Timeline of trends in music (1990-1999)
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[edit] 1990 in music
- International trends
- Mari Boine's Gula Gula, and its titular hit single, bring Sami joik-based folk to popular attention
- Paradise Lost emerges at the forefront of the doom metal scene
- Music of Australia
- Aboriginal music begins a popular revitalization
- Music of Barbados
- Music of Cameroon
- Les Tetes Brulées release their debut, Les Tetes Brulés, the most internationally successful recording of bikutsi
- Music of China
- Cui Jian and other performs hold the largest rock concert ever in Beijing, bringing Chinese rock all the way into the mainstream; it comes to dominate the Chinese music scene
- Music of the Dominican Republic
- " Soy Chiquito (No Inventes Papito, No Inventes)" is recorded by Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M; this is the first fusion of merengue and hip hop music (merenrap)
- Music of India
- A vibrant electronic music scene emerges in Goa, India
- Music of Japan
- Rinken Band's surprise success led to the second wave of Okinawan music
- Music of Niger
- The Centre for Musical Training and Promotion is founded with a grant from the European Fund for Development, helping to accelerate a process of cultural development through expanded opportunities for touring and recognition in Niger
- Music of Mexico
- Music of Puerto Rico
- Many of the biggest stars are playing Chilean nueva canción and Dominican merengue; the latter soon produces merengue bomba artists. Latin rappers like Vico C make Puerto Rico a center of hip hop in Latin America.
- Music of Taiwan
- Building on the success of Song of Madness by Blacklist Studio, Rock Records releases Lin Qiang's Marching Forward, which began the era of New Taiwanese Song
- Music of the United Kingdom
- The peak of twee pop's popularity. In the UK, it is centered around Sarah Records (Heavenly, The Field Mice (Skywriting), The Orchids); in the U.S., a much smaller fanbase is centered around Olympia, Washington's K Records and includes bands like Beat Happening
- Peak of the Madchester scene.
- Groups like My Bloody Valentine, Lush (Black Spring), Ride (Nowhere) and The Boo Radleys (Ichabod & I) begin to emerge.
- Bally Sagoo's Wham Bam launches a new scene of British Asian bhangra-dance music
- Music of the United States
- Pivotal albums by Primus (Frizzle Fry) and Jane's Addiction (Ritual de lo Habitual) bring attention to the increasingly popular crossover of funk and rock, while releases by Anthrax (Persistence of Time), Pantera (Cowboys from Hell) and Megadeth (Rust in Peace) revitalize the heavy metal genre
- 2 Live Crew's Nasty As They Wanna Be sets off a firestorm of controversy after it is banned in a Florida town as being "obscene"; the law is later overturned
[edit] 1991 in music
- International trends
- Mickey Hart's Voices of the Rainforest is the first commercial release of traditional music of Papua New Guinea to reach an international audience
- A distinctively Scandinavian death metal scene emerges, especially in Norway at first, soon extending to Sweden and Finland with bands like Entombed (Clandestine), Amorphis (Dismet of Soul) and Therion (Beyond Sanctorum)
- The Austrian band Attwenger releases Most, kickstarting the Alpine New Wave of folk and punk rock
- Dance2Trance's "We Came in Peace" is considered the beginning of modern trance music, which evolved out of the moribund industrial-trance movement, said to have ended in this year, with Coil's Love's Secret Domain
- Music of Albania
- The collapse of communism leads to creative freedom and rapid cultural innovation in Albania
- Music of Brazil
- Music of Canada
- The Barenaked Ladies' Yellow Tape becomes a hit and paves the way for an alternative rock revolution in Canada
- Céline Dion wins the Félix award for Best Anglophone Artist for her English-language debut, Unison, but refuses it as she does not view herself as an Anglophone artist
- Music of France
- Mylene Farmer releases L'Autre..., including the mega hit Désenchantée
- MC Solaar becomes the first French hip hop star after releasing Qui seme le vente recolte le tempo
- Music of Germany
- With the reunification of Germany, the Rudolstadt festival helps to herald a new era of unity for German regional folk music
- Music of Tanzania
- Nguza Viking takes over leadership of the Orchestra Safari Sound and re-propels it to fame before disbanding only a year later
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Queen frontman Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS on November 24
- Massive Attack's Blue Lines combines hip hop with other elements, creating what would later be known as trip hop
- Spacemen 3 breaks up just as space rock breaks into the mainstream in Britain
- My Bloody Valentine's Loveless is released; this is usually considered the peak of shoegazing's development
- Primal Scream's Screamadelica is a revolutionary fusion of hard rock with house music and other modern influences
- The KLF are the UK's biggest selling singles band internationally
- Music of the United States
- Codeine's Frigid Stars is the beginning of Slowcore
- Releases by Melvins (Bullhead), Nirvana (Nevermind), Pearl Jam (Ten), Soundgarden (Badmotorfinger), and Temple of the Dog (Temple of the Dog) solidify the sound of grunge in pop music
- Red Hot Chili Peppers release their definitive Blood Sugar Sex Magik, featuring "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away"
- Metallica release the hugely successful self tittled album which contained hits such as Enter Sandman, Sad But True, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam and Nothing Else Matters
- Guns N' Roses release Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. The albums debut on the Billboard 200 at number 2 and number 1, an unprecedented achievement. The albums reached a combined sales total of over 15 million copies in the United States alone.
- Garth Brooks' mainstream success with his third LP, Ropin' the Wind, sets the stage for the pop-country of the rest of the decade; it is the first country album to debut at #1 on the pop charts
- Amy Grant scores her first number-one hit on the pop chart with "Baby Baby." It is also the first Christian No. 1 hit. Meanwhile, fellow Christian singer Michael W. Smith also has a Top Ten pop chart hit in "Place In This World."
- A group of jam bands inspired by the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band start to become popular, drawing upon rock-oriented predecessors like Spin Doctors, Widespread Panic and Blues Traveler, mixing their sound with worldbeat and other influences; these include Phish (A Picture of Nectar), Dave Matthews Band, Rusted Root and Ben Harper, among others.
- A Tribe Called Quest's Low-End Theory revolutionizes alternative rap, paving the way for its diversification of styles in the late 1990s
- Mariah Carey has the most successful debut in the history of music. Her first five singles — "Vision of Love", "Love Takes Time", "Someday", "I Don't Wanna Cry", and "Emotions" — all go to number one. Her next singles, "Can't Let Go" and "Make It Happen", go to number two and number five, respectively. Her album goes on to sell more than nine million copies in the United States alone.
[edit] 1992 in music
- International trends
- Kyuss (Blues for the Red Sun) and Monster Magnet (Spine of God) help invent stoner metal
- Music of Brazil
- Daniela Mercury's O Canto Da Cidade moves axé music towards mainstream listeners in Brazil
- Music of French Polynesia
- Pascal Nabet-Meyer records himene tarava vocal music by the Tahitian Choir, which leads to the first international recognition for this form of Polynesian Christian music
- Music of India
- Pratul Mukhopadhyay, Nachiketa, Anjan Dutta and, most especially, Suman Chottopadhyay lead a revival of various kinds of Bengali folk music in India and other parts of South Asia
- Music of Lebanon
- Music of Madagascar
- Jaojoby and Tianjama are the first bands to record in Madagascar after economic plight forced most of the labels to close during the 80s
- American guitarists Henry Kaiser and David Lindley record A World Out of Time with local folk musicians, helping to lead a subsequent roots revival
- Music of the Philippines
- The release of Francis M.'s Rap Is Francis M. moves Pinoy rap towards a more distinctive national sounds
- Music of the United Kingdom
- A combination of Britrock and grunge music helps to end the twee pop and shoegazing trends in Britain.
- House and other forms of techno music begin to make it into the mainstream, led by pioneers like Leftfield ("Release the Pressure") Spooky (Gargantuan), and The Prodigy (Experience)
- The success of covers bands like KWS and Undercover is widely seen as evidence of the stagnation of commercial pop music
- The compilation Artificial Intelligence is released, marking the beginning of intelligent dance music
- Suede releases their debut, Suede, after much hype from the music magazines; the recording sells faster than any other in British history at the time
- Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted is the first mainstream lo fi pop release
- Music of the United States
- Megadeth releases Countdown To Extinction. It became an instant hit, reached #2 on the Billboard album charts, and went multi-platinum.
- Madonna releases Erotica, her sixth studio album which ignites controversy because of its strong themes of sexuality.
- Dr. Dre releases The Chronic, setting the tone and pace for gangsta rap in the rest of the decade, a slow, stoned West Coast rap called G Funk; Ice T's band Body Count loses their record deal with Warner Brothers after the song "Cop Killer" ignites controversy
- The success of Arrested Development's 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... paves the way for the mainstream acceptance of southern rap, such as OutKast and Goodie Mob, and, eventually Master P and Juvenile
- The hip hop crew WithOut Rezervation found the WOR festival in order to help Native American music reach younger audiences; Robby Bee & the Boyz From the Rez' Reservation of Education is an influential Native American hip hop album. The same year, the Joaquin Brothers played at Carnegie Hall, which is the high point in popularity for waila (a Tohono O'odham genre also known as chicken scratch)
- Rage Against the Machine debuts an energetic fusion of heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop
- Atari Teenage Riot create digital hardcore by fusing techno and hardcore punk
- The first Great Blue Heron Music Festival was held in Chautauqua County, NY.
- The grunge phenomenon continues to expand as Nevermind, Ten and Alice In Chains' albums Dirt all reach the top ten respectively.
[edit] 1993 in music
- International trends
- Radiohead (Pablo Honey) and Tool (Undertow) release critically acclaimed debuts showcasing their hybrid of alternative rock with some prog influences
- The first Marché des Arts du Spectacles Africains is held in Abidjan to showcase African music styles
- Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez's Deep Forest, a fusion of Pygmy music, New Age and techno, becomes an international, and highly controversial, hit
- Music of Albania
- Ardit Gjebrea becomes Albania's first pop star after releasing "Jon"
- Music of Brazil
- The MD MC's "Salvador Astral" is one of the earliest international hits by a Brazilian hip hop group; it kickstarts the scene in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and other cities
- Music of Colombia
- Carlos Vives' Clásicos de la Provincia revolutionizes vallenato makes the singer into a superstar
- Music of Congo-Kinshasha
- A showcase brings together many of Congo's biggest names in the country's musical history, including Koffi Olomide and Papa Wemba, helping to revitalize Congolese music, long suffering under the shadow of the Parisian soukous scene
- Music of Germany
- Sven Väth's "Accident in Paradise" is an influential early recording of trance music
- Music of Kenya
- Superstar Joseph Kamaru becomes a born again Christian and switches from Kĩkũyũ pop to gospel music
- Samba Mapangala breaks up his band, Orchestre Virunga as Nairobi begins to lose its reputation as a haven for Congolese musicians
- Pop-disco is popular, and only a few of the long-running Congolese or Swahili bands maintain popularity in adopting that sound, among them Les Wanyika, whose Les Les Nonstop '90 was a major hit
- Music of Nigeria
- Fuji music emerges at the forefront of the Nigerian scene, led by Sikiru Barrister, Baba Alatika and his rival, Barrister Wasiu
- Music of Turkey
- A fire started by Sunni extremists killed several musicians, including Muhlis Akarsu
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Aphex Twin (Selected Ambient Works 85-92), The Orb (Live 93) and similar artists reach the height of their cult popularity; this is the golden age of ambient music
- Cream is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker play together at the induction ceremony for the first time since the band's break up in 1968.
- LTJ Bukem's "Music" is the beginning of intelligent drum and bass
- Music of the United States
- Smashing Pumpkins release Siamese Dream which includes "Disarm", "Cherub Rock", and "Today"
- The Supreme Court legalizes animal sacrifice in Santería, sparking a revival of religious music among Cubans in New York City, Miami and elsewhere
- Southern rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Whitney Houston dominates American music in 1993 with "I Will Always Love You", which sells over 4 million copies, its corresponding album The Bodyguard sells over 16 million, and the single sets a new record at the time by remaining #1 for 14 consecutive weeks. Houston's success is rewarded with 11 Billboard Music Awards, 8 American Music Awards, and 3 Grammy Awards during 1993 and 1994.
- Nirvana releases In Utero to some commercial and critical success, it is the last studio album off the band widely regarded to have sparked off the grunge movement before the death of Kurt Cobain. With Nevermind being the first punk album to reach number 1 on Billboard, In Utero was the first "noise" album to reach number 1 on Billboard. Also fan favorites "Heart-Shaped Box," "All Apologies," "Rape Me," and "Pennyroyal Tea" are included.
- Pearl Jam release the follow up to the massive Ten. The result Vs. sold almost a million copies in the first week. It is one of the best selling grunge albums of all time. Included are "Daughter," "Dissident," "Go," and "Animal."
[edit] 1994 in music
- International trends
- The Alpine New Wave movement peaks in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland; bands like Hundsbuam are popular
- The music video for Weezer's breakout hit "Buddy Holly" directed by Spike Jonze sparks off a debate over the extent of CGI effects in entertainment despite the video actually having no computer effects. The video featured Happy Days footage spliced cleverly with video of the band playing in a replica of Al's Diner.
- Oval's Systemische begins glitch
- Firin' in Fouta by Baaba Maal incorporates varied influences, including Breton harp, Senegalese folk music, ragga and rap to great acclaim; the album also launches the career of renowned hip hop crew Positive Black Soul and leads to the formation of world music fusionists Afro-Celt Sound System
- Bon Jovi's first greatest hits album, Cross Road, is released and is the sells 5,000,000 copies within its first 5 weeks of release.
- Music of Barbados
- Eddie Grant and other performers begin to popularize a fusion of various Caribbean styles called ring bang
- Music of China
- Governmental controls help to end the craze for Chinese rock
- Music of Ireland
- At the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Michael Flately and Jean Butler's Riverdance performance group is formed to play between acts; it goes on to lead a wave of internationally popular set dancing groups
- Music of Jamaica
- In Kingston, police begin shutting down stereo systems that play graphically violent dancehall and ragga lyrics; artists like Buju Banton (Voice of Jamaica) and Yellowman (Prayer) are already emerging with a more socially aware tone.
- Music of Madagascar
- Tarika, a popular roots revival band, emerges from the break-up of the long-running Tarika Sammy
- Music of New Zealand
- Les Cleveland publishes an influential collection of folksongs called Dark Laughter
- Music of South Africa
- The state broadcasting monopoly ends and numerous new radio stations, TV channels and other media are created; a quota system is established to ensure that a certain amount of South African music is played
- The first major South African hip hop crew, Prophets of Da Cape, begins to gain in fame
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Britpop's initial peak of popularity, with releases from Oasis (Definitely Maybe), Manic Street Preachers (The Holy Bible), The Verve (A Storm in Heaven), Elastica ("Connection"), Suede (Dog Man Star) and Blur (Parklife) dominating the British scene
- 4 Heroes's Parallel Universe adds jazz influences to jungle music, while Sub Dub (based in New York City but better known in the UK) begins the evolution of illbient
- Apache Indian appears on BBC Radio One, the first British Asian performer to do so, marking the beginning of mainstream acceptance for British Asian bhangra; Nitin Sawhney's Migration is a pioneering fusion of bhangra with flamenco, jazz and other influences
- Music of the United States
- Beck's "Loser" is a wildly popular folk fusion, mislabeled as a "slacker anthem," and his album Mellow Gold is heralded as a combination of many genres.
- Pop punk breaks into the mainstream, with releases from The Offspring (Smash)and Green Day (Dookie) achieving massive chart success.
- Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" is often cited as the last major hit of the grunge-era.
- After several years of domination by the West Coast, East Coast hip hop returns to critical acclaim and popular success with Nas' Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die; Master P's underground hit "The Ghetto Is Trying to Kill Me!" marks the emergence of No Limit's stable of New Orleans-based hip hop artists; Da Brat's Funkdafied is the first hip hop album by a woman to go platinum.
- Hootie and the Blowfish breaks into the mainstream with their debut album, Cracked Rear View selling 16 million copies in the U.S. alone.
- Nirvana guitarist and leader Kurt Cobain commits suicide, thus ending Nirvana, his life, and the 93-94 noise rock time never to be as popular as it was when In Utero was released in 1993.
- Nine Inch Nails releases The Downward Spiral propelling Industrial music into the mainstream.
- Trip-Hop has its greatest mainstream success with Portishead's release of Dummy.
- Alice In Chains release arguably their best effort the EP Jar of Flies which is the only EP to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200. Tracks included: "No Excuses," and "I Stay Away."
[edit] 1995 in music
Oasis releases the mammoth hit album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? which becomes the second best selling album of all time in the United Kingdom and goes on to sell 19 million copies worldwide. Oasis accepted as the biggest band in the world and probably the biggest band in the UK since Queen.
Nirvana's drummer, Dave Grohl, releases the first and self-titled Foo Fighters record.
Selena died at Corpus Christi, Texas on March 31 after she was shot 16 days before her 24th birthday.
[edit] 1996 in music
- Music of Belgium
- Music of Colombia
- Carlos Vives, a soap opera star, becomes popular playing a vallenato-influenced form of salsa
- Music of Cuba
- Music of Finland
- Tellu Virkkala's Suden Aika revolutionizes traditional Finnish runosong
- Music of Spain
- Carlos Nuñez's A Irmandade Das Estrelas revitalizes popularity for the gaita, the Galician bagpipe
- Music of Tanzania
- Mr. II's "Ni mimi" establishes Tanzanian hip hop and launches the career of one of the nation's biggest future stars
- Music of the United Kingdom
- DJ Spooky's Songs of a Dead Dreamer marks the beginning of illbient electronic music; Single Cell Orchestra (Single Cell Orchestra) and Spectre (The Illness) also release important illbient albums; Plug (Plug 1), Aphex Twin (Richard D. James Album) and Squarepusher (Conumber) emerge with drill n bass music
- The group Fernhill releases their first album, Ca Nos, which begins their reign as the most experimental and innovative of traditional Welsh bands
- Music of the United States
- Industrial music achieves its second greatest mainstream success with Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar.
- dc Talk's "Jesus Freak" is the first rock song to win the Dove Award for song of the year; this is the first time a non-traditional genre won the award for best Christian-themed song.
- The Fugees' The Score is a massive hit; the album's blend of reggae and hip hop is the beginning of an upsurge in western popularity for island music, presaging the future rise of Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, among others
- Ginuwine's "Pony" and Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew" become the first hit singles produced by Timbaland. Future records by these artists, and collaborators such as Missy Elliott, Playa, and Timbaland & Magoo popularize a non-traditional rhythm style and begin a move away from sample-heavy instrumental tracks in hip-hop music and R&B.
- Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men release the most successful single in the history of U.S. music, "One Sweet Day". The song stays at #1 for a record breaking 16 weeks, which has not been tied or equalled as of 2006.
- Songwriter Diane Warren has a very successful year, with two of her compositions, Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" and Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart" reaching #1 for a lengthy 6 and 11 weeks, respectively.
- Weezer releases Pinkerton, and although it was considered an initial failure at that time, it has formed cult-like followers of the album. It is now also considered one of Weezer's best albums.
- Bradley Nowell, lead singer of the prominent reggae-punk-ska group Sublime, is found dead after a heroin overdose at roughly 3 O'clock PM in his California Motel room. It is speculated that Bradley didn't want his infant son growing up with a drug addict father, famous as he may be.
[edit] 1997 in music
- International trends
- Groups like Hanson (Middle of Nowhere) and the Spice Girls (Spiceworld) signal a move towards dance-oriented pop influenced by Europop.
- Music of Canada
- Canadian hip hop finally begins to enter the mainstream with Dubmatique, who become the first Quebec hip hop crew to top the Francophone charts, and the Rascalz, who assemble a number of Canadian rappers to record the underground hit "Northern Touch".
- Our Lady Peace's second album, Clumsy, was released. It became their most successful album to date, achieving Diamond status (1,000,000 copies sold) in Canada and Platinum in the USA.
- Music of Nigeria
- Adewale Ayuba's Fuji Dub: Lagos-Brooklyn-Brixton helps launch a fusion of jùjú and fuji.
- Music of Spain
- Carlos Nuñez's A Irmandade das Estrellas goes platinum in a few months, leading to unprecedented fame for the Galician bagpipe virtuoso.
- Music of Thailand
- Luk Thung FM, the first all pleng luk thung radio station, goes on the air, heralding a revival of the genre.
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Bands like Stereolab (Dots and Loops), Radiohead (OK Computer) and Portishead (Portishead) reflect a new British rock sound as Oasis release the fastest selling album in UK chart history. This album proves to be the end of Oasis' huge popularity.
- The British Asian underground has become mainstream, and artists like Talvin Singh are stars.
- Music of the United States
- The death of The Notorious B.I.G., months after the murder of Tupac Shakur, marks the beginning of the end of the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry in hip hop as hip hop genres begin to splinter and diversify; Puff Daddy & the Family's No Way Out and Ma$e's Harlem World cement Bad Boy Records as the biggest label on the East Coast, while Death Row Records disintegrates.
- Backstreet Boys makes their debut with self-titled album Backstreet Boys with hits "Quit Playin' Games", "Everybody (Backstreet's Back", "As Long As You Love Me" and "All I Have To Give" starting a boy band age in the Pop Music scene.
- Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike release Sacred Path: Healing Songs of the Native American Church, which features an innovative, modernized version of traditional Peyote Songs.
- Mariah Carey releases "Honey" and it debuts at number-one. This gives Carey her third number-one debut single, making her the artist with the most number-one debuts on the Hot 100. The single comes from the album Butterfly, which is Carey's venture into hip hop and R&B. The album spawns two other hit singles: the U.S. number-one single "My All", and "Butterfly".
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones release their most successful album Let's Face It and receive a great deal of airtime with their #1 hit "The Impression That I Get". This is considered the pinacle year for third-wave ska.
[edit] 1998 in music
- Music of China
- Music of Côte d'Ivoire
- Mapouka becomes popular, replacing the sexually lewd Congolese dombolo rhythm as the dominant dance music of the country
- Music of Spain
- Hevia's Tierra De Nadie becomes a mainstream Spanish star, a first for traditional-styled Asturian music
- Music of the United Kingdom
- The mainstream success of trance music reaches its peak with artists like Paul Oakenfold (Tranceport, Global Underground: New York) and Sasha + Digweed (Northern Exposure Vol. 2: West Coast Edition and East Coast Edition) releasing successful recordings.
- Music of the United States
- Lauryn Hill sweeps the Grammys for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; the album is a harbinger of the return of 1970s-style soul music, a trend referred to as neo soul.
- DMX's It's Dark and Hell Is Hot revitalizes the critical viability of East Coast gangsta hip hop
- Madonna embarks on a massive comeback album with Ray of Light which becomes four times platinum and wins three Grammy Awards including Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording. It is noted for its contrast with her 1992 album Erotica.
- Britney Spears' first teen pop single "...Baby One More Time" went #1 on the Hot 100 meanwhile, She also become as a Teen pop artist on her upcoming album (...Baby One More Time) and start her first Shopping mall gig opening act for *NSYNC.
- The merging of genres such as hip -hop/pop/r&B/dance begins to rise in popularity and that style of music is very popular in 2006. Examples of such songs include My All, Too Close, The Boy Is Mine, and How Deep Is Your Love
[edit] 1999 in music
- Music of Mauritius
- Popular musician Kaya dies, sparking national headlines and three days of rioting.
- Music of Puerto Rico
- A major resurgence in plena results in international popularity for Plena Libre and other modern bands.
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Kathryn Tickell's Debatable Lands takes Northumbrian folk music in a new direction.
- Music of the United States
- Backstreet Boys sets first-week sales record with Millennium, selling over 1 million copies in its debut week.
- High sales from the Backstreet Boys (Backstreet Boys, Millennium), Kid Rock (Devil Without a Cause), TLC (Fanmail) and Britney Spears (...Baby One More Time) show a popular emphasis in the US on pop- and hip hop-oriented acts.
- Mariah Carey's "Heartbreaker" reaches #1 giving Carey a number one single each year of the decade. "Heartbreaker" also gives Carey 60 weeks at number one, the second longest run of all time, moving ahead of The Beatles.
- Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas perform "Smooth", which would go on to win several grammys.
- Latin music comes into mainstream, along with some early traces of Reggaeton.
- blink-182's Enema of the State starts the second pop-punk explosion of the 90's.
- Smash Mouth's single All Star was released and became one of the most popular songs of the year.
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers re-form with guitarist John Frusciante and release their album Californication.
- Nine Inch Nails releases the epic double disk "The Fragile", the first full length from the band since 1994's The Downward Spiral, and was hailed by many critics as the best album of the 90's.