Previously we here at Hi-Top HQ have broken down all types of shameless 1980s nostalgia. Check our archives for everything from a massive Top 100 Movies of the 80s list to why Alex P. Keaton was better than Mike Seaver.

So it’s only fitting that we start to mine the 1990s for the same “Remember this…” content that the Internet just can’t live without. And inarguably the greatest contributions society the 90s made was their music. Without further ado we here at Hi-Top HQ present

The Great 90s Song Battle Royale

Each round will feature head to head to head to head matchups pitting four songs from a variety of genres against one and another to determine a winner. Just to make it to these initial rounds a song must have been a stone cold classic already so we are talking about the Best of the Best here folks. That fourth single off of Ten was great and all but it ain’t making this list ya dig. Strictly bangerz here. You know all the words, every chord change, every dope rhyme but now we are going to scientifically determine just which song was actually THE GREATEST SONG OF THE 90S. Only 1 can emerge victorious. Who will be left standing all alone on the top of the mountain?

Matchup #1

Down

Vs

Ironic

Vs

No Diggity

Vs

Praise You

The Breakdown

Four titans from four different genres to kick off this Battle Royale. There’s going to be some real tough choices made during this tournament and really just making the list is already winning in and of itself but there can only be one true champion in each matchup. Down is truly the best of what Rap Rock has to offer. It’s not some stupid “Grrrr I’m a boy and I’m soooo mad” peice of trash that sadly ruined what should have been a highly creative genre. 311 rocks a major riff with some truly great rap-along lines “Have you ever made out in dark hallways…it’s your mix, Congratulations!” 20+ years later and this is still an instant turn up the volume classic whenever it comes on the radio. Ironic was an absolute smash. Easily the biggest hit at the time of these four songs. Alanis Morrissette was probably the most famous musician on Earth for about a year. No Diggity is beyond smooooooth. Just a head bobbin’ rap/R&B jam that still gets butts out on the dance floor. This was Blackstreet’s one hit but what a hit it was. Peak Dr. Dre right here, back when he was Top 3 Coolest Man On the Planet and not a bodybuilding headphone mastermind. Praise You was the apex of the “electronic music is the future movement” (which actually did come true, it just happened 15 years later). This was the purest distillation of why Fatboy Slim ruled the world in 1999 (with a helpful video assist from Spike Jonze).

Winner

Mild surprise but 311 takes the cake here and Down moves up and on to the next round. A couple of factors tipped the scale. As far as test of time goes, Down feels the most like it has held up the best. This is definitely not the case for the vast majority of Rap-Rock but the guitars still sound fresh here. The beat goes hard and the rapping doesn’t feel dated mostly because it was so out of sync with “real” rap even back when it first came out. It was never competing with Tupac or Biggie in the first place so 20 years later it still just sounds like a bunch of guys having a good time. “Check check 311 in LA!”