C.R.E.A.M.
1994 · From Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
RZA looped a lonely piano figure from the Charmels, and Inspectah Deck's second verse became hip hop scripture.
★ 8.9
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1994
Showing 68 songs from 1994
N.Y. State of Mind
1994 · From Illmatic
Premier built the beat on the spot; Nas nailed verse one in a take, muttering doubt into the intro.
★ 8.7
Juicy
1994 · From Ready to Die
Poke and Combs looped Mtume's Juicy Fruit, and Wallace told the rags to riches story that hip hop kept retelling.
★ 8.5
Hallelujah
1994 · From Grace
Buckley learned it from John Cale's version and cut over twenty takes at Bearsville; the edit sounds like one breath.
★ 8.2
Sabotage
1994 · From Ill Communication
Yauch's bass line started it, Ad-Rock turned a joke about their producer into a scream, and Jonze filmed the rest.
★ 8.0
The World Is Yours
1994 · From Illmatic
Ahmad Jamal's piano figure, a hook Pete Rock sang himself, and the most hopeful stretch of Illmatic.
★ 7.9
Black Hole Sun
1994 · From Superunknown
A Leslie speaker gives the guitars their swirl, and Cornell built the title from a misheard news broadcast.
★ 7.7
All I Want For Christmas Is You
1994
Carey and Afanasieff wrote it fast in 1994 from Spector chords, and it reached number one twenty-five years later.
★ 7.7
Basket Case
1994 · From Dookie
Armstrong rewrote it around his undiagnosed panic attacks, cut it at Fantasy Studios, and sold punk to the suburbs.
★ 7.7
Live Forever
1994 · From Definitely Maybe
Gallagher wrote it in 1991, before Oasis had a record deal, pitching plain optimism against everything grunge was selling.
★ 7.7
Big Poppa
1994 · From Ready to Die
Chucky Thompson built it on the Isley Brothers' Between the Sheets, and Biggie made charm sound entirely effortless.
★ 7.6
Loser
1994 · From Mellow Gold
Six and a half hours in Stephenson's house, a slide guitar loop, and a hook mocking Beck's own rapping.
★ 7.6
Life's a Bitch
1994 · From Illmatic
AZ's first appearance on record, the only rapper Nas let onto Illmatic, and his father Olu Dara closing on trumpet.
★ 7.5
Where Did You Sleep Last Night
1994 · From MTV Unplugged in New York
Closing the Unplugged set at Sony Studios, a Lead Belly song, and a last verse Neil Young called unearthly.
★ 7.4
I Used to Love H.E.R.
1994 · From Resurrection
No I.D. looped George Benson, Common told hip hop's story as one woman, and Ice Cube took it personally.
★ 7.4
It Ain't Hard To Tell
1994 · From Illmatic
Large Professor looped Human Nature into a hush, and Nas closed Illmatic with his most dazzling stretch of technique.
★ 7.3
Regulate
1994 · From Regulate...G Funk Era
Warren G looped four bars of Michael McDonald in a Long Beach bedroom, and Nate Dogg sang his half.
★ 7.3
Buddy Holly
1994 · From Weezer (The Blue Album)
Cuomo thought it too cheesy to release; Ocasek insisted, then Spike Jonze spliced the band into Happy Days footage.
★ 7.2
Electric Relaxation
1994 · From Midnight Marauders
Q-Tip built the beat in his grandmother's basement from a Ronnie Foster loop, and Phife traded lines with him.
★ 7.2
Zombie
1994
O'Riordan answering the 1993 Warrington bombing by trading jangle for distortion, then six weeks atop America's alternative chart.
★ 7.2