1. “Wannabe,” Spice Girls
All credit for the phrase “girl power” should probably go to Ginger, Posh, Scary, Baby and Sporty– and it a all started with “Wannabe.” This fivesome gets extra-extra credit for fashioning a hand gesture to accompany the phrase.
2. “You Oughta Know,” Alanis Morissette
Alanis’ pain really was our gain on “You Oughta Know.” This song is an instantaneous anthem for anyone and everyone after a break-up– it really fuels a feel good fire once you get into it. But maybe not for Dave Coulier.
3. “Just a Girl,” No Doubt
Gwen Stefani spent the ’90s redesigning what “cool” sounded and looked like for girls, and it started with this track. Whether you were 5 or 25, you knew Gwen wasn’t just a girl, and you weren’t either.
4. “I’m Every Woman,” Whitney Houston
Every woman wished they were Whitney. #queen
5. “No Scrubs,” TLC
Even if you might not have known exactly what a scrub was when this song came out, you definitely knew you didn’t want one.
6. “Man, I Feel Like A Woman,” Shania Twain
Shania transcends genres and time with this one. Whether you are at a bachelorette party or a Bat Mitzvah, this is still a go to girl power jam.
7. “Bills, Bills, Bills,” Destiny’s Child
Destiny’s Child taught many life lessons on girl power, but none more important than “Bills, Bills, Bills.” Fortunately, we do not think Bey runs into this problem in the Knowles-Carter household.
8. “Who Do You Think You Are,” Spice Girls
For their second appearance on this list, the girls lay down the law.
9. “No More,” 3LW
Similar to ‘You Oughta Know’ this song serves its purpose best post break-up, despite antiquated technological references.
10. “Bitch,” Meredith Brooks
Last but not least, Meredith Brooks. This track was the perfect excuse to swear as a child, and continues to serve as an endless thesaurus of ways to identify yourself as a woman.
Honorable Mention:
11. “Independent Women,” Destiny’s Child
Technically this didn’t come out until we were a couple months into the new millennium, but between this song and the release of “Charlie’s Angels,” this song couldn’t not be on this list.
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