5 Flop Songs From The '90s That Have Earned Respect From Younger Generations

The music landscape of the 2020s is utterly different from how it was in the 1990s, but nevertheless, much of the music of the era has aged surprisingly well. In some cases, relatively overlooked songs have found a new listenership in the 21st century thanks to their use on social media and easy access via streaming services that allow younger listeners to explore the music of decades past.

To prove our point, here are five amazing 1990s tracks that, with hindsight, didn't get the love they deserved the first time around. Some, like a certain Pixies song, were considered a little underwhelming on release, but are now considered among the band's best work. Others, meanwhile, may have represented moderate commercial peaks for much smaller bands, but have, with the passage of time, gained a greater allure that it is frankly mindblowing that they weren't enormous chart toppers back in the day. Whatever the case may be, each of these tracks peaked outside the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 at the time of release, but today have tens of millions of listens on music streaming platforms thanks to being rediscovered by younger listeners who have come to see the tracks as classics.

Few albums from the 1990s have become as meme-famous as cult band Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 masterpiece "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea." The sophomore record built on the success of the band's 1996 debut "On Avery Island," but despite increased critical interest, it remained little known among everyday record buyers for years. However, it became a cult favorite thanks in part to the legend built around frontman Jeff Mangum, who retreated from the music industry shortly after the release of "Aeroplane."

The album's title track now commands the greatest number of listens on streaming services, but it was the uptempo "Holland, 1945" — which is also now hugely popular, with tens of millions of streams — that Neutral Milk Hotel chose to release as a single back in the 1990s. The track is notable for Mangum's rapid-fire delivery and its blaring horns that evoke the World War II themes that permeate the album. "Holland, 1945" is also the song that most explicitly refers to Anne Frank, the Jewish teenage diarist murdered by the Nazis, in the place and year mentioned in the title.

In an interview with Pitchfork given before the album's release, Mangum claimed that he was compelled by the question of whether, if he was more familiar with the history of the world, he would find it more fathomable or more incomprehensible. "The next day I went into a bookstore and walked to the wall in the back, and there was 'The Diary of Anne Frank.' I'd never given it any thought in my entire life. I spent two days reading it and then completely flipped out." Mangum's searing, manic empathy rings through "Holland, 1945," and the once-overlooked song remains the emotional core of "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea."

Pixies was at a crossroads in the early 1990s, after hitting its commercial and critical peak with 1989's "Doolittle" album. In retrospect, improving on such a classic may have been impossible, but with 1990s "Bossanova," the Boston band came very close. Lead single "Velouria" demonstrates everything the record was about: fiery guitar work, infectious rhythms, and taut songwriting from frontman Black Francis. 

Despite "Velouria" performing strongly as a single in the U.K. — where Pixies enjoy a large fanbase — it failed to land on the Billboard Hot 100. However, while undoubtedly overshadowed by other Pixies tracks like "Where Is My Mind?" "Hey," "Velouria" has become a firm fan favorite. Pixies' early discography prior to the band splitting in 1993, has become a rite of passage for alternative rock fans thanks to later figures such as Kurt Cobain citing the band as a key influence, and "Velouria" has since attracted millions of streams. 

The 1990s were the decade when trip hop emerged in the U.K., leading to the emergence of some of the most forward-thinking, timeless pop music ever recorded. Massive Attack and Portishead are undoubtedly the biggest names attached to the genre, but other groups, such as the Hartlepool band Sneaker Pimps, also had notable successes. The band's debut album, "Becoming X," was released in 1996 and is notable for the lead single "6 Underground."

The track features a dreamy vocal from lead singer Kelli Ali, a clever sample of De La Soul's "Breakadawn" — the "one two, one two" which occurs throughout — and contrasting instrumentation, including haunting keys alongside a ragged, snare-heavy drum pattern. The result is a deeply cool, laid-back but edgy track that evokes the decade like few other tracks have the power to do.

A notable hit in the U.K., the track only peaked at No. 45 in the U.S. However, as nearly 86 million streaming figures show, it enjoys a sizable modern listenership among both those who were there at the time and, quite likely, younger listeners nostalgic for a decade they may not even have experienced.

The 1990s were also the decade when Smashing Pumpkins, the alternative rock outfit led by frontman Billy Corgan, was at the peak of its powers, as fan favorite "Today" shows. One of the highlights of the band's sophomore album "Siamese Dream," it was released as a single in September 1993, and though it landed on several Billboard charts it surprisingly failed to enter the Hot 100 at all.

"Today" is indicative of Corgan's uncanny ability to discuss topics such as depression in an entertaining and engaging way, with the song's driving guitar and seemingly positive opening lyrics masking the song's emotional density. It fits into a lineage pioneered by Pixies and Nirvana of songs with impactful quiet-loud dynamics, and it is ultimately an uplifting listen that undoubtedly continues to offer catharsis to younger listeners who appreciate the sense of alienation that underpinned much of Gen X's greatest music. Though Smashing Pumpkins would go on to reach even greater artistic peaks with "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," "Today" was the moment that cemented it as one of the best bands of the early 1990s.

Champaign, Illinois-based band Hum released four albums in the 1990s before breaking up in 2000, but if anything, its reputation has grown in the years since. 1995's "You'd Prefer an Astronaut" has proven to be the band's most enduring work, with its sweet but gritty "Stars" the standout track. "Stars" was released as the band's debut single, and charted high on the Modern Rock chart with help from alternative rock radio play in Los Angeles without ever entering the Billboard Hot 100.

The song is notable for balancing its rich lyrical imagery with cool detachment, with its fuzz-drenched guitars and angular riffs offering a counterpoint to the refrain: "She thinks she missed the train to Mars/ She's out back counting stars." Though on the surface the song has a romantic aspect, there is something disturbing at the core of "Stars," and it rewards repeated listening. "Stars" remained a cult classic until 2008, when its use in a Cadillac TV ad saw digital sales of the song spike, setting it up for a renewed listenership in the 21st century.