1990–1999 · Grunge, Britpop, hip-hop, R&B, electronic dance music and millennial pop
The 1990s were defined by fragmentation. No single sound dominated the whole decade: grunge and alternative rock broke through, hip-hop became a central force in global culture, R&B entered a golden commercial era, Britpop reshaped British guitar music, and electronic dance styles moved from clubs into the charts.
1990–1992: the old order breaks
Alternative rock and hip-hop gained mass audiences, while grunge exploded from Seattle and changed the tone of mainstream rock almost overnight.
1993–1995: genres become global movements
Britpop, East Coast and West Coast hip-hop, alternative rock, contemporary R&B and Eurodance all developed huge identities at the same time.
1996–1998: pop, electronic music and R&B dominate
Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, The Prodigy, Daft Punk, Lauryn Hill and many others showed how diverse late-1990s mainstream music had become.
1999: the millennium pop system arrives
Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and teen-pop culture expanded rapidly, while Latin crossover and electronic production pointed toward the early 2000s.
Explore each year: 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999.