I happen to find 1994-1997 to be one of the most interesting periods of the 90s, and I have to ask...
First of all, what genre or genres were the biggest in music during 1994-1997? And of those genres who were the most popular?

For example, who were the most popular/well known/best liked artists in:
Rock (including sub-genres such as Punk Rock and Grunge)
Heavy Metal (including all sub-genres such as Nu-Metal, Thrash, Death Metal, etc)
Rap/Hip Hop (and all sub-genres such as Gangsta Rap, East Coast, Instrumental, etc)
Dance (all subgenres)
R&B/Soul

I really don't think grunge ever died out imo, but the wave of bands that came out after Nirvana died was considered post-grunge.  If you ask me, if Bush or Collective Soul was switched by Candlebox, those bands would be considered grunge and Candlebox would be considered post-grunge by default.  Bands today still play the 90's style of music.  However, when announced that Alice In Chains and Soundgarden are coming to town soon in Tampa, the DJ was saying something about "the 90's are coming back."  So who knows, Grunge in 2010 might be like Heavy Metal in the 70's.  It started there, got really popular and then stale in the 80's, and was revived in the 90's with a different direction.

That said, I did like a lot of rock music in that era.  I love Toad the Wet Sprocket, Blind Melon, Seven Mary Three, Gin Blossoms, etc...

Rappers in the 90's, much like in the 00's, were one trick acts.  Coolio was popular, but nobody really talked about him a few years later.  Same with Master P.  That is basically the shelf-life of rap and Dr Dre was smart not putting albums out every year.

Wasn't into dance, and the heavy metal I knew at the time was Metallica.  I didn't know about Pantera, Machine Head, and other heavy metal bands until I was in High School.

Some of the most popular dance tracks from 1994-1997:

Real McCoy - "Another Night"
Corona - "Rhythm Of The Night"
Chemical Brothers - "Block Rockin' Beats"
Madonna - "Ray Of Light"
Los Del Rio - "Macarena"  8-P
Quad City DJ's - "C'mon & Ride It (The Train)"
Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
Montell Jordan - "This Is How We Do It"
Mariah Carey - "Fantasy"
Everything But The Girl - "Missing"

Los Del Rio - "Macarena"  8-P


There was also the Los Del Mar version, which was the bigger hit here in Canada.  Equally as bad :-P

Some of the most popular dance tracks from 1994-1997:

Real McCoy - "Another Night"
Corona - "Rhythm Of The Night"
Chemical Brothers - "Block Rockin' Beats"
Madonna - "Ray Of Light"
Los Del Rio - "Macarena"   8-P
Quad City DJ's - "C'mon & Ride It (The Train)"
Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
Montell Jordan - "This Is How We Do It"
Mariah Carey - "Fantasy"
Everything But The Girl - "Missing"







I would also add the following:

Real McCoy- Runaway
Real McCoy- One More Time
La Bouche- Be My Lover
Crush- Jellyhead
Le Click- Tonight Is The Night
Reel 2 Real- I Like To Move It
The Outhere Brothers- Boom Boom Boom
No Mercy- Please Don't Go
No Mercy- Where Do You Go
Ace Of Base- Beautiful Life
Amber- This Is Your Night
Crush- Jellyhead

This type of music was also around in the 1989-1993 period, heralded by hits such as Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic and other house/early techno groups such as 2 Unlimited and Snap!, but this was the peak of this genre; with the older hits being played with the newer ones. Basically this music is either House, Techno, or, more generally speaking, a varying degree of fusion between the two. Of course in late 1997-98 Teen Pop quickly put this music into obliviation. Growing up in the 90's, I would hear many of these songs in P.E. (Gym) classes for exercises and could really relate to them and were popular at parties. It's basically the disco of Generation X, with Teen Pop ending this genre real fast; whether you like it or not, some of these songs will be back on the oldies stations before this decade is out. I feel these songs really defined people born in the seventies and early eighties.

For those of you wondering for songs that scream "that's so 90's", this list is a pretty good barometer. It will be coming back soon!