10 Songs That Defined The '90s
6. I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys
After the first half of the decade came and went, the next phase of the '90s was about to get a lot more pretty. Since the era of irony was starting to get more real than many would have bargained for, we were in the market for something a lot more bright and sunshine-y than many were used to. Even if it didn't make a lick of sense, the Backstreet Boys still found a way to make it into our heart with I Want It That Way.
For all of the boy bandification that was going on in the TRL era of pop music, this is probably the most indicative song for that type of sound, with the squeaky clean production providing the backdrop for one of the most meaningless choruses in history. Although the lyrics are a damn mess from start to finish, the amount of polish is enough to push this back into greatness all over again.
From the opening strains of "yeah" in the first few seconds of the song, you are pretty much hanging on every single word, as they give everything in their power to sell this track, down to the matching white suits they have on. Even though this is the kind of song that requires a bit of rose colored glasses to see, it's still the greatest time capsule for just what the hell we were doing in the back half of the decade.