1990
The year in music, movies, TV, fads & memories
In 1990, “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 and Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em by MC Hammer and Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey were on every turntable. Home Alone, Goodfellas and Pretty Woman were in theaters, and Beverly Hills, 90210, Twin Peaks and In Living Color were on TV.
The headlines: Iraq invades Kuwait. New that year: Hubble Space Telescope launched. Fads of the year: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Hammer pants. Gas was about $1.16 a gallon, a stamp was 25¢ and a movie ticket ran ~$4.23. On the shelf: a Lunchable, a SunnyD and a Polly Pocket, with the Ninja Turtles on Saturday morning.
🎂 What music raised you?
Drop your birthday and we'll rewind to your golden era — the years the songs imprinted for life.
🔙 Backtrack — 1990
The world around the music — what was on screen, and what was on the shelf.
🎬 Set the scene
Picture 1990: the Ninja Turtles on the TV, a pack of Dunkaroos close enough to grab, and just enough time to kill an afternoon wandering the mall.
🎬 At the movies
📼 Saturday cartoons
📰 Headlines
- Iraq invades Kuwait
- Nelson Mandela freed
- East & West Germany reunify
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Hubble Telescope launched
💡 Tech & Firsts
- Hubble Space Telescope launched
- Windows 3.0 ships
- Sega Genesis goes nationwide
- First web page (Berners-Lee)
- Adobe Photoshop 1.0
🏆 Sports
- Reds sweep the World Series
- Pistons repeat as NBA champs
- 49ers win Super Bowl XXIV
- Buster Douglas KOs Tyson
- Oilers win the Stanley Cup
🤪 Crazes & fads
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Hammer pants
- New Kids on the Block
- Game Boy mania
- Hypercolor shirts
👖 Clothes
- Acid-wash denim
- Neon windbreakers
- Hammer parachute pants
- Hightop fades
- Slap bracelets
💵 What it cost
- Stamp: 25¢
- Gas: ~$1.16/gal
- Movie ticket: ~$4.23
- Median new home: ~$123,000
- Milk: ~$2.78/gal
🧸 Toy chest
🍬 On the shelf
🥤 In the fridge
Billboard Year-End Hot 100
📊 Full chart →- 1
Hold OnWilson Phillips - 2
It Must Have Been LoveRoxette - 3
Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor - 4
PoisonBell Biv DeVoe - 5
VogueMadonna - 6
Vision of LoveMariah Carey - 7
Another Day in ParadisePhil Collins - 8
Hold OnEn Vogue - 9
Cradle Of LoveBilly Idol - 10
Blaze of GloryJon Bon Jovi - 11Do Me!Bell Biv DeVoe
- 12
How Am I Supposed to Live Without YouMichael Bolton - 13
Pump Up the JamTechnotronic - 14
Opposites AttractPaula Abdul - 15
EscapadeJanet Jackson - 16
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to YouHeart - 17
Close to YouMaxi Priest - 18
Black VelvetAlannah Myles - 19Release MeWilson Phillips
- 20
Don't Know Much (with Aaron Neville)Linda Ronstadt - 21
All Around the WorldLisa Stansfield - 23
Rub You the Right WayJohnny Gill - 24
She Ain't Worth ItGlenn Medeiros - 25
If Wishes Came TrueSweet Sensation - 26
The PowerSnap!
More from 1990
🎤 Big in 1990
🎚️ 1990 genres
🎛️ Behind the boards & the pen — 1990
The hands behind 1990 — the producers and songwriters who actually shaped that year's records. Bruce Fairbairn was on 4 of them.
🎬 Movies of 1990
All soundtracks →The soundtracks that scored 1990 — every song and where it played.
🎚️ Related vibes
All themes →Themed rooms that lean on the sound of 1990.
🌀 Things 1990 remembers wrong
All Glitch Files →Mandela-effect cases that were on the shelf, the screen or the radio in 1990. Which do you remember?
What does 1990 remind you of?
The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of 1990.
Community Memories
How well do you remember 1990?
7 quick questions — the songs, the artists, the year. No cheating. 😏
📼 Take this tape with you
Build this in your own Spotify in two taps — free, no account needed here. (For Apple Music or YouTube, open songs one-by-one below.)
Then open the free helper
🎵 1990 albums on vinyl
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📻 90s gear
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