The Top 10 Madonna Songs of the '90s

In the 1990s, Madonna's style evolved from a sex kitten pop princess to a glamorous, sophisticated artist. During this decade, Madonna experimented with many different sounds and genres, creating a repertoire of music that holds up magnificently today. Here is a list of the 10 best and most important songs released by Madonna during the 1990s.

1.) Vogue
What a way to kick off the decade! Released in 1990, This dance floor classic was a huge hit for Madonna, and one of the best remembered dance songs of the 90s. 'Vogue' was one of the first mainstream pop hits to incorporate a 'house' music style into the arrangement, and its black and white video which payed homage to the classic stars of Old Hollywood presented Madonna in the image of a bona fide glamour icon.

2.) Secret
A popular radio hit in the mid 90s, 'Secret' was a foray into the world of smooth R&B. This mellow but upbeat track from the album 'Bedtime Stories' has a timeless message of how one person can change someone's life forever. The simple black and white video also helped to soften Madonna's image after the controversial 'Sex' book and 'Erotica' era of the early 90s.

3.) Ray of Light
This William Orbit produced track from the album of the same name was one of Madonna's first dabbles with techno music. Although many of her songs from earlier in the decade had a definitive dance beat, this was Madonna's first hit which featured a hardcore electronica sound.

4.) This Used to be My Playground
The theme to the 1992 summer hit 'A League of Their Own', this is a sentimental tune all about nostalgia and looking back over wonderful times in our lives and wishing how they can stay the same forever. Although this song was not featured on the movie's soundtrack, it can be found on Madonna's 'Something To Remember' album, which is a collection of her best ballads.

5.) Take a Bow
Another hit song from the 'Bedtime Stories' album, this mellow lullaby is perhaps best remembered for its video which featured Madonna and a Bullfighter playing out a torrid love affair. This is a perfect song to listen to after a break-up, or anything that comes to an end in ones' life as you can feel the emotion of how painful letting something go is in this song.

6.) Secret Garden
While this was never released as a single, 'Secret Garden' was a track off of the underrated 'Erotica' album that had a jazz influence. This is one of my personal favorites, and the haunting lyrics against the lilting jazz back drop makes me wish that Madonna would release an all jazz album.

7.) Erotica
The title track off of the underrated 1992 album, this was a dark and fun dance song. The video, which MTV only played after midnight, featured many disturbing sexual images, befitting the song's racy lyrics: 'Erotic..Erotic..put your hands all over my body!' Although many dismissed this song (and album) as simply a commercial for her controversial 'SEX' book, it holds up very well on the dance floor today. Compared to most of the music that has been released in the past 18 years, the lyrics to the racy songs on the 'Erotica' album are downright tame!

8.) Little Star
A hidden gem on the 'Ray of Light' album, this trippy ballad was a song Madonna had written for her newborn daughter Lourdes. This is one of those songs that should have been released as a single, and I prefer it over 'Frozen' immensely.

9.) Justify My Love
Although this is not one of my personal favorite songs, it deserves mention here due to the fact that the video created a huge controversy in 1990 when MTV refused to air it. The song is really nothing to write home about, although it has some sexy heavy breathing all through out and the lyrics (at the time) were very risque. I used to always feel a little daring when I listened to this song on my 'Immaculate Collection' cassette tape, as I was only in Jr high and thought it was SO naughty!

10.) Bedtime Story
Ahh...Madonna collaborates with Bjork and the result is truly outstanding! Remember the surreal video to this song? Wow. This song was Madonna's experiment with 'trance' music, and although it's now 16 years old, you could play this song at a dance club today and it would still sound fresh. This song also had some killer remixes, and tracking down a copy of the out of print CD single would definitely be worth the investment.

I was so lucky to have grown up in the age of Madonna. All of these songs hold great memories for me as I was a teenager during the 90's and remember when all of these songs were first released and they all have a place on my ipod today.

Sources: www.wikipedia.com