22 songs that define the millennial experience

Avril Lavigne burst onto televisions across America with a tank top and a tie and immediately had a hit on her hands with “Complicated.” Not only is this an earworm that burrows in the basin of minds, but the video is rooted in millennial mainstays from boredom to skate parks to the crashing of a mall. It was the perfect storm, and all these years later, yeah, Avril, life remains complicated.

No matter the genre one grew up engrossed in, Usher’s music was undeniable in the late ‘90s and 2000s. He took all that was good about the R&B that came before him and added in true showmanship. Every song is a true gift to the music realm, but there is something about “Yeah!” that will forever get a group of millennials on the dance floor. Perhaps all those memories of highly inappropriate dancing at school functions when it played back in the day.

As far as cultural impact, Britney Spears is to millennials what Nirvana was to Gen X. Yes, the music is entirely different. Still, as far as relevance, there’s no denying that sentiment. Britney could’ve had multiple songs on this list for a myriad of reasons, but “Oops!...I Did It Again” captures not only Spears at one of her peaks but also the reality that millennials are an anxious yet unserious mistake-making generation that can easily chalk up their mishaps to a simple, oops!

Could a random 30-something name the members of The Killers? Likely not, but could that same person deliver a pretty spot-on rendition of “Mr. Brightside?” Most definitely. It is the “Sweet Caroline” of their generation — a crowd-pleasing, karaoke favorite.

When millennials were growing up, the internet was in one place. Usually, a family room computer. Not until they entered college did laptops and personal desktops become a thing. So what they did most of the time was truly just sit in their rooms playing video games, talking on the phone, hanging up posters. Not to say kids today don’t barricade themselves in their bedrooms, but when one’s room is void of the vastness of the internet, there is a bigger connection made with their personal surroundings.

There are two sides to this song. One side speaks of the sort of horrors and lies of things like health insurance and big banks, and then there’s the side where lead singer Gregg Alexander spews out celebrity names. In hindsight, it mirrors the millennial mind. One that became adults during a recession with one too many unprecedented events, but also one that was TMZ’s prime audience at its start. As the song says, both sides work together while the world falls apart.

For those thinking that Alanis might have been a little too old for millennials when Jagged Little Pill dropped in 1995, well, yeah. There was no way elementary school-aged kids knew the depths in which Alanis’ Canadian rage reached, but they listened anyway. Fast forward to when Alanis finally got to celebrate that album on tour in 2021 and was met with those millennial women singing along, finally knowing all too well that rage because they’d now experienced the heartbreak and ironic waves of life. “Hand In My Pocket” speaks to the hustle culture millennials stepped into as their college degrees appeared useless as soon as they got them. There is one of those ironic waves.  

Lit created one of those songs that truly encapsulates a time and place. It is millennial middle school: alarm clock going off, late for school, rushing to the bus. It also encapsulates that generational self-loathing that millennials are quite good at because, in the end, they are their own worst enemies.

Being that millennials got to experience actual music on MTV, the music video was a true extension of their listening experience. The visuals mattered as much as the music, and Missy Elliot never failed to deliver the goods. So “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” will always represent their love of watching music videos for hours.

Boy bands were nothing new in the late '90s, but man, oh man, there was a boom. So much so that history books will have to note it, and above all the other names listed and taught there will be Backstreet Boys and "I Want It That Way." It's not their first single, not even their last, as they still tour regularly and release new music, but it's the song when minds wander back to the height of boy band mania.

Before TLC, scrubs were simply what hospital staff wore. After their hit single, though, men everywhere had to learn to step up or get called out. 

"I tried so hard and got so far / But in the end, it doesn't even matter." That is top-tier millennial emo-coded. 

There’s this discourse online about how kids today don’t take the time to learn pop culture history, especially music. In their defense, millennials grew up eagerly watching things like Behind the Music and I Love the ‘80s (‘70s, ‘90s, etc.). Also, music used to be more communal. Not everyone had earbuds 24/7. Lastly, and this is the biggie, in 1999 Boomers and millennials held hands and united over Cher’s autotuned for the Gods hit, “Believe.”

Millennials didn't get to have mental health days much of the time growing up. Their parents just didn't quite grasp that it was a necessity. It was a different time. However, music has always been a therapeutic experience, so instead of talking out their feelings at the time, they could rely on the adult contemporary stylings of Matchbox Twenty and Rob Thomas delivering, "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell…"

There is no deep reason why Nelly and Kelly Rowland are here. It's just a signature song for this generation. That first note of "Oh…" If you're a millennial, you read it exactly how it should've been and further proved why it is here. 

Grunge eventually led to nu-metal, and then, without getting too deep into the why of it all, emo music came about. It had all the flash of rock but would also make people sometimes want to cry. Bands like Fall Out Boy and The Used fell under that umbrella that hung outside of Hot Topic. However, the band that is the poster child for it all is My Chemical Romance. One listen to "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and it's apparent that this generation had a lot of anger and uncertainty about themselves brewing and to scream this song at the top of their lungs — cathartic.

A vast majority of millennials had zero clue who Selena was until the 1997 hit biopic starring Jennifer Lopez hit theaters. After that, an infatuation occurred, and while her crossover “Dreaming of You” was more of a hit with many, “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” is the jam that one can only wish to have heard live before her unfortunate passing.

There were far too many millennials across the US rocking thongs in the early ‘00s, and this song is to blame.

Two powerhouse divas coming together for a song on an animated movie soundtrack? Yes, and yes.

Nu-metal is kind of looked at as dad rock now. Back in the day, it was hardcore, it was cool, it helped sell a lot of Dickies pants, and at the forefront of that was Limp Bizkit. They taught the world about “Nookie,” kept everyone “Rollin,’” and gave way to a rampaging frenzy of energy in “Break Stuff.” Which, having a bad day? This song will help let it out.

Garth Brooks was the country artist who crossed into the pop realm, but Shania Twain managed to do so on a whole different level. She was on MTV around the clock with absolutely stunning videos. Again, millennials appreciate a good visual. Aside from the video, though, Twain made sure to give millennials a song to root their ennui in with "That Don't Impress Me Much."

For all the kids calling people “Stans,” thank a millennial elder for that. Eminem, too, but a millennial elder more.