The six most “iconic” songs of the 1990s, according to science
In 2025, the word iconic has been sort of commandeered by culture vultures to an almost satirical point, where something as simple as Adele calling a fan “babe” can now be iconic. So when it comes to finding out just what 1990s songs are deemed scientifically iconic, I’m expecting maybe Hanson’s ‘MMMBop’ to top the list.
That would be a fair reflection of the pop landscape in that decade. Before I dig into what fans will be keen to call “real music”, it’s important we make a quick pit stop at the commercial landscape of the 1990s. Boy and girl bands were stirring up something mighty within culture, with the Spice Girls leading a glamorous new future of female-emboldened pop. Much like the alternative music it mirrored, it was celebratory and liberated, feeling completely at home in this new decade of blissful ignorance.
In 2025 terminology, the Spice World movement would undoubtedly be viewed as iconic, for its distinct identity, slightly humorous esoterica and more importantly, its crossover with the worlds of cinema and fashion. But for this list, cultural currency isn’t the metric. Instead, Dr Grierson of Goldsmiths University, London has devised a list that aggregates multiple “all-time best song” lists using analytical software, studying the various parameters of the songs, including lyrical composition, beats per minute, chord progression and more.
He found that 80 per cent of “iconic” songs are in the major key, with an average tempo of 125 BPM and minimal chord changes. Unsurprisingly, his study also determined that the heavy hitters used repeated buzzwords like “Baby”, “Feel”, and “Love”. It all sounds like the Spice Girls to me.
But the songs that make Dr Grierson’s list only go to prove that the 1990s did, in fact, produce some of the greatest, most “iconic” alternative music of all time. Sitting pretty at the top of the list was Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, which, despite the repeated use of “baby” and “love”, certainly hits all of the criteria. Despite the anti-establishment heartbeat of the band, it was arranged like any great chart earworm of the era.
One of the key elements of that was Dave Grohl’s drumming, which he later admitted was a rip-off from the disco outfit The Gap Band. “If you listen to Nevermind, the Nirvana record,” Grohl began. “I pulled so much of that stuff from The Gap band, Cameo and Tony Thompson on every one of those records. It’s all disco; that’s all it is.”
He continued, showing how the drum fill at the beginning of the Nirvana song was almost a direct replica of The Gap Band’s disco introductions and thus revealed the secret ingredient to the band’s universal and commercial success.
‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ set the stage for other ‘90s guitar icons to join the list. Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’, U2’s ‘One’ and Oasis’ ‘Live Forever’ all join Nirvana on the list of the 1990s’ most scientifically iconic songs. Live Forever is certainly easy to understand, for it was brilliant in the simplest terms.
Hitting all the notes of Dr Grierson’s remit, the song showcased the band’s knack of weaving together simple chord progressions and aimlessly romantic lyrics to create something undeniably iconic.
