold, I have conflicting sources
"Blue" - Eiffel 65
"Scatman" - Scatman John
"Everybody's Free" - Rozalla
"Xpander" - Sasha
"Tranzy State of Mind" - Push
"Dragostea Din Tei Numa Numa " - O-Zone
Hop:
"Poison" - bbd
"Waterfall" - TLC
"Angel" - Shaggy
"Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer
"The Power" - Snap!
"Ice Ice Baby" - Vanilla Ice
"Good Vibrations" - Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch
"Nuthin But a G Thang" - Dr. Dre
Rock/Light:
"Soak Up the Sun" - Sheryl Crow
"Bittersweet Symphony" - The Verve
"Fly" - Sugar Ray
"Someday" - Sugar Ray
"All Star" - Smash Mouth
"I'm a Believer" - Smash Mouth
Rock/Heavy:
"Song 2" - Blur
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Superman" - Goldfinger
"Zombie" - Cranberries
"1985" - Bowling For Soup
"Almost" - Bowling For Soup
"Unbelievable" - EMF
"Jesus He Knows Me" - Genesis
"Even Flow" - Pearl Jam
"Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden
"Would?" - Alice In Chains
Pop:
"Bye Bye Bye" - NSYNC
"I Want It That Way" - Backstreet Boys
"Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
"Oops I Did It Again" - Britney Spears
"Toxic" - Britney Spears
"Genie In A Bottle" - Christina Aguilera
"Step By Step" - New Kids On The Block
to further tidy up the list since the songs are growing, I will now separate them by genre "domains". I refer to these as domains for a reason. They should not be considered the defacto genre of the song, but rather the domain of musical style in which it's genre would be contained. This is to keep the list clean. If you really have a problem with a song being contained under a certain domain, then let me know - but think before you post. This isn't a definitive list.
I want give a little thanks to forum member @anon37371794 for the massive contribution to the list! Maybe with his contribution we can make this the most comprehensive list on the internet! (It's always good to dream big)
Honorable Mentions:
"Satisfaction" - Benny Banassi
"Seven Cities" - *Solarstone
honorable mentions are songs that were released in the time frame, but I feel have a more "timeless" feeling to these songs that transcends the prevalent trends that characterized the music of this time frame, but at the same time still feel like a product of that age.