The 1990s: incredible images of America's favorite decade

How America saw out the 20th century

With the Cold War at an end and the Soviet Union no more, the start of the 1990s saw America stand alone as the world's only superpower. Over the ensuing decade, it was a mantle the country would seize culturally, geopolitically, economically, and in every other way imaginable.

Here, we've dug up the more recent past and found images that, we feel, best showcase the USA’s final decade of the 20th century.

Read on to see our favorite photos of America's memorable moments of the 1990s...

1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed

Captured at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in April 1990, this cinematic photo shows Space Shuttle Discovery astronauts leaving HQ on the way to launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center. Tasked with deploying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope on a five-day mission, the crew consisted of Bruce McCandless, Kathryn Sullivan, Steven Hawley, Charles Bolden Jr, and Loren Shriver.

Even now, 35 years on, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to expand our understanding of the universe. 

1990: Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers at the Super Bowl

Some Super Bowls are close-run ties, while others are total obliterations. Played at Louisiana Superdome (now Caesars Superdome), the San Francisco 49ers’ notorious 55 points to 10 demolition job on the Denver Broncos, was most definitely the latter.

To this day, the 45-point rout is the biggest blowout and most lopsided loss in Super Bowl history.

1990: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air hits TV

Before the wildly popular television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air came along, Will Smith (aka The Fresh Prince) was relatively unknown outside of hip-hop circles. After the show went to air in September 1990, he became a household name. Smith is pictured here in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff, the other half of his lively musical double act.

1991: Nirvana release Nevermind

Released in September 1991, Nirvana's Nevermind can lay claim to being one of the most iconic and influential albums in music history. Featuring the smash hit single Smells Like Teen Spirit, their first release on a major label and their first involving drummer Dave Grohl, the band's powerful grunge sound tapped into an entire generation's sense of alienation and frustration.

Pictured is Kurt Cobain, the group's troubled vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter, performing at the Forum in Los Angeles. 

1991: The Silence of the Lambs sends shivers down spines

Terrifyingly portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the Oscar-winning crime drama The Silence of the Lambs, cannibalistic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter was responsible for his fair share of nightmares in the 1990s. The infamous villain, best known for the immortal line “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti,” is sandwiched here between the film's key characters played by Jodie Foster and Scott Glenn.

The image was taken as part of a promotional poster.

1991: Bill Clinton on the campaign trail

Through good times and bad (more on that later), Bill Clinton bestrode American politics in the 1990s like a colossus. The Democrats' presidential candidate is seen here riding in a car on his way to a campaign stop in Rhode Island. Clinton would win the 1992 election against incumbent George H. W. Bush, and was later elected to serve a second term in 1996.

1992: NOW march on Washington

On April 5, 1992, the National Organization for Women, in addition to a coalition of women's rights and social justice groups, organized the March for Women's Lives rally. Staged in Washington, D.C., and attended by several hundred thousand people, it was a response to Planned Parenthood vs Casey, a pending US Supreme Court case seen as a threat to the legal standing of the 1973 abortion ruling Roe v Wade.

Pictured is American politician and diplomat Carol Moseley Braun.

1992: Largest shopping mall in the US opens

When Minnesota's Mall of America first let shoppers in on August 11, 1992, 330 stores were open for business and over 10,000 employees were starting their first day of work. This vast retail complex in Bloomington was officially the country's largest shopping center, a crown it still holds to this day.

A cathedral to consumerism in every way imaginable, it's proof, if proof was needed, that nowhere does capitalism like the USA. 

1992: Bill Clinton elected President of the United States

President-elect Bill Clinton is seen here celebrating his 1992 election victory with his wife, future Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as running mate and Vice President-elect Al Gore and his wife Tipper. Despite the Clinton administration getting off to a shaky start over attempts to fulfill certain campaign promises, the 42nd president would oversee the country's longest peacetime economic expansion. 

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1993: Bill Clinton plays the sax

Arguably the most famous example of a politician with a surprising musical talent, Bill Clinton, the former Governor of Arkansas and leader of the free world, amazed onlookers when he busted out his saxophone during the official inaugural ball in January 1993. Pictured here alongside him is Clarence Clemons.

Known as 'The Big Man,' Clemons was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band from 1972 until his untimely death in 2011.

1993: Storm of the Century hits hard

When the 'Storm of the Century' struck Florida late on March 12, 1993, it was the start of an extreme weather event that would ultimately be responsible for $2 billion of property damage and over 250 deaths across 22 states. Most of the damage occurred in The Sunshine State but the superstorm's severe impact was also felt further north, where it was dubbed 'The Blizzard of the Century.' 

This photo, taken on March 14, 1993, shows a driver in New York attempting to dig their car out of the snow. 

1993: Jurassic Park released

Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, about a dinosaur-filled tourist attraction that goes badly wrong, is a byword for summer blockbuster. Featuring human-chomping Velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus rex, made possible by groundbreaking special effects, and an edge-of-your-seat storyline, the hugely popular movie received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

Co-stars Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern are seen here attending the world premiere in Washington, D.C. 

1994: Michael Jordan pivots to baseball

Everyone knows that in the 1990s, Michael Jordan was the best basketball player in the world. What fewer people remember is that, at the height of his fame, he temporarily walked away from the NBA in a bid to make it in Major League Baseball.

Attempted as a way of honoring his late father, who'd envisioned his son playing the sport professionally, Jordan is shown here at batting practice dressed in Chicago White Sox gear. 

1994: The USA hosts the FIFA World Cup

When soccer fans recall the World Cup 1994, a few things probably spring to mind. From Diana Ross missing a penalty at the opening ceremony to the scorching hot weather and Diego Maradona testing positive for banned substances, it wasn't a tournament short of talking points.

Brazil eventually triumphed in the final, after Italy's iconic Roberto Baggio skied his effort in the shootout. 

1994: Pulp Fiction takes the world by storm

Whether you’re a serious movie buff or a more casual cinemagoer, you’d be hard pushed to think of a more iconic movie scene from the 1990s than Uma Thurman dancing with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. If you can, there’s a good chance the scene you’re thinking of is also from Quentin Tarantino’s crime genre masterpiece, known for its non-linear structure and razor-sharp dialogue.

This revealing photo takes us behind the scenes on a magical silver screen moment.

1995: Friends say they'll be there for you

Ross, Joey, Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica are perhaps the most recognizable half a dozen character names on the planet. Television sitcom Friends first aired in 1994 and quickly became an international phenomenon.

Here we see the gang hanging out with The Rembrandts on the music video set of the show’s iconic theme tune I'll Be There For You.

1995: Bill Gates releases Windows 95

When it comes to ranking the richest people in the world, Bill Gates has spent more time atop that list than anyone in the last 30 years. From the middle of the 1990s onwards, there was simply no looking back for the man in charge of Microsoft.

Gates (left) is seen here alongside comedian Jay Leno (right) at the launch of the Windows 95 operating system in Washington.

1995: Pixar's Toy Story changes animation

"To infinity and beyond," was the immortal line uttered by the space ranger Buzz Lightyear in Pixar's classic animated movie Toy Story. In many ways, though, it's a piece of dialogue that reflects the extent to which this influential film would transform moviemaking forever.

The world's first computer-animated film not only wowed audiences with its special effects, but also touched their hearts with its strong storytelling. 

1996: Muhammad Ali and the Atlantic Olympics

Held in Atlanta, Georgia, the 1996 Olympic Games was packed full of memorable moments. From US sprinter Michael Johnson triumphing in both the 200m and 400m events, to legendary British rower Steve Redgrave collecting his fourth gold medal on the water, it was an event that kept sport fans glued to their TV screens.

Perhaps the most profound moment of the Games, though, was when all-time great boxer Muhammad Ali, battling Parkinson's, lit the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony (pictured).

1996: New York Yankees win the World Series

If you're a baseball franchise as massive as the New York Yankees, 18 years is a long time to go without a World Series. They broke their dry streak in October 1996 when they beat the Atlanta Braves in game six of the sport’s legendary title decider.

For the planet’s most famous bat-and-ball team, seen here bundling each other in a moment of unbridled ecstasy, it was to be the start of a very successful era.

1996: NASA launches the Mars Pathfinder

For so long, Mars had been the realm of science-fiction writers and science-fiction writers alone. Launched in December 1996 and landing on the Red Planet in July 1997, though, NASA's Mars Pathfinder changed all that when it delivered the first-ever robotic rover, Sojourner, to the Martian surface.

This photo was taken during the assembly process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1996. 

1997: Garry Kasparov vs. IBM Deep Blue

Back in the early 1990s, decades before the startling rise in AI capabilities we see today, the idea of a computer beating a grandmaster at chess was unthinkable. When Garry Kasparov defeated IBM's chess computer in 1989, he arrogantly told the programmers to "teach it to resign earlier."

This line would come back and haunt Kasparov in May 1997 when, a year after he'd beaten it again, Deep Blue struck back and humbled the world champion, seen here in New York sweating on his chances of victory.

1997: South Park begins

When Trey Parker (left) and Matt Stone (right) first unleashed South Park upon the world in 1997, nobody could have known what a cultural phenomenon their strictly not-for-kids cartoon show would become. With its swearing, violence, crude humor, and pushing of boundaries, this animated series about foul-mouthed schoolchildren in Colorado reeled in a loyal audience and refused to let it go.

Cartman and the gang have now appeared in 26 television seasons, eight movies, and 10 video games.

1997: Worrying times on Wall Street

In October 1997, when trading closed 554.26 points down, it was, at that point, the biggest single one-day point decline in Dow Jones history. Shifting under the weight of the Asian financial crisis, Wall Street was shellshocked with systemwide circuit breakers shutting the market automatically before its official 4pm close.

Here we see a phone clerk for Smith Barney reading a newspaper at a deserted Chicago Board of Trade. 

1998: Titanic wins 11 Academy Awards

Released in 1997, Titanic, which tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers aboard the doomed passenger liner, is one of the most famous and successful movies ever made. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, it went on to win 11 Academy Awards, tying the record for most Oscars won by a single film.

James Cameron (pictured here celebrating) was understandably delighted to triumph in the Best Director category.

1998: Tony Hawk takes skateboarding mainstream

Prior to the 1990s, skateboarding was a long way from the mainstream. Tony Hawk, though, changed everything. Responsible for landing the first ever 900, a trick which consists of two-and-a-half revolutions above the halfpipe, the Californian inspired an entire generation with his far out skills and the popular video game series named after him.

1998: Chicago Bulls win (again)

Popularized more recently by Netflix’s The Last Dance, the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s were the dictionary definition of a ‘winning machine.' Inspired on the court by the generational talent of all-time great Michael Jordan, who was ably supported by Scottie Pippen and the eccentric Dennis Rodman, the franchise racked up an era-defining six NBA championships across the decade.

This photo of the key players, alongside head coach Phil Jackson (right), was taken at a rally to celebrate the team’s unprecedented success.

1999: Bill Clinton reacts to his acquittal

For Bill Clinton, the atmosphere at the end of his time in the Oval Office compared to the start could not be further removed. Where once there had been saxophone playing and a powerful sense of optimism, things had become a lot more serious and somber for him as the decade’s finishing line came into view.

Here we see the 42nd president of the United States talking to the media after learning that the US Senate had voted to acquit him of perjury and obstruction of justice, a course of events that stemmed from his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

1999: Woodstock '99 goes wrong

Where the Woodstock of 1969 is associated with peace, love, and understanding, the 1999 revival is infamous for rage, riots, and real harm. It was an event where extreme heat and overcrowding met price gouging, poor sanitation, rampant violence, and sexual assault.

The poorly planned festival’s toxic atmosphere completely boiled over on its final night when a candlelit vigil spiraled into lawlessness and destruction of property.

1999: New York brings in the new millennium

There were definitely better photographs taken in America in the 1990s, but arguably none that so well encapsulate a feeling of historic transition. Taken in Times Square, New York City, it shows the countdown timer during the final second of the last millennium. Captured just over 21 months before 9/11 would change this city, and the world as we know it, forever, it feels particularly poignant now.

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