Although there's been a topic of this for the '70s and '80s, I think the '90s were the clearest decade of the three to have two different types. The biggest dividing factor between these is probably the sudden Internet boom around the middle of 1995, right at the apex of the "Pog '90s". This is probably when the average person first heard of the term Internet. To me, this turning point marked the real beginning of the transition from the 20th to the 21st Century. Also, cellphone ads became very ubiquitous right around this time, and the stock market boom really began its big move after showing it's early upward signs in 1993 and '94. I see this "second '90s" as brighter and more content as opposed to the "first '90s", marked by recession and even uncertainty in the first couple years of Clinton's However, some elements divide it may be off by a year or two). For instance, in rock, the "second 90s" began in late 1994 with the death of grunge and in general pop/r&b not until sometimes toward the end of 1996/early 1997 with Teen Pop groups first appearing and the Spice Girls.

Other factors that really seem to divide the '90s into two:

*The end of the suburban sitcom Full House in May 1995. The first half of the '90s had numerous family sitcoms that builded themselves from '80s shows like The Facts Of Life, Family Ties, and Mama's Family.
*The final #1 Hits of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston in 1995. Both of these stars with their greatest success in the '80s have become tabloid junkie ever since, even if they only released a couple more albums. Both are hoping that Akon will make them comeback to the top.
*The introduction of CGI motion pictures with Toy Story in 1995. Films of this type wouldn't become common until the early '00s.
*The shift of '70s Nostalgia from the Classic Rock/Brady Bunch era to the Disco era in late 1995/early 1996.
*The end of the Cassette as a format alongside the Compact Disc. There is a sharp dropoff in my parent's cassette collection between 1994-1996.
*More rounded-style cars. Cars like the 1995 Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire, 1996 Ford Taurus, and 1996 Chrysler/Dodge minivans were drastically rounder than their previous two generations dating back to the mid-'80s.
*Split-screen credits at the end of TV shows (began with NBC in 1994 and was complete on CBS by 1997)
*Typewriters ended their production run in the US in 1995; altough most people stopped sometime in the '80s
*The shift from the 16-bit to the 32/64 bit gaming era, led by Playstation
*Many new fonts also made their debut in 1995 such as Trubechet MS making it look "more futuristic".
*The "second 90s" tends to be liberal (most of the "PC" that people complain about thrived during this time),, the "first 90s" is moderate.
*The "second 90s" is more "urban friendly", crime was lower and gentrification was common in most large cities; numerous downtowns being renovated; the "first 90s" is more of a "suburban shopping mall" era and Drugs/Aids were still a concern.
*The deconstruction of MTV began in earnest around this time. Until then, it was still mostly music videos and music-related interviews/concerts.

The main thing is that the "1st 90s" consists of new material specifically for the '90s, along with some stuff from the '80s, albeit in updated form (such as different casts, new styles of music, better technology). This "1st 90s" was the last time in history that people in the western world would NOT see items from foreign lands in everyday lives, and I believe that fact alone is historically significant. The tricky part about the '70s and '90s is that there are considered by many TWO distinct parts yet both are still considered represented of the same decade. It's not like the '80s, where many things popular in 1982/83 were still popular in 1987/88.

I don't have time to go into too much detail, but I have to disagree. I think most decades have a distinct split down the middle.

Quick examples...

1980 - 85
Edgy pop culture, remnants of disco / New Wave, action tv series domination

1986 - 90
Cheesy feelgood pop culture, bubblegum pop, family sitcoms galore

No, I would have to say 1996 was a 1995 carryover. 1997 and 1998 go together as well 1999 and 2000 go together.

Interesting, I like to divide the 90's in a different way.

1990 - 1992 was kind of the 80's toned down a bit... however the music was generally different.

1993 - 1997 (my personal favorite) was pretty much the clueless era. Girls wearing scrunchies, knee-high socks, curly hair, plaid was much in style, and a lot of girls had noticeable bangs. I think all of this is pretty much the peak of the 90's, what the 90's really were so to speak.

1998 & 1999 started different styles when it came to hair and makeup.

Wouldn't this be concidered Decadeology?

Here's my split!  ;D

1990-1991- Rap/MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice/Mariah Carey era
1992-1995- Grunge peak/Cranberries/Techno (What is love?)
1996-1998- Diva era (Celine, Mariah, Whitney), Acoustic, Start of Backstreet boys/Hansen, Barbie Girl, Lol
1999- Teen pop explosion, Nu-metal, Dance R and B, A little bit of rap, very teenypoppery era.

It's more teenybopper now with the Disney stars (Miley, Jonah's Bros) explosion. I hate kiddiesh things.

Here's my split!  ;D

1990-1991- Rap/MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice/Mariah Carey era
1992-1995- Grunge peak/Cranberries/Techno (What is love?)
1996-1998- Diva era (Celine, Mariah, Whitney), Acoustic, Start of Backstreet boys/Hansen, Barbie Girl, Lol
1999- Teen pop explosion, Nu-metal, Dance R and B, A little bit of rap, very teenypoppery era.

It's more teenybopper now with the Disney stars (Miley, Jonah's Bros) explosion. I hate kiddiesh things.


I move Nu-Metal to 98 or even closer to 97.  Back in 96 when I was still in middle school, I started seeing Korn labels everywhere craved in student desks & tables and many where into them before the TRL era.

Here's my split!  ;D

1990-1991- Rap/MC Hammer/Vanilla Ice/Mariah Carey era
1992-1995- Grunge peak/Cranberries/Techno (What is love?)
1996-1998- Diva era (Celine, Mariah, Whitney), Acoustic, Start of Backstreet boys/Hansen, Barbie Girl, Lol
1999- Teen pop explosion, Nu-metal, Dance R and B, A little bit of rap, very teenypoppery era.

It's more teenybopper now with the Disney stars (Miley, Jonah's Bros) explosion. I hate kiddiesh things.


Ironically, Britney, Justin Timberlake, and Xtina got their start on the mouse network 

Good thing The Party were never widely huge

The early 90s was an extension of the late 80s which started around 87 or 88.  The 90s started sometime or 1991 when the USSR was disbanded and the recession hit because of overspending of weapons.

Good thing The Party were never widely huge


I never watched the MMC but I loved The Party. Bought all 4 of their albums at the time. However, seeing old MMC vids now, I can see why they were considered a bit crap.

There are more than two different types of the 90s.  There was the 1890s, the 1790s ...

:D

There are more than two different types of the 90s.  There was the 1890s, the 1790s ...

:D


Now that's what I called slick!  ;D

As we have discussed before, the 90s, and almost every other decade, carried a bit of the previous decade with it.. because it's not like once 1989 ends, means that the whole '80s effect is lost with it. Just like the year I was born ('82) much of the whole '70s look was the thing still and most music (except for New Wave) reflected the '70s tastes still. But, if you fast forward to 1986, the '80s had gotten it's own reputation and sort of made it's own styles, history and culture changes. This happens in ALL decades, except for maybe during the late 1880's.

the 90's sucked as far as music goes.  way too dour or poppy.  the 00's are not any better as far as the pop is concerned but man, the METAL is awesome.

Interesting topic.  I have to say I've thought about this kind of split before, though it's hard to try to delineate it in brief without oversimplifying it.  But there were some interesting opbservations in the original post.

Myself, I can point to personal "splits" in the 90's just like one or two other people have...

90-94: High school.

94-97: Graduated, moved out to San Diego, got a job, made money, spent it all irresponsibly.

97-99:  Turned 21, started going to clubs & bars, learned to be a DJ; had to grow up a bit and learn what it's like to really pay bills.

And it kind of suits this "structure" that, in 2000, right after the 90's were over, I met the woman who would become the mother of my children, and my de facto wife.  (We're still not married after these 8 years, but we are still together.)  Like I said, my meeting her kind of signified the end of my carefree youth and the start of my "grown up" years.  I certainly don't mean that to sound bad; just that it signified that transition into my current level of "adulthood."

And I absolutely agree with the people who have said 90-92 were the layover 80's.  Just look at the music videos from that time, for God's sakes!  It's kind of like the Bobby Brown / Paula Abdul 80's were holding on tight until about '93 when Boyz II Men and TLC finally stepped up and claimed the era.  The same with rock music: The obvious observation would be bands like Bon Jovi, Warrant and Poison all still getting crazy airtime on radio and MTV until Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots stuck their flags in the ground and really defined what rock would be for the next several years.  And, of course, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg did the same to the hip hop landscape:  MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice and all other hip hop acts that showcased dancing and spectacle were brushed away almost instantly when the "G Funk" sound hit.  It's almost like the cultural starting point for the 90's was 1993  Not coincidentally, Clinton also took office that year and Jurassic Park (a BIG step for moviemaking) came out that summer.  I think "Hot Stuff" was right in saying decades start off with kind of "cooling off" years (paraphrasing here, of course,) for the decades before, if only at least in a cultural sense, but probably even more than that.

I can say, though, this decade has been different.  The defining moment of the 2000's was obviously 9/11/01, and everything since then has felt distinctly separate from the times before it.  Just another reason why I miss the 90's SO MUCH!!

Def right on about the split after 1995... also can add Yankees dynasty began. Music of late 90's was much happier and upbeat. Music of the early 90's had a stil very 80's feel up until around the 1995 time split which was talked about.

I think the split in the '90s happened around mid-1996 in America, quite honestly...the "Macarena" (Los Del Rio), "Wonderwall" by Oasis (hit the US in '96), "Wannabe" and "Say You'll be There" by the Spice Girls, and "Killing Me Softly" by the Fugees all helped change the musical landscape towards the more upbeat, laid-back late '90s. In music, it did have '95 carryover elements, like the popularity of cheesy ballads, post-grunge, and gangsta rap (though all of those remained popular to a lesser degree up to 2000 or 2001), but the beginnings of the change in music were already in evidence. I suppose I'm prejudiced because my first real consciousness of pop culture as a whole was around late '96, and I think of myself as having been someone who became conscious of pop culture's whole landscape in the "late '90s." 1996 was also the first Generation Y year, IMO, and displayed an extension of characteristically '90s paranoia with the beginning of culture-wide obsession with extraterrestrial life and the JonBenet Ramsey kidnapping.

I like 80sfan's split of the eras musically.

Def right on about the split after 1995... also can add Yankees dynasty began. Music of late 90's was much happier and upbeat. Music of the early 90's had a stil very 80's feel up until around the 1995 time split which was talked about.
I think 1990-1993 had some of the 80's influence, maybe some in 1994 of 80's like Phil Collins's "Everyday" or Richard Marx "The Way She Loves Me", or Gloria Estefan's "Turn The Beat Around." Also, though Green Day and Offspring were pretty popular in 1994 too.

I think the split in the '90s happened around mid-1996 in America, quite honestly...the "Macarena" (Los Del Rio), "Wonderwall" by Oasis (hit the US in '96), "Wannabe" and "Say You'll be There" by the Spice Girls, and "Killing Me Softly" by the Fugees all helped change the musical landscape towards the more upbeat, laid-back late '90s. In music, it did have '95 carryover elements, like the popularity of cheesy ballads, post-grunge, and gangsta rap (though all of those remained popular to a lesser degree up to 2000 or 2001), but the beginnings of the change in music were already in evidence. I suppose I'm prejudiced because my first real consciousness of pop culture as a whole was around late '96, and I think of myself as having been someone who became conscious of pop culture's whole landscape in the "late '90s." 1996 was also the first Generation Y year, IMO, and displayed an extension of characteristically '90s paranoia with the beginning of culture-wide obsession with extraterrestrial life and the JonBenet Ramsey kidnapping.


Nah, I actually think 1996 was a Generation X Year musically. I think 1997-1998 is split musically between Generation X and Y. When Britney came out in late 1998/early 1999 and hit Generation Y pretty much took control of the music scene.

Nah, I actually think 1996 was a Generation X Year musically. I think 1997-1998 is split musically between Generation X and Y. When Britney came out in late 1998/early 1999 and hit Generation Y pretty much took control of the music scene.


I don't think of 1996 so much as being the late '90s completely in terms of music, but rather the year when late '90s trends first emerged. It was the beginning of the end of post-grunge, and, together with 1997, the peak of popularity of ballads and gangsta rap in terms of the American charts. But various songs pointed to the direction of music in the late '90s. The "Macarena" continued the early-mid '90s fascination with cheesy dance music, but pointed to the chart success of latin music in the late '90s. "Killing Me Softly" was hugely influential in terms of the combinations of hip-hop and soul that followed. "Don't Speak" pointed to the influence of ska that would emerge in late '90s pop, and "Wannabe" and "Wonderwall" started the British invasion of 1996-1999. Teen pop, Britpop, Latin dance-pop, ska-influenced pop-rock, European dance and the slightly slicker guitar-based alternative pop-rock that would be popular until 2000 came to be influential in America in 1996, even as earlier trends like gangsta rap and diva ballads just extended themselves.

This is borderline decadeology, so I'm not sure if this is allowed, but i'll just say really quickly....I think the shift was around the time 1996 was turning into '97.

The internet coming into popularity and household use (even if it was Stone Age compared to now or even a few years later, lol) which really started the dot-com bubble, teenpop like the Spice Girls and BSB hitting it big, and even stuff like TV rating boxes on shows started to erase the more old-school, darker and pessimistic look of the grunge era. You can always tell something was recorded off tv before then, if there aren't any extra graphics on screen, for instance. Of course there were some similar things about both eras too, but that's basically how I'd define it (late 1991 to the end of 1996 - especially starting in '93).

This is borderline decadeology, so I'm not sure if this is allowed, but i'll just say really quickly....I think the shift was around the time 1996 was turning into '97.


it's not.

I'm locking the thread. Please no "this year is like another year" type of discussions