When most people think of say, the 60s, 1967 is usually the standout year that defines the cultural memory of that decade.
When people look back at the 70s, it is either 1976 or 1977 which is the defining year of that time.
Depending on your stance, 1984, 1985 or 1987 are the definitive years of the 80s.

What is THE defining year of the 90s to you?

1994.

It the first true year of the 90's culturally, with all the 80's influences were gone by that year and the start of Mid 90's culture.  It was also the peak of Grunge and Alternative Rock in general.  But, there also was absolutely no Late 90's influences in 1994 that would start to come in 1995-1997.

It was the peak year for 90's pop culture period.

1994.

It the first true year of the 90's culturally, with all the 80's influences were gone by that year and the start of Mid 90's culture.  It was also the peak of Grunge and Alternative Rock in general.  But, there also was absolutely no Late 90's influences in 1994 that would start to come in 1995-1997.

It was the peak year for 90's pop culture period.

I always saw the fall of 1993 was the start of the mid 90s! But yes you're right the first FULL 90s year culturally would be 94!

1996. In response to TheMusicDewd, 1994 is way too soon. The very biggest hits occurred in the second half of the decade. Hip-hop was more popular than grunge by the mid '90s, so I associate the '90s with urban music.

1996 or 1997 definitely!

I always saw the fall of 1993 was the start of the mid 90s! But yes you're right the first FULL 90s year culturally would be 94!


There were still some really '80s sounding songs in the fall of 1993. "All For Love" by Bryan Adams is the biggest elephant in the room.

1990 and all the way through to 1999.

any year between 1990 and 1999

There were still some really '80s sounding songs in the fall of 1993. "All For Love" by Bryan Adams is the biggest elephant in the room.

The  reason I said fall of 93 was because TV shows like Walker Texas Ranger, X-Files, Boy meets world, Power Rangers, Conan O' Brien, The Nanny, Rocko, Anamaniacs, Frasier, David Letterman etc. all premiered!! MJ retied for the first time; Movies like Steven Spielberg's Schindler's list was groundbreaking as it was where he proved he could make  more mature movies; Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks; was where he broke type casting and progressed into more serious roles etc.

And I wouldn't say late 80s sounding music was there but still SOME early 90s(91/92ish) sounding music!
However, Hey Mr DJ; for example sounded mid 90s to me!

1996 or 1997 definitely!


I'm going to say 1995.

There were still some really '80s sounding songs in the fall of 1993. "All For Love" by Bryan Adams is the biggest elephant in the room.


"All For Love" does not sound like an 80s song at all.

The  reason I said fall of 93 was because TV shows like Walker Texas Ranger, X-Files, Boy meets world, Power Rangers, Conan O' Brien, The Nanny, Rocko, Anamaniacs, Frasier, David Letterman etc. all premiered!! MJ retied for the first time; Movies like Steven Spielberg's Schindler's list was groundbreaking as it was where he proved he could make  more mature movies; Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks; was where he broke type casting and progressed into more serious roles etc.

And I wouldn't say late 80s sounding music was there but still SOME early 90s(91/92ish) sounding music!
However, Hey Mr DJ; for example sounded mid 90s to me!


Absolutely, I couldn't agree with you more!

1990 and all the way through to 1999.


How could 1990 be the most definitive year of the 1990s when the whole decade was about getting to 1999 only?

1999 would be the correct answer to this question because everything was there.

I'm going to say 1995.


1995 was pretty 90s.

1996; everything that late 1993-1995 was, reached it's absolute peak that year!!

…everything that late 1993-1995 was, reached it's absolute peak that year!!


You're right about that!

IMO
1991- most early 90s year
1996- most mid 90s year
1999-most late 90s year

Ranking from most to least 90s year IMO
1996
1995
1997
1994
1998
1993
1999
1992
1991
1990

Ranking from most to least 90s year IMO
1996
1995
1997
1994
1998
1993
1999
1992
1991
1990


Good call.

The actual 80s decade was all about getting to 1990, so 1990 is the only year made up of everything introduced in the 1980s.

Ranking from most to least 90s year IMO
1996
1995
1997
1994
1998
1993
1999
1992
1991
1990


I agree fully with this.

1996 was the peak of everything the 90s were.  The '90s were a little unique in that the very early part of the decade and the late part of the decade were both pretty different from the core years.  1990-92 might as well have been the '80s, and 1998 and 1999 were more similar to the early '00s.  Everything the '90s are remembered for happened from 1993-97 with 1996 being the peak.

"All For Love" does not sound like an 80s song at all.


It's a 1993 song.

It's a 1993 song.

Yeah; he knows that. He was just telling arctic fox that it did not sound like an 80s song!

"All For Love" does not sound like an 80s song at all.

I actually agree; that sounds like a 90s pop ballad to me! Hell, it sounds like it could have came out in 94 or 95! I don't know what part of the 80s he's thinking of!

I'd say that 1994 was the ultimate year of the 90's decade.

IMO:

1994
1995
1993
1996
1992
1997
1991
1998
1990
1999

Despite the early '90s guy claims about "1978 leading to 1990", I think that "1989 leading to 2000" was a much more definite prospect, since as the decade progressed, excitement over what the 21st century would be like kept building and building. 2000 was the last innocent year prior to the 9/11 attacks/unpopular George W Bush/Afghanistan/Iraq/BRIC counties rises as powers bringing challenges to the developing western world. The '90s progressed similar to the '80s, even if much more liberal and with faster changes. For instance it was easier to enjoy 1981 and 1999's music as they both had a rock/old school rap feel, while 1991 and 1999 were completely different animals. But I have to go with 1994: the last year before the Internet was truly here to stay but also the first year that a number of people (not me, but many) were aware of the coming phenomenon, grunge's last big year, Britpop/Eurodance at its peak, gangsta rap peaking with Snoop Doggy Dogg and others, Pogs/Power Rangers peaking; Forrest Gump, The Lion King/SEGA's peak, 90210/Melrose Place at their peak with Friends starting and also the first year with no new episodes of Cheers; CD-Roms making the floppy disks' expiration date on the horizon, Speed, True Lies, The Mask, Maverick, the Flinstones movie, The Santa Clause, Interview with the Vampire, Dumb and Dumber, Star Trek: TNG's finale and Generations with DS9 popular, Nickelodeon at its peak, sports films such as Angels In The Outfield and The Little Rascals; it was definitely a highly distinctive peak much like 1984 did for the '80s. 1995 and 1996 were also core, but less distinctive, while 1993 was a very liberal year much like 1983 that really ushered in the core part of the decade for good. This also of course brought about the decade's most-talked about news event: the OJ Simpson case and trial. Finally, although Hootie and the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View was mainly listened to in 1995, it came out in late 1994.

Despite the early '90s guy claims about "1978 leading to 1990", I think that "1989 leading to 2000" was a much more definite prospect, since as the decade progressed, excitment over what the 20th century would be like kept building and building. 2000 was the last innocent year prior to the 9/11 attacks/unpopular George W Bush/Afghanistan/Iraq/BRIC counties rises as powers bringing challenges to the developing western world. The '90s progressed similar to the '80s, even if much more liberal and with faster changes. For instance it was easier to enjoy 1981 and 1999's music as they both had a rock/old school rap feel, while 1991 and 1999 were completely different animals. But I have to go with 1994: the last year before the Internet was truly here to stay but also the first year that a number of people (not me, but many) were aware of the coming phenomenon, grunge's last big year, Britpop/Eurodance at its peak, gangsta rap peaking with Snoop Doggy Dogg and others, Pogs/Power Rangers peaking; Forrest Gump, The Lion King/SEGA's peak, 90210/Melrose Place at their peak with Friends starting and also the first year with no new episodes of Cheers; CD-Roms making the floppy disks' expiration date on the horizon, Speed, True Lies, The Mask, Maverick, the Flinstones movie, The Santa Clause, Interview with the Vampire, Dumb and Dumber, Star Trek: TNG's finale and Generations with DS9 popular, Nickelodeon at its peak, sports films such as Angels In The Outfield and The Little Rascals; it was definitely a highly distinctive peak much like 1984 did for the '80s. 1995 and 1996 were also core, but less distinctive, while 1993 was a very liberal year much like 1983 that really ushered in the core part of the decade for good. This also of course brought about the decade's most-talked about news event: the OJ Simpson case and trial. Finally, although Hootie and the Blowfish's Cracked Rear View was mainly listened to in 1995, it came out in late 1994.


Change it to 1991 leading to 2000 and I would agree.  1978-1990 had a similar set of cultural values and themes that occurred throughout that period.  There was a monumental shift in the early '90s that makes 1995 seem like a completely different world from 1990. 1990 on the other hand was simply an evolved version of 1985.

1991 brought about the early 1990s recession, which lead to the election of Bill Clinton.  Clinton's election marked the huge cultural shift away from the conservative "moral majority" 1980s into the more permissive '90s.  I remember how the 1995-96 TV season really pushed the envelope in terms of profanity and sexual references on broadcast TV.  It was shocking to a lot of conservatives back then.

The technology revolution can be followed back to Windows 3.1 being released in 1992.  Windows 3.1 is what really started bringing computers to the masses.  I also look back on 1991 as the peak of the grunge movement which resonated throughout the 90s and even 2000s.  So yeah, I would agree with Early '90s guy that 1978 lead to 1990, but also that 1991 lead to 2000.

Here is my perspective on the 90sness of each year of the decade from most 90s to least 90s

The most definitive 90s year-

Tie or toss up between 1995 and 1996

1994
1993
tie between 1992 and 1997 for the 5th most 90s year
1991
1998
both 1990 and 1999 have by far the least 90s influence of all ten years, being that 1990 still felt very strongly 80s and 1999 felt very close to the early 2000s in other words part of the millenial culture era.

I'm still going with 1999 because of every event that happened in that year.

In 1990, everyone started wearing slightly baggy pants and silver Cross chains, like Brad Pitt here:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T0YHqmp3KXQ/UBCXLtBBifI/AAAAAAAAAEc/F07sHq7OGNY/s1600/brad%2527s%2Byouth.jpg

In 1999, these were all of the rage:

https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5796394/il_fullxfull.314769944.jpg

Think about it for a second. ;)

I actually agree; that sounds like a 90s pop ballad to me! Hell, it sounds like it could have came out in 94 or 95! I don't know what part of the 80s he's thinking of!


It sounds '80s to me. Bryan Adams even said so himself it was inspired by the 1980s. Compare "All For Love" to "Heaven" by Warrant (1989). Then compare it to "I Believe I Can Fly" (1996) by R. Kelly.

It sounds '80s to me. Bryan Adams even said so himself it was inspired by the 1980s. Compare "All For Love" to "Heaven" by Warrant (1989). Then compare it to "I Believe I Can Fly" (1996) by R. Kelly.

Interesting!! I need to look up that interview!

In my opinion, late 1996 to mid-1997 in particular, with a greater lean towards '97 if I had to confine it to a single calendar year.  The nineties in general were very, very split between phrases, but this is the only time that just about all of the decade's trends were present simultaneously.  Teen pop, one of the definitive music genres of the decade, exploded in early 1997 with the Spice Girls, who were quickly followed up by the Backstreet Boys, Robyn, Hanson, and 98 Degrees that same year (Europe experienced the teen pop boom a year earlier, but it wasn't a global trend until '97).  Although grunge and West Coast gangsta rap were both pretty much dead by the end of 1996, their influence remained very prominent for several years to come, even well beyond the cultural 90s.  Britpop was also still popular, as were early pop punk bands such as Green Day, the Offspring, Sublime, and No Doubt.

Movies from late 1996 and 1997 probably reflect 90s cheesiness more than any other part of the decade, as represented by films such as Space Jam, Batman & Robin, The Fifth Element, and Face/Off.  On the small screen, the Simpsons and Seinfeld (both of which would lose significance after 1998) were both still huge in 1996-1997, but they were also accompanied by the X-Files, Frasier, Friends, and Buffy.

The video gaming industry saw the final days of the SNES, as well as the rise of the N64 and PS1, along with the standardization of 3D gaming through titles like Super Mario 64, Tomb Raider, and Crash Bandicoot (like Sonic, a very 90s video game mascot).

In terms of global trends, the rise of the Internet first became a major point of discussion around 1996/1997, and was bolstered by the success of Windows 95.  90s prosperity also became much more evident, after the government shutdown of 1995.

It sounds '80s to me. Bryan Adams even said so himself it was inspired by the 1980s. Compare "All For Love" to "Heaven" by Warrant (1989). Then compare it to "I Believe I Can Fly" (1996) by R. Kelly.


The actual '80s (1980-1989)/real '80s (1978-the spring of 1990) were all about getting to the spring of 1990. So, obviously, 1989 was more like a year of the early 90s.

The actual '80s (1980-1989)/real '80s (1978-the spring of 1990) were all about getting to the spring of 1990. So, obviously, 1989 was more like a year of the early 90s.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Paris_Tuileries_Garden_Facepalm_statue.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Paris_Tuileries_Garden_Facepalm_statue.jpg

hahaha!!! ;D ;D ;D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Paris_Tuileries_Garden_Facepalm_statue.jpg


Here we go again. Please enlighten me, person born in the very late 80s, about the 1980s since you were SO alive in them!  ::)

It sounds '80s to me. Bryan Adams even said so himself it was inspired by the 1980s. Compare "All For Love" to "Heaven" by Warrant (1989). Then compare it to "I Believe I Can Fly" (1996) by R. Kelly.


It's definitely a mid '90s song. The whole package to Disney's The Three Musketeers was a knock-off of the far superior "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" feature. ;D

To this day, you still hear Everything I Do (I Do It For You) on lite FM radio stations, the same cannot be said for the latter. The mid '90s were a time of lame second attempts  and rip-offs (2 Stupid Dogs). With that said, there were exceptions to the rule every now and then, like id Software's "Doom", but they were few and far in between all of the junk coming out in those times. I hate the mid '90s because everything was overdone in them, including the rip-offs.