WHEN YOU WERE younger there was a good chance you rifled through a music magazine at some point.

The 1990s were a particularly heady time for the music magazine whether you were very cool and buying NME every week or a Smash Hits devotee.

This also meant that there are some covers that you look at now and bask in their glow of their sheer ridiculousness.

1. When Will Smith was a popstar

And “one cool dude”

via Lucy Who

2.  The various stages of Michael Jackson

1990 was a good time to be Michael Jackson:

via Lucy Who

By 1992 there was a degree of wariness for all things MJ:

via Lucy Who

And by 1995 he was full on looking like an alien:

via Lucy Who

3. Spice Mania

The Spice Girls were obviously huge at the time but these covers sum up the peak of Spice Mania.

Even then Victoria was the pout-y one in the middle refusing to crack a smile:

via Lucy Who

No, seriously, look how unwilling to engage Victoria is here:

via Lucy Who

4. Mariah Carey was much, much younger

And the phrase “tonsil tastic” could be used on a magazine cover with no shame:

via Lucy Who

5. The saga of Robbie Williams

At first he was the “cheeky chappie” of Take That doing all manner of cheesy magazine covers:

via Lucy Who

Then he became a serious solo artiste and got his Gallagher brother pose on for NME:

via Lucy Who

6. Ronan Keating was the “King of Pop” apparently.

We’re just glad this issue had a giant Spice Girls poster or it would have been a total bust.

via Crazy About Magazines

7. Peter Andre’s abs were a common sight

AND freebies like transfer tattoos were totally common.

via Crazy About Magazines

8. Babylon Zoo could feature on the cover of Smash Hits

via Crazy About Magazines

Who?

northtyne / YouTube

Shudder.

9. MC Hammer would be jumping about the place

1991 was a different time

via Crazy About Magazines

10. Cheseny Hawkes would  happily assert his Rock’n'Roll cred

via Crazy About Magazines

11.Vanilla Ice was a thing

via Crazy About Magazines

12. Boybands like 3T were in some way relevant

They were related to Michael Jackson y’see.

via Crazy About Magazines

14. Hanson were fresh faced and fit to be on the cover of a magazine

via Crazy About Magazines

15. Damon Albarn seemed young and rebellious

The ridiculous things weren’t just happening with the pop mags y’know.

Tumblr / Damon Albarn Unofficial

16. Thom Yorke went around looking like this

We wish that was a wig Thom.

Oh It’s The 90s / Tumblr

17. Oasis could land on the cover of a pop magazine

With hilariously moody covers like this:

via Crazy About Magazines

18. Indie bands would get totally non-gimmicky magazine covers

Nothing over the top about this one at all.

Oh no.

via Select Magazine Website

19. Sex sold, even for indie music mags

Hence early 90s pin-up Wendy James landing a cover like this:

via Select Magazine Website

And saucy, 90s tastic like this being a regular thing:

via Select Magazine Website

Vanilla Ice goes Amish>

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