1990s in music

For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99

1990s in music was music performed in the 1990s. This decade saw the continuation of teen pop of the 1980s and the emergence of grunge music and alternative rock in pop culture replacing glam metal and the continuation of hip hop. It also featured the rise of contemporary country music music as a major genre, which started in the late 1980s.

The U.S. and North America

See also: Music history of the United States (1980s to the present) § 1990s

Rock

Alternative Rock

By the start of the 1990s, the music industry was enticed by Alternative rock's commercial possibilities and major labels actively courted bands including Dinosaur Jr, Firehose, and Nirvana. In particular, R.E.M.'s success had become a blueprint for many alternative bands in the late 1980s and 1990s to follow; the group had outlasted many of its contemporaries and by the 1990s had become one of the most popular bands in the world. Some of the most important artists of this era are in this genre,such as The Smashing Pupmkins, Hole, Radiohead, Beck, Pearl Jam, Garbage, No Doubt, and others.

Grunge

Nirvana is considered to have brought both grunge and alternative rock to the mainstream in late 1991

Nirvana's album Nevermind (1991) led to the breakthrough success of the band and to the widespread popularization of Alternative rock in the 1990s and in addition it popularized the Grunge genre. The album sold over 26 million copies worldwide .

Nirvana's surprise success with Nevermind heralded a "new openness to alternative rock" among commercial radio stations and opened the doors for heavier alternative bands in particular. In the wake of Nevermind, record companies whom were eager to capitalize on the genre's success, started to sign alternative rock artists. The meaning of the term "alternative" changed as mainstream success attracted major-label investment and commercially-oriented or manufactured acts with a formulaic, conservative approach. With this, "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning and began to refer to the new form of music that was now achieving mainstream success.

Other grunge bands subsequently replicated Nirvana's success. Pearl Jam had released its debut album Ten a month before Nevermind in 1991, but album sales only picked up a year later. By the second half of 1992 Ten became a breakthrough success, being certified gold and reaching number two on the Billboard 200 album chart. Alice in Chains' Dirt that had three top ten singles, Would?, Rooster and Down in a Hole. Soundgarden's album Badmotorfinger was fairly popular reaching 39 on the US Billboard 200 in 1992. Along with the mix of the previos bands, the Temple of the Dog album collaboration featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, were also among the 100 top selling albums of 1992.

The top mainstream American Alternative Rock bands of 1990s included Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Live, Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, Stone Temple Pilots and Third Eye Blind.

Post-grunge

Foo Fighters

The death of Kurt Cobain in early 1994, as well as touring problems for Pearl Jam, marked a decline for grunge that year. At the same time major record labels began signing and promoting bands that were emulating the genre. The term post-grunge was coined to describe these bands, who emulated the attitudes and music of grunge, particularly thick, distorted guitars, but with a more radio-friendly commercially-oriented sound.

In 1995, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl's new band, the Foo Fighters, helped popularize the genre and define its parameters, becoming one of the most commercially successful rock bands in the US, aided by considerable airplay on MTV.

Some post-grunge bands, like Candlebox, were from Seattle, but the sub-genre was marked by a broadening of the geographical base of grunge, with bands like Los Angeles' Audioslave, and Georgia's Collective Soul and beyond the US to Australia's Silverchair and Britain's Bush, who all cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable sub-genres of the late 1990s.

Pop punk

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day

Pop punk in the United States underwent a resurgence in the early to mid 1990s. Pop punk at that time was not commercially viable, and no major record label signed a pop punk band until Blink 182's breakthrough in 1997. Both these factors contributed to the emergence of a number of independent record labels, often run by people in bands in order to release their own music and that of their friends. The independent labels Lookout! Records, Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph Records achieved commercial success after bands such as Green Day brought in a new audience for pop punk.

Pop punk broke into the mainstream in the mid-1990s, initially with the Northern California-based pop punk band Green Day and afterwords with the Southern California-based pop punk bands Blink-182 and The Offspring as well whom all achieved massive worldwide commercial success. Green Day's album Dookie (1994) sold 10 million copies in the United States and 20 million copies worldwide. Soon after the release of Dookie, The Offspring released the album Smash. The album sold over 14 million copies worldwide, setting a record for most albums sold on an independent label. Also in the spring of 1994, Weezer released its debut album, most commonly know as The Blue Album peaked at number 16 on the charts and revived heavy radio and MTV rotation By the end of the year, Dookie and Smash had sold millions of copies. The commercial success of these two albums attracted major label interest in pop punk, with bands such as Bad Religion being offered lucrative contracts to leave their independent record labels. In 1999, Blink-182 released Enema of the State, which sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

This genre remained popular in America through the rest of the 1990s and the entire 2000s.

Indie rock

Following the immense success of Alternative rock in the 1990s, The term "Indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained underground. Bands like Sonic Youth and The Pixies set the stage for the rise of indie rock in the underground scene, with bands such as Pavement and The Flaming Lips gaining popularity in the early years.

Soft rock and singer-songwriter

Alanis Morissette

A revival of the singer-songwriter movement of the 1970s, closely connected to Third-wave feminism and the Lilith Fair, this movement lasted up to about 2002 with artists like Norah Jones. Important artists include Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos, Edwin McCain, Jewel, Natalie Merchant and Sheryl Crow. Perhaps the most important album of this movement was the many-times platinum Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette.

Also in the 1990s, artists such as Dave Matthews and Elliott Smith borrowed from the singer-songwriter tradition to create new acoustic-based rock styles

Heavy metal

Many subgenres of heavy metal developed outside of the commercial mainstream during the 1980s. In the early 1990s the Thrash metal genre achieved breakout success, mainly due to the massive success of Metallica's eponymous 5th album which was released in 1991 and brought thrash metal to the mainstream for the first time. Metallica's success was followed by Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction (1992) which hit number 2, Anthrax and Slayer cracked the top 10, and albums by regional bands such as Testament and Sepultura entered the top 100.

In the later half of the decade Industrial Metal became popular. The top mainstream American Industrial Metal bands of 1990s included include Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Ministry, and Fear Factory.

By the late 1990s, mainstream interest in third wave ska bands waned as other music genres gained momentum.

Other trends

Guns n' Roses, Warrant and Van Halen remained popular in the first half of the decade and while Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf and U2 maintained their popularity throughout the entire decade.

Rap rock, rap metal, rapcore and Nu Metal all had their peak of success in the '90s with bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, and Disturbed.

Pop

Vocal group, Backstreet Boys became one of the biggest acts of the 90's. Their popularity became known as Backstreetmania

Contemporary R&B and urban pop began throughout the 1990s, but was replaced by more pop music and dance music by a short time in 1999.

Popular Pop music artists include Backstreet Boys, Salt-n-Pepa, Groove Theory, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Diana King, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Tara Kemp, 3T, Brownstone, Shanice, Paula Abdul, Usher, SWV, Aaliyah, Keith Sweat, R. Kelly, TLC, Brandy, Monica, Tevin Campbell, Maxi Priest, Shaggy and Toni Braxton. Teen pop carries over from the late 1980s into the year 1990, but died out in 1991 with Michael Jackson, New Kids on the Block, Madonna, Prince and Janet Jackson at their peak, while Debbie Gibson, Cyndi Lauper and Tiffany were at the end of their popularity. Between 1997 and 1999 American teen pop singers and groups including the Backstreet Boys (Although formed in 93 and released records before 97), *NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Hanson, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Destiny's Child became popular.

Ballad songs were popular during this decade, popular American artists included Michael Bolton, Kenny G, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Bryan Adams, Gloria Estefan, Vanessa L. Williams, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Jennifer Paige.

Contemporary R&B

Mariah Carey is considered to be the biggest R&B act of the decade and the best-selling female artist of the decade.

In the 1990s, Mariah Carey's career originated in quiet storm, with hit singles such as "Vision of Love" (1990), and "Love Takes Time" (1990) Also in the early 1990s, Whitney Houston's quiet storm hit included "All the Man That I Need" (1990) and "I Will Always Love You" (1992). Richard J. Ripani wrote that Carey and Houston, "both of whom rely heavily on the gospel music vocal tradition, display an emphasis on melisma that increased in R&B generally over the 1980s and 1990s." Carey's "Vision of Love" is considered to be an extreme example of the use of melisma. Also during the early 1990s, Boyz II Men re-popularized classic soul-inspired vocal harmonies. Michael Jackson incorporated new jack swing into his 1991 album Dangerous, with sales over 32 million.

In contrast to the works of Boyz II Men, Babyface and similar artists, other R&B artists from this same period began adding even more of a hip hop sound to their work. The synthesizer-heavy rhythm tracks of new jack swing was replaced by grittier East Coast hip hop-inspired backing tracks, resulting in a genre labeled hip hop soul by producer Sean Combs. The style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence.

During the mid 1990s, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, TLC, SWV and Boyz II Men brought contemporary R&B to the mainstream. Jackson's self-titled fifth studio album janet. (1993), which came after her historic multi-million dollar contract with Virgin Records, sold over ten million copies worldwide. Boyz II Men and Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits, including "Fantasy", "One Sweet Day", a collaboration between both acts, which became the longest-running #1 hit in Hot 100 history. Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995—Daydream, II , and CrazySexyCool respectively — that sold over ten million copies, earning them diamond and also making them the best selling female R&B group of all time. RIAA certification.

In the late 1990s, neo soul, which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell. Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles. Beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient. The award was later received by TLC for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich for Words in 1997, Erykah Badu for Baduizm in 1998 and Lauryn Hill for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999. At the end of 1999, Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first and second most successful artists of the 1990s.

Mariah Carey's duet with Boyz II Men "One Sweet Day" which was recorded in 1995 spent 16 weeks atop the Hot 100 and became the only single in history to do so, was pronounced song of the decade, charting at number one on the decade-end chart.

Hip hop

At the beginning of the 1990s, artists such as; Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Mc Hammer, Ice Cube, A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and several others, continued to increase hip hop's visibility in the music mainstream. With the help of artists such as; Fugees, 2Pac, and Notorious B.I.G., hip hop began to rival rock music with commercial sales and success by the mid nineties.

In 1998, Lauryn Hill released her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it the first album by a female rapper to do so. In 1999, The Miseducation was nominated for 10 Grammy's, winning five, (which at the time was unheard of for a hip-hop artist) and eventually went on to sell over 19 million copies worldwide.

By the late 1990s, the style of hip hop changed drastically to that of early '90's hip hop. The majority of earlier hip hop cultural elements began to diminish, with business, money, and materialism being more of a focus and focal point. The overall sound changed drastically as well. Turntablism became less common in the mainstream, with Synthesizers being a more common provider of beats, giving a more polished sound. The traditional emcee lyrical forms and styles also changed. Story telling, and internal rhymes became less common, as well as many of the topics of early '90's lyrics, such as; social issues, poverty, and history. By 1999, more 2000s styled glam started coming in, along with dirty south and crunk, with artists such as Mannie Fresh, Cam'ron, DMX, and Jay-Z.

Electronic music

With the explosive growth of computers music technology and consequent reduction in the cost of equipment in the early 1990s, it became possible for a wider number of musicians to produce electronic music.

Even though initially most of the electronic music was dance music, the genre developed in the 1990s as musicians started producing music which wasn't necessarily designed for the dance-floor but rather for home listening (later on referred to as "Electronica") and slower paced music which was played throughout chillout rooms—the relaxation sections of the clubs (later on referred to as "Downtempo", "Chill-out music" and "Ambient music").

Country music

Garth Brooks

The popularity of country music exploded in the early 1990s. The stage had been set in 1989 with the debuts of several performers who proved to be profoundly influential on the genre during the 1990s and beyond. Most notable of that group was Garth Brooks, who shattered records for album sales and concert attendance throughout the decade. The RIAA has certified his recordings at a combined (128× platinum), denoting roughly 113 million U.S. shipments. Brooks recorded primarily in a honky-tonk style, although he frequently combined elements of soft rock and arena rock in his songs. His songs sometimes explored social themes, such as domestic violence (in "The Thunder Rolls") and racial harmony ("We Shall Be Free)", while others — such as "Friends in Low Places" — were just good-time songs.

Other performers who rose in popularity during the early 1990s were neo-traditionalists Clint Black and Alan Jackson and southern rock influenced Travis Tritt. Mary Chapin Carpenter had a folk-style about her, while Lorrie Morgan (the latter the daughter of the late George Morgan, himself a country legend) blended elements of country and pop, and occasionally operatic sounds in songs such as "Something in Red." Trisha Yearwood was one of the top new singers of 1991, while Diamond Rio blended traditional and bluegrass styles and Brooks & Dunn provided a driving honky-tonk sound.

During the 1990s, country music's mainstream popularity became so great that Time magazine devoted a cover story detailing the genre's history and reasons for its growing popularity.

During the early-to-middle part of the decade, several recordings were influenced by the popularity of line dancing, including "Boot-Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks & Dunn and "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus. This influence was so great that Chet Atkins was quoted as saying "The music has gotten pretty bad, I think. It's all that damn line dancing."

A steady stream of new artists began their careers during the mid- and late-1990s. Many of these careers were short-lived, but several went on to long-lived, profitable careers. The most successful of the new artists were Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, Collin Raye, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, while Lonestar and Dixie Chicks were the most successful new groups.

Pop-influenced country music began growing in popularity, particularly after Twain and Hill rose in popularity in the latter half of the 1990s. In 1998, Hill's "This Kiss" and Twain's "You're Still the One" both reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, in addition to peaking at No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Rimes had a multi-million selling hit with "How Do I Live" (a song successfully covered by Yearwood), while Lonestar also had a huge crossover hit with "Amazed." Some critics began to be troubled by a trend toward what they perceived as pop music marketed as country, contending that radio was concentrating more on newer music while ignoring the more traditional styles of older artists such as Merle Haggard, George Jones and others who continued to record and release new material. Johnny Cash and producer Rick Rubin once purchased a full-page advertisement in Billboard magazine — after Cash's album Unchained won a Grammy for Best Country Album, despite a lack of support from radio — showing a young Cash displaying his middle finger and sarcastically "thanking" radio for supporting the album.

In the 1990s, alternative country came to refer to a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music. In general, they eschewed the high production values and pop outlook of the Nashville-dominated industry, to produce music with a lo-fi sound, frequently infused with a strong punk and rock & roll aesthetic, bending the traditional rules of country music. Lyrics were often bleak, gothic or socially aware. Other initiators include Old 97's, Steve Earle, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Ryan Adams, My Morning Jacket, Blitzen Trapper, and Drive-By Truckers.

A number of notable artists in country music died during the decade, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Roy Acuff, Roger Miller, Conway Twitty, Charlie Rich, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Eddie Rabbitt and Hank Snow.

Billboard Artist of the Decade

On December 1999, Billboard Magazine named Mariah Carey as the best Artist of the Decade for the 1990s. She joined the list with The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Elton John and Michael Jackson, who have also been awarded with this prestigious honor in their respective decades.

Europe

See also: Music of the United Kingdom (1990s)

Oasis were the biggest band of the 1990s Britpop scene and the only band to make a significant impact in the US market.

Spice Girls became one of the biggest European pop acts of the decade

In the early 1990s a counter-culture movement rose in Britain, called Britpop by the music press, rejecting the themes of disenfranchised youth coming out of America in favor of a songs written specifically about the experiences of the British youth. Although the movement was heavily influenced by 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s British rock there was very little that musically defined the Britpop bands beyond the intensely British lyrical themes. Britpop bands such as Blur, Suede, Pulp, Elastica, Supergrass, and Oasis regularly topped the singles and album charts throughout the decade. Oasis were the biggest band of the Britpop scene and the only band to make a significant impact in the US market. The Britpop phenomena ran out of steam by the end of the 1990s with most of its most successful bands splitting up or fading away.

Pop music and dance music became popular throughout the 1990s. Popular European artists included Seal, Jamiroquai, Milli Vanilli, Boy George, Rick Astley, Spandau Ballet and Right Said Fred.

Ballad songs were popular during this decade, popular European artists included George Michael, Robert Palmer, Sade, Lisa Stansfield and Roxette.

During the late 1990s European teen pop groups such as the Ace of Base, Aqua, A*Teens, and Spice Girls became popular.

Dance music evolves throughout the decade. The popularity of house, techno and rave in the early part of the decade leads to the boom of the more commercial eurodance genre and eventually the huge popularity of trance in the late 1990s. Popular dance groups included 2 Unlimited, Stardust, Los del Río, Soulsearcher, Corona and Everything but the Girl. Between 1990 to 1996 Pet Shop Boys, Take That, Westlife and Boyzone also became popular. Take That sparked the boy and girlband phase during the late 1990s throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, reaching as far as Australia and the United States. From 1996 to 1998, the Spice Girls reach massive success across the globe. The Backstreet Boys, a vocal group who have been confused for a boy band, formed in 1993 and dominated the charts worldwide from 1995 onwards. Their success started in Europe.

The fall of the Iron Curtain brings Western styles to Russia and Eastern Europe.

The arrival of Massive Attack in the early 1990s leads to a new style of slow electronic music, that is dubbed Trip Hop and influences groups such as Portishead, Björk, Tricky, Morcheeba and Thievery Corporation.

Latin America

Shakira

In 1991 21-year-old singer Luis Miguel rediscovers the bolero, echoing back to the trios of the 1940s with his album Romance. He becomes the biggest international Latin star until the late 1990s.

No Mercy, Chayanne and Thalía also becomes an international hit.

In 1998 Ricky Martin eclipses Luis Miguel as the top Latin star as he performs The Cup of Life during the 1998 World Cup and releases Livin' La Vida Loca which would become an international hit.

Surge of newfound interest in Spanish-language rock, led by bands like Soda Stereo, Café Tacuba or Maná which gained large international following during this period. Others would follow their footsteps.

Along with the rise of Spanish rock came "rock alternativo", a Spanish equivalent to alternative rock headed by bands like Los Piojos, Babasonicos and Attaque 77. The "rolinga" or "stone rock" genre also emerged from "rock alternativo", popularized and headed throughout the entire decade by Viejas Locas. The stone-rock genre would remain popular in the 2000s with the Viejas Locas' vocalist, Pity Álvarez's other band, Intoxicados.

In the mid-1990s, Puerto Rican singer Jennifer Lopez and Mexican-American singer Selena became popular.

By the early 1990s, Puerto Rico becomes a merengue stronghold, with acts such as Elvis Crespo, Olga Tañon and Grupo Mania topping the charts throughout Latin America.

After Selena's death, Colombian singer Shakira and Spanish-Filipino singer Enrique Iglesias began to rise into the top of the pop charts by the end of the decade.

Beginning in 1990, the salsa romantica that began in the 1980s becomes a standard in tropical music thanks to chart-topping stars mainly from Puerto Rico such as Marc Anthony, Jerry Rivera, Tito Rojas, Víctor Manuelle and Gilberto Santa Rosa.

The North American group, Backstreet Boys became a prominent artist in Latin America.

Australia and New Zealand

Michael Hutchence

Bands and singers such as INXS, Crowded House, Peter Andre, Human Nature, CDB, Silverchair, Tina Arena, Kylie Minogue and Deni Hines were popular during this decade. How Bizarre became the most successful New Zealand song in history reaching # 1 in several national music charts around the world including Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and Austria.

See also

• 1980s in music
• 2000s in music

External links

• 90's Music - Grunge to Pop and Everything in Between
• 90s Music Hits
• 90s Music Videos - Music Videos from the 1990s