you're upset. i know. you've been lied to. you thought the 90s were the era of grunge and idm. it's at best a myth.
blame it on the rain.
top selling singles of the 90s. you've probably never heard most of them, and you're not missing much. that bryan adams song is the closest thing to grunge, and it's not very close.
1. "How Do I Live" - LeAnn Rimes
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2, Peak Date: December 13, 1997
2. "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" - Los Del Rio
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: August 3, 1996
3. "Un-Break My Heart" - Toni Braxton
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: December 7, 1996
4. "Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me" - Jewel
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2, Peak Date: April 19, 1997
5. "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" - Bryan Adams
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: July 27, 1991
6. "I'll Make Love To You" - Boyz II Men
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: August 27, 1994
7. "Too Close" - Next
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: April 25, 1998
8. "One Sweet Day" - Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: December 2, 1995
9. "Truly Madly Deeply" - Savage Garden
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: January 17, 1998
10. "Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight" - Elton John
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: October 11, 1997
11. "End Of The Road" (From Boomerang) - Boyz II Men
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: August 15, 1992
12. "The Sign" - Ace Of Base
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: March 12, 1994
13. "The Boy Is Mine" - Brandy and Monica
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: June 6, 1998
14. "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)" - Stevie B
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: December 8, 1990
15. "Whoomp! (There It Is)" - Tag Team
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2, Peak Date: July 31, 1993
16. "Rush Rush" - Paula Abdul
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: June 15, 1991
17. "You're Still The One" - Shania Twain
Hot 100 Peak Position: 2, Peak Date: May 2, 1998
18. "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: November 28, 1992
19. "Gangsta's Paradise" (From Dangerous Minds) - Coolio Featuring L.V.
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: September 9, 1995
20. "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinead O'Connor
Hot 100 Peak Position: 1, Peak Date: April 21, 1990
there may have been some specialized "modern rock" stations in larger markets. but, broadly speaking, 90s rock was really kept alive by classic rock programmers looking for something new. the rise of soundgarden and pearl jam had as much to do with the decline of led zeppelin and pink floyd as it did with anything else. they needed content, and could hardly keep playing wish you were here over and over again into perpetuity.
where i grew up, in ottawa, there were two classic rock stations (separated by .8 on the dial) and zero modern rock stations. i got my pumpkins and nirvana and cure and offspring in between shots of rush and sabbath and beatles and zeppelin and floyd. and, it's probably the reason i can have these conversations about rock history - it came at me as a whole, rather than as a generational piece meal sort of thing. that separation didn't exist.
but, it's important to understand that it wasn't the mainstream. if you tried to play something like that at a high school dance, the room would clear. the mainstream was entirely pop-oriented.
and, unless you lived in specific parts of britain, i suppose, idm was just obscure. you had to go combing through usenet just to figure out what it even was.
it's really not that different than today. twenty years from now, people will not remember today's pop icons. but, they will remember some of the music on the margins. muse will have a much longer shelf life than justin bieber.