Looking for some awesome 90s band t-shirts? As a place to start you might look into old Billboard charts or Rolling Stone articles for bands that were killin’ it back then. In this list we’ve identified some of our personal favs from that time, that decade full of so much incredible music, and the awesome t-shirts that it inspired. Were not going to stick to only one musical category but rather just pick iconic bands and artists across genres that blew our minds.
Tupac All Eyez On Me T-Shirt | Tupac Shakur
West coast. Cali thug-life.
Released on February 13, 1996 “All Eyes On Me” was to be Tupac Shakur’s 4th and final studio album that was released during his life. The album contained “California Love” which may be 2Pac’s most famous song and probably his most commercially successful, featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.
Wu Tang Clan Classic Logo T-Shirt | Wu Tang Clan
This shirt displays the classic, distressed logo, from the iconic Hip Hop group Wu Tang Clan, that was formed and found its footing in the 90s and still exists today. Members included some of the biggest names in rap and hip hop history like: RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and Cappadonna.
Pearl Jam Shark Cowboy T-Shirt | Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam, one of the best-selling bands of all time, played its first show as Pearl Jam in 1990 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Hugely influential in the 90s Grunge scene, their debut album “Ten”, stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for almost five years and became one of the highest selling rock albums ever. Holy crap!
Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream T-Shirt | The Smashing Pumpkins
Released on July 27, 1993, the Smashing Pumpkins album “Siamese Dream”, the band’s second studio album, went on to become widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 90s. Displaying two little girls in cherubic attire, the cover became one of the most recognizable of the decade. The girls who modeled for the cover, Ali Laenger and LySandra Roberts, had never met before the day of the shoot. They would be honored again by frontman Billy Corgan in 2018 on the bands official Instagram account mentioning their place in Smashing Pumpkins history.
Alice In Chains Dirt T-Shirt | Alice In Chains
“Dirt”, the second studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, was released on September 29, 1992, and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. It has since gone on to sell five million copies worldwide and been certified four-times platinum by the RIAA. The album included super popular singles like “Would?”, “Them Bones”, “Angry Chair”, “Rooster”, and “Down in a Hole”. All of these singles were made into music videos.
Soundgarden Badmotorfinger T-Shirt | Soundgarden
Released on September 24, 1991, “Badmotorfinger” was the 3rd studio album by American rock band Soundgarden and considered to be Heavy Metal music. The band toured a great deal to support this album and the album pushed Soundgarden into the mainstream, including opening for Guns N’ Roses. The album would be certified double platinum in 1996.
Nine Inch Nails Gray Logo on Black T-Shirt | Nine Inch Nails
One of the most powerful and well-designed logos in modern music, the Nine Inch Nails logo appeared first in the video for their debut single, “Down in It”. The logo was designed by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and Gary Talpas, an American art director, photographer and musician, inspired by Tibor Kalman’s typography used on the Talking Heads album “Remain in Light”.
Notorious B.I.G. Ready To Die T-Shirt | The Notorious B.I.G.
Released on September 13th, 1994, “Ready To Die” was the debut album of Christopher George Latore Wallace AKA Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls or just Biggie. Biggie became a primary figure in the East Coast hip hop scene, and the album is credited with helping restore New York’s visibility when, at the time, the West Coast hip hop scene was dominating.
Foo Fighters S.F. Valley T-Shirt | Foo Fighters
Formed officially in 1994 by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters
Name was taken from a term used by Allied Fighter Pilots to describe unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and unrecognized aerial phenomena. The band released their first, self-titled album in 1995 and are still performing at the time of this writing.
The Offspring Smash T-Shirt | The Offspring
The Offspring are an American punk band, and though formed in the mid-80s, didn’t experience real commercial success and fame until the release of their second studio album titled “Smash” in 1994, the cover of which is shown on this t-shirt.
