Well, Early2010sGuy wanted someone to make a thread about this and I thought I may as well take up the task. So here goes:

-Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys got popular in Europe, changing the pop scene

-Shows from the "Classic 90s" like TMNT and Fresh Prince ended

-Last full year for Classic Simpsons (S1-8)

-Last full year for Classic Power Rangers (pre-Turbo)

-Golden age hip-hop was gradually ending with the death of Tupac, collapse of Death Row Records, Dr. Dre leaving Death Row and founding Aftermath, Jay-Z and Eminem debuting, Master P and No Limit blowing up with Ice Cream Man, etc.

-The Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 revolutionized 3D gaming

-The PlayStation became much more popular thanks to Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider.

-4th gen gaming was ending and 5th gen gaming was coming in.

-Internet presence saturation

-Premiere of Arthur

-Premiere of Sabrina the Teenage Witch

-Hey Arnold!, Kenan and Kel, and Kablam premiered on Nickelodeon

-Are You Afraid of the Dark, Pete & Pete, Rocko's Modern Life, and Ren & Stimpy ended

-Alice in Chains went on hiatus

-Teddy Riley changed the course of urban pop with Blackstreet's No Diggity, ending the new jack swing era.

-Frosted tips were also just starting to become more popular with guys.

-The grunge movement ended

-Independence Day revolutionized special effects

-Y2K aesthetic was slowly creeping in (not fully prominent till 1998-1999) and replacing the scroungy dark mid-90s aesthetic

Great explanation!  :) Although I think the Simpsons' Golden Age lasted till season 9, 1998, but otherwise, the rest is solid!

Well, Early2010sGuy wanted someone to make a thread about this and I thought I may as well take up the task. So here goes:

-Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys got popular in Europe, changing the pop scene

-Shows from the "Classic 90s" like TMNT and Fresh Prince ended

-Last full year for Classic Simpsons (S1-8)

-Last full year for Classic Power Rangers (pre-Turbo)

-Golden age hip-hop was gradually ending with the death of Tupac, collapse of Death Row Records, Dr. Dre leaving Death Row and founding Aftermath, Jay-Z and Eminem debuting, Master P and No Limit blowing up with Ice Cream Man, etc.

-The Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 revolutionized 3D gaming

-The PlayStation became much more popular thanks to Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider.

-4th gen gaming was ending and 5th gen gaming was coming in.

-Internet presence saturation

-Premiere of Arthur

-Premiere of Sabrina the Teenage Witch

-Hey Arnold!, Kenan and Kel, and Kablam premiered on Nickelodeon

-Are You Afraid of the Dark, Pete & Pete, Rocko's Modern Life, and Ren & Stimpy ended

-Alice in Chains went on hiatus

-Teddy Riley changed the course of urban pop with Blackstreet's No Diggity, ending the new jack swing era.

-Frosted tips were also just starting to become more popular with guys.

-The grunge movement ended

-Independence Day revolutionized special effects

-Y2K aesthetic was slowly creeping in (not fully prominent till 1998-1999) and replacing the scroungy dark mid-90s aesthetic


-Also eurodance was dying

-Electronica and techno was starting to get even more mainstream than the mid 90s.

- Internet was getting a lot more media presence. A lot more likely to find an official website of something you are searching.

- Fashion was finding its own late 90s identity. I remember going to GUESS jeans in August or September of 1996. A lot of baggier clothes, futuristic or urban vibes compared to earlier, a few semi Y2Kish subtleties were there but not clearly yet.

I remember looking at a Nintendo 64 in EB in October or November of 1996, it was so expensive $400?  possibly or more and very few games.

People were renting them.. it was in early to mid 1997 that it caught on.

Frosted tips without spiked possibly.

But short and bleached blonde hair was common in the mid 90s.

I don’t remember seeing frosted tips with spiked hair at all in 1996.

Slightly gelled or pre 1998/99 spiked hair was around in 1994-1997 but they were of the more punky or classical variety and not a popular mass trend.

Spiky hair as a mid 1998/y2k trend /early 2000s trend, with possible 97 origins, tended to be an en mass thing with

- An overload of gel at the top or soft or messy spikes
- The front or front row slightly spiked or gelled up
- Frosted tips with the above

Eminem wasn’t known until early 1999. Possibly late 1998 with his first single airing on MTV before the album dropped.

Good points

A lot of these outcomes though were visible or in full effect between early to mid 1997 as it took time and when the mid 90s influence was dying or gone.

‘96 was definitely when the cultural shift from the mid 90s to the late 90s happened.

I say 1997 was the last year with mid 90’s influences in fact I think there was more of a shift in 1997 than 1996. In late 1996-1997 you saw the introduction of spanish guitars being incorporated in music such as Mariah Carey’s “My All”, Tony Braxton’s “Un-break my heart” , Usher’s “U make me wanna”, etc which led to the evolving sound of the guitar rifts and synths in y2k music such as TLC’s “No scrubz” and P!nk’s “Most Girls” and “There you go”...

Gangsta rap/ G funk was still prominent in 1997. You had Warren G’s “Take a look over your Shoulders” album which sounds extremely 90’s, Hypnotized by Biggie, To live and die in LA by 2 pac, Atmosphere’s “Outkast” album, Wu-Tang clans “As high as Wu-Tang gets, Bone thugz and harmony’s “Mo Thugz” and “Thug life” feat Tupac, Lil Kim’s Hardcore (Ladies night remix and Crush on you), etc. You had R&B hits from the Space Jam sound track like “For You I will” by Monica and “I believe I can fly” by R. kelly. R&B hits like “Butta Love” by Next. We had movies like Scream 2 which strikes me as a 90’s movie. Boybands like Nsync, 98*, Backstreet Boys, etc were not much of a thing in 1997 outside of Germany. Backstreet Boys released one single in 1997 while Nsync and 98* came out in 1998. Spice Girls first album sounds more mid 90’s than y2kish in my opinion.

I say 1997 was the last year with mid 90’s influences. Gangsta rap/ G funk was still prominent in 1997. You had Warren G’s “Take a look over your Shoulders” album which sounds extremely 90’s, Hypnotized by Biggie, To live and die in LA by 2 pac, Atmosphere’s “Outkast” album, Wu-Tang clans “As high as Wu-Tang gets, Bone thugz and harmony’s “Mo Thugz” and “Thug life” feat Tupac, etc. You had R&B hits from the Space Jam sound track like “For You I will” by Monica and “I believe I can fly” by R. kelly. R&B hits like “Butta Love” by Next. We had movies like Scream 2 which strikes me as a 90’s movie. Boybands like Nsync, 98*, Backstreet Boys, etc were not much of a thing in 1997 outside of Germany. Backstreet Boys released one single in 1997 while Nsync and 98* came out in 1998.


There were mid 90s influences all throughout the late 1990s because the mid 90s were dying all throughout the late 1990s.

There were mid 90s influences all throughout the late 1990s because the mid 90s were dying all throughout the late 1990s.


Mid 90’s definitely died by 1998. Dru Hill, Mya, Destinys Child, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Aaliyah, Shania Twain, etc changed their  sounds to a more futuristic digital based sound. At the time many artists called it “the sound of the millennium” which  eventually went on to become known as the start of the y2k era in music. There were some ballads in 1998-1999 that were recorded in 1996-1997 that have a more mid 90’s sound but given that they were recorded in 1996-1997, that would make sense.

Fashion in 1998-1999 started to change a lot as well. Flair /boot cut jeans were becoming a thing replacing the classic high waisted “mom jeans”,  mall bangs were decreasing in size, make up trends were more brighter and metallic, close became less boxier, etc.

Mid 90’s definitely died by 1998. Dru Hill, Mya, Destinys Child, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Aaliyah, Shania Twain, etc changed their  sounds to a more futuristic digital based sound. At the time many artists called it “the sound of the millennium” which  eventually went on to become known as the start of the y2k era in music. There were some ballads in 1998-1999 that were recorded in 1996-1997 that have a more mid 90’s sound but given that they were recorded in 1996-1997, that would make sense.

Fashion in 1998-1999 started to change a lot as well. Flair /boot cut jeans were becoming a thing replacing the classic high waisted “mom jeans”,  mall bangs were decreasing in size, make up trends were more brighter and metallic, close became less boxier, etc.


It seemed like everything was metallic from 1998 to 1999.  ;D

It seemed like everything was metallic from 1998 to 1999.  ;D


Yes ! Everything was shiny and futuristic

The effects on industrial shift workers of the timing of the changeover from the night to morning shift and of the length of the shift were examined. Two groups changed over at 6 a.m. and worked either 8-hr or 12-hr shift systems; the other 2 groups changed over at 7 a.m., working either 8- or 12-hr systems. Night sleeps between consecutive shifts that started at 6 a.m. were shorter and more disrupted than those starting at 7 a.m. Day sleeps following night shifts that finished at 6 a.m. were longer and less disrupted than those finishing at 7 a.m. Early starts were associated with poorer psychological and physical health. These effects of changeover time are considered in relation to the circadian rhythms in sleep duration and propensity. Although several measures favored 12-hr shifts, physical health indicators appeared to favor 8-hr systems, especially in combination with late changeovers. However, the observed effects of shift length on chronic outcome measures are somewhat inconsistent with previous research findings.

Yes ! Everything was shiny and futuristic


Even new furniture and newly renovated places had metallic, silver color or rounded formations back then. It felt a bit too cold and avant garde for me.

I'm not sure if that aesthetic has gone away though, seems like it's still present.

Even new furniture and newly renovated places had metallic, silver color or rounded formations back then. It felt a bit too cold and avant garde for me.

I'm not sure if that aesthetic has gone away though, seems like it's still present.


It screamed new Millennium to us at the time. I haven’t seen new furniture or newly renovated places with that color lately. That died out in the Bush 2000s.

It screamed new Millennium to us at the time. I haven’t seen new furniture or newly renovated places with that color lately. That died out in the Bush 2000s.


Stuff now would include Apple mac computers, laptops, household items. A lot of furniture in public areas and malls and stores, cafes, airports etc.

what is it with people obsession with 1996, seriously how many more threads about this year?, but is true that it was one of the more stereotypically 90s years,

Even new furniture and newly renovated places had metallic, silver color or rounded formations back then. It felt a bit too cold and avant garde for me.

I'm not sure if that aesthetic has gone away though, seems like it's still present.


In the y2k era I remember a lot of black leather couches being the thing of the new millennium. We still have our leather sofa from 1999 lol

In the y2k era I remember a lot of black leather couches being the thing of the new millennium. We still have our leather sofa from 1999 lol


Very true. Even many stores and restaurants etc were upgrading to more metallic and Y2K style furniture, flooring and interior in late 1998.

Yes ! Everything was shiny and futuristic
Tupperware is shiny too!

Tupperware is shiny too!


I guess dates back to the avant-garde Design in the early 20th century lol.

No disrepct Max but it should be titled late 1996/1997 shift... ;) ;D