There isn't much in it, but I'd say 1997 by a bit. Sure the Digital Revolution had already begun, but '97 was far less affected by the 00s as 93 was with the late 80s, with the 'white suburban' thing of the late 80s. I felt '96 and '97 saw the boom of the 'Yuppie/Cafe culture' and the 'high-mobility' lifestyle, whereas 1993 was still sort of retro 80s in a way. Your thoughts?

What exactly does "White suburban thing" really mean anyway? 

I don't think you can say. I think of 1993 as the year the '90s fully became its own decade removed from the 1999ish period, and 1997 as the peak of that "coffee" culture, but it was still very much so truly '90s and the internet at that point was just a cool thing to have, not an absolute necessity. 1997, as I remember it, was very '90s in most ways, albeit in a very "settled" way. Like I sort of remember it as the peak of settled '90s prosperity.

I think it's both '93 and '97 because they're both good in their own way. I guess.

I would say 1993, but 1993 did have a bit of '80s-ness hanging around.  I pick it over 1997 because it's the peak of "early '90s", which is often the focus of '90s nostalgia, and because 1997 was the first "'00s-like" '90s year.

I would say 1993, but 1993 did have a bit of '80s-ness hanging around.  I pick it over 1997 because it's the peak of "early '90s", which is often the focus of '90s nostalgia, and because 1997 was the first "'00s-like" '90s year.


I don't think '97 was really that '00slike at all, despite the Spice Girls and BSB. It was still totally '90s.

I don't think '97 was really that '00slike at all, despite the Spice Girls and BSB. It was still totally '90s.


1999 was the first year with a '00s element.

1999 was the first year with a '00s element.


I think there were some '00s hints in '98, though it really became evident in 1999.

I think there were some '00s hints in '98, though it really became evident in 1999.


I think of the last quarter of the '90s (summer 1997-1999) as the "digital" '90s.

I think of the last quarter of the '90s (summer 1997-1999) as the "digital" '90s.


Nah, I think in terms of pop culture it was like summer 1998, with Windows '98 and cell phones becoming more popular on.

Nah, I think in terms of pop culture it was like summer 1998, with Windows '98 and cell phones becoming more popular on.


I guess I feel that way because Tamagotchis, cell phones, etc. were starting to come in by 1997. Also King of the Hill and South Park are quite '00s.

I guess I feel that way because Tamagotchis, cell phones, etc. were starting to come in by 1997. Also King of the Hill and South Park are quite '00s.


I remember cell phones from before 1997. Probably the earliest I remember them is 1994/95. We got our first in 1996, for its time it was a pretty small one.

I guess I feel that way because Tamagotchis, cell phones, etc. were starting to come in by 1997. Also King of the Hill and South Park are quite '00s.


Here's how it goes to me:

The "late mid-'90s": Mid 1996 (about the Macarena) to Early 1998-The era that was more digitalized than the "true mid '90s" and more Yish in culture, but still overall very '90s in terms of average lifestyle, with some more Yish things like the Spice Girls and SP coming in. However, SP was already starting to be a little out-of-date by '04, so I think of it as a more peak fin de siecle sort of thing.
Y2K: Mid 1998-Mid 2001-When computer use exploded after Y2K and the first "Y" era. The stereotypical late '90s.

I remember cell phones from before 1997. Probably the earliest I remember them is 1994/95. We got our first in 1996, for its time it was a pretty small one.


They're been around since the '80s, but the late '90s is really when they began to become prevalent.

I think of the last quarter of the '90s (summer 1997-1999) as the "digital" '90s.

Exactly. My first computer was a Windows 95 from late 1995 and it still seems pretty primative compared to Windows 98-XP machines.

For my life, I've divided the '90s into three seperate sections. Remember, this probably won't relate to you.

The Pre-Memory Section:
1990-Most of 1992

The Pre-Computer/School Section:
1992-1995 (I never went to a pre-school by the way)

The Computer/School Section
1995-1999

About the cell phones, our first one was a bag cell phone we got in 1993.

Here's how it goes to me:

The "late mid-'90s": Mid 1996 (about the Macarena) to Early 1998-The era that was more digitalized than the "true mid '90s" and more Yish in culture, but still overall very '90s in terms of average lifestyle, with some more Yish things like the Spice Girls and SP coming in. However, SP was already starting to be a little out-of-date by '04, so I think of it as a more peak fin de siecle sort of thing.
Y2K: Mid 1998-Mid 2001-When computer use exploded after Y2K and the first "Y" era. The stereotypical late '90s.


That makes sense. The Macarena was very "Late '90s"; it was the first "bubblegum" thing from the '90s.

They're been around since the '80s, but the late '90s is really when they began to become prevalent.


Yeah they really took off around 1998 and in 1999 I remember getting one of the new digital cell phones.

Yeah they really took off around 1998 and in 1999 I remember getting one of the new digital cell phones.


Payphones were much more popular in the '90s.

That makes sense. The Macarena was very "Late '90s"; it was the first "bubblegum" thing from the '90s.


Yeah that's true, the "Macarena" was probably one of the first late '90s things.

Payphones were much more popular in the '90s.


Yeah not many people even use them anymore.

Yeah, the whole era of summer 1996-spring 1998 or so was overall very much so '90s in atmosphere, but with some more bubblegum-y modern stuff. It was like waiting for that to explode. It's more the "true late '90s", you could say, with flannel and grunge still being pretty big. Then Y2K was its own period separate from the '90s and the '00s.

Yeah, the whole era of summer 1996-spring 1998 or so was overall very much so '90s in atmosphere, but with some more bubblegum-y modern stuff. It was like waiting for that to explode. It's more the "true late '90s", you could say, with flannel and grunge still being pretty big. Then Y2K was its own period separate from the '90s and the '00s.


Y2K didn't really feel '90s or '00s. At the time I thought of it as "Nineties" though.

Y2K didn't really feel '90s or '00s. At the time I thought of it as "Nineties" though.


Yeah, in retrospect it was very different, in terms of the "feel" of things in general, from what I remember from my younger childhood, particularly even 1997. But it wasn't an '00s feeling, per se, which started to come in around 2002 for me and blew up in the middle of 2003.

Y2K didn't really feel '90s or '00s. At the time I thought of it as "Nineties" though.


At the time it felt like a new era, so at the time I would have said it felt '00s, but now that we're well into the '00s and so much has changed since that Y2K era it doesn't seem so '00s.

I would say 1993, but 1993 did have a bit of '80s-ness hanging around.  I pick it over 1997 because it's the peak of "early '90s", which is often the focus of '90s nostalgia, and because 1997 was the first "'00s-like" '90s year.


I actually think the mid to late 90s was the archetypal 'nineties' period, I associate the 'Friends'/Starbucks/Blur faux cosmopolitan sort of lifestyle as being typically nineties (as were yuppies and mobile phones; in the 90s only tech nerds, business execs, people who needed them for work and yuppies carried around mobile phones). 1995-1997 was the period when this sort of culture really peaked...

I actually think the mid to late 90s was the archetypal 'nineties' period, I associate the 'Friends'/Starbucks/Blur faux cosmopolitan sort of lifestyle as being typically nineties (as were yuppies and mobile phones; in the 90s only tech nerds, business execs, people who needed them for work and yuppies carried around mobile phones). 1995-1997 was the period when this sort of culture really peaked...


This whole, sort of "post-yuppie" culture I think of as having started in about 1989 and really having been killed in 2001, for the "nu-yuppie" of the '00s, who is more aggressively materialistic. All those romantic comedies and movies like Singles and sitcoms like Frasier and Will and Grace definitely exemplify it, the young, childless, socially conscious, prosperous "post-yuppie."

I believe by 1993 we had finally put the 80's to bed. It was definitely 90's in terms of music, pop culture, and politics, but it wasn't a wild, exciting year like 1991 and 1992 was with grunge, the election, la riots etc.

1997 was definitely "settled" as velvetoneo mentioned. Not much seemed to happened. Every decade has these years that serve as a bridge to much wilder and exciting times. Things really exploded in 1998.

1997 is alot like 1966, right before the Beatles hit with Sgt. Pepper and everything went psychedelic

or 1976, the centennial summer, last year that arena and prog rock were king before disco really took off in 1977.

I believe by 1993 we had finally put the 80's to bed. It was definitely 90's in terms of music, pop culture, and politics, but it wasn't a wild, exciting year like 1991 and 1992 was with grunge, the election, la riots etc.

1997 was definitely "settled" as velvetoneo mentioned. Not much seemed to happened. Every decade has these years that serve as a bridge to much wilder and exciting times. Things really exploded in 1998.

1997 is alot like 1966, right before the Beatles hit with Sgt. Pepper and everything went psychedelic

or 1976, the centennial summer, last year that arena and prog rock were king before disco really took off in 1977.


Yeah, 1997 was a settled year. Like 1966 and 1976, it had some signs of things to come (the Beatles' Revolver and their '66 singles for 1966 and all the disco hits in 1976), those being stuff like the Spice Girls, but it wasn't really the late '90s yet. People still thought and acted more genuinely '90s, and in 1997 grunge-styled/folk-styled pop-rock, Lilith Fair, smooth R&B/"vocal music" (such as Celine Dion), the remnants of grunge, and some bubblegum were popular, whereas in 1998 Latin pop, bubblegum pop, nu metal, post-grunge, techno/trance, and country crossover were huge.

Yeah, 1997 was a settled year. Like 1966 and 1976, it had some signs of things to come (the Beatles' Revolver and their '66 singles for 1966 and all the disco hits in 1976), those being stuff like the Spice Girls, but it wasn't really the late '90s yet. People still thought and acted more genuinely '90s, and in 1997 grunge-styled/folk-styled pop-rock, Lilith Fair, smooth R&B/"vocal music" (such as Celine Dion), the remnants of grunge, and some bubblegum were popular, whereas in 1998 Latin pop, bubblegum pop, nu metal, post-grunge, techno/trance, and country crossover were huge.


you're spot on, especially with grunge. I was a huge grunge fan, and by 1997 you definitely had remains of grunge and that sort of lifestyle...but it was sad. On its last legs basically. Pearl Jam had faded. Kurt was long gone and everybody was searching for his replacement. Courtney Love was still making waves (obscenely) Soundgarden was on the brink of separation, though Smashing Pumpkins were still around (I don't know if you could ever characterize them as grunge but they were definitely part of the scene) I just remember being kind of depressed around 1997 because you could see it all crumbling before your eyes. There was a definite shift in another direction, but we had no idea what it was in 1997.

female singer/songwriters were also big that year, Jewel, Alanis, Sarah McLachlan. Not grunge, but definitely influenced by it with there intense and introspective lyrics.

It was definitely closer to the early 90's, but I felt by 1997 people had gotten sick of the supposed sad, dreariness of grunge culture. After all, the economy was roaring, we had all this money, gas was cheap. FREAK OUT! Time to buy SUVs!

you're spot on, especially with grunge. I was a huge grunge fan, and by 1997 you definitely had remains of grunge and that sort of lifestyle...but it was sad. On its last legs basically. Pearl Jam had faded. Kurt was long gone and everybody was searching for his replacement. Courtney Love was still making waves (obscenely) Soundgarden was on the brink of separation, though Smashing Pumpkins were still around (I don't know if you could ever characterize them as grunge but they were definitely part of the scene) I just remember being kind of depressed around 1997 because you could see it all crumbling before your eyes. There was a definite shift in another direction, but we had no idea what it was in 1997.

female singer/songwriters were also big that year, Jewel, Alanis, Sarah McLachlan. Not grunge, but definitely influenced by it with there intense and introspective lyrics.

It was definitely closer to the early 90's, but I felt by 1997 people had gotten sick of the supposed sad, dreariness of grunge culture. After all, the economy was roaring, we had all this money, gas was cheap. FREAK OUT! Time to buy SUVs!




While there were definitely some fans of grunge and post-grunge type pop-rock through 2001 or 2002, particularly people who liked say the Smashing Pumpkins and Tool and their ilk, nu metal sort of replaced it as "the rock genre" by Sept. 1998 when Follow the Leader came out. I remember there still being grunge fans through 2001 or 2002, even among younger people, but by then they'd sort of merged into general "alt rock" people who also say liked Weezer and Phish.

This whole, sort of "post-yuppie" culture I think of as having started in about 1989 and really having been killed in 2001, for the "nu-yuppie" of the '00s, who is more aggressively materialistic. All those romantic comedies and movies like Singles and sitcoms like Frasier and Will and Grace definitely exemplify it, the young, childless, socially conscious, prosperous "post-yuppie."


'Post-yuppie'? Yuppie's may be an old phenomenon, but they're far from dead. lol

'Post-yuppie'? Yuppie's may be an old phenomenon, but they're far from dead. lol


not as prominent now though. More and more people are doing what they love instead of just chasing the almighty dollar. I think the Alex P. Keaton conservatives, those who found politics under Reagan, are all in there mid 30's to early 40's. Those younger than them, especially who came of age under Bush Sr or Clinton, tend to be less competitive and less into aquiring massive amounts of wealth. They're the ones more inclined to become social workers, marine biologists, english teachers etc.

not as prominent now though. More and more people are doing what they love instead of just chasing the almighty dollar. I think the Alex P. Keaton conservatives, those who found politics under Reagan, are all in there mid 30's to early 40's. Those younger than them, especially who came of age under Bush Sr or Clinton, tend to be less competitive and less into aquiring massive amounts of wealth. They're the ones more inclined to become social workers, marine biologists, english teachers etc.


You're right, 1993. Yuppie's who wear their 'yuppieism' on their sleeve will fall out of favour and be replaced by yuppies with a slight tinge of green.  ::)

You're right, 1993. Yuppie's who wear their 'yuppieism' on their sleeve will fall out of favour and be replaced by yuppies with a slight tinge of green.  ::)


That seems more like a '90s thing, the baby boomer "bobo." I think it's already passed for the post-bobo, who has returned to aggressive materialism and social inactivity but with some of the styles of the bobo.

That seems more like a '90s thing, the baby boomer "bobo." I think it's already passed for the post-bobo, who has returned to aggressive materialism and social inactivity but with some of the styles of the bobo.


So they're like wolves in sheeps clothing!  ;)

There isn't much in it, but I'd say 1997 by a bit. Sure the Digital Revolution had already begun, but '97 was far less affected by the 00s as 93 was with the late 80s, with the 'white suburban' thing of the late 80s. I felt '96 and '97 saw the boom of the 'Yuppie/Cafe culture' and the 'high-mobility' lifestyle, whereas 1993 was still sort of retro 80s in a way. Your thoughts?



'97 was very '90s but 1993 is the quientessential '90s year.

'97 was very '90s but 1993 is the quientessential '90s year.


I would disagree that 1993 was the quintissential 90s year...

I'd lean more to 1996 as the 'classic' 90s year, followed by 1995 or 1994. 1993 was still very 80s in many ways.

link=topic=19933.msg916183#msg916183 date=1148635449]
I would disagree that 1993 was the quintissential 90s year...

I'd lean more to 1996 as the 'classic' 90s year, followed by 1995 or 1994. 1993 was still very 80s in many ways.


I know you think that fashion was '80s...but that fashion was really '90s...the '80s fashion period was sort of over by 1992, and the '90s fashion period started in 1989. It was pretty dissimilar to '80s fashion in alot of ways (no "high hair", totally different color and design scheme), though it was flashy like it. In fashion, there are usually five year periods that are somewhat similar to the ones that come after and before.

I know you think that fashion was '80s...but that fashion was really '90s...the '80s fashion period was sort of over by 1992, and the '90s fashion period started in 1989. It was pretty dissimilar to '80s fashion in alot of ways (no "high hair", totally different color and design scheme), though it was flashy like it. In fashion, there are usually five year periods that are somewhat similar to the ones that come after and before.


Yeah, you're probably the fashion expert around here. All I go by is what I remember and old TV shows, and from first glance everything still looks very 80s well into the 90s (Even Home Improvement looked more 80s than late 90s).

I would disagree that 1993 was the quintissential 90s year...

I'd lean more to 1996 as the 'classic' 90s year, followed by 1995 or 1994. 1993 was still very 80s in many ways.



Yeah 1996 may be more of a 'classic' '90s year and 1993 was still slightly '80s but 1993 gets refrenced to as the '90s year quite often

Yeah 1996 may be more of a 'classic' '90s year and 1993 was still slightly '80s but 1993 gets refrenced to as the '90s year quite often


I think of the classic '90s year as being 1994 or 1995, followed closely by 1993 and 1996. 1996 was sort of the nadir of the '90s, in its last 2/3 anyways, though, and it was the beginning of the Gen Y stuff with the Macarena and the Spice Girls. 1994 always fit the bill for me, with Kurt Cobain's death, Pulp Fiction, etc.

I think of the classic '90s year as being 1994 or 1995, followed closely by 1993 and 1996. 1996 was sort of the nadir of the '90s, in its last 2/3 anyways, though, and it was the beginning of the Gen Y stuff with the Macarena and the Spice Girls. 1994 always fit the bill for me, with Kurt Cobain's death, Pulp Fiction, etc.



Yeah, 1994 had enough early and mid '90s stuff in it that it could be considered the classic '90s year.

Yeah 1996 may be more of a 'classic' '90s year and 1993 was still slightly '80s but 1993 gets refrenced to as the '90s year quite often


It does? Why would 93 get referenced as the 90s any more than say, 1994?