Rock was the primary taste throughout most of the decade. Hip hop gained popularity towards the very end of the decade. Popular styles include Grunge (Nirvana,Sonic Youth, The Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden), Post-Grunge (Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind, Everclear, Creed, Foo Fighters, Bush), Heavy Metal and Alternative Metal (Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Pantera, Tool), Black Metal gained a large number of fans in Northern Europe, Britpop and British Rock (Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, Radiohead, The Verve, Travis), Pop-Punk (Green Day, Offspring, Rancid, Blink-182), Third Wave Ska (No Doubt, Sublime, Reel Big Fish, Mighty Mighty Bosstones), indie rock Fugazi, Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse), jam bands (Dave Matthews Band, Phish), and Nu Metal (Korn, Limp Bizkit) towards the end of the decade.
Singer-songwriters include Alanis Morissette, Beck, Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, and Jewel. Emo music which, would later become a staple of rock music, began receiving commercial and critical acclaim. Notable examples include Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary and Weezer's Pinkerton, which have since become highly influental on the genre. Radiohead's popularity exploded in 1997 with the release of OK Computer. Most notable, though, was the explosion of Grunge band Nirvana into the mainstream, who found a large audience in the youths of the '90s through their apathetic attitude and their appeal to Generation X.
Hip hop music diversifies throughout the decade and experiences numerous trends, beginning with the commercial success of pop rappers MC Hammer, Tone Loc, Young MC, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and Vanilla Ice. Other major developments include the proliferation of alternative/jazz rap (De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Arrested Development, Digable Planets, Native Tongues, and A Tribe Called Quest) and the West Coast G-Funk/Gangsta Rap phenomena ( Bone Thugs-N-Harmony,Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre,NWA,Snoop Doggy Dogg, Warren G, Coolio, and Tupac Shakur), followed by the resurgence of the New York hip hop scene (The Wu Tang Clan, Boot Camp Clik, Nas, Mobb Deep, and The Notorious B.I.G.), and pop rap (Puff Daddy, Will Smith, and Jay-Z).
In America, country music becomes more mainstream with popular chart topping artist such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw. The genre will also build up a more extensive audience world-wide, which sees the first English 24 hour terrestrial country station open in 1994.
American Club/Dance music is very popular from 1990 to 1996, with acts like C&C Music Factory, Ce Ce Peniston, Crystal Waters, RuPaul, Black Box, & Dee-Lite. Similarly, Eurodance gains popularity in the United States, with many Eurodance artists scoring club hits on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Billboard Hot 100 radio. These artists include Technotronic, Corona, Cappella, N-Trance, Culture Beat,Reel 2 Real, Capital Sound, Jam & Spoon, E-Type, Maxx, La Bouche, Indra, Le Click, Pharao, Real McCoy, Ice MC,Me & My, JK, Cappella, 2 Unlimited, Dr. Alban, Masterboy, Basic Element, AB Logic, Fun Factory, Mr. President, Shaman and Snap.
R&B Music such as Quiet Storm is popular with artists such as such Babyface, Tevin Campbell, Brian McKnight, Monica, Brandy, and Faith Evans. R&B girl groups such as TLC, Destiny's Child, SWV, and En Vogue are hugely popular as well. In addition, Aaliyah, The Fugees (and later Lauryn Hill's solo act), and Mary J. Blige combine hip hop with R&B in the 1990s. Artists such as Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey appeal to the Top 40 crowd with their ballad songs in the early to mid-1990s. R&b Boy Bands are big throughout the 1990s such as Jodeci, Dru Hill, Blackstreet, 112 and especially Boyz II Men who appealed to the Top 40 crowd are popular as well.
Other significant events in music include:
1990: Curtis Mayfield (The Impressions) is paralyzed preparing for a stage concert. Stevie Ray Vaughan is killed in a helicopter crash.
1991: Cardinal O'Connor asks The Pope to excommunicate Madonna. Guns N' Roses release Use Your Illusion I and II. Queen's Freddy Mercury dies from complications related to AIDS.
1992: Seattle becomes the core of Grunge Rock with groups like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Prince changes his name to a symbol that has no pronunciation. He quickly becomes known as "The artist formerly known as Prince."
1993: U2 finishes up a two year Zoo/Zooropa '93 world tour.
1994: Kurt Cobain's death is shared by a new generation of rock fans. Sheryl Crow flies with her Tuesday Night Music Club, and a tour opening for the reunited Eagles. Hootie & The Blowfish debut Cracked Rear View Mirror.
1995: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum opens in Cleveland. Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill is a multi-million seller. Neil Young and Pearl Jam perform and record together.
1996: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men team up for "One Sweet Day," which tops the charts for an unprecedented 16 consecutive weeks.
1997: Lillith Tour spotlights female headliners.
1998: "Ginger Spice" Geri Halliwell exits the popular Spice Girls. The Rolling Stones give concerts in Russia, followed shortly by Ringo Starr's Fourth All-Starr Band.
1999: Britney Spears releases her debut album, ...Baby One More Time. The album hits number one on the charts. The title track and first single released from the album, also hits number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999. The American actress (till then) Jennifer Lopez release her debut album On the 6, and the first single "If You Had My Love" peaked at one in US, Canada, Australia and the United World Chart. Christina Aguilera releases her self-titled debut album. The album and first single, "Genie In A Bottle" both went to number one on the charts.
Find some of the best songs of the 1990s by selecting one of the links below:
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