1990s

1997 Music Hits: Pop Rock, Hip-Hop, Dance Hits, Ska, Bubblegum Pop, Alternative Radio, and Late-1990s Favorites 1997 music sounded like the late ’90s had found its own strange, colorful rhythm. Pop radio had singer-songwriters, ska bands, dance-club crossovers, post-grunge rock, hip-hop blockbusters, teen-pop previews, and novelty hits that were almost impossible to escape. If a

1998 Music Hits: Pop Rock, Teen Pop, Hip-Hop, Swing Revival, Dance Hits, Alternative Rock, Soundtrack Ballads, and Late-1990s Favorites 1998 music had one foot in alternative rock and the other already stepping into the teen-pop explosion. Pop rock was everywhere, hip-hop crossover was huge, swing revival briefly made horn sections cool again, and movie soundtrack

1990 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Hip-Hop, Club Hits, Alternative Rock, Hair Metal, R&B, and Early-1990s Favorites1990 music sounded like the 1980s were still in the building, but the 1990s had already grabbed the microphone. Dance-pop was huge, hip-hop crossed deeper into the mainstream, club music was everywhere, alternative rock kept gaining ground, and hair metal

1991 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Hip-Hop, New Jack Swing, Alternative Rock, R&B, Pop Rock, Power Ballads, and Early-1990s Favorites 1991 was a major turning point in music. Dance-pop, new jack swing, adult contemporary, hip-hop, and pop-rock were still dominating radio, but alternative rock was moving fast, and grunge was about to change the room. The

1992 Music Hits: Grunge, Hip-Hop, Dance Pop, Country Crossover, Alternative Rock, R&B, Power Ballads, and Early-1990s Favorites 1992 music was the year the early 1990s fully stopped sounding like leftover 1989. Grunge and alternative rock broke into the mainstream, hip-hop kept expanding, dance-pop filled clubs and radio, country crossover had a major moment, and R&B

1993 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock, R&B, Pop Rock, Grunge, and Early-1990s Favorites1993 music was loud, colorful, strange, and unmistakably early-1990s. Alternative rock had moved into the mainstream, hip-hop was getting sharper and bigger, dance-pop was still everywhere, R&B vocal groups ruled radio, and pop-rock bands filled the space between college radio and

1994 Music Hits: Alternative Rock, R&B, Hip-Hop, Dance Pop, Movie Songs, Women-Led Rock, and Mid-1990s Favorites 1994 music was one of the defining years of the mid-1990s. Alternative rock was everywhere, R&B vocal groups dominated pop radio, hip-hop had major crossover strength, dance-pop stayed active, and soundtrack songs still had huge cultural reach. The biggest

1995 Music Hits: Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop, Dance Pop, R&B, Adult Rock, Britpop, Post-Grunge, and Mid-1990s Favorites 1995 music had the mid-1990s in full swing. Alternative rock was still huge, hip-hop was becoming more central to pop culture, R&B vocal groups dominated radio, dance-pop kept clubs and school dances busy, and adult rock filled the space

1996 Music Hits: Dance Pop, Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, Britpop, Movie Songs, and Mid-1990s Favorites 1996 music was one of the most recognizable mid-1990s years. Dance-pop was still huge, alternative rock was everywhere, hip-hop and R&B were getting stronger, Britpop crossed into American awareness, and movie songs still had major radio power. The biggest 1996

1999 Music Hits: Teen Pop, Latin Pop, Dance Hits, Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock, Nu-Metal, Pop Rock, and TRL-Era Favorites 1999 music was a bright, loud, end-of-the-century explosion. Teen pop was suddenly massive, Latin pop had a major crossover moment, hip-hop was everywhere, pop-rock still filled radio, dance-pop stayed busy, and nu-metal and rap-rock were getting louder