I think 1991 was the year where the '80s became the '90s. I'm going to vote '80s; overall I think 1991 was 45% '90s, 55% '80s.  I think as a whole 1991 belongs to the '90s, because of the Grunge and Dance explosions of that year.

'90s....just since the dance music, grunge, and singer-songwriter explosions that happened that year far outweighed the "significance" of anything '80slike from that year.

I think 1991 was the year where the '80s became the '90s.

If statements like that were true in the literal sense, then Dick Van Dyke's real name would have to be Penis Van Lesbian. ::)

However I understand what you mean; 80s' stuff kinda faded out by then. But nothing changes overnight, for pete's sake!

I think if you asked someone in 1991, even the pre-Nirvana first half of the year, they'd definitely say it was 90s all the way. "Yeah dude, I guess there's some power ballads around, but they're '90s songs now. We didn't have MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice 2 years ago! That's so '90s man!" :D

After grunge hit, if you asked the same person about early 1991, by then they might say "Geez, I guess it was still kinda '80s!" In other words, even the '80slike 1991 music was probably seen at the time, as a "newification" of '80s music. Madonna was doing way different things with her career too.


However, when viewed from a 2006 sense, I think it was about 50/50. The technology and lifestyle were still rooted in the '80s, but the pop culture was slightly more '90s. So if I had to say one, I'd say 90s.

1990 was the last "more '80s" year.

I think most of 1991 is more '80s, but late 1991 is so '90s it makes the entire year '90s as a whole.

I think if you asked someone in 1991, even the pre-Nirvana first half of the year, they'd definitely say it was 90s all the way. "Yeah dude, I guess there's some power ballads around, but they're '90s songs now. We didn't have MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice 2 years ago! That's so '90s man!" :D

After grunge hit, if you asked the same person about early 1991, by then they might say "Geez, I guess it was still kinda '80s!" In other words, even the '80slike 1991 music was probably seen at the time, as a "newification" of '80s music. Madonna was doing way different things with her career too.


However, when viewed from a 2006 sense, I think it was about 50/50. The technology and lifestyle were still rooted in the '80s, but the pop culture was slightly more '90s. So if I had to say one, I'd say 90s.

1990 was the last "more '80s" year.


I think late 1989-mid 1991 is an era unto itself that's '90s datewise, but is more like the '80s than the rest of the '90s, so that makes it '80s in a way.

I think most of 1991 is more '80s, but late 1991 is so '90s it makes the entire year '90s as a whole.


Yeah. I think it might've not been viewed as drastic if '80s music had really hung on longer, but BOTH elements really happened around that time (strong entrance of "90s stuff" and the general exit of '80s stuff).

Unlike, say 2000 when it was more just the disappearance of boy bands, as opposed to something totally new coming along (which took untill more like 2003/04).

Yeah. I think it might've not been viewed as drastic if '80s music had really hung on longer, but BOTH elements really happened around that time (strong entrance of "90s stuff" and the general exit of '80s stuff).

Unlike, say 2000 when it was more just the disappearance of boy bands, as opposed to something totally new coming along (which took untill more like 2003/04).


Would you say '80s pop hung around in a way? A lot of R&B from 1992 still have an '80s quality to them, even if rock was pretty much completely '90s.

I think late 1989-mid 1991 is an era unto itself that's '90s datewise, but is more like the '80s than the rest of the '90s, so that makes it '80s in a way.

But 80's is not just some random term given to a time peroid.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch the Penis Van Lesbian Show on TV Land.

Would you say '80s pop hung around in a way? A lot of R&B from 1992 still have an '80s quality to them, even if rock was pretty much completely '90s.


I believe "cooler" stuff changes faster because it's appealing to the most fashion concious audience. That's why AC/soft rock/ballad music didn't have as pronounced a change as rock did. Even 1993 and '94 had some "very vague 1989ish pop" qualities to them with "The Sign", "Come to My Window", or 80s stars still charting with more AC material - i.e. Phil Collins.

I agree with the cooler stuff changing faster-R&B and "soft rock" doesn't get uncool quickly. There have been periods in time where stuff like that has become uncool, but it's more a shift of general tastes than a backlash. Like around 1998, with the teen pop coming in heavy, Celine Dion/Mariah Carey/Toni Braxton and the other "diva song stylists" sort of faded away, along with stuff like Sting and Bryan Adams that had still been around through most of the '90s.

One of the reasons that the '80s to '90s shift is perceived to be so quick is the general style change. As we've mentioned before, artists like Madonna and Prince who were staples of the '80s were doing very different things with their career around 1992. The whole "gritty/dark/noir-ish" look replaced the "tight" look of the '80s pretty quickly in late 1991, or, on the other hand for a more modern look like that of the video for CeCe Peniston's "Finally."

In alot of ways, I think the peak of "'80s pop" was 1984-1986, with the popularity of Cyndi Lauper and Wham! and such, before the more "power pop/R&B influenced" '80s pop like Rick Astley, Madonna's Like a Prayer era, and such came in.

Musically, the 90s, in most other ways it was still the 80s. So on that basis I'd argue its more 80s.

Video games: NES - a uniquely 90s phenomena - actually reached the peak of its popularity about 1990-91
Fashion - No '90s' fashion had really developed until much later
Cartoons, TV - Full House, Cosby Show, cartoons like T.M.N.T. still popular. Rugrats, Simpsons became popular this year.
Slang - 'Radical!' 'Cowabunga!' all very 80s

Politically, it was sort of a transition period - the Gulf War had just ended, and the Soviet Union was breaking up, so it was a tumultuous year on all accounts.

Musically, the 90s, in most other ways it was still the 80s. So on that basis I'd argue its more 80s.

Video games: NES - a uniquely 90s phenomena - actually reached the peak of its popularity about 1990-91
Fashion - No '90s' fashion had really developed until much later
Cartoons, TV - Full House, Cosby Show, cartoons like T.M.N.T. still popular. Rugrats, Simpsons became popular this year.
Slang - 'Radical!' 'Cowabunga!' all very 80s

Politically, it was sort of a transition period - the Gulf War had just ended, and the Soviet Union was breaking up, so it was a tumultuous year on all accounts.



I agree. Overall its a sort of split but the year itself is tilted a bit toward '80s culture.