Some 90s Bands You Should Check Out

After seeing the general landscape of 90s music and culture, it's time now to dive into a few bands and artists of the era. Here are a few groups and people from different genres that were key contributors to 90s music. I've also selected these based on what I think you may be interested in playing or performing yourself!

1. No Doubt: Reigning as pop/rock star royalty of the 90s, No Doubt was a force to be reckoned with. Starting in Anaheim, California in the mid-80's, No Doubt drew influences mostly from ska, reggae and punk music. This can be easily heard in their first three albums. Their pinnacle is usually considered Tragic Kingdom. Popular tracks on this album are "Don't Speak" and "Spiderwebs". They wrote three more albums that saw the departure of their raw punk/ska sound, embracing a more polished pop style that still rocked. They've in fact just announced a new tour, so if you like them, you can still see them live today!

2. Sublime: Even to this day it's pretty hard to go to any social outing and not hear Sublime. From Long Beach, California, Sublime, just like No Doubt, took most of their influences from punk, ska and reggae. Where No Doubt took a more pop stance in later albums, Sublime did the opposite; embracing the punk and ska sound they originated with. They rocketed to fame with their third album, Sublime, with tracks such as "What I Got" and "Santeria". Sublime unfortunately disbanded in 1996 with the untimely death of guitarist and singer Bradley Nowell. They do tour now with a different lead singer, but it just isn't quite the same.

3. Jeff Buckley: Despite only releasing one album, Grace, Jeff Buckley is regarded as one of the greatest singers ever. He was a singer/songwriter with a sometimes bluesy style, hailing from (again) Anaheim, California. Known for his thrilling and captivating performances, Jeff Buckley has one of the widest ranges for any singer. His rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is sometimes considered even more famous than the original! Buckley also had an untimely death, disappearing mysteriously in the Mississippi river while swimming.

4. TLC: Considered one of, if not the, most successful hip-hop groups of all time, TLC was monstrous in the 90s. Originating in Atlanta, Georgia, TLC reached critical acclaim with their second studio album, CrazySexyCool in 1994. This album featured two memorable tracks, "Creep" and "Waterfalls". Their third studio album, FanMail (1999) featured another famous song, "No Scrubs". The group continues to record, despite losing one of the original members, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (died 2002) to a tragic car accident.