Now That's What I Call Music! Is Officially 20 Years Old And It's Time To Respect The GOAT
I’m an absolute sucker for this type of shit. I can’t even lie. You want to talk about music from the 90s, old school things like TRL, blank CDs and Now That’s What I Call Music!? I’ll sit there all day and argue about what are the best songs of that era. It’s absolute fire. You play some 90s music and every person at the bar/at the house/in the car gets excited. You start tapping your toes. You start singing along. It’s a guarantee.
So with that in mind, it’s time to feel old. Now That’s What I Call Music! turns 20 years old this week. As someone who grew up with this type of music, it’s time to give some respect to what could be considered the original blank CD. Think about it. Blank CDs you made back in the 90s/early 2000s were considered your best work. You wanted to put a mix together that wouldn’t embarrass yourself and one that no one would ever hit fast forward on.
Sure, this run of releasing Now That’s What I Call Music! is absurd and pointless. I mean who doesn’t have an app to listen to music? But, the fact that it’s 20 years old led me to reflect on this. Look at the original CD and the jams that were on it:
Just absolute jams from back in the day. But, it leads me to this debate and one I had recently. Let’s say you had to put together the best of the best of Now That’s What I Call Music! from the 90s. What 10 songs are must-haves? Like I said, it really might be the best generation of music. You had everything. You had boy bands. You had girl pop stars. You had pop punk. You had anything you could imagine.
So here’s what I’d go with:
1. Sister Hazel – All For You
2. No Diggity – Blackstreet
3. Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve Pipe
4. Damnit – Blink 182
5. Wonderwall – Oasis
6. I Want It That Way – Backstreet Boys
7. Semi Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind
8. Fantasy – Mariah Carey
9. Tearin Up My Heart – NSYNC
10. Two Princes – Spin Doctors
Make a million dollars. Seriously, go back and listen to the original Now That’s What I Call Music! you won’t be disappointed. I said it before but part of me misses CDs. Yeah, playlists are awesome, but there was nothing better than absolutely nailing a mixed CD. There’s some nostalgia there for sure, but it’s one of the best feelings ever.