“The musical era of the 1990s was one filled with a variety of pop, rap, and alternative music artists as well as a plethora of one-hit wonders. It was a time when musical taste was as varied as the events that were happening at the time. Many of the most popular acts that emerged in the 1990's were bands and artists who enjoyed a type of resurgence in the mainstream music scene after their popularity had dwindled for a decade or so. Other artists were just starting out during this decade and make a huge impact on the musical scene” (“Music Played”, 2014).
For hip-hop and rap the nineties was considered the golden age. Big names such as Tupac, The notorious big, and Dr. Dre made a big impact in their field of music (“Hip-Hop”, 2014). Many artists made their mark in the with one hit singles such as “Baby got back” by Sir Mix a lot, “Can't touch this” by MC Hammer, and “No Diggity” by BlackStreet (“Greatest Hip Hop”, 2014). The nineties was also the foreground for eminems music career, and one of his biggest hits in the nineties was “My name is”. Biggie’s album Ready to die reached four time platinum in the 90’s and still remains a favorite album for his fans. “When it comes to the best hip hop songs of the 90s, there is a wide range to choose from. The 90s are part of hip-hop’s golden age, when the songs do not all sound the same” (Hip-Hop, 2014).
Country music was alive and booming in the nineties, many great artists made their stake in this decade and rapidly spread the popularity of this genre of music (Fee, 2014). Artists such as Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, and Tim McGraw were releasing some of their paramount music during this monumental time period for music (Fabian, 2014). Others were just starting out, Alan Jackson and Toby Keith released their first albums in the nineties. Also the group Alabama was releasing some of their last albums, Twentieth Century was their 15th album recorded and it was released in 1999. Shania Twain was one of the popular female country artists with her hit songs “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Women” (Fabian, 2014).
1990’s rock was all about alternative and grunge. These genres were huge in this decade. It all started with Nirvana. The #1 song of the entire decade was “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (“Top 200”, 2014). Kurt Cobain was the face of 90’s alternative rock. After Nirvana, the emergence of alternative rock began. Soon, bands like Green Day, Pearl Jam, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Third Eye Blind were coming out with hit albums (“Top 100”, 2014). The alternative rock trend came to an end with the death of Kurt Cobain and touring problems with Pearl Jam.
In the 90’s Music began to play a large role in influencing people’s day to day lives. Pop and dance music started to become a craze, leg warmers, neon clothes, and high ponytails. Artists like Britney Spears, Madonna, Cher, Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera became popular pop artists of the time. There were also lots of hit dance singles such as “The Macarena”, “Groove is in the Heart”, “Love Shack”, “Gonna Make you Sweat”, “Pump Up the Jam”, and “What is Love?” (Lamb, 2014). A couple of other hits included the Spice Girls song “Wanna Be” and The Proclaimers song “I’m Gonna Be”. Also N’Sync and The Backstreet Boys were the popular boy bands in the 90’s and the posters all over every teen girl’s bedroom wall. Pop and Dancing music was a huge part of society and culture in the 1990’s.
Works Cited
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"The 50 Best Grunge Songs." Pastemagazine.com. N.p., 4 August 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Top 100 Alternative Songs of the '90s -- Part Five of Five." - AOL Radio Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
"Top 200 Rock Songs of the 1990s." The Dish. N.p., 25 March 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Lamb, Bill. "Flashback to the 100 Top Songs of the 90s." About. IAC Company, n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Fee, Rob. "The 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Of The 90s." Thought Catalog. Chris Lavergne, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
"Hip-Hop Songs." HipHop Songs. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Fabian, Shelly. "The 100 Best Country Songs of the '90s." About. IAC Company, n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Fee, Rob. "The 100 Greatest Country Songs Of The 90s." Thought Catalog. Chris Lavergne, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
"Music Played in the 1990's Popular Music From the 90s." 1990's Music Played in the 90's Bands Groups Singers Memories from The People History Site. The People History Where People Memories and History Join, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2014.