Driving into work this morning, I was informed by the podcast I was listening to that it had been twenty years…twenty years…since 1993. I might have been aware of this jaw-dropping fact prior to this morning, but it definitely hadn’t hit me like it did when the podcast started talking about all the great albums that were turning 20 this year…Vs, Weezer (the blue album,) Siamese Dream, August and Everything After.
Twenty years.
How is that even possible?
Chalk this all up as another not-so-subtle reminder that I’m not the spring chicken and young pair of sideburns I once was. In 1993 I was a short, big-footed middle schooler in the suburbs of sunny Portland, Maine- trying too hard to be accepted, discovering a love of drums and playing sports year around, just not all that well. Twenty years later and it’s easier to acknowledge these truths.
But looking outwards and at the music of that time, it’s astonishing to think about how much great music was released twenty years ago- specifically between 1992 and 1994. Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana released follow up albums to their break-through albums, Green Day exploded onto the scene- as did Weezer, Beck and Rage Against the Machine. Sublime released 40oz to Freedom, the Beastie Boys released Check Yo Head and REM released Automatic for the People. We were on the cusp of “gangster rap,” as well as the numerous sons and daughters of the grunge movement. It was an amazing time.
It was twenty years ago.
Again, how is that even possible?
Feeling both nostalgic and exploratory, I decided to dig through Spotify and find some of the best music from those years, 1992-1994. Here’s what I came up with.
Giddy Up America’s 30 Tracks from 20 Years Ago (1992-1993) Playlist…
Tracklist
“Cannonball” The Breeders
“She” Green Day
“Glorified G” Pearl Jam
“Molly” Sponge
“Comedown” Bush
“Today” Smashing Pumpkins
“Interstate Love Song” Stone Temple Pilots
“Say It Ain’t So” Weezer
“Bombtrack” Rage Against the Machine
“So What’Cha Want” Beastie Boys
“My Name is Mud” Primus
“Buena” Morphine
“Serve the Servants” Nirvana
“Seether” Veruca Salt
“Come Out and Play” The Offspring
“We’re Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance” Sublime
“My Wave” Soundgarden
“No Excuses” Alice in Chains
“Hey Jealousy” Gin Blossoms
“Einstein on the Beach” Counting Crows
“Try Not to Breathe” R.E.M.
“Loser” Beck
“Backwater” Meat Puppets
“Possum Kingdom” The Toadies
“Feed the Tree” Belly
“Jump Around” House of Pain
“They Want EFX” Das EFX
“My Stoney Baby” 311
“Fade Into You” Mazzy Star
“Black Gold” Soul Asylum
Giddy Up America 
Leave a Reply