The 1990s were a weird time in the United States. A change of political party was happening in the White House, grunge became a massive thing, and then the record companies figured out how to capitalize on it and turned it into radio fluff.
The worst part was that many Americans never heard some of the best music of the decade. Even today, with YouTube and other global services, sometimes bands just don't translate across the Atlantic Ocean.
The great thing is that of those music services, one can catch up on what was left out. That includes the five bands below that the US simply missed out on. And heck, one of the groups is American.
These bands should have been bigger in the United States in the 1990s
Ocean Colour Scene
The band was at its biggest in the late 1990s, and should have had a sound that traveled the Atlantic well, but maybe there was too much of the Zombies in the music, and too little of Stone Temple Pilots. The truth is, Ocean Colour Scene made fantastic melodic rock that was helped by great driving rhythms.
"The Day We Caught the Train" is a full-on rocker, but perhaps the vocals are too English. Otherwise, one might be at a loss when digging into the group's catalog as to why they never hit big in America.
Two essential tracks among many: "The Day We Caught the rain" and "The Riverboat Song"
Stone Roses
The band only released two studio albums, and were truly a precursor to the great Britpop that would follow, but the band was much more than that subgenre might imply to some Americans. The Stone Roses borrowed heavily from some of the 1960s best, such as the Beatles.
Their first album, which is self-titled, is a true gem. How it missed in the US is unknown, but it could be that it didn't fit into AOR or the grunge that was yet to come.
Two essential tracks among many: "I Wanna Be Adored" and "She Bangs the Drums"
Stereophonics
The way the Steroephonics evolved, one might have thought they'd become huge in the US. They are more of a poppy-blues tilt, though their best songs came early when they were still straightforward rockers. Maybe a lack of lift-off at the beginning of their career shaped the narrative that would follow.
While some in the US might know tunes like "Maybe Tomorrow," the real gems in the band's catalog come from their 1997 album, Word Gets Around, and the second record, 1999's Performance and Cocktails.
Two essential tracks among many: "Local Boy in the Photograph" (especially a live version) and "Plastic California"
Blur
Many Americans might have heard of Blur now, but in the 1990s, at the height of their powers, they didn't chart well in the United States. Perhaps the best album, 1994's Parklife, didn't chart in America, but it is one of the most important LPs of the Britpop era.
The group continued to release diamonds throughout the 1990s and beyond, and the fault that they weren't massive in the States isn't their fault. That lies with Americans, and their dulled tastes, generally speaking, 30 years ago.
Even worse, some in the United States only know Blur because of "Song 2," which was a song making fun of the grunge scene and what was being played on American radio. Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon must be laughing at the irony that they likely knew was coming when they created the track.
Two essential tracks among many: "Country House" and "The Universal"
Screaming Trees
This Washington state band began in the mid-1980s, so maybe that was part of their issue getting popular. They were a few years ahead of bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, so maybe Screaming Trees were a bit too old-school for the new audience.
Now that the band was disrespected by other groups. Far from it. In fact, the late Mark Lanegan remained a popular figure among those who created some brilliant tunes of the 1990s and 2000s, and he collaborated with many, including Manic Street Preachers (another band that could have been on this list) and Queens of the Stone Age.
Two essential tracks among many: "Nearly Lost You" and "All I Know"
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