1890-1899: Top 100 Songs

Top 100 Songs of the Decade: 1890-1899

These are the songs which kicked off the recorded music era and the debut of charts to track the popularity of songs. Often a song’s popularity in this era had more to do with sheet music than specific recorded performances by individual artists. As such, there are multiple songs repeated here. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, airplay, awards, and appearances on best-of lists. Check out other “songs of the decade” lists here. DMDB Top 1%: 1. George J. Gaskin “After the Ball” (1893) 2. Arthur Collins “Hello Ma Baby” (1899) 3. John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1897) 4. Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics) & Samuel A. Ward (music) “America the Beautiful” (1895) 5. John Yorke Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1891) 6. Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill (composers) “Happy Birthday to You” (1893) 7. Len Spencer “Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay” (1892) 8. Dan Quinn “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1896) 9. Dan Quinn “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1893) 10. Scott Joplin “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899) 11. Dan Quinn “The Band Played On” (1895) 12. Billy Golden “Turkey in the Straw” (1891) 13. Vess Ossman “Yankee Doodle” (1894) 14. Dan Quinn “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895) 15. James M. Black & Katharine E. Purvis (songwriters) “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1896) 16. George J. Gaskin “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1897) 17. Edison Male Quartette “My Old Kentucky Home” (1898) 18. U.S. Marine Band “The Washington Post March” (1890) 19. Len Spencer “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1892) 20. Dan Quinn “At a Georgia Camp Meeting” (1898) 21. George Washington Johnson “The Laughing Song” (1891) 22. George J. Gaskin “My Wild Irish Rose” (1899) 23. Len Spencer “Hello Ma Baby” (1899) 24. George J. Gaskin “Oh Promise Me” (1893) DMDB Top 2%: 25. U.S. Marine Band “Semper Fidelis” (1890) 26. Sousa’s Band “El Capitan March” (1895) 27. Len Spencer “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1897) 28. George J. Gaskin “Sweet Rosie O’Grady” (1897) 29. Silas Leachman “Dem Golden Slippers” (1894) 30. John Yorke Atlee “After the Ball” (1893) 31. Len Spencer “Mr. Johnson, Turn Me Loose” (1897) 32. United States Marine Band “The Liberty Bell” (1894) 33. Thomas Bott “Love’s Old Sweet Song” (1892) 34. Albert Campbell “My Wild Irish Rose” (1899) 35. George J. Gaskin “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895) 36. George J. Gaskin “Drill, Ye Terriers, Drill” (1891) 37. J.W. Myers “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895) 38. U.S. Marine Band “The Thunderer” (1890) 39. Steve Porter “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1898) 40. George Washington Johnson “The Whistling Coon” (1891) 41. George J. Gaskin “My Old New Hampshire Home” (1898) 42. Arthur Collins “I’d Leave My Happy Home for You” (1899) 43. Jules Levy “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” (1893) 44. Dan Quinn “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow Wow” (1892) 45. Sousa’s Band “King Cotton March” (1895) 46. Edward M. Favor “Say Au Revoir, But Not Goodbye” (1894) 47. George J. Gaskin “She Was Bred in Old Kentucky” (1898) 48. Manhansett Quartette “Sally in Our Alley” (1892) 49. George J. Gaskin “The Sunshine of Paradise Valley” (1896) 50. George J. Gaskin “The Fatal Wedding” (1893) 51. George J. Gaskin “Break the News to Mother” (1898) 52. Len Spencer “My Gal Is a High-Born Lady” (1897) 53. George J. Gaskin “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1897) 54. William F. Hooley “Gypsy Love Song (Slumber on, My Little Gypsy Sweetheart)” (1899) 55. Russell Hunting “Michael Casey at the Telephone” (1892) 56. Sousa’s Band “The Washington Post March” (1895) 57. George J. Gaskin “Sweet Marie” (1894) 58. Len Spencer “Smoky Mokes” (1899) 59. Gilmore’s Band “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1892) 60. Russell Hunting “Michael Casey Taking the Census” (1892) 61. John Yorke Atlee “Home Sweet Home” (1891) 62. George J. Gaskin “She May Have Seen Better Days” (1896) 63. Vess Ossman “At a Georgia Camp Meeting” (1898) 64. Len Spencer “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1893) 65. J.W. Myers “Goodbye Dolly Gray” (1897) 66. Dan Quinn “The Bowery” (1893) 67. Dan Quinn “My Mother Was a Lady” (1897) 68. Charles Marsh “Throw Him Down, McCloskey” (1892) 69. Manhansett Quartette “The Old Oaken Bucket” (1894) 70. Dan Quinn “The Little Lost Child” (1895) 71. Dan Quinn “And Her Golden Hair Was Hanging Down Her Back” (1894) 72. Vess Ossman “Cocoanut Dance” (1895) 73. Manhansett Quartette “The Picture Turned to the Wall” (1892) 74. Russell Hunting “Michael Casey As a Physician” (1891) 75. Dan Quinn “There’s a Little Star Shining for You” (1897) 76. George J. Gaskin “Down in Poverty Row” (1896) 77. Billy Golden “Bye Bye My Honey” (1898) 78. Dan Quinn “In the Baggage Coach Ahead” (1896) 79. Tom Turpin (writer) “Harlem Rag” (1897) DMDB Top 5%: 80. Len Spencer “The Bully (aka ‘Dat New Bully’)” (1895) 81. Cal Stewart “Uncle Josh’s Arrival in New York” (1898) 82. Dan Quinn “She Was Happy Till She Met You” (1898) 83. Dan Kelly “Pat Kelly As a Police Justice” (1891) 84. Dan Quinn “My Pearl Is a Bowery Girl” (1894) 85. Len Spencer “Little ‘Liza Loves You” (1891) 86. Len Spencer “You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon But You’ve Done Broke Down” (1896) 87. J.W. Myers “Just Tell Them That You Saw Me” (1895) 88. Arthur Collins “I Guess I'll Have to Telegraph My Baby” (1899) 89. Dan Quinn “Curse of the Dreamer” (1899) 90. Sergei Rachmaninoff “Prelude in C# Minor” (1893) 91. Edward M. Favor “My Best Girl’s a New Yorker” (1895) 92. traditional “Red River Valley” (1896) 93. Len Spencer & Vess Ossman “Hot Time on the Levee” (1896) 94. Russell Hunting “Casey at Denny Murphy’s Wake” (1894) 95. Emile Berliner “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (1890) 96. George J. Gaskin “On the Benches in the Park” (1896) 97. Sousa’s Band “Hands Across the Sea” (1899) 98. Steve Porter “She’s More to Be Pitied Than Censured” (1898) 99. Len Spencer “Little Alabama Coon” (1895) 100. Eubie Blake “Charleston Rag” (1899) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Decade’ lists” Dave’s Music Database: “‘Albums of the Decade’ lists” First posted 7/27/2018; last updated 6/25/2024.