If you ask me, it's only fair that this topic is split between the late Baby Boomers and Generation X, since the explosion of grunge and alternative rock in 1991 seemingly split the two for good as far as music preferences are concerned.

For the late Boomers, this is relatively easy. My mother and stepmother would constantly listen to pop-country like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain (and probably still do), and I remember them liking stuff like Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton (ew) and even some R&B like R. Kelly and Boys II Men. Seeing as how "country that wasn't really country" was almost omnipresent on the Billboard Albums chart, it wouldn't be a stretch to conclude that this generation preferred country and soft-rock/R&B in the 90's.

As far as Gen X is concerned, grunge is the obvious answer, but I believe that should be broadened to include all alternative rock. Britpop, grunge, post-grunge, early pop-punk, and alternative was really in for most of the 90's. I remember my older cousins and younger aunts and uncles constantly listening to Nevermind, Ten and Vs., Superunknown, anything by the Chili Peppers, and near the end of the 90's bands like 3 Doors Down and Creed were almost everywhere. Gangsta rap had a really good run in the mid 90's, and the whole bling era spawned several hits in '97-98, but I don't think it was quite as big as alternative rock, though by the late 90's it was probably pretty obvious that hip hop would rule the 00's.

Teen pop, despite how big it was, I think was mostly consumed by preteens, kids, and younger high schoolers at the time - it was mostly a Gen Y thing.

What do you guys think?

R&B is definitely the genre the defined the 90's, everyone thinks grunge defined the 90's, but that was only a small segment(young white males mostly) of the music consuming populace. Grunge has to be one of the MOST overated music genres of all time, really it wasn't THAT important. Heck, how was it different from other music styles of the past, original? Give me a break. Gen X was alot more than just young white males(and even alot of them didn't listen to grunge).

R&B is definitely the genre the defined the 90's, everyone thinks grunge defined the 90's, but that was only a small segment(young white males mostly) of the music consuming populace. Grunge has to be one of the MOST overated music genres of all time, really it wasn't THAT important. Heck, how was it different from other music styles of the past, original? Give me a break. Gen X was alot more than just young white males(and even alot of them didn't listen to grunge).


The stuff that you list under the "older boomers" is the music that has aged well the least, and that's something I noticed about musical trends as early as the '50s, where the non-rock pop which were remnants of early 20th Century Tin Pan Alley pop by artists such as Perry Como and Andy Williams were mainly listened to members of the WWI-WWII generation; which became largely obscure and raw rather quickly with of course the new rock and R&B sounds remaining "timeless classics" to this day. When was the last time you heard a Mariah, Sarah McLaughlin, Celine, or Michael Bolton song on the radio on a non-current hits station? It was the "homemaker and shopping mall" music, and many people of that demographic find the music of the '60s-early '80s superior to that formulatic, predictable stuff. It was made for VH1 and not MTV. You'll find some of this stuff now in the "easy listening" section even though it's pretty recent. Those same people also liked the pop-country music of the late '90s (Shania, LeeAnn Rimes, etc.), and a lot of that is also quite disposable.  

But RAP music also rose prominantly during the '90s and was originally one of the things I DESPISED about the '90s after the '80s ended. Starting with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice in 1990, through Dr. Dre and NWA for Gangsta rap a little later to TuPac and Notorious B.I.G. in the mid-90s to Jay Z and Eminem ushering in the Glam Rap era at the end, no style defined urban culture in the '90s quite like rap music, changing consistantly and making lots of crossover. Toward the end of the '90s R&B music started to merge with rap music as well. Yes, I still don't like lots of '90s rap because of the violence factor, but it definately had a message during the '90s and many books have already been published about that subject. With the "percussion and vocal only songs" becoming significantly more prominant than in decades past, rap was easy to pick out among '90s music genres just like how rock became dominant during the '60s. In fact I probably heard more airplay of rap songs than grunge songs during the '90s as that genre had more crossover hits and airplay than a more alternative-focused grunge.


For people who were into dance/club music, Eurodance was the genre that defined the '90s the most, with some House at the beginning and the Trance/Electronica at the end.

For people who were into dance/club music, Eurodance was the genre that defined the '90s the most, with some House at the beginning and the Trance/Electronica at the end.


Yes I forgot about 90's dance. 'What is Love', 'Another Night', and a lot of songs by Technotronic and C+C Music Factory received a lot of exposure in the early 90's and was primarily geared toward Gen X. The late 90's saw stuff like 'We Like to Party' and other really uplifting Teen-Popish dance for older Gen Yers. By the early 00's pop-rock bands like No Doubt had ventured into club music with stuff like 'Hella Good'.

Dance music was constantly evolving throughout the decade, much like hip hop and modern rock.

I always thought country music had a big boom in the 90s. I'm too young to remember, but my parents sure have a lot of cds from artists that were popular around that time like Shania, Faith Hill, Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, etc.

I'm going to make somebody mad up in here, but being a late Gen-Xer, grunge WAS NOT the only musical genre that define the 90s.  I know because I was there. R&B, adult contemporary, grunge, alternative rock, and country dominated the 90s, and whoever said that rap dominated the 90s doesn't know what they are talking about.  The only form of rap that dominated the 90s was gangsta rap, but it didn't last very long because of the violent content and the murders of 2Pac and Biggie Smalls.  Rap didn't really dominated until the 2000s hit, but the 90s dominated music genres were R&B, adult contemporary, grunge/alternative rock, and country. If you don't believe me, go to the Billboard Hot 100 chart in each year of the 90s decade, and you will see what music genres that were the most popular.  Back in the 90s you have to know how to sing in order to get a record deal.  Now today's R&B is a bunch of autotune crap!  I think that the 90s was the last decade of good music of any genre. The early to mid 90s was STRICTLY Generation X.  The New Jack Swing movement was for Generation X.

I think Grunge is kind of the Disco of the 1990s in a way(not musically of course  :P). When I think 70s, I think Disco. When I think 90s, I think Grunge. I wasn't really in the 90s until the latter part so I just think Grunge when I think the 90s. It's just the way it is for me. I suppose I also think of Gangsta Rap as a secondary choice too.

I think Grunge is kind of the Disco of the 1990s in a way(not musically of course  :P). When I think 70s, I think Disco. When I think 90s, I think Grunge. I wasn't really in the 90s until the latter part so I just think Grunge when I think the 90s. It's just the way it is for me. I suppose I also think of Gangsta Rap as a secondary choice too.


I disagree. Grunge is more like the Punk of the '90s and Eurodance is sort of the Disco of the '90s; it's just that the former had a bigger backlash in the '90s. Grunge is rooted in punk and later post-punk and finally Death Metal; whereas Eurodance is rooted in disco and later Freestyle and finally Detroit Techno.

Lots of things: Slow R&B, new jack swing, grunge/alternative rock, gangsta rap, eurodance, teen pop, country pop, latin pop, adult contemporary

I disagree. Grunge is more like the Punk of the '90s and Eurodance is sort of the Disco of the '90s; it's just that the former had a bigger backlash in the '90s. Grunge is rooted in punk and later post-punk and finally Death Metal; whereas Eurodance is rooted in disco and later Freestyle and finally Detroit Techno.
I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't comparing Disco to Grunge musically. I was just saying that when I think of the 70s, I think of the late 70s and Disco. When I think of the 90s, I think of the early-mid 90s and Grunge.

Lots of things: Slow R&B, new jack swing, grunge/alternative rock, gangsta rap, eurodance, teen pop, country pop, latin pop, adult contemporary


THANK YOU!!!!!  Finally, somebody that's in the same page as I am.  I think that grunge is VERY overrated.  Grunge was NOT the dominate music genre of the decade.  In the early to mid 90s, new jack swing, slow R&B, house, adult comtemporary, country pop, gangsta rap, grunge/alternative rock, progressive rock dominated.  I was there.  In the late 90s, Latin pop, Teen pop, country pop, and glam rap (bling bling) dominated.

Actually, there was no ONE defining music of the 90's. When it came to music genres in the 90's, the 90's was actually very varied and diverse and that's one thing I love about it! Unlike the 00's where rap and r n' b dominated or the 80's where synth and electronica dominated, the 90's had no one genre that really shined.

Cheers to the 90's.  8)  http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/02/beerchug.gif

Actually, there was no ONE defining music of the 90's. When it came to music genres in the 90's, the 90's was actually very varied and diverse and that's one thing I love about it! Unlike the 00's where rap and r n' b dominated or the 80's where synth and electronica dominated, the 90's had no one genre that really shined.

Cheers to the 90's.  8)  http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/02/beerchug.gif


That's what I like best about the '90s I must say, since I like a variety. You had your rock, pop, r&b, rap and that's how I like it. I go from Christina Aguilera to Pearl Jam to Aaliyah. All depends on what mood I'm in.  8)

That's what I like best about the '90s I must say, since I like a variety. You had your rock, pop, r&b, rap and that's how I like it. I go from Christina Aguilera to Pearl Jam to Aaliyah. All depends on what mood I'm in.  8)


That's what I missed about the 90s too.  That's right, I'm tired of people saying that grunge was the dominated music in the 90s when it wasn't.  Yeah in the early 90s, it became popular, but I'm not going to sit there and say that they dominated the whole decade because it didn't.  I like diversity. In my opinion, the 90s was the best decade for music because it was diverse.  You can listen to Soundgarden, R. Kelly, Dr. Dre, La Bouche in one setting.  Hip hop in the early 90s was diverse as well.  It wasnt ALL gangsta rap. You had your political rap, jazz-rap, pop-rap, booty rap, and all kinds.  No music genre in the 90s was dominating the decade.  I miss the 80s and 90s so much.

Actually, there was no ONE defining music of the 90's. When it came to music genres in the 90's, the 90's was actually very varied and diverse and that's one thing I love about it! Unlike the 00's where rap and r n' b dominated or the 80's where synth and electronica dominated, the 90's had no one genre that really shined.

Cheers to the 90's.  8)  http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/02/beerchug.gif


I agree, but you could say that about any decade (except the 00's). The 80's had New Wave and Synth Pop, but they also had glam metal, hard rock, and by the end of the 80's alternative rock, hip hop, house, and even thrash (Metallica's ...And Justice for All was a Top Ten record and spawned a Top 40 song ) was really big too. The 70's had disco, obviously, but they also had hard rock, early Sabbath-esque metal, glam rock, country, funk, and the counterculture was still going strong for most of the decade. The 60's...well, you get the idea. Honestly, I think the 00's are the only decade where there was an obvious dominant genre. Sure there was emo, nu metal, country, and teen pop, but none of them held a candle to hip hop on the charts. At least in the 90's alternative rock had some serious competition with R&B, country, and hip hop.

Also, while grunge wasn't the most popular genre (though Nirvana and Pearl Jam remain the most popular bands of the decade), it definitely got the feel and attitude of the 90's going, much like the New Wave and glam metal explosions of the late 70's/early 80's got the 80's going.