World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 1994

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of World Cafe, we'll be looking back and posting playlists from each year of the show. As music has evolved over the years, so have our playlists, which have grown to reflect many genres and styles of music.

Pop punk, slacker rock, hip-hop, Brit pop, singers and songwriters: Musically, 1994 had it all.

What were some of 1994's musical highlights? Boyz II Men, Nas, Beastie Boys and Notorious B.I.G. all released heavyweight hip-hop albums. The pop-punk era was ushered into the mainstream via Green Day's Dookie (surrounded by fellow punks The Offspring and Rancid). Weezer release its most beloved effort (and debut) The Blue Album; Pavement achieved indie-rock perfection with Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Beck broke through with "Loser" off Mellow Gold. Oasis and Blur jump-started Brit pop; TLC released its career highlight CrazySexyCool and Aaliyah dropped her double-platinum debut Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. We were introduced to the beautiful, angelic voice of Jeff Buckley from his debut, Grace, and the legendary Johnny Cash made a comeback with his 81st album, American Recordings.

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