My Life Of Music Obsession: 1995

As with 1994 I've decided to include a list of essential albums before getting to the heart of my playlist.



Here's the list of essential albums:

Weezer - The Blue Album.
TLC - Crazysexycool.
2 Pac - Me Against The World.
D'Angelo - Brown Sugar.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999.
Goodie Mob - Soul Food.
Cypress Hill - III (Temples Of Boom).
Live - Throwing Copper.
Archers Of Loaf - Icky Mettle.
Mallrats Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
Clueless Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
Everclear - Sparkle And Fade.
Rancid - ...And Out Come The Wolves.
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill.
The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness.
LL Cool J - Mr. Smith.


Now that you have a list of essentials it's time to move on to the songs that I feel represent 1995.

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

1. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Murder Was The Case (Remix).

2. Veruca Salt - Seether. - A friend once told me that he "never saw any chicks rock as hard as Veruca Salt did" when he saw them live.

3. Weezer - Buddy Holly. - The cool music video for this song turned this Los Angeles band in to overnight sensations.

4. Weezer - Say It Ain't So.

5. Weezer - Undone (The Sweater Song).

6. Filter - Hey Man, Nice Shot.

7. Foo Fighters - I'll Stick Around. - When this came out this band was known as "that drummer from Nirvana's band." Luckily by the next album they proved that they were a force to be reckoned with and "The Foo Fighters" are still very successful 22 years later. Dave is one of the best songwriters in the world.

8. Foo Fighters - Big Me.

9. Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise. - This song spent a lot of time in the #1 spot on many top ten countdowns for the late summer and fall of 1995 and, a good chunk of 1996.

10. Coolio - Too Hot.

11. Coolio - 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) (Remix).

12. Coolio - Rollin' With My Homies.

13. TLC - Creep. - I had the biggest crush on these three ladies thanks to the hot music video for this song.

14. TLC - Diggin' On You.

15. TLC - Red Light Special.

16. TLC - Waterfalls. - I still listen to this song. It's one of the greatest songs ever written.

17. Montell Jordan - Somethin' 4 Da Honeyz.

18. Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It.

19. Monica - Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days).

20. Des'ree - You Gotta Be.

21. Ini Kamoze - Here Comes The Hot Stepper. - "I'm the lyrical gangsta. Murdera."

22. K7 - Come Baby Come.

23. Janet Jackson - Runaway.

24. Luniz - I Got 5 On It. - This song about smoking that sticky icky smelly green stuff became a big hit for this California Bay Area hip hop group. Sadly this song, and the remix were the only two hits for this group.

25. Dr. Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringin'. - Dr. Dre is one of the best producers ever, and all his hip hop stuff is top notch too. I remember a friend calling me one day to tell me got this album called "Friday" and there's a new Dr. Dre song on it. I immediately rode my bike over and listened. Little did I know that this "Friday" album was the soundtrack to what became the best comedy of 1995, and that a line from it ; "Bye Felicia." still gets said to this day in our culture.

26. 2 Pac - Me Against The World. - The title song off of Tupac's best album.

27. 2 Pac - Dear Mama.

28. Skee Lo - I Wish.

29. Subway Feat. 702 - This Lil' Game We Play. - One of many great slow jams to come out in the 1990's.

30. Junior M.A.F.I.A. - Players Anthem. - This song introduced Lil' Kim to the world, and it's another stellar song featuring Notorious B.I.G.

31. Junior M.A.F.I.A. - Get Money.

32. Naughty By Nature - Feel Me Flow.

33. D'Angelo - Brown Sugar. - The title song off of one of the greatest Jazz/Blues albums ever.

34. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999.

35. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha Crossroads. - Big hit for this Cleveland, Ohio group.

36. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - 1st Of Tha Month.

37. Better Than Ezra - Good.

38. Better Than Ezra - In The Blood.

39. Firehouse - I Live My Life For You. - The only band from the so called "Hair Bands" to have a hit beyond 1992.

40. Soul Asylum - Misery. - This song is very personal to me. It was used many years later to close out the Kevin Smith film "Clerks II."

41. Adina Howard - Freak Like Me.

42. Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy. - Their album "Soul Food" that this song came from spent a lot of time in my tape deck in 1995. Cee Lo Green, one of the members of this Atlanta, Georgia group is still very successful to this day.

43. Goodie Mob - Soul Food.

44. Too $hort - Cocktales. - My first introduction to this Bay Area rapper came from this song. Too $hort is a lyrical genius at rhyming. He seriously has great command of the English language.

45. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya. 

46. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo.

47. Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II.

48. Mobb Deep - Survival Of The Fittest.

49. Raekwon - Ice Cream.

50. Raekwon - Incarcerated Scarfaces. - One of the best beats of all time.

51. Kool G Rap - Fast Life. - I heard this thanks to my habit of watching Rap City every day after school. I wore out the cassette tape from playing this song so much.

52. WC And The Madd Circle - West Up. - This is the first "Westside Connection" song. It's the first time WC, Ice Cube and Mack 10 collaborated together, and then they went on to form the latter group together. Coolio was a member of the Madd Circle before going solo and having lots of success.

53. Cypress Hill - Illusions.

54. Cypress Hill - Throw Your Set In The Air.

55. Tha Dogg Pound - Let's Play House.

56. Tha Dogg Pound - New York, New York. - This song is allegedly responsible for sparking the so called "East Coast vs. West Coast beef" in hip hop. I think Journalists are responsible for making a "feud" when there really wasn't one. A lot of people believe it resulted in the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. but I believe it boils down to police corruption, gang members, and a very shady record label executive that had ties to corrupt police officers, and feuds with rival gang members.

57. Tha Dogg Pound - Smooth.

58. The Pharcyde - Runnin'.

59. The Pharcyde - Drop. - This song samples a part of the Beastie Boys song "The New Style." However it's not credited on the album. I do read liner notes.

60. LL Cool J feat. Boyz II Men - Hey Lover. - This comes from LL Cool J's best album. I was very excited to find this album under the Christmas Tree in 1995.

61. LL Cool J - I Shot Ya (Remix).

62. LL Cool J - Doin' It.

63. LL Cool J feat. Total - Loungin' (Who Do Ya Luv).

64. Live - Selling The Drama.

65. Live - I Alone.

66. Live - Lightning Crashes.

67. Live - All Over You.

68. Silverchair - Tomorrow.

69. AC/DC - Hard As A Rock.

70. The Goo Goo Dolls - Name.

71. The Goo Goo Dolls - Ain't That Unusual.

72. Van Halen - Can't Stop Lovin' You.

73. Van Halen - Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do.)

74. Joan Osborne - One Of Us. - The song that made us think "What if God was one of us?"

75. Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way.

76. 311 - Down. - This was my introduction to this Omaha, Nebraska band. I saw them in concert two years later, and became a big time fan.

77. 311 - All Mixed Up.

78. Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends.

79. Elastica - Connection.

80. Presidents Of The United States Of America - Lump. - I think they should make a new version of this song and call it "Trump."

81. Presidents Of The United States Of America - Peaches. - Relatives from California that would come to visit would always sing the chorus from this song.

82. Alice In Chains - Grind.

83. Alice In Chains - Heaven Beside You.

84. Alice In Chains - Again.

85. Face To Face - Disconnected. - This is one of the most iconic Punk Rock songs of all time.

86. The Muffs - Kids In America.

87. Jill Sobule - Supermodel. - One of the many amazing songs on The Clueless soundtrack.

88. Jill Sobule - I Kissed A Girl. - She did it way before Katy Perry.

89. Archers Of Loaf - Web In Front. - This song makes absolutely no sense but it sounds good. I think this band focused on songs that sounded good, and they didn't care if you could understand the lyrics or if they made sense. I still listen to their album "Icky Mettle"  heavily to this day.

90. White Zombie - Super Charger Heaven.

91. White Zombie - More Human Than Human.

92. Mad Season - River Of Deceit. - I think the late great Layne Stayley's pain comes through clearly on this song. Heroin Addiction is a nasty thing.

93. Everclear - Santa Monica.

94. Rancid - Ruby Soho. - If you haven't heard their album "...And Out Come The Wolves", you have seriously been missing out. If anyone says they don't like Punk Rock, I'll hand them a copy of this album. It's a game changer.

95. Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know. - Alanis Morrisette's album "Jagged Little Pill" is one of the greatest albums of all time.

96. Alanis Morissette - Hand In My Pocket.

97. Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet.

98. Alanis Morissette - Ironic.

99. Gin Blossoms - Til I Hear It From You.

100. The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight. - I love, love, love The Smashing Pumpkins.

101. The Smashing Pumpkins - Zero.

102. The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings.

103. The Smashing Pumpkins - Thirty-Three.

104. The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979. - This is one of the most iconic songs of all time.

105. Oasis - Wonderwall. - I've heard a lot of music critics hail Oasis as The Beatles of our time. I'm sorry. I don't feel they are even good enough to be The Beatles of our time, and I'm far from amused about the on stage antics and infighting among the Gallagher Brothers. If you can't get along on stage you probably shouldn't be in a band.

106. Oasis - Champagne Supernova.

107. Blahzay Blahzay - Danger. - One of the many gems I discovered as a result of watching Rap City.

108. DJ Kool - Let Me Clear My Throat.

109. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube - Natural Born Killaz.

110. Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). - The imagery of his first album may not have been shocking enough to make him the most hated man in America, but when he released this music video for his cover of this Eurythmics song people started to pay attention. For the remainder of the 1990's his concerts were heavily protested by religious groups, and every tragedy in the world got blamed on him. When he released his second album in 1996 he was launched into icon status. He's a very visual artist and his image was very controversial, but I feel if people had listened to the lyrics they would've found a genius.

Coming Soon: My Life Of Music Obsession: AC/DC


111. Green Day - Geek Stink Breath.


112. Green Day - Brain Stew.


113. Green Day - Walking Contradiction - This is my favorite song on Green Day's 4th album.


114. No Doubt - Spiderwebs.


115. No Doubt - Just A Girl.


116. No Doubt - Don't Speak.

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