Ranking the Best Songs on Mariah Carey’s Butterfly

These anniversary posts simultaneously make me feel ancient, yet also make me feel so grateful to have lived through such an iconic era of music. Twenty-five years ago today, Mariah Carey delivered an album that has defined her career for decades since – Butterfly.

Today, my younger Va brother from another Darius Keeton joints me to talk about Twitter’s favorite R&B diva. Lord help us if we get these rankings wrong. I can’t deal with the irony of being slaughtered by Lambs.

Let’s talk about your pick for best song

Darius: “The Roof”

It’s very difficult to choose since there are so many great tracks but I think I will have to go with “The Roof.” The way she sampled a grim, dark hip-hop track and flipped it into a beautiful slow jam still amazes me. Mariah even says that this is one of her favorites. But you almost can’t go wrong with any of the other tracks as best song.

Edd: “The Roof”

I’ve mentioned this several times in the past but I’ll happily restate it here – tracks 4 through 7 on this album are the best example of perfect sequencing you’ll find in R&B. While all four songs are incredible and nearly interchangeable in quality, “The Roof” just hits slightly different. Mariah flipping arguably the filthiest hip-hop beat of all time and turning it into a starry-eyed love song is absolute mastery. Many fans are critical of sampling today, and I get it. But let “The Roof” be an example of taking a classic track and molding it into your own.

What’s your pick for best video?

Darius: “Honey”

I think the obvious choice is “Honey.” Even though i was very young, I can vaguely remember the fanfare of when this video just hit the streets. Looking back now, I can see why. It was shot like a mini-movie (we don’t get videos like this anymore) and her first video since her separation from Tommy Mottola. The video was definitely a metaphor for her new freedom.

Edd: “Honey”

Now that I think about it, most of the videos from the Butterfly album aren’t anything special. “Butterfly?” she wandering around in a spooky house before letting a horse loose. “The Roof?” She’s at a party … on a roof. “My All Remix?” She’s at a party … at somebody’s house. “Breakdown?” I guess she’s a showgirl and doing magic tricks with Redman? The 90s were kinda weird. “Honey” gets the win by default, thanks to the big-budget feel and Bond girl aesthetic. Easily the most memorable video from the album.

What’s Butterfly’s most underrated song?

Darius: “Close My Eyes”

It might just be me but I think “Close My Eyes” doesn’t get talked about enough like all the other tracks. I love the song and is one of my favorite album cuts. I definitely relate to this song the most.

Edd: “Babydoll”

Butterfly is very ballad-heavy, but “Babydoll” is that perfect midtempo cut that fits the mellow groove but refuses to get as sleepy as some of the album’s lesser cuts. Shoutout to Missy Elliott for assisting in the writing – she’s from Va so I’m shocked she didn’t call the song “Dollbaby” instead, as we often do. Butterfly already had a ton of singles but if they wanted to squeeze one more out of the project, “Babydoll” would easily be my pick.

And what’s the most overrated song?

Darius: “Honey”

This is very subjective and I’m probably gonna get hate but “Honey” isn’t a bad song at all but it’s a bit overrated. It’s a great song for radio play but it’s probably my least listened to single.

Edd: “Honey”

Dary, you get no hate from me, playa. Even at its height, I always thought “Honey” was merely OK – a decent radio cut for the era but a song I rarely revisited when I play the album. The remix was even worse, as MC had to play second fiddle for Puffy’s Shiny Suit Brigade. “Honey” obviously isn’t a BAD song, it’s just the usual late 90s poppy R&B cut  – the equivalent of empty calories.

Mariah’s pen was lethal on this album. Which song is the best written?

Darius: “Fourth of July”

My heart wanted to say “The Roof” but I’m going with “Fourth of July.” We all know Mariah’s pen game is no joke but she really paints a picture with this track. As she sings the lyrics, you can easily envision her story. Her vocabulary is also unmatched.

Edd: “Fourth of July”

Look at these lyrics:

Then you put your hand in mine (Your hand in mine)

And we floated away

Delicately lay entwined

In an intimate daze (Intimate daze)

A crescent moon began to shine

And I wanted to stay (Stay)

Tangled up with you among the fireflies

On that Fourth of July (Fourth of July)

My god where did we go wrong in modern R&B!? These lyrics are absolute poetry and, yes, as Dary said, in your mind’s eye you can envision Mariah and her boo lounging on a summer night among fireflies, basking in the moon’s glow. Romance! Artistry! I miss it so much.

Mariah is always down for a good remix. What’s the best remix from this album?

Darius: “My All / Stay Awhile (Remix)“

Even though my most favorite remix from around this time period is “I Still Believe / Pure Imagination,” that came after the Butterfly album, the “My All / Stay Awhile Remix” is probably the top choice. When Mariah gives you a remix, she GIVES you a REMIX. A hot sample, new arrangements and dope features.

Edd: “My All / Stay Awhile (Remix)“

The “My All / Stay Awhile” Remix is one of my favorite remixes of all time, probably my favorite Mariah song period and if it was included on the album would easily launch the project to coveted 5-star status. The Loose Ends sample is fantastic, and while the addition of Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz seems a little weird in 2022, they were an incredibly hot act in 98 and add the perfect amount of cred here. I love this song so much.

Where does Butterfly rank among 90s R&B albums?

Darius: The 1990s was stacked with so many great R&B masterpieces but for the whole decade, Butterfly has to at least be ranked in the top 20. If we are talking about R&B albums in the late 1990s then Butterfly is definitely in the top 10. It’s in my top 10 of favorite albums of all time.

Edd: Funny you ask! I ranked the best R&B albums of the 90s a few months back and Butterfly juuuust made it into the top 20. I know, I know, that might seem a little low but remember, we’re talking about the best albums of the 1990s, not the 2020s – the competition was extremely fierce. Still, there’s no denying that Butterfly is one of the most recognized and beloved albums of that era.

Is Butterfly Mariah’s best album?

Darius: This is a very subjective question. My personal answer is yes. People usually pick between this album, Daydream & Emancipation as her best, sometimes even Emotions but Mariah has a good amount of solid albums in her catalog. Butterfly is my favorite and I think she even called it her magnum opus after years later.

Edd: In a word? Yep. Yes, I know fans are still on my neck for only giving it 4.5 stars instead of going the full monty. And yes, I’ve been critical of some of the sleepier songs on the album’s second half. But make no mistake – I still consider Butterfly an R&B classic and it’s become Mariah’s defining album (though Emancipation of Mimi is on its heels). It’s the perfect blend of her stirring ballads, her pop expertise and her love of hip-hop. Dary and Mariah are right, this is her magnum opus

OK, who are you riding with, Darius or Edd? Let us know and share your Butterfly memories below.