Ranking the 10 Best Bands of the ’90s

Looking back, the 1990s were a nostalgic time to be alive.

Seinfeld had something to say about nothing, Friends was there for us, butterfly clips were the hottest trend and lunchables were a perfectly acceptable meal.

But perhaps the best way to remember the ’90s is through music. The decade saw some of the most influential bands in all genres started around this time and set the tone for musicians to come.

Here are the top 10 best bands of the 90s.

Photo Credit: Getty/Frank Micelotta

10 | Green Day

The American rock band formed in 1986 by lead vocalist and guitarist, Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist, Mike Dirnt and hit it big in the ’90s. Known for their hit songs “American Idiot,” “When I Come Around,” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” the group has won five Grammy Awards and sold more than 85 million records worldwide.

9 | Goo Goo Dolls

The Goo Goo Dolls, originally known as the “Sex Maggots,” also formed in 1986. Known for several hit songs, “Iris” ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 100 Pop Songs from 1992-2012.

8 | Outkast

The duo that formed in 1991 when Andre “Andre 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton were in high school. They got their start in East Point, Georgia when they released their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik in 1994. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that Outkast became one of the most popular bands after winning a Grammy for Album of the Year for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which had hits like “Hey Ya!” and “The Way You Move.”

7 | Blink 182

Blink 182 was one of the most influential pop-punk bands of all time. Originally founded by guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, bassist and vocalist, Mark Hoppus and drummer Scott Raynor, the band dominated the ’90s pop-punk music  scene. The trio started in Poway, California and went by several names like Duck Tape and Figure 8 before settling on Blink 182. When Travis Barker replaced Raynor in 1998, the band went mainstream. In 2015, Delonge split from the band and was replaced by vocalist Matt Skiba.

6 | *NSYNC

No one wants to say “bye bye bye” to *NSYNC! The popular boy band formed in 1995 in Orlando, Florida. After their highly publicized legal battle with former manager Lou Pearlman and former record label Bertelsmann Music Group, the heartthrobs skyrocketed to success. In 2000, No Strings Attached sold more than 1 million copies in one day and 2.42 million in one week.

5 | Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam —  Eddie Vedder (above), Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament — formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Just one year later they released Ten, which set a new milsetone for rock bands to come — more than 30 million records sold in the U.S. and 60 million sold worldwide. After winning four awards at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, the band went vocal about their dislike towards music videos because they didn’t want people to remember their songs as videos.

4 | Backstreet Boys

The Backstreet Boys formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993 and rose to fame thre years later after their eponymous debut international album Backstreet Boys in 1996. A year later in they released their second international album, Backstreet’s Back, which continued their worldwide success. Their third album, Millennium, lifted the group to a whole new level of fame. After a few years of separation, the group reconciled and began recording in studio again.

3 | Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of the best-selling bands of all time, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. They have sold more than 80 million records worldwide and earned 16 Grammy Award nominations, winning six Grammys. They are also the most successful band in alternative rock radio history, with 13 No. 1 singles, 85 cumulative weeks at No. 1 and 25 songs in the Billboard Top 10.

2 | Dave Matthews Band

The Dave Matthews Band, which formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991, is still going stron. DMB is the only group with seven consecutive studio albums debut at No. 1. Something that sets the band aside from others in the industry, is that they perform each song differently every time they’ve performed live.

1 | Nirvana

The American rock band was formed in Aberdeen, Washington by lead vocalist Kurt Cobain (above) and bassist Krist Novoselic in 1987. Although the band only released three studio albums in their seven years before Cobain’s suicide in 1994, Nirvana is still known as one of the most influential bands in alternative band history. In 2014 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is known as one of the best-selling bands of all time.