Year in 1996

[MiniMusic]

I know this is random as hell, but I was born this year and I honestly don't know a lot about it music wise. If anyone that was following music then, or just knows a lot about this year could you guys give some information? Who was slaying this year? What kind of music was giving the charts what it needed? etc. I know Mariah's Daydream era was big during this time and internationally MJ's HIStory singles were doing great but that's about as far as I know lol. Share your thoughts!

[Lahey's Lucky Star]

"Macarena" was the biggest song apparently

[MiniMusic]

Yeah I found that out too and I wasn't happy about it at all LOL. And Mariah had 2 of the top 5 biggest songs of the year apparently! One Sweet Day and Always Be My Baby... slay queen! I'm seeing a lot of Alanis Morisette too. It was a weird year in music.

[Linnethia Monique]

Timbaland's stock went from 0 to 100 after the release of Ginuwine's debut album and Aaliyah's sophmore album. You couldn't get away from either Pony or One in a Million that year.
Tupac released All Eyez on Me which contains some of his most popular to date. It was a double album to boot. Then he got shot and died in Vegas. 2 months later The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released and the multitude of posthumous albums and ,"Tupac is still alive" theories were born.
Tevin Campbell made a quasi-comeback with the release of Back to the World for which the single of the same name is a total bop still.
Toni Braxton released her biggest album in Secrets and she was HUGE that year. Un-Break My Heart spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. Massive.
When it came to Hip-Hop East Coast vs West Coast had people catching bodies. Literally.
Snatch up LL Cool J's Mr Smith album and get into Doin' It and Loungin' Remix.
Keith Sweat made a comeback that nobody asked for. Twisted and Nobody were big hits.

[MiniMusic]

Oct 12, 2014 14:21:51 GMT -5 Linnethia Monique said:

Timbaland's stock went from 0 to 100 after the release of Ginuwine's debut album and Aaliyah's sophmore album. You couldn't get away from either Pony or One in a Million that year.
Tupac released All Eyez on Me which contains some of his most popular to date. It was a double album to boot. Then he got shot and died in Vegas. 2 months later The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released and the multitude of posthumous albums and ,"Tupac is still alive" theories were born.
Tevin Campbell made a quasi-comeback with the release of Back to the World for which the single of the same name is a total bop still.
Toni Braxton released her biggest album in Secrets and she was HUGE that year. Un-Break My Heart spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. Massive.
When it came to Hip-Hop East Coast vs West Coast had people catching bodies. Literally.
Snatch up LL Cool J's Mr Smith album and get into Doin' It and Loungin' Remix.
Keith Sweat made a comeback that nobody asked for. Twisted and Nobody were big hits.

Ahh thank you so much for all of this! It seemed like 96 was big in R&B and hip-hop. But also alive in rock and alternative music also. What a crazy year. I LOVE Aaliyah's album but I'm gonna check out the other ones you wrote about. Was Toni's album really great?

[Agent Yoncé]

Oct 12, 2014 14:26:45 GMT -5 MiniMusic said:

Oct 12, 2014 14:21:51 GMT -5 Linnethia Monique said:

Timbaland's stock went from 0 to 100 after the release of Ginuwine's debut album and Aaliyah's sophmore album. You couldn't get away from either Pony or One in a Million that year.
Tupac released All Eyez on Me which contains some of his most popular to date. It was a double album to boot. Then he got shot and died in Vegas. 2 months later The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released and the multitude of posthumous albums and ,"Tupac is still alive" theories were born.
Tevin Campbell made a quasi-comeback with the release of Back to the World for which the single of the same name is a total bop still.
Toni Braxton released her biggest album in Secrets and she was HUGE that year. Un-Break My Heart spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. Massive.
When it came to Hip-Hop East Coast vs West Coast had people catching bodies. Literally.
Snatch up LL Cool J's Mr Smith album and get into Doin' It and Loungin' Remix.
Keith Sweat made a comeback that nobody asked for. Twisted and Nobody were big hits.

Ahh thank you so much for all of this! It seemed like 96 was big in R&B and hip-hop. But also alive in rock and alternative music also. What a crazy year. I LOVE Aaliyah's album but I'm gonna check out the other ones you wrote about. Was Toni's album really great?

Uh, YEA. It's beautiful. Give it a listen. Though it had more of an AC approach, I think it's her best body of work from start to finish.

[Joe1240]

Fugees-The Score was a great album that came out that year. Surprised no mention of this album.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Billboard is doing a best year of the 90s thing and I have a hard time deciding myself. For me it's either between 1984 or 1996.

96 was huge for Celine Dion too, in addition to Alanis and also Shania Twain, both of whom were carrying over their hits from 1995 albums. I think I think of it as being a transition period away from the grittiness of the mid 90s and toward what would become the big teen pop era of the late 90s.

There was also Missing by Everything But The Girl and Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman that I still listen to regularly.

[Green Baron]

I'm offended. My favorite album of all time came out in 1996, and no mentions for it yet.

[Deleted]

Alanis is the first thing that comes to mind when I think back to the music scene in 96.

[Green Baron]

I wasn't even born yet, but.

[Deleted]

Just A Girl and Spiderwebs put them on the map for the first half of the year and near the end of 96 and beginning of 97, they had one of the biggest airplay hits of all time with "Don't Speak".

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Yes! Tragic Kingdom was a delicious way to end off the year!!

[Green Baron]

Oct 13, 2014 11:08:37 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

I'm offended. My favorite album of all time came out in 1996, and no mentions for it yet.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Oct 13, 2014 11:43:05 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

Oct 13, 2014 11:08:37 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

I'm offended. My favorite album of all time came out in 1996, and no mentions for it yet.

Well...what is it? I'm sure you know not to expect it.

[Green Baron]

Oct 13, 2014 12:01:41 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Oct 13, 2014 11:43:05 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

Well...what is it? I'm sure you know not to expect it.

[Eloqueen™]

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Oct 13, 2014 12:02:45 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

Oct 13, 2014 12:01:41 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Well...what is it? I'm sure you know not to expect it.

I dunno what that is :/

Tool?

[Green Baron]

Oct 13, 2014 13:17:02 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Oct 13, 2014 12:02:45 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

I dunno what that is :/

Tool?

Why'd you guess Tool?

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I dunno. Why won't you say what it is?

[Green Baron]

Oct 13, 2014 13:40:39 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

I dunno. Why won't you say what it is?

I will if you tell me why you guessed Tool.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

When I was quoting the post with the image the title of the image file you linked gave an album title. Amena or whatever.

[Linnethia Monique]

I hate when people start fishing for sh!t.

[Green Baron]

Oct 13, 2014 13:46:44 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

When I was quoting the post with the image the title of the image file you linked gave an album title. Amena or whatever.

Anyways, yeah, it's Tool's AEnima album. My favorite album of all time. Came out in 1996. Spawned the Alternative radio hits "Stinkfist", "Forty Six & 2", "H." and "AEnema" (my favorite Tool song). 

"Hooker With a Penis", "Push*t" and "Third Eye" are also on that album. I can imagine you liking it.

[Albie]

1996 was a flawless year in music, imo. For all of the reasons mentioned above - the mix of music at the time was incomparable - From great rock/alt to some of the best moments in hip hop/R&B. Not to mention, it brought us one of the biggest pop hits of the 90’s in Donna Lewis’s “I Love You Always Forever” – a song that, I believe, still holds some sort of airplay record for longest run at #1. Shoot me if I’m wrong but I know its something crazy like that and worth mentioning.

Also, it was a great year for dance in general, but also lots crossing over to pop. For instance: “Children” by Robert Miles, “Be My Lover” and “Sweet Dreams” by La Bouche, “Set U Free” by Planet Soul, “This Is Your Night” by Amber and, as previously mentioned, “Missing” by Everything But The Girl.

And then who can forget some classic 90's songs like “Tha Crossroads” by Bone Thugs, “C’mon N’Ride It” by Quad City DJs, “One Of Us” by Joan Osborne, “No Diggity” by Blackstreet, “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins, “Tell Me” by Groove Theory. I mean, I could go on and on. I’ve always felt this was one of the best times for music.

[Green Baron]

Oct 13, 2014 14:48:48 GMT -5 Albie said:

 “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins

[Green Baron]

Also Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind came out in '96.

[Glove Slap]

1991-1993 was the peak of the decade for me musically, but the rest was still good.

1996 was a good year overall, and a transitional one. Like Max said, it's kinda where the glossier sound and look that would dominate by the end through teen-pop started getting planted. This was the year that the Spice Girls stormed the UK and Europe (US would follow in '97), which would motivate the industry into putting more money into developing younger acts aimed at extremely young audiences. As for dance music, this is where the zeitgeist there started to shift away from general 90s house towards more fringe genres such as rave and trance. The rise of Timbaland heralded an alternative to the more earthy and soul based Urban productions R&B & Hip-Hop that had been the norm since the end of new jack. This spacy approach would set off major followers (Rondey Jerkins probably being the most famous one) and break new sonic grounds that still continue to impact today. Tellingly, this was also probably Babyface's last really great year, a real sign of the times considering that he and L.A. Reid had essentially led the forefront in how Contemporary R&B & Black Pop sounded from about 1988 or so.

Hip-Hop saw some major major classics this year (The Score, All Eyez On Me, Reasonable Doubt), but it was also one of the genre's most tragic years when 2Pac died. That (along with B.I.G.'s death the following year) closed a big chapter for Hip-Hop. The sound and vibe shifted fast after that as the coastal rivalry cooled and Death Row Record's moment in the sun ended as people started leaving. In early 1997, Bad Boy would usher in the bling era that became the face until the turn of the millennium.

AC was still in and thriving. Mariah was still a ballad queen as far as anyone was concerned. This is when Celine Dion really hit the stratosphere, where she would remain for the next 4 years or so. She became the biggest act of the second half of the 90s pretty much everywhere. Toni Braxton also gravitated towards more AC-flavored material than before to huge success. The Corrs hit it big in Australia with a very light sound this year, and would go on to be one of the biggest acts on the International stage a few years later.

Britpop was also still in full swing across the pond and this is when Oasis became a big name stateside for a short while.

Definitely an interesting year, if not quite as strong as others in the decade, but I'd probably take any year of the 2010s (bar possibly 2011) over 1996. Too many AC crossovers becoming big in those days.

[DJDaveMick69]

Although Macarena was my runaway #1 of the year (top song every week from April 13 till October 5--that's a full half year--26 weeks), this was my peak year for alternative music. Just a sampling:
Smashing Pumpkins-Mellon Collie album
Beck-Odelay! album
Stone Temple Pilots-Tiny songs album
Foo Fighters-Big Me
Nada Surf-Popular
Soundgarden-Pretty noose
Tracy Bonham-Mother mother
Primitive Radio Gods-Broken phone booth
Stabbing Westward-What do I have to do
Goldfinger-Here in your bedroom
Superdrag-Sucked out

The one alt song I didn't like: Pepper by the BH Surfers.

[Deleted]

Nas released the follow up to Illmatic, and completely managed to avoid the sophomore slump. Jay-Z released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, and it has since become a hip hop classic. Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown released their solo debut albums this year and effectively reshaped what it meant to be a female rapper. A lot of the singles from the Waiting To Exhale were hits that year (Why Does It Hurt So Bad, Let It Flow, Not Gon Cry). The Score was released and set up the platform for Lauryn's debut album, 2 years later. Ginuwine and Aaliyah released albums containing some of the best from Timbaland and Missy.