Overlooked 90s Songs You Can Easily Play

Top Picks for New Musicians
The Wallflowers’ “6th Avenue Heartache” is one of the best 90s songs for easy play. It has simple cord changes that are great for guitar learners. This rock hit uses easy open cords and a steady beat that you can pick up with some try.
Must-Try Easy 90s Songs
- Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Walk on the Ocean” gives you a clear and easy guitar setup that new players will find doable. The tune sticks in On-the-Go Singing your mind, and its simple chords help you build the base skills you need on the guitar.
- Gin Blossoms’ “Until I Fall Away” has the classic 90s sound and is good for those a bit further along. It has clear guitar parts and a sing range that are great for learning.
Tips for Playing
Just use a simple Stratocaster or acoustic guitar. Drop-D tuning can open up new sounds for new players, and a capo on the fourth fret can make harder sounds easier to reach.
Tools and Making Music
These songs are good without needing big effects or hard mixing. They’re great for practice and live shows with just a few tools. Keep your sounds clean and your beats right to sound like the 90s rock you want.
More Songs for Newbies
The 90s rock scene has many more songs that are good for starters with clear setups and not too hard skills. These tunes are great for when you want to grow your skills and add new songs to what you can play.
The Basic Gear and Music Tips for 90s Hits
Main Gear and Tools
- Electric guitars are key for 90s songs, with the Fender Stratocaster as a top pick for its range of sounds.
- A dual-channel amp is key for the real 90s sound, giving you both clean and sharp settings to switch between soft and loud parts.
- Modern amps with effects built-in can copy old 90s sounds and help with your recordings.
How to Find Music Notes
Ultimate Guitar and other sites have lots of 90s music notes and chord charts. Check these with the real songs to make sure they’re right, mainly for complex tunes and famous parts.
Vintage song books from the 90s are the most true to the time. They’re becoming hard to find, but they have detailed notes and tips that online versions don’t.
Practice and Record Tools
- Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) have taken over old recorders, giving you more options to work out hard tunes.
- Needed tools include: Electronic drum sets to make beats, software to try out different sounds, a sound interface for better sound inputs, and sound monitors that let you hear exactly what you mix.
Pop Rock Lesser-Known Hits
90s Pop Rock Hidden Hits: The Deep Run Guide
Base Pop Rock Tunes for Players
Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Fall Down” and Gin Blossoms’ “Until I Fall Away” are key examples of 90s pop rock. They show easy cord changes and tunes that stay with you, typical of the 90s pop sound.
Harder Guitar Skills in Pop Rock
- The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Name” changed pop rock guitar with its special drop-D tuning, making a deep sound while keeping easy strumming.
- Fastball’s “Out of My Head” shows great guitar play in its usual song parts, great for building your skills.
Complex Tunes and Deep Sounds
Better Than Ezra’s “Good” and Del Amitri’s “Roll to Me” show the grown-up side of 90s pop rock. They mix jangly guitar and strong cord changes, while the shifts in sound and deep feelings show off the music’s true art side. Getting good at these songs needs you to play neatly and show real feeling, things that make simple pop tunes into real art.
Songs for Acoustic Guitar
Top Acoustic 90s Songs for Guitar

Classic Songs for Acoustic Play
The 90s alternative rock era has many tunes great on acoustic guitar, perfect for deep and close shows. The Wallflowers’ “6th Avenue Heartache” and Counting Crows’ “Round Here” show great song craft with their easy open cords and finger styles that are folk-inspired.
Top Acoustic Versions
- Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “All I Want” is a perfect acoustic song, with special picking and cord changes that make one guitar sound full.
- The Gin Blossoms’ “Until I Fall Away” keeps its tune even when played just on guitar, showing how strong the song really is.
How to Play These Songs
For new guitar players, Better Than Ezra’s “At the Stars” is a good start with its normal tuning and clear cord changes, but you still need to get the beat right. Live’s “Lightning Crashes” also works well on guitar, mainly when you use a capo on the fourth fret, keeping the deep feel while making the cords easier. These songs show how 90s rock often took in parts of folk, making them great for playing on acoustic guitar.
Must-Learn Acoustic 90s Songs
- “6th Avenue Heartache” – The Wallflowers
- “Round Here” – Counting Crows
- “All I Want” – Toad the Wet Sprocket
- “Until I Fall Away” – Gin Blossoms
- “At the Stars” – Better Than Ezra
- “Lightning Crashes” – Live
Folk and Country Greats
90s Folk and Country: Top Hidden Tracks
True Folk Hits
- Iris DeMent stood out with “Our Town,” with true vocals and simple guitar that help new folk players learn.
- Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Passionate Kisses” mixes country twang with folk rhythms.
How to Write Songs and Play
John Prine’s 1991 hit “All The Best” has easy cords great for playing on acoustic. Nanci Griffith’s main song “It’s a Hard Life Wherever You Go” shows strong storytelling with must-know finger styles, giving a guide to writing songs that have a story.
Learn the Basics
Alison Krauss’s famous song “When You Say Nothing at All” is good for working on singing while keeping the cord playing simple. These old-school methods teach better than many new hits, giving both how to play and a deep look at music’s roots.
Simple Three-Chord Songs
Three-Cord Wonders: Top Simple 90s Songs
The Power of Simple Song Writing
The 90s had some rock hits made just from the main three cords, showing that you don’t need hard music to last. Famous tunes like The Lemonheads’ “Into Your Arms” and Spacehog’s “In the Meantime” show the lasting power of the I-IV-V cord changes, a base of rock since the start.
Big 90s Three-Cord Tunes
The lasting charm of these tunes is in how they are played. Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy” shows how simple A, D, and E cords can turn into strong hooks if you https://getwakefield.com/ get the timing and sound changes right. Also, the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Name” gets you in your feelings with simple cord changes that lift its tune.
Hard Skills in Simple Songs
Even though these tunes use easy cord setups, their cool use of hand stopping skills, hanging cords, and new beats make a special sound. These ways show that even simple cord changes can make rich, full tunes that are good for both new players and those who know their way around, showing that good music often comes from keeping it simple.