the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1995 in America

To be fifteen in America in 1995 was to have “Wonderwall” by Oasis everywhere, Toy Story on every screen, and Friends on after school. That year, gas cost $1.15 and the Sony PlayStation (US launch) was the new thing. Born in 1980? You turned 15 in 1995 — a teenager from 1993 to 1999, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 1995 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1995

Wonderwall — Oasis

  1. Wonderwall — OasisThe campfire anthem every boy learned on guitar to win the girl he couldn't stop watching.
  2. You Oughta Know — Alanis MorissetteAlanis's scorched-earth fury gave every heartbroken girl permission to be loudly, gloriously angry.
  3. 1979 — The Smashing PumpkinsCorgan's dreamy haze captured aimless nights when nothing and everything mattered all at once.
  4. Champagne Supernova — OasisThe seven-minute drift you and your friends swore was profound, sprawled across somebody's floor.
  5. California Love — 2Pac ft. Dr. DrePac's West Coast anthem bounced out of every trunk, the sound of a summer that felt eternal.

▶ Play your 1995 reel

why this one mattered

(What's the Story) Morning Glory? crossed the Atlantic and 'Wonderwall' became the ubiquitous singalong of 1995 — the first song every 15-year-old with an acoustic guitar learned, the one that united a whole party. Earnest and anthemic, it's pure mid-90s teenage communion and still pulls the room in on the first strum.

the year-end #1 was Gangsta's Paradise — Coolio feat. L.V..

the movies you are watching in 1995

  • Toy Story
  • Batman Forever
  • Apollo 13
  • Braveheart
  • GoldenEye

the tv shows you are binging in 1995

  • Friends
  • Seinfeld
  • ER
  • The X-Files
  • NYPD Blue

the games you are playing in 1995

  • Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
  • Yoshi's Island
  • Chrono Trigger
  • Killer Instinct
  • Earthworm Jim 2
  • Mortal Kombat 3

what things cost in 1995

What things cost in 1995
a first-class stamp32¢
a gallon of gas$1.15
a movie ticket$4.35
minimum wage$4.25/hr
the average income$34,076

trending this year

Windows 95
Lancelote, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Windows 95
Sony PlayStation
Photo by Niklas Sobieski Larsson (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playstation_Comparison_(SCPH-1002_and_SCPH-9002).jpg · Public domain
Sony PlayStation
Toy Story
Photo by JJBers (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toy_Story_VHS_tape.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Toy Story
Beanie Babies
Jelene Morris via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Beanie Babies
Amazon.com
Meanwell Packaging, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Amazon.com

the gadgets you just got

Sony PlayStation (US launch)
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PlayStation-SCPH-1000-with-Controller.jpg · Public Domain
Sony PlayStation (US launch)
Sega Saturn
Public domain (photo by Samuel Skanberg); no attribution legally required
Sega Saturn
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Christo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Motorola StarTAC era / Motorola flip phone
Photo by ProhibitOnions at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MotorolaStarTAC.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Motorola StarTAC era / Motorola flip phone
Apple QuickTake 100 digital camera
Ky0n Cheng (ky0nch3ng) via Flickr (CC0) · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Apple QuickTake 100 digital camera

what everyone is snacking on

Bagel Bites
star5112 (John Joh) on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bagel Bites
Gushers (Fruit Gushers)
Thomson200, via Wikimedia Commons (File:Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers pieces.jpg) · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Gushers (Fruit Gushers)
Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
Lunchables
Photo by Jake Przespo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Enjoying_a_lunchable_for_the_first_time_in_many_many_years.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Lunchables
Warheads sour candy
Adam Zivner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 (also GFDL)
Warheads sour candy

what everyone is drinking

Fruitopia
AI-generated illustration
Fruitopia
Sprite (Obey Your Thirst era)
Vis M (Wikimedia Commons) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sprite_cans.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sprite (Obey Your Thirst era)
Snapple Iced Tea
Mark Guim, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macro_test._Snapple_-nokia_n97_(3654284015).jpg) · CC BY 2.0
Snapple Iced Tea
Crystal Pepsi (final year)
Crystal Pepsi 20oz, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Crystal Pepsi (final year)
Capri Sun
Photo by Tamzin Hadasa Kelly (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capri_Sun_pouch_standing.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Capri Sun

what made the news in 1995

  • A truck bomb destroys the Oklahoma City federal building, killing 168 people
  • O.J. Simpson is acquitted of murder after a televised trial
  • Cal Ripken Jr. breaks Lou Gehrig's record of consecutive games played
  • The Dow Jones closes above 5,000 for the first time ever
Oklahoma City bombing kills 168
Photo: Leonard Brakebill, Oklahoma Air National Guard / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (public domain) · Public Domain (work of U.S. federal government / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Oklahoma City bombing kills 168
O.J. Simpson acquitted in murder trial
Joe Gratz / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
O.J. Simpson acquitted in murder trial
Microsoft launches Windows 95
Al Lemos · CC BY-SA 3.0
Microsoft launches Windows 95
Dayton Accords end the Bosnian War
Photo: Staff Sgt. Brian Schlumbohm, U.S. Air Force (public domain) · Public Domain (work of U.S. federal government / U.S. Air Force)
Dayton Accords end the Bosnian War
Million Man March in Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (CQ Roll Call Photograph Collection); no known restrictions · Public Domain (Library of Congress / CQ Roll Call Photograph Collection — no known copyright restrictions)
Million Man March in Washington, D.C.

what everyone is saying

  • "As if!"Catchphrase from the film Clueless (1995)
  • "Talk to the hand"Dismissive slang popular in mid-90s pop culture
  • "Don't go there"Sassy mid-90s catchphrase from TV and sitcoms
  • "Whassup / s'all good"Casual 90s greeting slang
  • "Information Superhighway"Buzzword for the emerging internet

top-performing stocks in 1995

Top-performing stocks in 1995
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Intel CorporationINTC$57+78%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT$88+44%
Cisco SystemsCSCO$37+113%
Micron TechnologyMU$39+110%
Dell ComputerDELL$35+85%

worst-performing stocks in 1995

Worst-performing stocks in 1995
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Apple ComputerAAPL$32-18%
Bethlehem SteelBS$14-22%
Kmart CorporationKM$6-55%
Caldor CorporationCLD$4-88%
BradleesBLE$1-85%

the summer of 1995.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1995 goes.

Turn 1995 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1995 reel with sound