Admittedly, my favorite musical genre is 80's R&B, but I do have a fondness for 90's music. My kids were born and raised in the 90's, so there are a lot of memories attached to some of the songs, so this was a fun and nostalgic trip down memory lane for me.

The analysis of The Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye, Earl" was insightful and touched on points I hadn't thought of before {even though I rocked out to the song every time it played on the radio}, namely, that the song is less about the unaliving of Earl and more about the drop everything and be there for a friend in need kind of support offered by Mary Anne.

The narrator's voice was appropriately sarcastic and wistful when needed. There were also hints of embarrassment when he rattled off NSFW song titles.

I'd recommend this audiobook (and this book definitely works better as an audiobook) to anyone with an appreciation for music history and pop culture. Side note, while most of the songs talked about were recorded in the 90s, there are some call backs to past musical icons and hits.

What a fun read/listen! The author/narrator kept me engaged the entire time. He taught me about 90s songs I hadn’t heard about, and those I had forgotten about. Such great song choices, too. My Millennial heart is full. One of my top 10 reads this year. Way to go!

Recommend for all Gen-Xers, Millennials, and lovers of 90s music.

(I received this audiobook ALC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you!)

This one is tough. I thought I would really enjoy this because this is the music I l grew up with and love but it’s just an endless stream of consciousness opinion about music with other pop culture references thrown in. It reminded me so much of the movie High Fidelity (that I didn’t like) and how they are so obsessed with music that they can’t talk about anything else, which is fine; it’s just not for me. There’s no organization, rhyme or reason to the whole thing; it’s just a big puddle of music references and random anecdotes. Not what I was hoping for.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to listen to this in exchange for an honest review.

As someone born in the 80s and raised on 90s cultural media, this book was like time traveling and I really enjoyed it. Some of the stories were more appealing to me than others but, overall, this was a lot of fun.

Join Rob for a trip down Memory Lane. Every song sparks a memory. Rob recounts his initial reaction to Kurt Cobain/ Nirvana, the poetic rhymes of Tupac, and the countless mixed tapes he made for girls. If you love 90s Pop Culture or grew up in this era you will enjoy this book.
It was fun to remember the “one hit wonders” you had forgotten about.
We gained legends and lost them just as quickly.
I would have loved to hear the coordinating music played along with the audiobook. (It would be a nightmare in royalties)

60 Songs that Explain the 90s is an expansion of the podcast by the same name (and presenter) - covering a great deal more than 60 songs and the experiences around those songs that framed the author's experiences of the time. I should put in a caveat here that I have not listened to the author's podcast previously, so had little frame of reference to the

The narrative running through is a combination of anecdotes, analysis, press articles, album reviews, commentary on the artists, and author's reminiscences.

I really wanted to like this - the 90s were a formative time of my life, and the music I listened to at the time is inextricably linked to those core memories. 90s music is incredible, from the mainstream to the indie/alternative and (of course) my beloved britpop. BUT - listening to the audiobook alone, I found it to be a rather jumbled stream-of consciousness about the media of the time.

To me, this book would be better in print (and there is a print version available), accompanied by a playlist filled with the songs addressed here. As an audiobook, however, I felt it lacked structure, and I had difficulty linking the artists as the narrative jumped from one to another.

I will revisit this when I am able to review a print/text version.

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

My favorite documentaries are the ones that focus on a specific decade of time. They discuss politics, pop culture, technology, music, and more - and discuss how they all intertwine and show the progression of culture and events. This book reminds me of those documentaries but with a heavy helping of nostalgia. The audiobook has a touch of slam poetry vibes. It also made me feel like I was back at a college house party. Talking to the cool music guy in the kitchen - I'm cool enough to know the music, but not cool enough to really *get it*.

Overall, a good listening experience. I'm rating this 3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4.0. And I'm looking forward to listening to the companion playlist on repeat!

I am grateful to have received an advance listener copy of the audiobook for free from NetGalley and Hachette Audio, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a neat book! If you love 90s music, you'll LOVE this. All of these songs brought back so many memories (even though I still listen to 90s music all the time), and it was an interesting way to look at them. Perfect for a fan of this decade!

It was interesting to learn new fact of a lot of songs I listened to while growing up. I loved a lot of the songs chosen in this.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This audiobook is read by Rob, himself, who has a podcast about this topic. And therefore, it sounds like and reads like listening to a podcast. It is funny and informative, but overall didn't feel well combined? Maybe in phsycial book form it works better to look at? But as an audiobook it was pretty chaotic.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy!

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audio book. I was born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s. I absolutely loved the nostalgic journey this book took me on. I could see myself laying on my bedroom floor, listening to my boombox all afternoon waiting to record my favorite songs on a cassette tape. I enjoyed learning about the artists and musical groups I grew up listening to. I can't wait to get a physical copy of this book and do a real deep dive, re-reading it while looking up all of the songs and videos mentioned. The author did a great job narrating the audio book! I also will be checking out the podcast this is based on.

I saw a one-star review of this say "this is why I don't listen to podcasts" and I think that is an important disclaimer to this book. This is a book form of the author's podcast, and I left the book feeling like it would be better in podcast form. This was a great route down nostalgia lane, with some pretty great music commentary. The author does not discriminate based on genre, which was refreshing. This book groups music to talk about based on some form of theme, and it is not in chronological order. Neither is there truly a thesis about the 90s - its just an exploration of the songs of the decade.

This book is meant for a lover of 90s music, and not someone who wants a deep dive into the history or culture of the 90s. I very much enjoyed it, but I don't know that everyone will.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

60 Songs That Explain the 90s was not what I was expecting at all. I thought the book would focus more on the songs and artist.

Rob Harvilla uses popular songs from the 90s to show how he felt things were during that time. Some of his examples I could see and others I didn't agree with. I was born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s. His narration of the audiobook was nice because he really brought the book to life. I am not sure I could have physically read this book but I was able to enjoy parts of the audiobook.

I received a copy of the audiobook through NetGalley.

I love the 90s. I was just out of high school, just out of my parent's house, and just figuring out which me was me. The music of the 90s really helped me figure that out. I don't think it would have if I had listened to a lot of the songs that are discussed here. So many songs, so you can't get them all. The author was not really successful in convincing me that these songs in any way explained the 90s. They happened in the 90s. Some happened in spite of the 90s. And so many hugely influential bands and songs were completely ignored. The author's delivery didn't add anything.

This book is both hilarious and superinformative. I hadn't heard of this podcast before but loved the opportunity to geek out on music with both artist backstories and the clearly passionate listener experiences that are very relatable and often so similar to my own.
The categories make for great juxtapositions across many genres to see how the 90s were so informed by interesting parallels as the cultural zeitgeist influenced differently brilliant artists in different ways.
Rob's delivery is hilarious going through things like artist feuds, ridiculous lyrics, and so many more quirks as deeply imperfect people get vaulted to the microscope and influential power of fame and handle that in often extreme ways.

This is just some dudes opinions in a stream of conscious form. Awful! I was hoping for music history or something that’s actually non fiction (eg similar to the various 90s documentaries that are streaming) or that talked anout the importance of music or it’s influence and that isn’t what I got. Not even a little. This book is exactly why I don’t listen to podcasts. He’s just blabbing about songs from the 90s. It isn’t cohesive or interesting. Huge let down! As I was born in 1981, the music of the 90s was the backbone to my most formative years. I should have loved this book and would have if it wasn’t just endless blubber.

Thanks netgalley for my ARC/ALC.

AHHHH! I am so thankful to Hachette Books/Audio and Twelve Books, and also our lovely author for granting me and advanced audiobook of 60 Songs that Explain the 90s, so that I could relieve my childhood in audio format. This baby hits shelves on November 14, 2023, and you don't want to miss out on this one, because alllllllll of the greats are covered from Nirvana to Mary J Blige to even The Chicks and Sheryl Crow, and let's not forget about the sellouts of the nineties as well. Rob Harvilla walks us through the successes, the failures, and the brainstorming that goes into these stunners of songs that helped to define a decade and a whole generation of teenagers.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Hachette Audio, Twelve for an ARC of this book.

I was in high school in the 90's and love 90's music so this seemed like it would be a book that was right up my alley. I really didn't enjoy this book at all.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this book more if I had previously listened to his podcast. I might give that a try sometime though.

I did enjoy Rob's voice reading the book though.

i LOVED every second of this!

As a 90s baby the content was an absolute blast from the past! The songs selected were all ones i remembered, and i loved learning more about the lore surrounding them.

The narration was fabulous; the fact that Rob is a seasoned professional podcaster really shines.

I cannot recommend this one more!

Apparently Rob has a podcast? Which I will definitely be listening to now because Holy hell, this was one interesting to listening experience. As a 90's baby, got to say, I loved the recap of these songs. I also love how Rob narrates the book and this was truly a fun experience. Thank you netgalley for this audiobook arc