Could be hits, could be underground, but it has to be a song released in 1997 that you feel captures the vibe of the year.

"Candle in the Wind 1997"
The song by Bernie Taupin and Elton John, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1974 song "Candle in the Wind". It was released on 13 September 1997 as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, with the global proceeds from the song going towards Diana's charities. In many countries, it was pressed as a double A-side with "Something About the Way You Look Tonight". The lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin, and the song produced by Sir George Martin.

"Things Can Only Get Better"
The song by Northern Irish musical group D:Ream. In the UK, the Labour Party notably used it as a theme during the party's successful campaign in the General Election 1997.

...and did things get better?

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Honestly...I vividly remember 60 of the songs on this list. That's how memorable and changeful 97 was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1997

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Could be hits, could be underground, but it has to be a song released in 1997 that you feel captures the vibe of the year.


Some time around late summer to fall of 1997 I became aware of a lot of new songs and artists that came out in a relatively short time and seemed to invigorate popular music. Some major examples are "Push" by Matchbox 20, "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, "Fly" by Sugar Ray, "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan, "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole, "Walkin' on the Sun" by Smash Mouth, "How Bizarre" by OMC (which was released in 1995 but didn't become popular in the U.S. until 1997), and there's probably a dozen others I'm forgetting.

This outpouring of new music by new artists in the second half of 1997 is a big part of the reason people consider it transitional. Also, in video games, Final Fantasy 7 was released in September 1997 in North America and the sensation it stirred led the PlayStation to top new console status over the Nintendo 64 (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night came out soon after, though was a sleeper hit for a while).

1997 seemed like a good time for alternative rock, regrouping after the decline of grunge as the leading force in alternative rock, and before the teeny bopper bands reached their peak in the millennial era. Latter 1997 and into 98 was like the last gasp of the core 90.

"I want you" by Savage Garden (1997)

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"I want you" by Savage Garden (1997)

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Savage Garden was also a big part of the pre-millennium era new alternative music sound of 1997 and 98. "Truly Madly Deeply"was another huge hit that helps exemplify this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQnAxOQxQIU

Another one: "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUFasKZcH_c

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MMMBop has that post-grunge sound, and yet, it's already considered Teen pop, so this is pretty much the vibe of 1997, a mixture of the core 90s and the Y2K era. It sounds annoying to some people, but It's catchy at the same time.

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Semi-charmed life is once again, another post-grunge song that defined mid-late 1997 rock music. Pretty catchy, but the lyrics are actually dark as it is about meth. Besides that, it's to prove that 1997 was still part of the core 90s.

1997 was extremely eclectic, the big hype of that year was electronica being the next big thing so I think of something like the Prodigy or Chemical Brothers, heck even MTV was playing the video of Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy during that time.

This single is from 1996, but MTV still played the video quite a few times in 1997.

Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity
https://yvning.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/virtualinsanity.jpg

1997 was the year of Tamagotchi, the internet taking over (the dot com bubble), Y2K bug being uttered for the first time, and PlayStation blowing up. At the time, in 1997, it felt like Americans were moving forward to a very cyber future.

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(song in honor of the passing of The Notorious B.I.G.)



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(song that exemplifies the "glossy/shiny rap" of the late '90s after the end of the Gangsta rap era with the deaths of Tupac and Biggie)

The vibe of 1997 was definitely a weird one. You got the lingering alternative, grungy, earthy look of the core 90s and you got the colorful, silly, futuristic preview of the Y2K. The song MMMBop perfectly encapsulate those two eras very well. That makes 1997-1998 both quintessential late 90s years.

The vibe of 1997 was definitely a weird one. You got the lingering alternative, grungy, earthy look of the core 90s and you got the colorful, silly, futuristic preview of the Y2K. The song MMMBop perfectly encapsulate those two eras very well. That makes 1997-1998 both quintessential late 90s years.


Exactly, that's why I always considered 1997 the peak year of the 90s

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An obvious choice, but I feel like the spice girls represented the nascent millennial pop culture that was starting to become into fruition in 1997 

Exactly, that's why I always considered 1997 the peak year of the 90s


It’s hard to pinpoint a peak year of the 90s for me. The 90s were always changing. There are things I like about 1997 that I wish were present in 1991, so it’s hard to find a perfect time in the 90s when the 90s were at its best.


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An obvious choice, but I feel like the spice girls represented the nascent millennial pop culture that was starting to become into fruition in 1997


The Spice Girls came out of nowhere, blew up so quick in the US, and fell hard once Geri left.

The Spice Girls were a bigger deal in the UK for all of the late 90s into the 2000s.

I don’t know what songs really exemplify the vibe of 1997. I can’t think of many but the one I posted already.

I still have this cassette single that I purchased at Strawberries back in 1997.

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