Britpop Acts: Top 25

Britpop: Top 25 Acts

Britpop was a genre which emerged in the early ‘90s in the United Kingdom. It grew out of the British indie music scene and was characterized by its guitar-driven pop sound. This list was created by aggregating 17 best-of lists focused on Britpop. The top 10 is comprised of those acts appearing on 9 or more lists. After the top 10, any act appearing on 2 or more lists is ranked based on its overall status in Dave’s Music Database. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Oasis 1. Oasis 2. Blur 3. Suede 4. Pulp 5. Supergrass 6. Elastica 7. The Verve 8. Manic Street Preachers 9. The Charlatans 10. Kula Shaker 11. Radiohead 12. The Smiths 13. Coldplay 14. The Stone Roses 15. Muse 16. Noel Gallagher/High Flying Birds 17. Paul Weller 18. Snow Patrol 19. Stereophonics 20. Keane 21. James 22. Happy Mondays 23. Ash 24. Travis 25. Ocean Colour Scene Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre Dave’s Music Database: Top 25 Britpop Albums Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Britpop Songs First posted 6/29/2026.

Oasis: Top 20 Songs

First posted 9/10/2019.

Alternative rock group from Manchester, England at the helm of the Britpop movement. Active: 1991-2009 Members: Brothers Liam (v) and Noel Gallagher (g/lyrics) with Gem Archer (k/g: 99-09), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (g: 91-99), Andy Bell (b/k/g: 99-09), Tony McCarroll (d: 91-95), Paul McGuigan (b: 91-99), Alan White (d: 95-04).

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

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Top 20 Songs

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Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

May include notations about songs which hit #1, are in the DMDB top 1000, songs which have more successful versions in the DMDB, and notes about songs recorded by the act under other names.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Wonderwall (1995) #1 MR, #1 AU
2. Live Forever (1994)

DMDB Top 5%:

3. Don’t Look Back in Anger (1996) #1 UK
4. Champagne Supernova (1996) #1 MR

DMDB Top 20%:

5. Supersonic (1994)
6. Whatever (1994)
7. D’You Know What I Mean (1997) #1 UK
8. Cigarettes and Alcohol (1994)

Outside the DMDB Top 20%:

9. Lyla (2005) #1 UK
10. All Around the World (1998) #1 UK
11. Go Let It Out (2000) #1 UK, #1 CN
12. Don’t Go Away (1997)
13. Some Might Say (1995) #1 UK
14. Morning Glory (1995)
15. The Shock of the Lightning (2008)
16. Roll with It (1995)
17. Acquiese (1995)
18. The Hindu Times (2002) #1 UK
19. Little by Little (2002)
20. Stop Crying Your Heart Out (2002)

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Awards:

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Q Magazine – The 100 Greatest Stars of the 20th Century

image from angelfire.com

Toward the close of the 20th century, British music magazine Q asked its readers to vote on the greatest stars of the 20th century. Here were the results:

1. John Lennon
2. Paul McCartney
3. Kurt Cobain
4. Bob Dylan
5. Elvis Presley
6. David Bowie
7. Madonna
8. Noel Gallagher
9. Liam Gallagher
10. Michael Stipe

11. Keith Richards
12. Bob Marley
13. Freddie Mercury
14. Frank Sinatra
15. Jimi Hendrix
16. Thom Yorke
17. Aretha Franklin
18. Bono
19. James Brown
20. Brian Wilson

21. Robert Johnson
22. Mick Jagger
23. Iggy Pop
24. Joe Strummer
25. Marvin Gaye
26. Ringo Starr
27. Little Richard
28. Chuck D
29. Joni Mitchell
30. George Michael

31. Richard Ashcroft
32. Richey Edwards
33. Kate Bush
34. Patti Smith
35. Bruce Springsteen
36. George Harrison
37. Stevie Wonder
38. Jarvis Cocker
39. Marc Bolan
40. Dr. Dre

41. Morrissey
42. Cerys Matthews
43. Nick Drake
44. Charlie Parker
45. Neil Young
46. Debbie Harry
47. Pete Townshend
48. John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon
49. Ray Davies
50. Captain Beefheart

51. Paul Weller
52. Miles Davis
53. Ian Curtis
54. Brian Eno
55. Rod Stewart
56. Nicky Wire
57. Hank Williams
58. Jimmy Page
59. Lou Reed
60. Duke Ellington

61. Phil Spector
62. Paul Simon
63. Woody Guthrie
64. Ralf Hutter
65. Sam Cooke
66. Jim Morrison
67. Prince
68. Shaun Ryder
69. Lee “Scratch” Perry
70. Syd Barrett

71. Brian Jones
72. Keith Moon
73. Youssou N’Dour
74. Roger Waters
75. Buddy Holly
76. Billie Holiday
77. Robert Plant
78. Bez
79. Diana Ross
80. Sting

81. Louis Armstrong
82. Igory Stravinksy
83. Eric Clapton
84. John Squire
85. Liam Howlett
86. Lauryn Hill
87. Fela Kuti
88. Serge Gainsbourg
89. Damon Albarn
90. Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart

91. Muddy Waters
92. Claudy Debussy
93. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
94. Elvis Costello
95. Johnny Marr
96. Ozzy Osbourne
97. Frank Zappa
98. Ian Brown
99. Bryan Ferry
100. Ravi Shankar

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Resources:

• rocklistmusic.co.uk: The 100 Greatest Stars of the 20th Century

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Oasis “Champagne Supernova” charted

Champagne Supernova Oasis

Writer(s): Noel Gallagher (see lyrics here) Released: May 13, 1996 First Charted: February 24, 1996 Peak: 20 BA, 10 GR, 9 RR, 33 A40, 13 AA, 8 AR, 15 MR, 11 CN, 26 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 1.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 172.61 video, 342.32 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 1995, Oasis and Blur went head-to-head with competing singles released on the same day in what the British press proclaimed “The Battle of Britpop.” Blur won the battle with their “Country House” song outselling “Roll with It” but Oasis won the war. Their second album, What’s the Story Morning Glory? produced four hits which reached #1 or #2 on the UK charts and made the album one of the top 100 best-selling in the world. While Oasis were treated as a second coming of the Beatles in their native UK, they were competing with multiple alternative rock juggernauts in the United States. Interestingly, though, they found some success in the U.S. with songs that weren’t even released as singles in the UK. One of those was “Champagne Supernova.” While it didn’t chart in the UK, it topped the alternative rock charts in the U.S. “Noel Gallagher’s stab at psychedelic songwriting might not be up there with ‘I Am the Walrus,’… but no one ever went to him when they wanted great lyrics. ‘Champagne Superova’ is still up there with the very best of his tunes, thanks in large part to an epic vocal performance from his brother Liam and a crashing guitar guest spot from Noel’s dad-rock hero Paul Weller. Though the song has no distinct meaning, it works best as an escape fantasy.” XFM Noel has acknowledged that he hasn’t even made up his mind what the song is about, saying, “It means different things when I’m in different moods.” WK “When Noel bought his house in Hampstead he changed the name (from number nine) to Supernova Heights. The song provided an epic finale to their record-breaking Knebworth gigs of 1996.” XFM Resources: XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Pages 301-2. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/25/2023.

Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” released

Don’t Look Back in Anger Oasis

Writer(s): Noel Gallagher (see lyrics here) Released: February 19, 1996 First Charted: March 2, 1996 Peak: 55 US, 41 BA, 33 CB, 24 GR, 32 RR, 10 MR, 11 UK, 24 CN, 19 AU, 13 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 3.0 UK, 3.35 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 416.9 video, 734.82 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: With their second album, 1995’s What’s the Story Morning Glory?, Oasis produced not just a staple of Britpop, but one of the most successful albums of any genre. It ranks among the top 100 of all time according to Dave’s Music Database, having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and spending 10 weeks atop the UK charts. The album generated six chart hits, including four which peaked at the top or runner-up position on the UK charts. “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” the fifth single from the album, was one of the chart-toppers. It was the group’s first single to feature Noel Gallagher, the band’s chief songwriter, on lead vocals instead of his brother Liam. “Oasis have always been accused of being musical magpies, with critics likening them to a hip-hop producer sampling his tunes from bits of other people’s records… ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ is comprised of the intro to John Lennon’s ‘Imagine,’ some scrapbook lyrics by the same author and a hint of their own ‘Whatever.’” XFM Noel acknowledged that he took lines such as “Trying to start a revolution from my bed / Because they said the brains I had went to my head” from memoirs Lennon had put on tape. WK He also said the song “reminds me of a cross between ‘All the Young Dudes’ and something the Beatles might have done.” WK Noel explained that the song is “about not being upset about the things you might have said or done yesterday…It’s about looking forward rather than looking back. I hate people who look back on the past or talk about what might have been.” WK Regarding the night he wrote the song, he said, “If I’d have known what I know now about people playing it at fucking funerals and weddings, I’d never have finished the song. Too much pressure.” WK In 2020, listeners of Absolute Radio 90s voted this the greatest song of the 1990s. WK “It was this track and ‘Wonderwall’ that came to define Oasis’ ascension to the status of Britain’s favourite band and their ultimate victory over Blur in the Britpop wars.” XFM Resources: XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Page 301. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/25/2023.

Oasis chart with “Wonderwall”

Wonderwall Oasis

Writer(s): Noel Gallagher (see lyrics here) Released: October 30, 1995 First Charted: November 11, 1995 Peak: 8 US, 6 CB, 9 RR, 33 AC, 30 A40, 5 AA, 9 AR, 110 MR, 2 UK, 5 CN, 11 AU, 8 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 3.0 UK, 4.2 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 955.0 video, 1732.78 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The English rock band “Oasis had a lot of shining moments, but ‘Wonderwall’ was their brightest.” CT They burst out of the gate with their 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe, racking up four top-40 hits in the UK. While they charted a few songs on the Billboard alternative chart, they didn’t make the Hot 100 until “Wonderwall,” the third single from sophomore album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? The song reached the top 10 in the U.S. and ten other charts. The band’s guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher wrote the song, but his brother Liam sang it. The song’s worldwide success made him “to many the frontman of the decade.” CT Originally titled “Wishing Stone,” the final title was inspired by George Harrison’s solo album Wonderwall Music. WK “Wonderwall” refers to “a schoolboy’s wall to which posters of footballers and pop stars are attached,” SF but also creepily references a ‘60s movie called Wonderwall: From Psychedia to Surrealism in which a voyeur makes holes in his wall to watch his neighbor. SF Noel initially said he wrote it for his then-girlfriend and later wife Meg Mathews but later claimed it was about “an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself.” WK All Music Guide’s Chris True called it “one of the best love songs ever written” CT and Shawn M. Haney called it “a British rock anthem resonating with hope.” SH British fans agreed, naming it the best British song of all time in Virgin Radio poll in 2005 and again in 2016 in a Radio X poll. WK U2’s The Edge and Blur’s Alex James have both said they wish they’d written the song. WK Two different videos were made for the song. The first won the British Video of the Year at the 1996 Brit Awards. The song was also nominated for Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance. Resources: SH All Music Guide review by Shawn M. Haney CT All Music Guide review by Chris True SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/27/2021; last updated 8/24/2023.