Hello everyone :hi:

The 90's are often remembered as a decade of prosperity, peace, internet, economy, fall of Soviet Union, release of Titanic and so on. But what about music wise?!!

The music in decade is generally notable as the perfect balance in the music sphere, such as grunge rock, eurodance, britpop, hip-hop, trance, you name it. And we're all going to discuss in this thread.

But most importantly, we're voting and picking the best year of the 90's in music. I advise you to be careful with your choice, because *drum roll* the winning year will actually be the theme of the next The Best Contest In The World...Ever!!! *surpriseeeee*. You'll be able to also vote for multiple choices (years) if you're keen to do so!!!

I would kindly encourage (it's optional) everyone to actually give a brief details of their vote and the years they're picking, such as share a personal connection with that year or whatever you're comfortable telling us <3.

Thank you and I am looking forward to read all of your comments.

1997 - a mix of many music genres (the tail end of Britpop, with R&B and pop on the rise and lots of dance). Superb year overall!

 

1995 is actually my favourite year for music (I voted for that as well), but 1997 runs close. There were some iconic events in 1997 and the CD sales were massive.

I voted for 1994 and 1997. Three of my favourite prog rock albums were released in 1994 : Talk by Yes, Brave by Marillion and The Division Bell by Pink Floyd. For music in the top 40 singles chart, I think 1997 was the best year of the 90s.

1995, 1998 and 1999.

 

1995 - the peak of Britpop, and dance was so good this year too - every song a classic, including the peak of my all-time favourite song.

 

1998 is my favourite year for music bar none, I pretty much loved every song in the chart, especially in the second half of the year. And it was the year of the almighty power ballad, Cher’s Believe, Steps becoming a force, and The Corrs having the biggest album of the year!

 

1999 as it was one of my formative years and the one I most consciously remember loving the music from at the time, living and breathing it. And the charts were so diverse. BuzzJack Presents 1999 is my favourite one I’ve put together so far and not an easy task either as we had to leave so much out.

 

1990, 1994, 1996 and 1997 were all really strong too. The worst was probably 1992 for me.

Edited December 2, 2024Dec 2 by gooddelta

1994 for albums

1998 for singles.

I've voted for 1993, 1996 and 1997

 

1993 is a peak eurodance year for me, I know my 10 year old self being obsessed with the likes of 2 Unlimited, Ace Of Base, Haddaway, Snap! and more. I have such a fond memories of all the cassette tapes that I used to record songs from the radio stations. <3

 

1996 is when euordance really died but lots of trance music were commercially released and charted high. I also love the pop takeover from this year on with the likes of Spice Girls, George Michael etc etc

 

1997 (it was really close with 1999 as my third choice) is the birth (or at least for me) of bubblegum pop. I was staning for a brief of time Backstreet Boys and N*Sync (till Britney came in 1999). Also trance was still dominant in charts, Sash! was one of my faves at that time as well.

Edited December 2, 2024Dec 2 by Addy!

99 ftw

1990, it's the year I know best musically, lots of new stuff going on and my first visit to Florida so US charts were exciting. I think 1997 had the most classics though (but I didn't read the bit about multiple year voting).

these are my fav years in albums:

 

94: Cranberries: No need to argue, Tori Amos-Under the pink, Definetely Maybe, Parklife, Dog Man Star, His n Hers, Dummy

95: The Bends, PJ Harvey-To bring you my love, Bjork-Post, Oasis, Maxinquaye, Different Class, Stanley road

97: Bjork-Homogenic, OK Computer, The Fat of the Land, Daft Punk - Homework, Blur-Blur, Dig Your Own Hole, Urban Hymns, Portishead

I'd say 98 is my fave followed by 99, 96,90, 95 then 97. 91 and 92 are definitely the weak years

Fantastic idea Addy! :D

 

I was really undecided so went for 4. :kink:

 

1991 - going by my 90s playlist a lot of songs I love from that decade were released in that year (most notable probably Smells Like Teen Spirit)

 

1993 - again, a lot of songs I love happened to be released in this year (namely 'What's Up?', 'Shape of My Heart', 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night?')

 

1996 - the year the Spice Girls blew up so how could I not include this?!

 

1997 - always was the year of the 90s that stood out to me as having a lot of notable songs that I enjoyed, especially for my pop tastes (Shania, All Saints, The Cardigans and obv the only full year the Spice Girls dominated with Ginger in tow :lol:)

 

 

I'd say 1997, although every year from 1994 onwards had something truly unique and special about it with the way certain sounds and genres were developing.

1998 was the year I remember my ears opened up to music that was other than the Spice Girls :lol: and I got my first Now CD (Now 41).

I could make a case for several of these years, but the best for me is 1995 as it had a bit of everything - Britpop, dance, pop, two of my favourite albums in 'The Bends' and '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?', and many classic singles too at a time when they could still climb to their chart peaks. I've also voted for 1996 as most of that continued - the list of #2s across both years is an embarrassment of riches - and although I think 1997 was a stronger year for albums, I didn't enjoy the singles chart quite as much then.

 

I almost added 1993 and 1994 as I'll always have a soft spot for the years I started following popular music and the charts, although objectively I don't think they were quite as strong. I discovered most of 1990 to 1992 in retrospect and don't have quite enough in one year to make them stand out, 1998 felt a bit transitional, and I considered 1999 although that perhaps mostly boils down to songs that remind me of that time, but every year had its highlights and new sounds developing.

1998 ftw plz

Thank you to 21 of you who voted so far <3

 

Hopefully we get few more before Sunday (that's the plan for now to close the poll)!!!

 

 

I voted for 1998.

1991: The Year Punk Broke, as they say. Or if you prefer it was the height of the Indie Wars... and we started to feel like we were going to win. So much had been bubbling up from the UK and US underground and was just starting to gain traction against a chart dominated by crap dance music, tedious old farts who'd not been interesting for years and the arse end of the SAW era. The excitement of Madchester had imploded in to dire Baggy rip offs and self parody.

 

Acts like Pixies, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, KLF, R.E.M., Pop Will Eat Itself, Massive Attack, 2Pac, My Bloody Valentine, Metallica, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Manics, Hole, Faith No More, Mudhoney, Pulp, Tribe Called Quest, The Orb, Nine Inch Nails, Levellers, Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine, Jane's Addiction etc were all starting to to be mentioned in the the wider media or actually break though to a wider audience. Reading 1991 had one of the greatest one day lineups ever for those in the know and added a massice dose of Hip Hop to its roster. If the late 80s Madchester scene had gently prised open a crack in the previously locked door of success for Indie and Alternative music, in November Nirvana kicked in the whole rotten facade, launching an era of unparalleled success for Alternative US Rock, forcing Metal to look to the already emerging new styles instead of the turgid LA scene, and inadvertantly helping to kick start Britpop.

 

The mainstream may have been as tedious as ever but the scene in 1991 felt like an ever growing wave that threaten to sweep away all the crap. For a while after 1991 things continued to surge with Britpop kicking off proper in '92, Metal finding itself a new direction, Hip Hop reaching even greater heights and dance music learning to add intellect to its beats. Industrial, Dance, Rap, Metal, Hip Hop and Indie all began to blend their different sounds together and the possibilities seemed endless but by the end of '97 both the US and UK scenes had become pale imitations of past glories. Hijacked by corporate major labels trying to tell us that the watered down dross they were feeding us was the future. The Indie Wars had been lost. Bought out by the Major labels.

 

Leading lights like Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, Biggie and Richey Edwards were gone along with many of the best bands and most of those still going were embarking on the slow decline. Those no longer with us were to be replaced by less interesting alternatives in a scene that was beaten in to mediocrity by the Pop steamroller of boy and girl groups and the rise of Nu Metal. A few odd new acts aside (Eminem, Slipknot, Muse) and some genuine survivors (Blur, Radiohead, Oasis) it wouldn't truly find its vibrancy and diversity again until the arrival of The Strokes and The Libertines in the early 2000s

 

1991 may not have had the outright best albums but it was the moment it felt like something was really, actually happening and it was an exciting time, making it my top choice. A time when the future of the scene looked so bright, so diverse and so promising. And it was for a good five or six years before the rot set back in.

 

 

 

It's looking like a battle of the late 90s. :o I'm intrigued to see how the winning year influences where you go with the next contest Addy. :P (assuming it won't be a general "class of [insert year]" theme which I'd be happy with also hehe)

It's looking like a battle of the late 90s. :o I'm intrigued to see how the winning year influences where you go with the next contest Addy. :P (assuming it won't be a general "class of [insert year]" theme which I'd be happy with also hehe)

 

 

Unfortunately, that's exactly what is going to be :lol:...I think the whole point of this poll was to engage most of you and pick a year for the next edition. That way it gives everyone opportunity to send something they love from that year, which in my opinion will be great, because we won't focus only on one music genre. It's going to be great!!!