1999
The year in music, movies, TV, fads & memories
In 1999, “Believe” by Cher topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 and FanMail by TLC and Millennium by Backstreet Boys were on every turntable. The Matrix, Fight Club and The Sixth Sense were in theaters, and The Sopranos premieres, Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants premieres were on TV.
The headlines: Columbine shooting. New that year: Napster launches. Fads of the year: Pokémon mania and Beanie Babies. Gas was about $1.17 a gallon, a stamp was 33¢ and a movie ticket ran ~$5.06. On the shelf: a handful of Gushers, a Snapple and a PlayStation, with Rugrats 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 — 1999
The world around the music — what was on screen, and what was on the shelf.
🎬 Set the scene
A Blockbuster Friday night, 1999: Rocko's Modern Life flickered on the screen while a can of Cheez Balls waited nearby and an Orbitz left a ring on the table.
🎬 At the movies
📼 Saturday cartoons
- Doug👕 tee →
- Rugrats👕 tee →
- The Ren & Stimpy Show
- X-Men👕 tee →
- Batman: The Animated Series👕 tee →
- Animaniacs👕 tee →
- Rocko's Modern Life
- Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
- Spider-Man👕 tee →
- Hey Arnold!
📰 Headlines
- Columbine shooting
- Clinton acquitted by the Senate
- NATO bombs Kosovo
- Y2K panic / preparations
- Euro currency introduced
💡 Tech & Firsts
- Napster launches
- Nokia 3210 / SMS boom
- BlackBerry debuts
- TiVo / DVR arrives
- Wi-Fi branding introduced
🏆 Sports
- Yankees win the World Series
- Spurs win their first NBA title
- Broncos win Super Bowl XXXIII
- Stars win the Stanley Cup
- US women win the '99 World Cup
🤪 Crazes & fads
- Pokémon mania
- Beanie Babies
- Furby
- Star Wars Episode I
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
👖 Clothes
- Cargo pants
- JNCO jeans peak
- Frosted tips
- Halter tops
- Chunky 'dad' sneakers
💵 What it cost
- Stamp: 33¢
- Gas: ~$1.17/gal
- Movie ticket: ~$5.06
- Median new home: ~$161,000
- New car avg: ~$20,000
🧸 Toy chest
🍬 On the shelf
- Fruit by the Foot🛒 grab some →
- Shark Bites🛒 grab some →
- String Thing
- Butterfinger BB's
- Wonder Ball
- Baby Bottle Pop🛒 grab some →
- Sour Punch Straws🛒 grab some →
- Airheads Xtremes🛒 grab some →
- 3D Doritos
- Cheetos Paws
🥤 In the fridge
- Clearly Canadian🛒 grab some →
- Snapple🛒 grab some →
- Fruitopia
- Orbitz
- Arizona Iced Tea🛒 grab some →
- Mistic
- All Sport
- Gatorade Frost🛒 grab some →
- SunnyD🛒 grab some →
- Squeezit
Billboard Year-End Hot 100
📊 Full chart →- 1
BelieveCher - 2
No ScrubsTLC - 3
Angel of MineMonica - 4
Heartbreak Hotel (feat. Faith Evans & Kelly Price)Whitney Houston - 5
...Baby One More TimeBritney Spears - 6
Kiss MeSixpence None the Richer - 7
Genie in a BottleChristina Aguilera - 8
Every MorningSugar Ray - 9
Nobody's Supposed to Be HereDeborah Cox - 10
Livin' la Vida LocaRicky Martin - 11
Where My Girls At?702 - 12
If You Had My LoveJennifer Lopez - 13
SlideThe Goo Goo Dolls - 14
Have You EverBrandy - 15
I Want It That WayBackstreet Boys - 17
All StarSmash Mouth - 18
AngelSarah McLachlan - 19
Smooth (feat. Rob Thomas)Santana - 20
UnprettyTLC - 21
Bills, Bills, Bills (Mixed)Destiny's Child - 22
Save TonightEagle-Eye Cherry - 23
Last KissPearl Jam - 24
FortunateMaxwell - 25
All I Have to GiveBackstreet Boys - 26
BailamosEnrique Iglesias
More from 1999
🎤 Big in 1999
🎚️ 1999 genres
🎛️ Behind the boards & the pen — 1999
The hands behind 1999 — the producers and songwriters who actually shaped that year's records. Max Martin was on 2 of them.
🎬 Movies of 1999
All soundtracks →The soundtracks that scored 1999 — every song and where it played.
🎚️ Related vibes
All themes →Themed rooms that lean on the sound of 1999.
🌀 Things 1999 remembers wrong
All Glitch Files →Mandela-effect cases that were on the shelf, the screen or the radio in 1999. Which do you remember?
What does 1999 remind you of?
The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of 1999.
Community Memories
How well do you remember 1999?
7 quick questions — the songs, the artists, the year. No cheating. 😏
💿 Take this CD 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
🎵 1999 albums on vinyl
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📻 90s gear
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