#XPN5050: 1993

For fifty weeks this year, we’re celebrating the music of a specific year every Saturday on WXPN. We’ll be choosing the years randomly; for this week’s #XPN5050, Julian Booker is putting the musical spotlight on the year 1993.

26 years ago, everyone was talking about this new thing called the internet, and the introduction of web browsers made it easy for us to welcome this new technology as a part of our daily lives. The way we listened to music was changing, too. By ’93, CDs were beginning to outsell cassettes, and you could take your tunes on the go with a Sony Walkman that would only set you back 30 bucks.

Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover” topped the Billboard charts for eight weeks straight, and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle became the fastest-selling hip-hop album ever. Beck burst onto the scene with “Loser,” and Radiohead released their debut album, Pablo Honey. The Cranberries also made their debut that year, giving us songs like “Dreams” and “Linger.”

Nirvana released their third studio album, In Utero, just a few months before Kurt Cobain’s death. Tom Petty shared his Greatest Hits, and Whitney Houston’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You,” though released the previous fall, was 1993’s biggest hit.

On the big screen, Jurassic Park gave moviegoers a good fright, while Robin Williams charmed audiences as Mrs. Doubtfire. Sleepless in Seattle ruled the rom-com world, and Groundhog Day became an instant classic.

60 Minutes was the highest rated TV show, but folks were also enjoying their sitcoms: Seinfeld was about halfway through its nine-season run, and ’93 also saw the debut of Frasier, and the last season of Cheers.

Listen to a Spotify playlist of songs from 1993 below.