Garbage isn’t strictly a 90s band like some on this list. They released albums in 2001 and 2005 and apparently have a long-awaited fifth record on the way in just a couple of months.
But their first two — and best — albums were released in ’95 and ’98 and that’s when I felt the biggest impact.
Garbage’s self-titled debut and their sophomore album, Version 2.0, put me back in the mid- to late-90s, a time when I’d graduated from college and was taking my first steps into the professional world. I listened to those albums on my very long commute to my less than thrilling entry level jobs.
Some of Garbage’s music is louder than I normally care for but it’s executed with such precision and attention to detail that it broke through. And when you’re driving for an hour on I-95 every morning, you need a little adrenaline pumping through your speakers.
Pretend you’re bored
Pretend you’re anything
Just to be adored
And what you need
Is what you get
Don’t believe in fear
Don’t believe in faith
Don’t believe in anything
That you can’t break
You stupid girl
You stupid girl
All you had you wasted
All you had you wasted
What drives you on
Can drive you mad
A million lies to sell yourself
Is all you ever had
Don’t believe in love
Don’t believe in hate
Don’t belive in anything
That you can’t waste
You stupid girl
You stupid girl
Can’t believe you fake it
Can’t believe you fake it
Don’t believe in fear
Don’t believe in pain
Don’t believe in anyone
That you can’t tame
You stupid girl
You stupid girl
All you had you wasted
All you had you wasted
You stupid girl
You stupid girl
Can’t believe you fake it
Can’t believe you fake it
You stupid girl
Meet Me In Montauk 
Boy, more than half way into this 90’s countdown, and you have yet to name a band or artist I really like–this really doesn’t bode well for 90’s music.
I like – to at least some degree – all of the artists on this list, but I agree that the 90s are by far the weakest decade in recent memory. Well, maybe the 00s. Let’s face it… it’s been all downhill since the 80s.
I think it all comes down to where you are in your life when the music is released. If you’re clubbing in the 90’s or hitting the alternative music scene, you probably adore the music that came out during this decade. If, on the other hand, you’re getting married, starting a career, having and raising babies (as Dana and I were), there is little chance that you’re discovering this music, so how can you call it your own. It is less a statement on the music than it is on the music listener.