VH1′s 40 GREATEST R&B SONGS OF THE 90S

Congrats, you've landed on the one, the only, the impossible poll.

Top 10:

38. Jade, “Don’t Walk Away”
32. Johnny Gill, “Rub You The Right Way”
30. Ginuwine, “Pony”
28. Faith Evans, “Love Like This”
25. Lisa Stansfield, “All Around The World”
18. SWV, “I’m So Into You”
11. En Vogue, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”
9. Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody?”
4. Janet Jackson, “That’s The Way Love Goes”
1. Bell Biv Devoe, “Poison”

voted for "Real Love," obv a lot of great songs here but for most of the artists there are other songs i liked more than the one they picked

how the hell is "Too Close" not on here and how is "Bump n' Grind" not number one

5 Worst:

26. K-Ci & JoJo, “All My Life”
19. Usher, “You Make Me Wanna”
15. Brian McKnight, “Back At One”
5. R. Kelly, “I Believe I Can Fly”
2. Mariah Carey Featuring Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day”

"Too Close" is a pretty crazy omission

"One Sweet Day" is definitely some bullshit

seriously I love R. Kelly but "I Believe I Can Fly" is pretty much the worst thing he ever did

"Sensitivity" by Ralph Tresvant would've been nice to see on here.

obv a lot of great songs here but for most of the artists there are other songs i liked more than the one they picked
some dude, OTM

I mean, I don't want to nitpick a list that has this much awesome on it, but 3 B2M tracks and only one from Janet?

Answer's probably Aaliyah or Blackstreet*, but I really want to vote for my favorite Janet song.

*where the fuck is "Return of the Mack"?

God, I missed "Return of the Mack" missing the cut too!

real love/pony/this is how we do it

fuck i really wanted to watch this, totes forgot it was on

This comes down to "Pony" vs. "Poison" for me.

these are 10 of my fav songs ever

1. this is how we do it
2. you make me wanna
3. are you that somebody
4. no scrubs
5. pony
6. that's the way love goes
7. no diggity
8. real love
9. crossroads
10. boy is mine

you could put those in any order tho & i wouldn't argue

Yeah, voted "Pony" even though it hurts me not to vote for something from the first three magnificent years of the decade.

i didnt even see 'the boy is mine'!! man i love that song.

i'm watching the list on VH1 right now, thought maybe the "One Sweet Day" segment would jog my memory somewhat but nah, still can't hum that garbage

i was never a big "poison" fan

"top 10 songs left off this list" would be a good listicle for someone who knows more about 90s r&b than me

TLC - "Creep"
D'Angelo - "Lady"
Destiny's Child - "Bills, Bills, Bills"
Erykah Badu - "Tyrone"
Janet Jackson - "If"
Next - "Too Close"
Aaliyah - "One In A Million"
Mark Morrison - "Return Of The Mack"
Jodeci - "Cry For You"
Toni Braxton - "You're Makin' Me High"

That's more like it, some dude.

Creep>>>Waterfalls

Might hafta throw a sympathy vote to "Freak Me" if nobody else is gonna show it some love. Also, huge thumbs-down (to VH1) for all the cheezy power-ballad nonsense near the top of the list

Missing the super-est super group of all time: Salt N Pepa + En Vogue - Whatta Man

But I guess I'm gonna go for “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”

Xpost aw hell ya! Huge omission

my top 107:
- r u that somebody
- this is how we do it
- where my girls at
- poison
- bump'n'grind
- no diggity
- crossroads (one of my fav songs; I don't really think of it as "rnb" but w/e)

huge thumbs-down (to VH1) for all the cheezy power-ballad nonsense near the top of the list

Yeah, if "One Sweet Day" is the second greatest R&B song of the '90s, then Celine Dion needs to be in the top 10.

10 left off:

Janet Jackson, "If"
Mark Morrison, "Return Of The Mack"
Zhane, "Hey Mr. DJ"
Erykah Badu, "On & On"
Ralph Trevsant, "Sensitivity"
Next, "Too Close"
SWV, "Anything"
Jade, "Every Day of the Week"
Michael Jackson, "Remember the Time"
Tevin Campbell, "Can We Talk"

huge thumbs-down (to VH1) for all the cheezy power-ballad nonsense near the top of the list

Yeah, if "One Sweet Day" is the second greatest R&B song of the '90s, then Celine Dion needs to be in the top 10.

― old people are made of poop (Eric H.), Friday, June 29, 2012 2:03 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark

to be fair, a while back i was looking through old 90s issues of Billboard and was always surprised how often Celine popped up on the R&B charts

As great as 1990-1993 and 1996-1999 were for R&B, the mid-90s were pretty dire.

I mean, The Tony Rich Project, people.

these lists are missing "my boo"

the early nineties Jam-Lewis tracks for the New Editioners are astounding. No way could I choose "Sensitivity" over "Rub You The Right Way."

These are incredible:

Jade, “Don’t Walk Away”
Shanice, “I Love Your Smile”
Boyz II Men, “Motownphilly”
Keith Sweat, “Twisted”
Ginuwine, “Pony”
Tony! Toni! Toné!, “Feels Good”
Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody?”

these lists are missing "my boo"

Gah, forgot that one!

is there a scene in Magic Mike where Channing Tatum strips and poll dances to "Pony"? I need to know now

Alfred, your continued lack of love for "Sensitivity" sends you straight back to the Copacabana.

You can always put Ralph Tresvant where your heart ought to be.

these lists are missing "my boo"

― J0rdan S., Friday, June 29, 2012 2:27 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

scanned the list up and down for it. would have my vote.

went with no diggity

As great as 1990-1993 and 1996-1999 were for R&B, the mid-90s were pretty dire.

― old people are made of poop (Eric H.), Friday, June 29, 2012 11:26 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I mean, The Tony Rich Project, people.

― old people are made of poop (Eric H.), Friday, June 29, 2012 11:26 AM Bookmark

Mid-90s r&b is my favorite period of any music and as far as Tony Rich, "Nobody Knows" is like, the greatest fake Babyface song.

You are weird.

No Diggity w/ Poison close behind

bag it up

Mid-90s r&b is my favorite period of any music

otm

"Nobody Knows" is basically "How Do I Live."

This list kind of does a disservice to even the really great stuff on it, though. Ship OTM about it missing a lot of better songs by the same artists. My top ten:

Montell Jordan, “This Is How We Do It”
Mary J. Blige, “Real Love”
Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody?”
Ginuwine, “Pony”
Bell Biv Devoe, “Poison”
Usher, “You Make Me Wanna”
Blackstreet, “No Diggity”
En Vogue, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”
TLC, “No Scrubs”
TLC, “Waterfalls”

"Nobody Knows" is basically "How Do I Live."

― old people are made of poop (Eric H.), Friday, June 29, 2012 1:25 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

U mad. It's basically "When Can I See You Again" except improbably even better.

kinda lol that Color Me Badd almost made the top 10

I admit I think almost all post-Tender Lover Babyface is pretty awful. (But "My Kinda Girl" is my jam, et al.)

This list has a depressing lack of "Freak Like Me".

No Scrubs

or

Real Love

Montell Jordan, “This Is How We Do It”

or that

^_^

From the list, "Don't Walk Away"; off the list, Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Let's Get Down," SWV's "Right Here (Human Nature)," or Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me."

SWV's "Right Here (Human Nature)," or Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me."

yes please

Waterfalls. If they'd chosen Don't Let Go as one of the En Vogues I'd have gone for that, it's perhaps my favourite ever r&b ballad.

aw shit Shanice vs Bone Thugs vs Montell Jordan vs Ginuwine

Groove theory "tell me" is better than most of these..

"Brown sugar".. "one in a million" ..

And yes to sadly missing "freak like me" "my boo" "return of the mack" "right here human nature"

Although I shockingly approve of "poison" at #1 which makes up for most of the omisions

last time I heard "Poison" it sounded really dated. I should listen to "Do Me" to see how that held up

I'm already regretting not tossing a vote to Bone Thugs

all new jack swing sounds dated bc no one swings anymore:(
"poison" is awesome forever

Whut, no 112 'Cupid'?

i just heard "Cupid" on the radio tonight, such a great song

the new jack swing classics haven't dated at all, you throw that shit on anywhere anytime and everybody loses their mind

wld consider if i had no loot

it sounds dece right now, maybe it was just the context in which I heard it or the shitty car radio speakers I heard it over...

No Loot is great yeah. Lets Get Down is my TTT jam tho.

^^^^

cdn't not vote Shanice in the end, love you boo

Happy 702, everybody!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ojOERy-mf8

(Happy ad embedded right into the beginning video day too, apparently.)

votin En Vogue “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” in lieu of Adina Howard "Freak Like Me"

i love Lisa Stansfield too but acknowledge it was retro. as far as powerballad R&B goes I'm missing Toni B's "another sad love song"

and I prefer "This is the Right Time"

These are all great:

39. En Vogue, “Hold On”
38. Jade, “Don’t Walk Away”
37. Shanice, “I Love Your Smile”
36. Boyz II Men, “Motownphilly”
33. 702, “Where My Girls At?”
32. Johnny Gill, “Rub You The Right Way”
31. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, “Tha Crossroads”
29. Tony! Toni! Toné!, “Feels Good”
28. Faith Evans, “Love Like This”
25. Lisa Stansfield, “All Around The World”
22. TLC, “No Scrubs”
18. SWV, “I’m So Into You”
17. Blackstreet, “No Diggity”
16. Mary J. Blige, “Not Gon’ Cry”
13. Brandy & Monica, “The Boy Is Mine”
11. En Vogue, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”
10. Boyz II Men, “End Of The Road”
9. Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody?”
8. Mary J. Blige, “Real Love”
7. Montell Jordan, “This Is How We Do It”
6. TLC, “Waterfalls”
4. Janet Jackson, “That’s The Way Love Goes”
1. Bell Biv Devoe, “Poison”

although if I was picking a Tony! Toni! Toné! song, it would be "Let's Get Down"

also surprisingly saddened by the lack of 112

yeah i think i'm gonna do a 112 singles poll

I really like that Lisa Stansfield song

Considering voting for the Lisa Stansfield song myself; easily one of the best melodies on this list. I never thought of it as retro at the time, Coleman (the rhythm track sounds very '89), but now that I listen to it, it does have some clear 70s elements.

For someone who was an adolescent throughout the early 90s, this is like choosing your favorite child. And that's even with so many of my favorites missing from this list.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

how did "No Scrubs" and "Poison" get blanked

how did noone but me vote for "Real Love"

"No Diggity" is fine and all but i'm pretty much over it, have been for a long long time

5. R. Kelly, “I Believe I Can Fly” 3

33. 702, “Where My Girls At?” 0

where was i when you needed me ;_;

aw that is a great song :(

i think i would have liked seeing shai "if i ever fall in love" on this list too

fa sho

I mean, we got "Back At One" right but ppl voted "I Believe I Can Fly" over "Tha Crossroads"???? this is not the ILM I thought I knew

I thought I loved "Pony" until I watched Magic Mike and now think it's the greatest song ever recorded.

:D

I used to think "Pony" was the greatest song ever recorded until I watched Magic Mike and now I think the song basically created the universe.

someone needs to spotify this

not that but --> http://open.spotify.com/user/122265927/playlist/5pDoRffuZ0jwZl0DXGssvU <-- every song from the r&b/hip-hop charts 1993-1997

holy moly

*praises heavens*

Less variety than this poll, but I stuck to listing only the #1s.

“The Boy Is Mine”? “Are You That Somebody”? (I know it’s yr list...)

from the Obituary thread:

Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell, at 59. Uptown's impact on R&B and black pop in the 90s was massive.

― but also fuck you (unperson), zaterdag 9 mei 2020 12:50 bookmarkflaglink

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9374701/andre-harrell-dead-uptown-records-59