Harper Hall
If You Listened to These 15 Artists in the ’90s, You Missed the Cool Train
The 1990s gave us some of the most memorable music in history, from grunge to hip-hop to pop perfection. But not every artist who dominated the charts earned respect from the cool kids.
Some bands and singers were considered totally uncool, even if their songs were everywhere on MTV and the radio. If you jammed to these acts back in the day, you probably got some serious side-eye from your hipper friends.
1. Backstreet Boys
Boy bands ruled the late 90s, but admitting you loved them was social suicide among the alternative crowd.
The Backstreet Boys sold millions of albums and had screaming fans everywhere, yet cool music lovers dismissed them as manufactured pop.
Their synchronized dance moves and matching outfits made them an easy target for criticism.
Radio stations that prided themselves on playing edgy music wouldn’t touch their songs.
Sure, you might have secretly known every word to “I Want It That Way,” but you’d never admit it at school.
Liking BSB meant you cared more about catchy hooks than musical credibility.
Real music fans were supposed to be listening to Radiohead or Nirvana instead.
2. NSYNC
When NSYNC burst onto the scene, they faced the same mockery as their boy band rivals.
Critics called them a corporate creation designed to sell posters and lunchboxes to tweens.
Justin Timberlake’s ramen noodle hair and JC’s falsetto became punchlines for anyone trying to prove their musical taste.
The group’s bubble-gum pop sound was everything the grunge generation rebelled against.
Their fans were mostly young girls, which somehow made them less legitimate in many people’s eyes.
Owning an NSYNC CD meant hiding it under your bed when friends came over.
Cool kids were busy discovering underground bands, not watching Total Request Live.
The phrase “teenybopper music” was practically invented for groups like this.
3. Hanson
Three blonde brothers from Oklahoma became unlikely pop stars with one infectious song.
“MMMBop” was absolutely everywhere in 1997, playing in every mall and on every radio station across America.
The problem?
They looked like kids, and their music sounded sickeningly sweet to anyone over fifteen.
Cool teenagers couldn’t be caught dead singing along to lyrics that seemed written for elementary schoolers.
The youngest member was literally eleven years old when they hit it big.
Their wholesome image and upbeat sound clashed hard with the cynical 90s alternative scene.
Admitting you liked Hanson was basically admitting you had the musical taste of your little sister.
Real music fans pretended the song didn’t exist, even while it stuck in their heads for days.
4. Nickelback
Okay, technically they started in the late 90s, but Nickelback quickly became the poster child for everything wrong with mainstream rock.
Their formulaic sound and generic lyrics made them an instant target for mockery.
Music snobs couldn’t stand their radio-friendly approach to rock music.
Every song seemed to follow the same predictable pattern, with Chad Kroeger’s gravelly voice delivering cliché after cliché.
They sold tons of albums, but critical respect was nowhere to be found.
Being a Nickelback fan became an actual joke on the internet years later.
Even back in the 90s, though, admitting you liked them marked you as someone with boring, safe musical taste.
True rock fans were listening to Soundgarden or Pearl Jam instead.
5. Spice Girls
Girl power was everywhere in the mid-90s, thanks to these five British women with ridiculous nicknames.
Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger, and Posh dominated pop culture, but cool kids wanted nothing to do with them.
Their songs were undeniably catchy, yet critics dismissed them as talentless and overhyped.
The whole concept felt like a marketing scheme rather than genuine artistry.
Their fashion choices were loud, their personalities were louder, and subtlety wasn’t in their vocabulary.
Loving the Spice Girls meant you probably also owned a Tamagotchi and watched Saved by the Bell.
Serious music fans saw them as everything shallow about pop music.
Their massive success only made the backlash stronger among those who valued authenticity over entertainment.
6. Robbie Williams
After leaving Take That, Robbie Williams became a massive star in Europe, but American cool kids barely knew who he was.
In Britain, though, admitting you liked him came with judgment from indie music fans.
His cheeky persona and pop-rock sound were too mainstream for anyone trying to be alternative.
He had the boyband stigma following him everywhere, even as a solo artist.
His songs were played at every cheesy party, which didn’t help his credibility.
Critics saw him as all style and no substance, more entertainer than serious musician.
His cocky attitude rubbed people the wrong way, especially those who valued humility in their artists.
Liking Robbie meant you probably also enjoyed reality TV and tabloid gossip.
7. Bush
Here’s an interesting case: Bush tried really hard to be grunge, but American music fans called them posers.
Gavin Rossdale’s British accent singing Seattle-style rock felt inauthentic to many listeners.
They had huge hits like “Glycerine” and “Comedown,” yet critics accused them of copying Nirvana’s sound without the substance.
Cool grunge fans saw them as corporate rock trying to cash in on a movement they didn’t understand.
The band was more popular than respected.
Liking Bush meant you probably discovered grunge late and missed the real deal.
True alternative fans stuck with the original Seattle bands.
Bush represented everything watered-down about mainstream alternative rock in the mid-90s, at least according to the gatekeepers of cool.
8. Spin Doctors
“Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” were inescapable in the early 90s.
The Spin Doctors had a funky, jam-band vibe that appealed to casual music fans but irritated serious rock enthusiasts.
Their happy-go-lucky sound felt too lightweight for the grunge era.
While Seattle bands were exploring darkness and angst, these guys were singing upbeat ditties that belonged in a beer commercial.
Music snobs found them insufferably cheerful and lacking depth.
They were one-hit wonders who overstayed their welcome on the radio.
Admitting you liked them marked you as someone who probably also enjoyed bland, safe entertainment.
Cool kids were busy discovering underground music, not humming along to “Two Princes” at the grocery store.
9. Vengaboys
Eurodance was a guilty pleasure at best, and the Vengaboys were its most ridiculous representatives.
Their songs about party buses and going to Ibiza were pure cheese, with zero artistic pretension.
“We Like to Party” and “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!” were impossible to take seriously.
The group wore outrageous costumes and made music designed purely for drunk people at terrible clubs.
No self-respecting music fan would admit to enjoying their synthetic beats and silly lyrics.
They represented everything shallow about late-90s pop culture.
Liking the Vengaboys meant you valued fun over substance, which was basically a crime among cool teenagers.
Their music was for people who didn’t really care about music, or so the critics claimed loudly and often.
10. Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray started as a punk-metal band, then sold out completely with the mega-hit “Fly.”
That transition earned them permanent scorn from anyone who valued musical integrity.
Mark McGrath’s frosted tips and the band’s sunny, radio-friendly sound became symbols of late-90s corporate rock.
They went from underground credibility to MTV darlings, which alternative fans saw as the ultimate betrayal.
Their music videos featured beaches and beautiful people, not exactly punk rock imagery.
“Every Morning” and “Someday” were everywhere, but cool kids rolled their eyes at every note.
The band represented selling out for mainstream success.
Liking Sugar Ray meant you chose accessibility over authenticity, and the music snobs would never forgive you for it.
11. MC Hammer
Those parachute pants became a symbol of everything embarrassing about early-90s hip-hop.
MC Hammer had massive commercial success, but serious rap fans dismissed him as a dancer who happened to rap.
“U Can’t Touch This” was a cultural phenomenon, yet underground hip-hop heads saw it as watered-down pop-rap.
His flashy style and family-friendly lyrics didn’t match the grittier image that “real” rappers cultivated.
He was too mainstream, too safe, too concerned with entertainment over street credibility.
By the mid-90s, admitting you liked Hammer was social death in hip-hop circles.
The gangsta rap movement made his wholesome image seem outdated and corny.
Cool kids were listening to Wu-Tang Clan and Nas, not dancing along to Hammer’s choreographed routines.
12. Ace of Base
This Swedish group had one of the best-selling albums of 1994, but cool points?
Zero.
“The Sign” and “All That She Wants” were catchy Europop that serious music fans couldn’t stand.
Their synthesized sound felt artificial and soulless to critics.
The lyrics were simple, the melodies were repetitive, and everything about them screamed “manufactured pop product.”
Alternative rock fans saw them as the musical equivalent of processed cheese.
Owning “The Sign” album meant you probably also watched Full House and drank Surge.
Their music was for people who didn’t dig deeper than radio hits.
Cool teenagers were exploring Britpop and indie rock, not singing along to Swedish dance-pop about mysterious women at bus stops.
13. Hootie & the Blowfish
Darius Rucker and his bandmates sold sixteen million copies of their debut album, making them inescapable in 1995.
Their pleasant, middle-of-the-road rock made parents happy but bored teenagers to tears.
“Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be with You” were everywhere, yet they had zero edge.
Cool music fans found them painfully bland, like musical oatmeal.
They were the band your mom liked, which was basically a death sentence for credibility.
Their massive success among mainstream audiences only increased the mockery from alternative fans.
They represented safe, corporate rock that took no risks and challenged nobody.
Admitting you liked Hootie meant you probably also thought Forrest Gump was the best movie ever made.
14. New Radicals
“You Get What You Give” was an undeniably catchy anthem, but the New Radicals were a one-hit wonder that cool kids loved to hate.
Gregg Alexander’s knit beanie and the song’s optimistic message felt too earnest for the cynical 90s.
The band broke up after just one album, which didn’t help their credibility.
Their sound was polished pop-rock that lacked the rawness alternative fans craved.
The music video featured them causing chaos in a mall, which seemed like corporate rebellion rather than the real thing.
Liking this song meant you were probably the type who enjoyed motivational posters and group hugs.
Serious music fans wanted angst and authenticity, not sunshine and positivity.
The New Radicals were too cheerful for a generation raised on Kurt Cobain’s darkness.
15. 4 Non Blondes
“What’s Going On” (actually titled “What’s Up”) was a powerful anthem that became a karaoke staple.
Linda Perry’s raspy voice was distinctive, but cool alternative fans dismissed the band as too mainstream and one-dimensional.
The song’s emotional intensity appealed to a wide audience, which somehow made it less cool.
It was played at every emotional moment in movies and TV shows, turning it into a cliché.
Alternative rock purists found the song too obvious and heavy-handed in its emotions.
They never had another hit, which made them easy to dismiss.
Liking 4 Non Blondes meant you probably cried during commercials and related too much to Dawson’s Creek.
Real alternative fans preferred bands that stayed underground and mysterious, not ones that peaked with an overplayed radio single.
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