At the start of 1998, at the turn of the New Year, I had moved to London and returned to school. This time it was college. Some close friends and family were in this city so it was an easy transition. My mind and heart were still reeling from the breakup that was a good 14 months prior. As always, I turned to music.
In London things were much better, because instead of being alone and depressed with no close friends around and few acquaintances, I had plenty around. Plus I made more, including a couple of good ones in college and a couple of good ones who lived next door (one of whom eventually became my brother-in-law). But all this meant was that I had a different friend or group of friends to hit the bar with every night. Three or four times a week, in fact.
I went to school for marketing, but in the summer I found a job as a retail manager and stopped going to class. I showed up for exams and got the credits, because I found it easy. But then I focused on making money, still unsure about what I wanted to do. Only that I wanted to make money and be comfortable. I was heavily in debt ($40 thousand) and thanks to returning to school, it reset the clock as to how quickly I had to pay it back.
In the retail stores we played music, so I was still on top of the latest songs. Not many great ones came out in 1998, though plenty of “not bad” ones. Perhaps it was the rough couple of years I was going through. I did love Fly Away though. It brought me straight back to being a huge Kravitz fan. I thought Uninvited and You Should Come Over were both very underrated songs (and both from Canadian artists). And Pearl Jam Yield came out and the best song on that CD was a song they never released – No Way. The song Money City Maniacs (another Canadian band) will always remind me of GT’s.
In the summer of ’98 I remember being on a rooftop patio when we caught word that the Hip was the ‘secret band’ that would perform in London the next night. We all got up, went home and gathered our things, and we got in line, staying up all night. We got the tickets and I watched the Hip for my second and final time.
The Tragically Hip’s album that summer, Phantom Menace, was the first of what would be a steady string of weak albums for what was an elite band. And Poets was the last of their truly great songs. Everyone loves Bobcaygeon – love love loves it – but it never caught on with me. I bought the Hip’s Live Between Us album after that one, but that would be it for me and buying albums from this band.
Unlike most rankings, I haven’t been simply tossing these up in a numerical order. Because we can all agree that on some days, certain songs kick more ass than other songs – yet other days they do not. It all depends on mood and situation. A song that is ranked 14th today could very well rank 1st tomorrow – if it suddenly comes on the radio during the perfect moment and I start singing along. So I group them instead of presenting a hard-and-fast order:
Awesome
Great
Solid
Not Bad
…with some inter-group splitting.
Here are videos of the best, with the full list and chart at the bottom…
27 Great Songs from 1998
Turn The Lights On – Big Sugar
Celebrity Skin – Hole
Malibu – Hole
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0CYB5V9e64
All Those Yesterdays – Pearl Jam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8AxplFBhdM&w=560&h=315
Meet Virginia – Train
Closing Time – Semisonic
Slide – The Goo Goo Dolls
Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) – The Offspring
Thank U – Alanis Morissette
That Song – Big Wreck
The Way – Fastball
Shine – Junkhouse
American Woman – Lenny Kravitz
Gasoline – Moist
In Hiding – Pearl Jam
Wishlist – Pearl Jam
Pure Morning – Placebo
Luv Me, Luv Me – Shaggy
My Favorite Mistake – Sheryl Crow
Can’t Get Enough of You Baby – Smash Mouth
Ava Adore – Smashing Pumpkins
Black Balloon – The Goo Goo Dolls
Broadway – The Goo Goo Dolls
Iris – The Goo Goo Dolls
Fireworks – Tragicallly Hip
Paranoid – Garbage
Apparitions – Matthew Good Band
8 Truly Awesome Songs from 1998
Uninvited – Alanis Morissette
Fly Away – Lenny Kravitz
You Should Come Over – 54-40
Cowboy – Kid Rock
No Way – Pearl Jam
Money City Maniacs – Sloan
Poets – Tragically Hip
Got You Where I Want You – The Flys
You can listen to these great songs from 1998 on this YouTube playlist I put together.
My Spotify playlists are all here
Here is the full list…
| Awesome – 1 | Uninvited | – | Alanis Morissette |
| Awesome – 1 | Fly Away | – | Lenny Kravitz |
| Awesome – 3 | You Should Come Over | – | 54-40 |
| Awesome – 3 | Cowboy | – | Kid Rock |
| Awesome – 3 | No Way | – | Pearl Jam |
| Awesome – 3 | Money City Maniacs | – | Sloan |
| Awesome – 3 | Poets | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Awesome – 3 | Got You Where I Want You | – | The Flys |
| Great – 9 | Apparitions | – | Matthew Good Band |
| Great – 9 | Celebrity Skin | – | Hole |
| Great – 9 | Malibu | – | Hole |
| Great – 9 | All Those Yesterdays | – | Pearl Jam |
| Great – 9 | Meet Virginia | – | Train |
| Great – 14 | Closing Time | – | Semisonic |
| Great – 14 | Slide | – | The Goo Goo Dolls |
| Great – 14 | Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) | – | The Offspring |
| Great – 14 | Thank U | – | Alanis Morissette |
| Great – 14 | That Song | – | Big Wreck |
| Great – 14 | The Way | – | Fastball |
| Great – 14 | Shine | – | Junkhouse |
| Great – 14 | American Woman | – | Lenny Kravitz |
| Great – 14 | Gasoline | – | Moist |
| Great – 14 | In Hiding | – | Pearl Jam |
| Great – 14 | Wishlist | – | Pearl Jam |
| Great – 14 | Pure Morning | – | Placebo |
| Great – 14 | Luv Me, Luv Me | – | Shaggy |
| Great – 14 | My Favorite Mistake | – | Sheryl Crow |
| Great – 14 | Can’t Get Enough of You Baby | – | Smash Mouth |
| Great – 14 | Ava Adore | – | Smashing Pumpkins |
| Great – 14 | Black Balloon | – | The Goo Goo Dolls |
| Great – 14 | Broadway | – | The Goo Goo Dolls |
| Great – 14 | Iris | – | The Goo Goo Dolls |
| Great – 14 | Fireworks | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Great – 14 | I Think I’m Paranoid | – | Garbage |
| Great – 14 | Turn The Lights On | – | Big Sugar |
| Solid – 36 | Girl Watcher | – | Big Sugar |
| Solid – 36 | Stereo | – | The Watchmen |
| Solid – 36 | The Rockafeller Skank | – | Fatboy Slim |
| Solid – 36 | Since When | – | 54-40 |
| Solid – 36 | One Week | – | Barenaked Ladies |
| Solid – 36 | Intergalactic | – | Beastie Boys |
| Solid – 36 | The Oaf | – | Big Wreck |
| Solid – 36 | Never There | – | Cake |
| Solid – 36 | What It’s Like | – | Everlast |
| Solid – 36 | Out Of My Head | – | Fastball |
| Solid – 36 | He Got Game | – | Public Enemy |
| Solid – 36 | Come With Me | – | Puff Daddy |
| Solid – 36 | The Kids Aren’t Alright | – | The Offspring |
| Solid – 36 | Tequila Sunrise | – | Cypress Hill |
| Solid – 36 | Push It | – | Garbage |
| Solid – 36 | Turn The Page | – | Metallica |
| Solid – 52 | I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing | – | Aerosmith |
| Solid – 52 | Spaceman | – | Bif Naked |
| Solid – 52 | The Scene | – | Big Sugar |
| Solid – 52 | Blown Wide Open | – | Big Wreck |
| Solid – 52 | …Baby One More Time | – | Britney Spears |
| Solid – 52 | Wide Open Spaces | – | Dixie Chicks |
| Solid – 52 | Save Tonight | – | Eagle-Eye Cherry |
| Solid – 52 | Fire Escape | – | Fastball |
| Solid – 52 | Shimmer | – | Fuel |
| Solid – 52 | Heaven Tonight | – | Hole |
| Solid – 52 | The Dope Show | – | Marilyn Manson |
| Solid – 52 | Space Lord | – | Monster Magnet |
| Solid – 52 | Given To Fly | – | Pearl Jam |
| Solid – 52 | Adia | – | Sarah McLachlan |
| Solid – 52 | Lullaby | – | Shawn Mullins |
| Solid – 52 | My Favourite Game | – | The Cardigans |
| Solid – 52 | We Like To Party (The Vengabus) | – | Vengaboys |
| Solid – 52 | Heroes | – | The Wallflowers |
| Solid – 52 | Cut You In | – | Jerry Cantrell |
| Solid – 52 | Redundant | – | Green Day |
| Solid – 52 | Body Movin’ | – | Beastie Boys |
| Solid – 52 | Remote Control | – | Beastie Boys |
| Not Bad – 74 | It’s All Been Done | – | Barenaked Ladies |
| Not Bad – 74 | Forest Fire | – | David Usher |
| Not Bad – 74 | Together Again | – | Janet Jackson |
| Not Bad – 74 | Hands | – | Jewel |
| Not Bad – 74 | Ray Of Light | – | Madonna |
| Not Bad – 74 | Kind & Generous | – | Natalie Merchant |
| Not Bad – 74 | Do The Evolution | – | Pearl Jam |
| Not Bad – 74 | Dragula | – | Rob Zombie |
| Not Bad – 74 | The Spirit of Radio (Live) | – | Rush |
| Not Bad – 74 | Bobcaygeon | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Not Bad – 74 | Membership | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Not Bad – 74 | Leaving On a Jet Plan | – | Chantal Kreviazuk |
| Not Bad – 74 | Don’t Drink The Water | – | Dave Matthews Band |
| Not Bad – 74 | I’ll Be | – | Edwin McCain |
| Not Bad – 74 | Perfect | – | Smashing Pumpkins |
| Not Bad – 74 | The Rules | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Not Bad – 90 | The Boy Is Mine | – | Brandy & Monica |
| Not Bad – 90 | This Means War! | – | Busta Rhymes |
| Not Bad – 90 | My Heart Will Go On | – | Celine Dion |
| Not Bad – 90 | You Were Mine | – | Dixie Chicks |
| Not Bad – 90 | Summer Long | – | Emm Gryner |
| Not Bad – 90 | Everything Is Automatic | – | Matthew Good Band |
| Not Bad – 90 | Faithfull | – | Pearl Jam |
| Not Bad – 90 | Pilate | – | Pearl Jam |
| Not Bad – 90 | Something On | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Not Bad – 90 | Thompson Girl | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Not Bad – 90 | Under the Lighthouse | – | Big Wreck |
| Not Bad – 90 | When You’re Gone | – | Bryan Adams |
| Not Bad – 90 | Back to You | – | Bryan Adams |
| Not Bad – 90 | Whippin’ Piccadilly | – | Gomez |
| Not Bad – 90 | It’s the End of the World | – | Great Big Sea |
| Not Bad – 90 | London Rain | – | Heather Nova |
| Not Bad – 90 | Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) | – | Jay-Z |
| Not Bad – 90 | Freak on a Leash | – | Korn |
| Not Bad – 90 | Mountain Hare Krishna | – | Krishna Das |
| Not Bad – 90 | Rico | – | Matthew Good Band |
| Not Bad – 90 | MFC | – | Pearl Jam |
| Not Bad – 90 | In My Head | – | Queens of the Stone Age |
| Not Bad – 90 | You Get What You Give | – | The New Radicals |
| Not Bad – 90 | Graduate | – | Third Eye Blind |
| Not Bad – 90 | Vapour Trails | – | Tragicallly Hip |
| Not Bad – 90 | Any Day Now | – | The Watchmen |
| Not Bad – 90 | This Mourning | – | Wide Mouth Mason |
| Not Bad – 90 | Daysleeper | – | R.E.M. |
| Not Bad – 90 | Frozen | – | Madonna |
| Not Bad – 90 | Over Your Shoulder | – | Seven Mary Three |
| Not Bad – 90 | Losing A Whole Year | – | Third Eye Blind |
| Not Bad – 90 | Hooch | – | Everything |
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