’90s Singer-Songwriter Essentials

The '90s pop landscape saw a magnificent shift from flashy synths and power ballads to grand pianos, acoustic guitars, and introspective songwriting. A wave of fierce women came along: Tori Amos thundered and trilled through alternative anthems ("Cornflake Girl") and Fiona Apple found beautiful catharsis in her rawest revelations ("Criminal"), while Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair gave rise to relatable voices like Jewel and Joan Osborne. But the men were just as astute to the changing times too, with artists like Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley channeling their internal struggles into some of the decade's most poignant works.