Random Great One Hit Wonder Artists of '90s (28 items)

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  (#1) Blind Melon

  • Blues-rock, Grunge, Folk rock, Neo-psychedelia, Alternative rock, Jam band, Psychedelic rock, Funk

  Everything about Blind Melon's 1993 single "No Rain" has remained infamous to this day, from the opening guitar riff to Shannon Hoon's distinctive whine to, of course, the video's tap-dancing bee girl. Nevertheless, the band wouldn't release another memorable single. Shortly after the band's second release, "Soup," Hoon was found dead of a cocaine overdose. 
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  (#2) The Verve

  • Noise rock, Shoegazing, Rock music, Space rock, Neo-psychedelia, Dream pop, Britpop, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Baroque pop, Psychedelic rock, Post-punk revival

  The Verve formed in 1990 in England and built a considerable fanbase in the UK on the strength of their first few releases. Though they toured America with Lollapalooza in 1994, it wasn't until three years later that they found fame in the States with the release of "Bittersweet Symphony." It ended up basically being the worst thing that ever happened to The Verve, and they broke up soon after.

  Though Ashcroft had long swore The Verve would never get back together, they did reunite in 2008 for some shows and a new album, "Forth." Then they broke up again, for good this time. Maybe.
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  (#3) 4 Non Blondes

  • Blues-rock, Rock music, Grunge, Alternative rock, Psychedelic rock, Hard rock

  Few musical moments are more "90s" than the chorus of "What's Up?," from 4 Non Blondes 1993 debut album "Bigger, Better, Faster, More!" Impressive considering it's essentially just singer Linda Perry singing the word "Hey." Perry wound up becoming a massively successful songwriter for other artists, writing "Beautiful" for Christina Aguilera, "What You Waiting For" for Gwen Stefani among others.
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  (#4) Semisonic

  • Pop rock, Power pop, Post-grunge, Alternative rock

  There's just something about the way the guy from Semisonic says "Closing Time" over and over and over that gets in your brain and literally never leaves again. For the rest...of your...life...

  "Closing Time" hit in 1998, a single off the band's second album, Feeling Strangely Fine. 

  The band released one more album in 2001, which did fine but did not produce a hit anything like "Closing Time." The band members continue to focus on their individual artistic projects.
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  (#5) Marcy Playground

  • Rock music, Grunge, Pop rock, Post-grunge, Alternative rock

  Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy" spent 28 weeks on the Hot 100.

  Though the vast majority of the world has not thought about Marcy Playground since "Sex and Candy," founding member and songwriter John Wozniak is actually still recording and touring, sometimes with his Marcy Playground bandmates. Their 2010 release, the oddly-titled "Indaba remixes from Wonderland," was released by Capitol Records.
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  (#6) Temple of the Dog

  • Blues-rock, Rock music, Grunge, Soft rock, Alternative rock, Hard rock

  Early '90s supergroup Temple of the Dog started out as a few songs written by Chris Cornell, of Soundgarden. He ended up bringing on board a band to help him record the material, a band that would soon be known as Pearl Jam. 

  Anyway, that means this group was basically a one-off sort of thing to keep Cornell sane and give Pearl Jam a chance to warm up and rehearse before dropping "Ten" on an unexpecting universe. Temple of the Dog's posthumous hit single, "Hunger Strike," thus features Chris Cornell in a duet with a young Eddie Vedder, essentially worth the price of admission alone.
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  (#7) Montell Jordan

  • Hip hop music, Contemporary R&B, New jack swing

  "This is How We Do It" was R&B singer Montell Jordan's debut single back in 1995. The song went all the way to #1 despite being egregiously ridiculous and including the phrase "to all my neighbors/you got much flava." Jordan wrote his own songs, and though he never personally realized the success of "This is How We Do It" again, he ended up writing and producing popular songs for other artists, including Deborah Cox. 

  Jordan has since been born again and works as a minister at the Victory World Church.
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  (#8) Crash Test Dummies

  • Rock music, Folk rock, Alternative rock

  The Crash Test Dummies' "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" has to rank among any list of the oddest songs to ever gain mass popularity in America. A series of cryptic short stories about childhood trauma related by a man with a seriously deep baritone. 
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  (#9) Better Than Ezra

  • Rock music, Post-grunge, Alternative rock

  New Orleans' Better Than Ezra have released seven albums. Which is a lot, especially when you consider their high-water mark in terms of popularity came in the mid-1990s with their song "Good" off of the album "Deluxe."

   
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  (#10) Silverchair

  • Synthpop, Grunge, Pop rock, Post-grunge, Alternative rock, Progressive rock, Art rock, Baroque pop, Alternative metal, Hard rock, Symphonic rock

  Silverchair is huge in their native Australia and have sold over six million records in total. In the US, they're remembered for "Tomorrow."
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  (#11) Harvey Danger

  • Pop punk, Rock music, Post-grunge, Alternative rock, Punk rock, Indie rock

  A great song that completely stands the test of time intact, "Flagpole Sitta" has become ubiquitous since its initial release on Harvey Danger's 1997 debut, "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?" The band had formed in 1993 and kept right on touring and releasing albums until 2009, when they played their final show at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle.
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  (#12) Toadies

  • Grunge, Post-grunge, Alternative rock

  Toadies' 1993 song "Possum Kingdom" is seriously messed up. What the hell is this song even about? It's just a bunch of cryptic, creepy lines about taking someone behind the boat house and showing them your "dark secret," then it ends with lead singer Todd Lewis yelling "Do you want to die!" 

  Nevertheless, the song has achieved a king of immortality since it is featured on Guitar Hero 2. 
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  (#13) Mazzy Star

  • Indie, Psychedelic folk, Shoegazing, Pop music, Folk music, Acoustic music, Dream pop, Alternative rock, Indie folk, Psychedelic rock, Ambient music, Paisley Underground

  Mazzy Star's woozy "Fade Into You" feels like it was playing on the soundtrack during every '90s make-out scene. Turns out, it didn't really feature prominently in any movies in its own era, but it should have. The group remained semi-popular for a few years in the mid-'90s, but "Fade Into You" was the only one of their songs to really gain prominence. 
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  (#14) The Breeders

  • Alternative rock, Indie rock

  The Breeders' only hit song is "Cannonball," from their 1993 album, "Last Splash." The album also produced a few other hits, like "Saints" and "Divine Hammer." The frontman, Kelley Deal, suffered a heroin addiction that derailed the band's future endeavors. But The Breeders are still appreciated in certain music circles and the group reissued their album in 2013. 
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  (#15) Spacehog

  • Space rock, Post-grunge, Alternative rock, Glam rock

  A whole new generation is getting to hear Spacehog's gob-smackingly catchy 1995 debut single "In the Meantime" in the games "Guitar Hero 5" and "Rock Band 3." 

  The song is a perfect blend of the glam rock style of Spacehog's hero, David Bowie, and '90s power pop. Spacehog never really recaptured the success of "In the Meantime," though they went on to make a few more albums. They regrouped briefly in 2008 and 2009 to play at the Viper Room and Spaceland, respectively, in Los Angeles.
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  (#16) Local H

  • Experimental rock, Grunge, Post-grunge, Alternative rock, Punk rock, Indie rock, Hard rock

  Rock duo Local H is another one of those "one hit wonders" that remains an active and well-respected band in their own area (in this case, Illinois). Nevertheless, they're here because of 1996's "Bound for the Floor." It was off Local H's second album "As Good as Dead," which also featured a song called "Eddie Vedder" that's quite good but was not as popular.
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  (#17) Skee-Lo

  • Hip hop music, Alternative hip hop, Jazz

  The fact remains that Skee-Lo's "I Wish" is not only a ridiculous song, but also a really good song. He was nominated for two Grammy's in 1995 for this. Skee-Lo went on to find work as an MTV host.
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  (#18) Primitive Radio Gods

  • Shoegazing, Dream pop, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Alternative metal

  Primitive Radio Gods' bizarrely-titled "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" didn't become popular until it was featured on the soundtrack of the massively-underappreciated Jim Carrey dark comedy The Cable Guy.

   
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  (#19) Squirrel Nut Zippers

  Squirrel Nut Zippers were a part of the "swing revival" that marked the '90s. Their sound was borrowed from the 1930s and included a lot of blues, calypso, klezmer and other sounds of that period. It all came together for them with the single "Hell," from their second album, "Hot," which became a big single in 1996.
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  (#20) US3

  • Hip hop music, Jazz rap

  Us3 released their debut album, "Hand on the Torch," on Blue Note Records. On the strength of single "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)," it became the first Blue Note record to go Platinum.  Us3 released a few more albums with Blue Note, but nothing gave them the popular recognition that "Cantaloop" did.
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  (#21) White Town

  • Indie pop, Indie, Pop music, Alternative dance, Alternative rock, Electronica

  White Town's song "Your Woman" reached #1 in Great Britain in 1997. The artist continues to release music, but has yet to reach similar levels of success. 
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  (#22) Eels

  • Experimental rock, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Lo-fi music

  "Novocaine for the Soul" was the first single released by Eels and remains the biggest radio hit to date, though later songs have appeared in a number of TV shows. "Novocaine" is from 1996's "Beautiful Freak," which is a good album, but Eels have only gotten better as the years drag on. 
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  (#23) King Missile

  • Dark ambient, Anti-folk, Avant-garde jazz, Spoken word, Experimental rock, Neo-psychedelia, Pop rock, Experimental music, Alternative rock, Psychedelic rock

  King Missile is an avant-garde art project and sometimes-band from poet and singer John S. Hall. On the group's 1992 debut, "Happy Hour," they released a little ditty called "Detachable Penis," really just Hall reciting a monologue about a man suffering through life with the titular appendage. 

  Shockingly, King Missile never returned with another monster jam. Who could've seen that coming?
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  (#24) Craig Mack

  • Hip hop music, East Coast hip hop

  Craig Mack's 1994 smash hit "Flava In Ya Ear" was the very first major release from Bad Boy Entertainment. A remix of the song provided an early showcase for both Notorious BIG and Busta Rhymes. So what happened? Not really sure, exactly, but it's clear that Mack's success was overshadowed by the release of Biggie's debut "Ready to Die" later that same year. 
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  (#25) The Rentals

  • Indie pop, New Wave, Rock music, Emo, Power pop, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Geek rock

  The Rentals may have initially gained prominence due to the presence of vocalist Matt Sharp, former bassist for Weezer, but it was their debut single, "Friends of P," from their 1995 album Return of the Rentals that earned them a spot here. The Rentals released another studio album in 2014, called Lost in Alphaville.

   
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  (#26) face to face

  • Pop punk, Melodic hardcore, Skate punk, Punk rock

  Face to Face really only had one big hit, and that song was "Disconnected" from their 1992 album, Don't Turn Away. The band remained popular, particularly in the California punk scene, throughout the '90s and into the next decade, eventually breaking up in 2004. They've since gotten back together and started touring again, and released next album, "Laugh Now, Laugh Later" in May 2011.
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  (#27) Geggy Tah

  • Rock music, Post-grunge, Alternative rock, Jazz

  '90s pop duet Geggy Tah released three albums, but only came up with one hit. "Whoever You Are," from 1996's Sacred Cow, is a novelty single about the trials and tribulations of a motorist navigating heavy traffic. 

  Founding Geggy Tah-er Greg Kurstin has also worked on music for Adele and Lily Allen. 
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  (#28) Smoking Popes

  • Pop punk, Rock music, Alternative rock, Punk rock, Indie rock

  Smoking Popes had been around Chicago since 1991 playing pop-punk with crooner-style vocals. They'd garnered some attention locally, but it was the inclusion of their song "Need You Around" on the soundtrack to the film Clueless that catapulted them into the spotlight.

  The group released another album, titled Into the Agony, in 2018. 

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