The Best Metal Song of Each Year of the 1990s

Metal's reputation in the 1990s isn't the most robust, but the best song of each year of this decade proves that when it comes to quality, this scene was thriving.

While the overall commercial success of heavy metal in the final decade of the 20th century certainly paled compared to the gold and platinum records bands stacked up in the '80s, it was otherwise outstanding.

We mercifully bid farewell to an endless stream of hair ballads that had overstayed their welcome (it was fun for a couple years), welcomed evolutionary eras of extreme metal that dominated that underground, saw the birth of nu-metal and power metal was becoming increasingly strong as well.

And we had Ozzfest for the back half of the decade, which helped catapult a wave of 2000s stars to the forefront to keep metal's momentum moving upward.

Metal was becoming more technical in many pockets, while also moving forward with less complex and mind-bending values that centered around the almighty groove. For fans of thrash and traditional metal, it was a difficult decade, but those who stuck by were rewarded when both styles made a remarkable comeback at the dawn of the new millennium.

These 10 songs representing the best metal track of each year of the '90s speak to the multitude of new styles that asserted their will. You may disagree with our picks (that's why we picked a runner-up for each year, too), but what we can all agree on is that metal still ruled in the 1990s.