I thought the 90s were more 60s and 70s orientated. Revivals of ABBA, Aerosmith, movies of The Bradey Bunch etc. The biggest bands were Nirvanna and Oasis which have their influences in Neil Young and The Who and The Beatles, The Jam and The Sex Pistols.
The 80s improved into the 90s with Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Bjork, Radiohead... The Simpsons and South Park are the only genre defying shows I can think of. Akira paved the way for the more intelligent anime such as Ghost in the Shell... Pixar had completed their first fully 3D animated shorts paving the way for Toy Story.
Take a look at the last decade and now... Transformers 2007, Rise of Cobra, The A-Team, the 8-bit music scene, Neverwinter Nights* and World of Warcraft, Macross: Frontier, Doctor Who**, Rambo 2008, Rocky Balboa, Aliens Vs Predator...
It's hard not to miss the 80s when we can't escape being reminded of it.
*Yeah D&D started in the mid 70's, but I played it throughout the 80s. **I'm claiming Dr. Who too, Tom Baker was the REAL Doctor.
And after the 70s just about any decade is going to look good...

Remember the Bay City Rollers? Neither do I.