Btw, does the song My Boo by Ghost Town DJ's sound late 90s to you guys? It's a late 1996 hit, also used for the running man challenge in 2016


It sounds kind of late 80’s/early 90’s but it also sounds like Sammie’s 1999 hit “I like it”

To my surprise, a good secondhand record shop I used to go to thirty years ago was still open up to the start of the lockdown.


There are a lot of record stores around. I think all the big chains in London also closed down. Like virgin and hmv. There used to be a lot compared to when I visited later.

There are a lot of record stores around. I think all the big chains in London also closed down. Like virgin and hmv. There used to be a lot compared to when I visited later.
These stores are all totally gone now, the only way to purchase 'records', CDs or DVDs can only be brought only online, except for a selected choice in supermarkets.

These stores are all totally gone now, the only way to purchase 'records', CDs or DVDs can only be brought only online, except for a selected choice in supermarkets.


What about music and video exchange and sister ray ? They are apparently still open unless the info is dated. Think they are in central London.

Would recommend them, you can get really good deals.

What about music and video exchange and sister ray ? They are apparently still open unless the info is dated. Think they are in central London.

Would recommend them, you can get really good deals.
Yes for music and video exchange still open, Sister Ray I have to check them out. Good for secondhand CDs and DVDs

Yes for music and video exchange still open, Sister Ray I have to check them out. Good for secondhand CDs and DVDs


I got a lot from both. Sometimes they underprice by mistake and have really good variety.

I got a lot from both. Sometimes they underprice by mistake and have really good variety.
These shops will be investigated again when this "stay at home" is over.

To add my two cents, I think 1998 was kind of weird. It was definitely very different from the mid 90s (same applies to 1997) but, unlike 1997, 1998 actually has some Y2K influence around. In terms of technology though, 1998 was actually very different from 1997, with Windows 98, the Internet boom and video gaming having a pretty big/changeful year. By 1998, it was obvious that the Internet was not a fad and was here to later become a household essential. For video games, you had Metal Gear Solid and Half-Life which really showed that video games were capable of telling stories as deep as movies, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was revolutionary due to how it controlled/played, online gaming was really taking off with Quake II, QuakeWorld, Age of Empires and StarCraft: Brood War, also we saw the release of the Playstation Dualshock controller (PS1 games released after the Dualshock are noticably different).

Culturally, I don't think we were fully in the Y2K era until about Spring 1999. 1999 did feel noticably different.

To add my two cents, I think 1998 was kind of weird. It was definitely very different from the mid 90s (same applies to 1997) but, unlike 1997, 1998 actually some Y2K influence around. In terms of technology though, 1998 was actually very different from 1997, with Windows 98, the Internet boom and video gaming having a pretty big/changeful year. By 1998, it was obvious that the Internet was not a fad and was here to later become a household essential. For video games, you had Metal Gear Solid and Half-Life which really showed that video games were capable of telling stories as deep as movies, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was revolutionary due to how it controlled/played, online gaming was really taking off with Quake II, QuakeWorld, Age of Empires and StarCraft: Brood War, also we saw the release of the Playstation Dualshock controller (PS1 games released after the Dualshock are noticably different).

Culturally, I don't think we were fully in the Y2K era until about Spring 1999. 1999 did feel noticably different.


In this thread I was just highlighting the way the spring and summer 1998 were significantly more Y2Kish, not the Y2k period, than the rest of the late 90s.

Yeah I hear what you are saying. I do believe there was a break in between the late 90s though.

September or August 1998 to start of spring 99 was break off from the earlier period. If you don’t want to call it Y2K that’s fine but to me there was a division. Yeah it was closer to the late 90s.

I still consider the y2k era one period. But I do realize there were different divisions, for lack of better word.

In this thread I was just highlighting the way the spring and summer 1998 were significantly more Y2Kish, not the Y2k period, than the rest of the late 90s.

Yeah I hear what you are saying. I do believe there was a break in between the late 90s though.

September or August 1998 to start of spring 99 was break off from the earlier period. If you don’t want to call it Y2K that’s fine but to me there was a division. Yeah it was closer to the late 90s.

I still consider the y2k era one period. But I do realize there were different divisions, for lack of better word.


It's kind of hard to pin point the turning into the Y2K era, I definitely agree that most of the change centered around late 1998 though.

I think 1998 was the first year that Y2K culture felt cohesive, even though there were a lot of early elements taking shape in 1997. Dawson's Creek became the definitive TV show of this specific culture, having started at the beginning of the year, and while the Backstreet Boys had a couple of big hits in 1997 in America, the boyband craze didn't really kick into high gear until *NSYNC debuted, around which time the Backstreet Boys' US debut record started selling better, especially fueled by "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". The grungy aesthetic was already fading away from the decade in 1996 and 1997, but the Y2K look wasn't really coming into its own until 1998. Also, R&B started leaning much more towards the Timbaland/Rodney Jenkins sound on a common level, rather than just the groove funk of the core '90s.

I think 1998 was the first year that Y2K culture felt cohesive, even though there were a lot of early elements taking shape in 1997. Dawson's Creek became the definitive TV show of this specific culture, having started at the beginning of the year, and while the Backstreet Boys had a couple of big hits in 1997 in America, the boyband craze didn't really kick into high gear until *NSYNC debuted, around which time the Backstreet Boys' US debut record started selling better, especially fueled by "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". The grungy aesthetic was already fading away from the decade in 1996 and 1997, but the Y2K look wasn't really coming into its own until 1998. Also, R&B started leaning much more towards the Timbaland/Rodney Jenkins sound on a common level, rather than just the groove funk of the core '90s.


Interesting perspective. Sometimes the line between late 90s and Y2K ( for lack of a better word) can be a bit blurry.

I've always felt that most of the first wave of boy bands/girl bands and hits until first half of 98 ( with some exceptions) were firmly within the late 90s period and aesthetic along with the spice girls but for sure paving the way for the Y2K boy band/bubblegum era.

The Y2K elements were slowly building up throughout the mid to late 90s, but becoming more cohesive , throughout the the second half of 1998 imo with the middle period laying a lot of the foundations. But I can understand what you saying.

The earlier part of 1998 felt like an extension of the mid to late 1997 vibe. There were no substantial differences to me personally and from what I remember. For many that lasted into the summer.

Some point in 1997, I think towards the end, the mid 90s were starting to feel a bit dated. It still had that core 90s atmosphere, but it definitely felt we were moving into a new era.

Other than Madonna’s frozen which was big hit in March and european electronica, polished pop/rock, Rnb, pop-rap,  hard rock from mostly from 96-97 that had some  Y2K elements, I can’t really think of anything that sticks out as very Y2kish from very early 1998.

Oddly enough I never remembered Aayaliah one in a million, or Madonna’s frozen, or daft punk’s da funk as era defining they just felt like songs that were different at the time.

I remember people talking about Dawnson's creek in spring and summer. Not sure how big it was earlier tbh.. but it definitely defines 1998 in a way.

It wasn’t until late summer 1998 that I personally felt the difference.

To me, 1997 didn't feel Y2K ish...it had the same atmosphere as 1996. I think that Y2K ish feel came about in late 1998.

To me, 1997 didn't feel Y2K ish...it had the same atmosphere as 1996. I think that Y2K ish feel came about in late 1998.


I agree.

I think 1998 was the first year that Y2K culture felt cohesive, even though there were a lot of early elements taking shape in 1997. Dawson's Creek became the definitive TV show of this specific culture, having started at the beginning of the year, and while the Backstreet Boys had a couple of big hits in 1997 in America, the boyband craze didn't really kick into high gear until *NSYNC debuted, around which time the Backstreet Boys' US debut record started selling better, especially fueled by "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". The grungy aesthetic was already fading away from the decade in 1996 and 1997, but the Y2K look wasn't really coming into its own until 1998. Also, R&B started leaning much more towards the Timbaland/Rodney Jenkins sound on a common level, rather than just the groove funk of the core '90s.
Didn't you also mention that the Y2K Era fully took over in November 1998?

Didn't you also mention that the Y2K Era fully took over in November 1998?


I would pin that full takeover more in spring 1999, roughly around the time "Baby One More Time" and "Livin' la Vida Loca" became #1 hits. That was also when Pokémania became truly prominent, nu-metal entered its peak, the Backstreet Boys released Millennium, the Columbine Massacre happened, the Spice Girls had their last real hit, Bad Boy ceased being the dominant East Coast hip hop label, and S Club 7 debuted in Britain.

I would pin that full takeover more in spring 1999, roughly around the time "Baby One More Time" and "Livin' la Vida Loca" became #1 hits. That was also when Pokémania became truly prominent, nu-metal entered its peak, the Backstreet Boys released Millennium, the Columbine Massacre happened, the Spice Girls had their last real hit, Bad Boy ceased being the dominant East Coast hip hop label, and S Club 7 debuted in Britain.


Interesting take and points. Makes sense.

There was definitely a a more established and purer Y2K vibe within that era that came about at the earliest spring  99 and at most summer/early autumn 99.

The hype around the Pokémon game in 1998 wasn’t the same as the fad for sure.

I can’t actually remember if it just starting to get big around the launch of the cards in Jan/Feb of 1999? Anyone recall?

But I remember crowds of people including teens and adults circa something like May 1999 in large groups  and buying all the Pokémon cards and merch they could get in gaming and other stores. It was like impossible to other purchase things you had to wait in line for quite sometime, it was like people were raiding the stores.

Reminded me of the tamagotchi craze in the late 90s in a way.

Nu metal was definitely more of buzzword and starting to be on a much more pop oriented level around the summer and to some extent the spring of 99. Even though the second wave was established in late 98 and extremely mainstream by 2000-2001.

August 18, 1998: Korn, Kid Rock, Orgy & The Biggest Day in Nu-Metal History:

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1998-week/8458565/biggest-day-nu-metal-history-1998-korn-kid-rock