'90s Ladies

The '90s was the decade when the girls of rock and pop became women — Madonna matured into the smartest presence in mainstream clubland with the William Orbit-produced Ray of Light (title track included here), and Tina Arena continued her transformation from Young Talent Time's Tiny Tina to chart-conquering superstar with "Sorrento Moon (I Remember)." There's more sass than you can shake a stick at . . . in Next Steps.

Natalie Imbruglia followed in the footsteps of cast-mate Kylie when she successfully used Neighbours as a stepping stone to pop fame in the '90s, with her first internationally released single, "Torn." Björk, as was her habit, tore up the rulebook with her brassy big band single "It's Oh So Quiet" and Oleta Adams included a compendium of modern transportation in the lyrics of "Get Here." We've saved the most powerful of our lady-led '90s tracks for Deep Cuts.

"And their bombs and their guns . . ." Irish group the Cranberries, fronted by Dolores O'Riordan, produced one of the most affecting rock protest songs of the '90s with "Zombie." For our money, Macy Gray takes the prize for the most distinctive voice of the decade ("I Try") and Julee Cruise did justice to David Lynch's imagination with a vocal version of the Twin Peaks theme, "Falling."

The spirit of girl power permeates our '90s Ladies Essentials, and not just the version of sisterhood espoused by the Spice Girls, who delivered the world their calling card in 1996 with "Wannabe." Shania Twain flew the flag for her sex with "Man! I Feel Like a Woman," and Queen Latifah countered the male-dominated rap world's obsession with bitches and hos on "U.N.I.T.Y." Other highlights include Sheryl Crow's groovy sideswipe at L.A.'s seedy bar scene, "All I Wanna Do," and the debut of Britney with ". . . Baby One More Time."