Quiz: Can You Match the '90s Hit to the Artist Behind It?

Hip-hop was huge, grunge was making angst-ridden waves, and boy and girl bands were all the rage. How well do you know your ‘90s hits? See if you can match some of the biggest songs of this decade to the bands who made them with this quiz.

The Music of the ‘90s

Possibly more than any other decade, the ‘90s seem to evoke a sense of nostalgia. That may be because of the technology that existed at the time—phones and computers were still largely fun and unobtrusive at this point, not the addictive machines they are today.

Additionally, of course, the ‘90s were when most millennials grew up, and few people are more apt to indulge in a little nostalgia than this particular generation. Yet certainly one of the reasons the ‘90s is such a nostalgic time is because of the music that soundtracked this decade. 

The final decade of the 20th century saw a large variety of musical genres come into the mainstream, and each laid the foundation for the hits of the decades to come. Hip-hop, grunge, and pop might be tied for the biggest genres of the decade, and each comes with its own lore, icons, and legacy. 

The second half of the ‘80s and first half of the '90s are often referred to as the golden age of hip-hop, and for good reason. The genre came into its own during this time, developing lyrically and musically and laying the foundations for its ongoing ascension. Hip-hop had been percolating since its origins in New York City’s South Bronx in the 1970s, and it exploded into mainstream popularity in the 1980s and ’90s.

The '90s also saw a major rivalry between West Coast hip-hop—known for its smoother, funkier sound—and East Coast hip-hop, which tended to be jazzier and a bit grittier. Major acts like 2Pac and Dr. Dre on the West Coast and The Notorious B.I.G. of the East Coast made countless hits, but tragedy struck when 2Pac was murdered in 1996 and The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered in 1997. Still, the music and legacy of this era lives on and can be felt deeply in hip-hop today.

Meanwhile, artists like Missy Elliott—who combined hip-hop with R&B—created some of the foundational sounds of the era. R&B was constantly blasting from one speaker or another in the ‘90s, with Boyz II Men, TLC, and other acts delivering immortal hits that are still hard not to dance along to.

At the same time, rock and roll was alive and well in the form of grunge, which became unavoidable thanks to the rise of acts like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Known for its emphasis on angsty lyrics and distortion-soaked guitars, grunge and the ‘90s are inseparable.

At the same time, alternative rock acts like Radiohead and R.E.M. were adding mellower, more experimental touches to the electrified rock and roll of the decades prior. Meanwhile, artists like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, and Tracy Chapman mixed rock and roll with folky singer-songwriter vulnerability in a way that continues to reverberate.

Of course, the ‘90s had its pop icons. Divas with huge voices like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Janet Jackson filled arenas with epic power ballads that still receive plenty of radio play today. The Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys redefined cool, and Britney Spears broke out at the tail end of the decade with her 1998 single “...Baby One More Time.” Country pop, Latin pop, and ska punk were just a few of the other genres that saw major growth during this time. 

All this means that there’s plenty of music to dive into for anyone looking to indulge in a little ‘90s nostalgia. What better way to go back to a bygone time than putting on some classic ‘90s R&B, resurrecting your Walkman, heating up some Totino’s pizza rolls, and throwing on an episode of a ‘90s show that was canceled far too soon?

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