The 90s… a time of crazy raves and countless classic tunes. This was an era when electronic music began to get a firm foothold on the scene. When it comes to remembering the best 90’s dance songs, names like Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, and The Prodigy will be prominently featured.
Let’s take a look at this list of 90s dance songs. These are not in any particular order, but these were the ones that were played at a club and the floor would likely fill up quickly. Heck, people probably still listen to them more than two decades later.
1. Hey Boy Hey Girl – The Chemical Brothers
The song, which was on their 1999 Surrender album, starts off with a softly-spoken “Hey girls… Hey boys… Superstar DJ’s… Here we go,” then music kicks in and a wall of sound blasts. The beat is guaranteed to make you want to dance.
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2. Voodoo People (Dust Brothers Remix Remastered) – The Prodigy
The Prodigy was another 1990s dance floor favorite. While their original songs, like “Firestarter,” were amazing, this Dust Brothers remix, which was released in 1994, is on a whole different level. A little bit of trivia—The Chemical Brothers actually were named The Dust Brothers before they learned of this group. So they changed their name to The Chemical Brothers and the rest is history.
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3. Born Slippy (Nuxx / Remastered) – Underworld
People who went to clubs in the mid-90s remember the start of this song: the slow music, Karl Hyde’s frenetic singing, and then the beat kicking in. This song was also popular due to it being on the Trainspotting movie soundtrack. It was hard to pick just one Underworld song, but this one seemed to really sum up the 90s for them.
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4. The Power – Snap!
Let’s move off of electronica for a second and remember this funky dance hit that came out at the beginning of the decade. Who can forget the funky synth bass line and then the booming “I’ve got the power” anthem? A true hit, although the group largely became forgotten with the snap of a finger.
5. God Is God – Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor is one of the titans of the Goa dance scene. Their music has been prominently featured in movies like The Matrix. They have so many great songs, but this driving drumbeat from 1997 makes it a great dance floor favorite.
6. What Is Love – Haddaway
Did you watch Saturday Night Live during the 90s? Remember the series of skits featuring Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan as hapless clubgoers who constantly bopped their heads to this song, which was released in 1993? Hopefully, you had better luck on the dance floor than them.
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7. The Sign – Ace of Base
This 1992 dancefloor earworm made its way back into commercials during the early 2020s, but it was the groove that had people moving along with this Swedish group’s infectious music.
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8. Jump Around – House of Pain
People of a certain age remember the opening of this 1992 song like it was yesterday. They instinctively get ready to move around. It doesn’t matter if you’re Irish or not, the music rocks.
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9. Rump Shaker – Wreckx-N-Effect
The year 1992 was a big year for memorable dance songs. All you have to do is mumble “All I wanna do is zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom…” around some people and they will immediately follow with “And a poom-poom, just shake ya rump.” Good times, indeed.
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10. Ray of Light – Madonna
Madonna knew how to get people on the dance floor in the 80s with infectious hits like “Into the Groove,” and she carried that into the late 1990s by truly embracing electronic music. It’s hard not to want to move your body to this song.
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11. I’m Too Sexy – Right Said Fred
We’re back to the great 1992 era of dance hits. This was a group that was not lacking in confidence. Heck, they declared themselves too sexy for their shirts, after all. People loved carrying that confidence out onto the dance floors themselves, whether they were ridiculously ripped and in shape like Fred Fairbrass or not.
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12. Hip Hop Hooray – Naughty By Nature
Naughty By Nature, the people behind “O.P.P.” came back with another 1992 hit. Here is another instantly recognizable song. All people have to hear is “Give it up for Naughty By Nature” and then they get ready to jam and sway on the dance floor. The video itself is memorable for how it ends when they converge around each other and start shooting with water pistols.
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13. Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…) – Lou Bega
This is actually a remake of a 1949 song by Damaso Perez Prado. Lou Bega came out with it in 1999. It started off with a simple intro, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is mambo number five,” and then jumped right into an infectious beat. Yes, Lou did seem like such a womanizer, but the song was awesome.
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14. Bodyrock – Moby
Moby was one of the pioneers of electronic music—his 1999 Play album was a worldwide bestseller. Yes, some might say he sold out by letting his songs be played in commercials, but the dude needs to eat. “Bodyrock” was one of his more danceable songs from that album.
15. I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim Remix Uncensored) – Groove Armada Featuring Gramma Funk
The year 1999 was another great one for music. You know how this one goes, don’t you? You can’t help singing along to “I see you baby, shakin that…” well, you know. It starts with an ‘a’ and is also a word for a donkey. Baby is not shaking a donkey here, though.
16. Sandstorm – Darude
Here’s another one from the 1999 vault. This was a very popular song, and people who went to college/clubs around that time will instantly recognize this instrumental. In fact, you’re probably hearing it in your head before you even start the video.
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17. Tubthumping – Chumbawamba
Have you ever felt like life was knocking you down? Chumbawamba wanted you to keep getting up no matter how many times you got knocked down with this 1997 song. People kept getting up to dance to this song, too.
18. Whoomp! (There It Is) – Tag Team
People who went to clubs in 1993 remember this song by Tag Team. It was a simple, yet infectious tune. It had some interesting origins too. One member of the team said that it was coined by exotic dancers at adult nightclubs. Whatever the case, it didn’t keep people from dancing to it.
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19. Barbie Girl – Aqua
Who can forget bopping their heads to this 1997 tune by the Danish group Aqua? “I’m a Barbie girl… in the Barbie world.” Sorry if that’s now stuck in your head. The song was a bit risque, too. And Mattel, the maker of the Barbie doll, was not happy about it. They sued the record label but, ultimately, were unsuccessful.
20. Informer – Snow
People loved trying to sing along to this 1993 song even when they didn’t really understand what was being said. Who can forget the phrase “A licky boom boom down?” It was on the album 12 Inches of Snow. What could THAT have been about? Also, people thought that he looked cool with his outfit. He wore a jacket with no shirt and had sunglasses on all the time.
21. Music Sounds Better With You – Stardust
There are a lot of interesting things about this 1998 song. It was produced by Stardust Alan Braxe along with music legends Daft Punk. It was built around a piece of music by Chaka Khan, and it was very different from what was usually being played on the dance floor. The song has a unique loop and could seemingly go on forever. The growly singer is also very different from other dance acts from that era. The group wore body outfits with a very different look from the Daft Punk helmets.
22. Poison – Bell Biv DeVoe
This one came out right as the 1990s started. The lyrics “It’s drivin’ me out of my mind” and “That girl is (poison)” are memorable ones. It was also memorably brought back into public consciousness when Donald Faison’s Christoper Turk danced to it on the show Scrubs. It’s hard not to remember the 1990s without this song.
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23. Around The World – Daft Punk
Speaking of grooves that could seemingly last forever, Daft Punk’s 1997 “Around the World” is one of those. It’s built around a bouncy bass line and “Around the world” intoned over and over. There’s nothing tiresome about it, though.
There are many other Daft Punk songs from this era that could have made this list, like “Revolution 909” and “Alive.” Heck, you could probably put the entire Homework album on this list and not get many arguments.
24. Praise You – Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cooke, who goes by the stage name of Fatboy Slim, was another very popular figure in the 1990s dance scene. This song, from the 1998 album, You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, was one of several that could have made this list. “The Rockafeller Skank” and “Acid 8000” could have been included as well. However, one of his best songs “Weapon of Choice” just missed the list since it was released in 2000.
25. …Baby One More Time – Britney Spears
It’s hard to remember the impact that the former Mouseketeer had when she burst onto the scene in 1998 with this song. The music video, where she dressed in a VERY un-Mouseketeer-like schoolgirl outfit, helped propel her into the pop culture stratosphere very quickly. This song was one heck of a dance tune that people enjoyed moving along to.
This is just a small sample of the incredible dance music that came out during the 90s. It would have been easy to create a list that was three times as long as this, but it will still not have all of the music that kept bodies moving on the dance floor.
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As the Head Editor and Writer at Music Grotto, Liam helps write and edit content produced from professional music/media journalists and other contributing writers. He works closely with journalists and other staff to format and publish music content for the Music Grotto website. Liam is also the founding member of Music Grotto and is passionate in disseminating editorial content to its readers.
Liam’s lifelong love for music makes his role at Music Grotto such a rewarding one. He loves researching, writing and editing music content for Music Grotto.