60 Songs That Explain the '90s

by Rob Harvilla

And so, cards on the table, here’s what really fascinates me about the ’90s: It’s when I grew up. That’s it. The decade encompasses high school and college for me. That’s enough. That’s plenty. Did you ever notice that new music, now, is nowhere near as great as the music you loved as a teenager? And you know what? You’re right. Whether you were a teenager in the ’60s, the ’90s, or the 2010s, you’re right. The music you loved as a teenager is the sweetest music you’ll ever hear; that music will be, in all likelihood, the greatest, wildest, purest love affair of your whole life. That’s how music works; that’s how being a teenager works. I did not start the podcast—deep into the first year of COVID, I might add, when the endorphin rush of unabashed nostalgia became that much more attractive—as some grand socio-political gesture. I just wanted to relive the glorious jams of my youth. Yes, even “Achy Breaky Heart.”