Every decade has its own style, sound, and spirit—and when the 1990s gave way to the 2000s, the world felt that change in a big way. If the 90s were about grunge, boy bands, and sitcoms that defined a generation, the 2000s carried us into a new millennium full of digital revolutions, bigger spectacles, and fresh voices that changed the cultural landscape.
This Saturday at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT, Not the 90s takes you back to the 2000s with a live show featuring unforgettable tracks from that era. Let’s take a quick look at how the 90s and 2000s compared across music, movies, TV, and pop culture.
🎶 Music: From CDs to MP3s
- 90s: The 90s gave us grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam), R&B and hip-hop crossovers (TLC, Boyz II Men, Tupac, Biggie), and the rise of pop superstars like Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys. CDs filled our shelves, and mixtapes were still a thing.
- 2000s: The early 2000s brought iPods, Napster, and the birth of digital downloads. Hip-hop became mainstream with artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, and Missy Elliott dominating. Pop-punk (Blink-182, Avril Lavigne), emo (My Chemical Romance), and dance-pop (Beyoncé, Usher, Rihanna) ruled the charts. The 2000s were truly about blending genres in new ways.
🎬 Movies: Blockbusters Go Bigger
- 90s: Audiences loved family-friendly hits like The Lion King, teen comedies like Clueless, and big franchises like Jurassic Park and The Matrix. Independent films also had their golden moment with directors like Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith.
- 2000s: The new millennium embraced the age of the franchise. Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Dark Knight turned cinema into an event. CGI technology leapt forward, creating new possibilities for action, fantasy, and superhero films.
📺 TV: From Sitcoms to Reality Takeover
- 90s: Sitcoms like Friends, Seinfeld, and Fresh Prince defined appointment television. Saturday morning cartoons and TGIF blocks were part of our weekly routines.
- 2000s: Reality TV exploded with American Idol, Survivor, and The Osbournes, while dramas like Lost, The OC, and Grey’s Anatomy created cultural moments. Cable networks also started producing prestige TV, setting the stage for the streaming era.
🌐 Pop Culture: Analog vs. Digital
- 90s: We lived without smartphones, survived on dial-up internet, and traded Pokémon cards in schoolyards. Fashion meant flannel, baggy jeans, chokers, and crop tops.
- 2000s: MySpace and Facebook changed how we connected, texting became the new way to talk, and reality stars became celebrities. Fashion brought us low-rise jeans, trucker hats, and lots of bling. The 2000s were also the age of the flip phone before smartphones took over.
🎧 Join the Throwback!
Want to relive the 2000s? Don’t miss Not the 90s, airing live this Saturday at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. We’ll spin the songs that made the decade unforgettable—everything from pop to hip-hop to the alternative anthems that defined the era.
Catch the show live and later on-demand on Stationhead.
👉 Tune in, turn it up, and let’s celebrate the 2000s together!
Fun fact: Photo in this post is from the very first radio show I brought to FM Community radio in 2018.