The 20 Best God-Tier Rock Songs That Defined the 1990s + 2000s

What an exciting 20 years it was for rock music between the 1990s and 2000s, filled with plenty of "god-tier" tracks that left their mark on music and culture. You can only hope that enough innovation comes along to make it interesting and the style that dominated over these two decades flipped multiple times.

In the early '90s, we saw Nirvana literally change the face and sound of rock music with the arrival of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Seemingly overnight the influx of glam-influenced hard rock bands were tossed aside in favor of the angst and raw nature of Nirvana's smash breakout single.

But as the '90s forged on, nu-metal replaced grunge atop the heap and by 2000 a wealth of new acts were ready to make their presence felt, led by Papa Roach and their definitive nu-metal era anthem "Last Resort." But just as grunge before it, nu-metal would fade away as emo came to the forefront and arguably the anthem of the era would be My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade."

READ MORE: 40 Best Rock Albums of the 2000s

Those are just three of the god-tier songs from the '90s and '00s you'll find on this list.

What other songs managed to transcend the rock world to become the type of songs that are cemented in the history of music?

Take a closer look at our picks for the God-Tier Rock Songs of the '90s and 2000s below.