Pop music in the 90s was quite different from the classic or traditional pop stylings of the rest of the century, and teens ate it up like candy. If you were one such 90s teen, I bet at least one of the following pop hits will send you back in time in an instant.
“Step By Step” by New Kids On The Block from ‘Step By Step’ (1990)
In the 90s, teenagers did not play around with boy bands. Everybody had a favorite group. And New Kids On The Block was one of the earliest examples of the decade’s preference for boy bands. Their song “Step By Step” was a particularly noteworthy hit. It was one that touched on the disco revival movement while still sounding fresh for the pop charts at the time. “Step By Step” peaked in the Top 40 globally, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remains one of the most commercially successful pop songs of the decade.
“Stay (I Missed You)” by Lisa Loeb from ‘Reality Bites (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ (1994)
If you were the kind of kid who struggled to fit in and enjoyed the singer-songwriter stylings of the time, you probably listened to Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You)” more times than you’d care to admit. This pop-rock jam was famously used in the romantic comedy-drama Reality Bites. But it certainly stood well on its own outside of the film. “Stay (I Missed You)” peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
“I Want You Back” by NSYNC from ‘NSYNC’ (1996)
Another boy band makes it to our list of classic pop songs that 90s teens were obsessed with. And unsurprisingly, it’s an NSYNC tune. “I Want You Back” was just one of a ton of hits the American boy band dished out in the 90s. And it’s still a nostalgic treat for anyone who was young in 1996.
This dance-pop classic didn’t initially do huge numbers. But by 1999, it had reached No. 13 on the Hot 100 and No. 7 on the Pop Airplay chart in the US.
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