My Life Of Music Obsession: 1994

There's one thing different in this entry from previous entries. While I was compiling the playlist for this entry I noticed that it spanned over 200 songs and I wanted to bring that number down a bit. I was able to narrow the playlist down to 115 songs. I did away with deep album cuts in this entry and mainly stuck with singles and hits.

In 1994 there were albums that are solid from start to finish, and I feel they are essential to any serious music collector. So instead of listing every album track I decided to give a list of those essential albums before diving into the heart of my playlist. Here's the list of the essentials:

Nas - Illmatic.
Above The Rim - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. 
Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die.
Nirvana - Unplugged In New York.
Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies.
Green Day - Dookie.
Hootie And The Blowfish - Cracked Rear View.
Dave Matthews Band - Under The Table And Dreaming

Now that you have a list of essentials it's time to move on to the songs that I feel represent 1994.

Check Out The Companion Playlist: Spotify, YouTube, iTunes.

On To The Playlist...


1. SWV - Anything Remix - This is a great song from a great movie soundtrack.

2. Nate Dogg And Warren G - Regulate. - This gangsta rap song became a huge hit for the late great Nate Dogg, and Dr. Dre's half brother Warren G.

3. The Lady Of Rage - Afro Puffs. 

4. Beastie Boys - Root Down.

5. Beastie Boys - Sure Shot.

6. Beastie Boys - Sabotage. - I heard someone make the asinine statement around the time this came out that they didn't like the Beastie Boys anymore because they were "too rap and not as rock as they used to be." I'm not sure if that person was referring to their underground hard core punk days when nobody knew who they were, or the very much hip hop sound that they stuck with since their debut album "Licensed to Ill." This song is the most rock sounding song they made since their hardcore punk days.

7. All-4-One - So Much In Love.

8. All-4-One - I Swear.

9. Boyz II Men - I'll Make Love To You. - Their second album sold even more copies than their first.

10. Boyz II Men - On Bended Knee.

11. Boyz II Men - Water Runs Dry.

12. Boyz II Men - Yesterday. - This is a great example of a great cover of a Beatles song. The Acapella four part harmonies are great.

13. Boyz II Men - Vibin' Remix.

14. Lisa Loeb - Stay (I Missed You). - I love this song. I feel it's one of the greatest pop songs ever written. If it comes on in the car I sing loudly to it.

15. 2 pac - Pain. - This is one of many great songs written by 2 pac. It's almost impossible to track down now unless you own the cassette version of the Above The Rim soundtrack, or the EP "Music from Above The Rim". I've seen the latter go for very high prices on ebay. I don't know why it wasn't given an official spot on the CD version of the soundtrack. I felt it could easily replace the most skipped track on that album by the artist Jewell, but unfortunately Death Row Records who put the soundtrack out wanted to showcase their roster of artists. Oddly enough 2 pac was signed to Death Row a couple years later.

16. R. Kelly - Bump N' Grind.

17. Madonna - Human Nature.

18. Madonna - Take A Bow.

19. Salt N' Pepa - Whatta Man.

20. Salt N' Pepa - None Of Your Business. 

21. Salt N' Pepa - Shoop.

22. John Mellencamp - Wild Night.

23. Elton John - Can You Feel The Love Tonight. 

24. Elton John - Circle Of Life.

25. Coolio - Fantastic Voyage. - This is a great song about getting away from the crime ridden streets of South Central L.A. It's sad that most people don't remember Coolio's early success because his song "Gangsta's Paradise" became such a massive hit that people often forget or overlook his other work.

26. Coolio - I Remember.

27. Big Mountain - Baby, I Love Your Way.

28. Aaliyah - Back And Forth. - I love the late great Aaliyah.

29. Enigma - Return To Innocence.

30. Enigma - Sadeness.

31. Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do.

32. Crash Test Dummies. - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.

33. Da Brat - Funkdafied. - Da Brat didn't do anything all that unique or different from the other hip hop artists of the time, but she made some amazing tunes. I hate that she was given flack for dressing in male clothing by her peers at the time. I respect her for being herself regardless of the criticism she got from others in the hip hop community.

34. Da Brat - Fa All Ya'll.

35. Da Brat - Give It 2 Ya Remix.

36. Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That).

37. D.R.S. - Gangsta Lean. - I think since Boyz II Men and Gangsta Rap were the two biggest things in 1994 that the record labels wanted to find some artists that could combine the two. They found it in D.R.S. aka Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. This R&B ballad about losing your homies to gang violence became a massive hit. Too bad that they never had any success beyond this song, never made a second album, and quickly disappeared.

38. Melissa Etheridge - I'm The Only One.

39. Melissa Etheridge - Come To My Window.

40. Changing Faces - Stroke You Up. -  Let's just say this song was playing in the background during a certain moment in my life.

41. The Cranberries - Ode To My Family.

42. The Cranberries - Zombie. - This song is about the war between the protestants and the IRA in Ireland.

43. Beck - Loser. - The break beat in this song is sampled from the Johnny Jenkins song "I walk on gilded splinters". This is the song that introduced people to the musical genius that Beck is.

44. Domino - Ghetto Jam.

45. Warren G - Do You See? - After his success with the song "regulate" it was time for Warren G to follow up with his debut album. "Regulate...G Funk Era", is a great album. I listened to it a lot between 1994 and 1995.

46. Warren G - So Many Ways.

47. Warren G - This D.J.

48. Real McCoy - Another Night.

49. 69 Boyz - Tootsee Roll. - There is some fart humor in this song.

50. Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear Remix.

51. Brandy - I Wanna Be Down.

52. Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy. - The late great artist's album "Ready to Die" is one of the greatest albums of all time. I remember coming home from school everyday and watching BET's "Rap City." I immediately bought the single for this song.

53. Notorious B.I.G. - Big Poppa. - Everybody else in my High School caught on to and started liking Biggie after this single was released.

54. Notorious B.I.G. And Total - One More Chance/Stay With Me.

55. Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons - December, 1963 (Oh What A Night!). - These guys used a break beat on this song to stage their comeback and it worked really well for them.

56. Alice In Chains - Nutshell.

57. Alice In Chains - I Stay Away.

58. Alice In Chains - No Excuses.

59. Meat Puppets - Back Water.

60. Green Day - Longview. - After Nirvana had opened the flood gates a few years earlier for Punk Rock to be mainstream. Green Day came through the doors with a sound that I can only describe as The Descendents on steroids. Here we are 23 years later and Green Day is still a very successful band.

61. Green Day - When I Come Around

62. Green Day - Basket Case.

63. Nine Inch Nails - Closer. - Try to track down the Super Mario Remix of this song. It's genius.

64. Nine Inch Nails - Hurt (Quiet). - Johnny Cash covered this song.

65. Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days.

66. Soundgarden - Spoonman.

67. Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun. - This is the song that introduced me to Soundgarden. It's one of the greatest songs of all time. After going back and eventually listening to their previous works this song seems kind of dull, but it gave them great success.

68. The Offspring - Bad Habit. - This is a terrible song to listen to in the car especially if you get road rage like me.

69. The Offspring - Come Out And Play.

70. The Offspring - Self Esteem.

71. Nas - The World Is Yours. - Nas's debut album "Illmatic" is pure genius. A line from this song, "I'm out for dead f*cking Presidents to represent me" was sampled in the Jay Z song "Dead Presidents II."

72. Nas - One Love. - This is a song about visiting a friend in prison and telling them what's happening on the outside. It's great. Q-Tip is a guest vocalist on this song.

73. Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell. - I would love to remix this and bring out the Michael Jackson sample more in the mix.

74. Seal - Kiss From A Rose.

75. Blues Traveler - Run Around.

76. Blues Traveler - Hook.

77. Arrested Development - Ease My Mind.

78. Stone Temple Pilots - Vasoline.

79. Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song. 

80. Stone Temple Pilots - Big Empty. 

81. Bone Thugs N' Harmony - Thuggish Ruggish Bone.

82. Bone Thugs N' Harmony - Foe Tha Love Of $. - This song is one of the last appearances by Eazy E before his death from A.I.D.S. in 1995.

83. Hootie And The Blowfish - Only Wanna Be With You. - Something I often catch flack for from my fellow music aficiandos is my love for this band. I felt they made some undeniable and great pop tunes. I'm disappointed that Darius Rucker is now a country artist, but he's sucessful. I want another amazing Hootie And The Blowfish album.

84.  Hootie And The Blowfish - Time.

85. Hootie And The Blowfish - Let Her Cry.

86. Hootie And The Blowfish - Hold My Hand.

87. Sponge - Plowed.

88. Public Enemy - Give It Up.

89. Toadies - Possum Kingdom. - I know somebody who says this is their favorite band. I usually don't hear that about one hit wonders. Maybe I'll check out the rest of their material one day.

90. Thug Life - How Long Will They Mourn Me? - This is just another one of the many great projects that Tupac Shakur was a part of.

91. Dave Matthews Band - What Would You Say? - They took jazz and combined it with pop to formulate their sound. It's an amazing combination.

92. Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching.

93. Danzig - Can't Speak.

94. Korn - Blind.

95. Scarface - No Tears.

96. Scarface - I Seen A Man Die.

97. Fu Schnickens - Breakdown.

98. Bad Religion - 21st Century Digital Boy.

99. R.E.M. - What's The Frequency, Kenneth? 

100. R.E.M.  - Bang And Blame.

101. Nirvana - About A Girl (Unplugged).

102. Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World. - To this day I still love listening to this song. It's one of the many gems I discovered while watching Rap City.

103. Method Man - Bring The Pain.

104. Method Man And Mary J. Blige - I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By.

105. Redman - Rockafella.

106. Bush - Glycerine. - Bush's debut album spawned five hit singles. That's an amazing feat for a band releasing thei first album

107. Bush - Machinehead.

108. Bush - Comedown.

109. Bush - Everything Zen.

110. Bush - Little Things.

111. Candlebox - Far Behind.

112. 10,000 Maniacs - Because The Night (MTV Unplugged).

113. Eazy E - Real Compton City G's.

Coming Soon...My Life Of Music Obsession: 1995.

To read other entries in the "My Life Of Music Obsession" series, click here.

My Life Of Music Obsession: Punk Rock Volume One.

Before getting around to writing about 1994 I felt it's important to give a short primer on Punk Rock.
It's the year (1994) that bands like The Offspring, Green Day, and Rancid broke through to the mainstream and brought Punk Rock to the masses. Some folks may argue that the former two bands aren't punk rock at all, and while that's the case now they were punk rock bands when they first started out. In most cases for those of us who had no idea about Punk those bands helped expose us to it, and led us to go seek out other punk bands like NOFX, or The Ramones, or The Sex Pistols. I didn't start seeking out these other bands until around 1999 when I grew tired of what was being played on the radio. I wanted something different.

This list doesn't follow any particular decade or sub-genre. This is the first entry in a series of what punk rock is to me.

Check out the companion playlist: Spotify, YouTube,  iTunes.

On to the playlist...

1. Circle Jerks - Wild In The Streets.

2. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks. - A good friend of mine in college from Ireland who was taking classes abroad here in the good old U.S.A. made me a CD of the best Undertones songs. They're from Ireland and they wrote some amazing songs that should not be ignored.

3. The Clash - I'm So Bored With The U.S.A. - I've always loved The Clash. Their first 3 albums are incredible.

4. Sex Pistols - Holidays In The Sun. - The album "Nevermind The Bullocks. Here's The Sex Pistols" is one of the greatest albums ever made in any genre.

5. Sham 69 - Hurry Up Harry.

6. Anti-Nowhere League - We're The League. - These guys are the meanest looking band ever. Lead singer, Animal looks like he would stab you with a broken bottle in a bar fight.

I first discovered these guys after hearing Metallica's cover of their song "So What?" which is the most vulgar song I've ever heard. Metallica still performs it live to this day, and every once in a while, Animal will join them on stage.

The song I'm covering in this blog entry "We're The League" is my favorite Anti-Nowhere League song.

7. NOFX - Bob. - I first heard this band in college after seeing lots of people wearing their T - Shirts and seeing their bumper stickers on cars. I had to find out what they were all about.

I met Fat Mike on a warped tour show, and he was kind of rude to me but he did sign an autograph . Years later I don't think asking for autographs from punk rock icons is cool.

NOFX are one of few independent bands to sell millions of records without any radio airplay.

8. Operation Ivy- Yellin' In My Ear. - I have to thank Green Day for exposing me to this band. It was their cover of "Knowledge" that led me to discover these guys.

Operation Ivy's album "Energy" is super amazing and you should check it out.

Their guitarist, Lint aka Tim Armstrong went on to form Rancid.

Years after Operation Ivy broke up, I got to see Jesse Michaels short lived band "Common Rider" live in 2002. They were incredible. I wish they would have lasted for more than two albums. I wish Operation Ivy would do a reunion.

9. Green Day - 2000 Light Years Away.

10. Screeching Weasel - Cool Kids.

11. Black Flag - No Values. - This is my favorite Black Flag song.

12. The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop. - I figured if I'm going to give a primer on punk rock I need to include this band's most well known song. If you're hearing this band for the first time you need to start with this song.

I love The Ramones. I got highly offended when a co-worker called them a novelty act.

13. Fear - Responsibility. - This is my favorite Punk Rock band of all time. Lead singer, Lee Ving got his start playing in blues and soul bands before moving from Philly to Los Angeles to form this band.

They are the only band to be banned from performing on Saturday Night Live for life after the band's crowd caused over $100,000 dollars worth of damage to the SNL set. They were invited to perform on SNL after John Belushi urged the producers of the show to let them on.

This is the only Punk song I know of to have a Harmonica solo in it. I think that's what I've always loved about this band is the amazing musicianship.

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea got his start in this band.

14. Gang Green - Skate To Hell.

15. Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks F*** Off. 

16. The Adicts - Viva La Revolution.

17. Generation X - One Hundred Punks. - This Billy Idol fronted band doesn't have many good songs, but the few they had were really good.

18. Bad Religion - Hooray For Me. - As I get older the more and more I'm able to apply the lyrics of this song to my life. The lyric " I don't exactly want to apologize for anything" describes how I feel at this point in my life.

19. The Vandals - People That Are Going To Hell. 

20. The Bouncing Souls - Apartment 5F. - I've seen this New Jersey band perform live five times.

21. The Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today.

22. The Misfits - Horror Hotel.

23. Descendents - GCF. - All anybody ever wants is some good clean fun. Did you know that lead singer Milo Auckerman is a bio-chemist?

24. The Minutemen - Case Closed.

25. Adam And The Ants - Beat My Guest.

If you would like to read my other entries you can do so by clicking here.