By Christy Lemire
The Associated Press

Here they are now, entertaining us - or at least entertaining VH1, which named Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" the greatest song of the past quarter-century.

Kurt Cobain

The Seattle band's groundbreaking grunge anthem is No. 1 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years."

The whole countdown will air over five nights, starting at 10 p.m. Monday on the video music channel. The series will feature clips of videos and performances by the artists along with interviews from musicians and celebrities discussing why the songs matter.

Of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan said: "That was really a breakthrough for a great scene that had been going on for a long time up in Seattle. And it was kind of another victory, I think, for a misunderstood music, you know. The dam broke when 'Teen Spirit' came out."

While no one performer or group dominated the countdown, which was chosen by a panel of VH1 executives, several had two songs featured.

Michael Jackson had the second-highest song, "Billie Jean," and was at No. 40 with "Beat It." Eminem reached No. 4 with "Lose Yourself," while his "My Name Is" was No. 85. Madonna's "Like a Virgin" was No. 10 and her "Ray of Light" was No. 100.

Rounding out the top 10 were "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, "One" by U2, "Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C., "When Doves Cry" by Prince, "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston and "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.

In May 2001, VH1 picked the 100 greatest videos of all time; Jackson's "Thriller" was No. 1.