3 of the Best Pop Songs To Close Albums From the 1990s

For all the grammar nerds out there, do we have an analogy for you! When it comes to releasing an album, think of it as a statement. Each track on the work is like a word in the line. And then the final song? Well, consider that the punctuation mark.

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Do you want listeners to question the end? To nod along with it? Or do you want listeners to stamp their fist on the table in triumph with you? Here below, we wanted to examine three songs that are like three exclamation points. These are three of the best pop songs to close albums from the 1990s.

“Love Takes Time” by Mariah Carey from ‘Mariah Carey’ (1990)

For people of a certain age, Mariah Carey is the soundtrack to all middle school dances. Her soft, lilting voice coming in like a bird or butterfly over the melodic music—for some, it creates a Pavlovian response that makes you want to stand up in the middle of a school gymnasium and rock back and forth with your arms extended. And that is very much the case with “Love Takes Time” from Carey’s 1990 self-titled debut LP.

“If U Can’t Dance” by Spice Girls from ‘Spice’ (1996)

Somehow this is one of the lost pop songs of the 1990s. But listen to it for a few seconds and you can hear its power. Many music fans poo-poo the pop movement of the mid-to-late 1990s. They say it was superficial and corny. But try this track on for size. Its deep harmonies, empowering lyrics, and love of movement are enough to excite and impress any listener.

“The Beat Goes On” by Britney Spears from ‘…Baby One More Time’ (1999)

When it comes to pop music in the 1990s, there as no bigger person than Britney Spears. There were groups of people who rivaled her marquee wattage, but no single person was able to match her impact. And it all began with her 1999 LP, …Baby One More Time. And while the title track from that record got most of the attention in the late 1990s, the album’s ender was also a standout. Spears shows she can dance with history on this cover of a Sonny & Cher hit.

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