Spotify Sunday: Now That’s What I Call a Top 10

Andrew Griffiths

The Now That’s What I Call Music compilations have always been musical orgies, presenting a momentous cross section of tunes and mixing them into a collection of roughly 40 tracks deemed worth remembering.

At their most comfortable during the double cassette tape days, when listeners had little choice but to sit back and go through each playlist in the order it came, the Now albums were a staple of the average teenager’s music collection.

Fully embracing the guilty pleasure, the first half of each volume seemed to house the biggest chart toppers, leaving the second half to attempt a slightly edgier indie feel.

An inevitable casualty of the age of digital music, the compilation has stepped aside to make way for the streaming playlist. But recently the two worlds have collided beautifully, as the full back catalogue of Now compilations can now be streamed.

To celebrate this discovery, it’s only right to create a compilation. And so I present… Now That’s What I Call a Top 10.

You Can’t Hurry Love – Phil Collins (Now 1)

Track 1 on Now 1, the song that started it all has stood the test of time and become a true classic.

Wannabe – Spice Girls Wannabe (Now 34)

The debut single from the biggest band of the 1990s, my peak Now listening period.

Gangsta’s Paradise - Coolio (Now 32)

In 1995, ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ was the acceptable face of popular rap and took the opening spot on the second disc of Now 32. The preceding song was Shaggy’s ‘Boombastic’. Such is the beauty of a Now track listing.

All That She Wants – Ace of Base (Now 25)

Ace of Base are possibly the definition of ‘guilty pleasure’. There is nothing cool about the Swedish super-pop group, which is exactly why this song makes it onto the list.

I Swear – All-4-One (Now 28)

A big song from the States that seemed to make an even bigger impact over here.

You Only Get What You Give – New Radicals (Now 43)

The Now compilations welcomed many one-hit wonders. New Radicals, who released a great song followed by a very average album, were one of them.

Country House – Blur (Now 32)

Blur’s first number one hit is an awesome case study of brilliant mid-1990s Brit pop that sounds as good today as it did when it was topping the charts.

Karma Police - Radiohead (Now 38)

A lovely, haunting and critically acclaimed single from the album OK Computer, this track is also a perfect example of how magical the incongruence of Now could be.

Sit Down – James (Now 20 & Now 41)

One of a few songs to make it on to two different volumes of Now, ‘Sit Down’ is an epic sing-a-long classic.

Tear Drop – Massive Attack (Now 42)

Bringing ‘trip hop’ to the most mainstream of audiences, ‘Tear Drop’ is just brilliant.

You can listen to the playlist on Spotify here.

You can follow Andrew Griffiths on Twitter @AJGriffiths.