Critically, the song was met with positive reception, with many critics commending its catchiness, also calling it the pop ballad of the year. The pop ballad talks about a relationship strained by matters of emotional or physical distance. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, while Martin and Kristian Lundin produced it. It was released on April 12, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album, Millennium. And if you want to feel really old, know that it was released 20 years ago.'I Want It That Way' is a song by American boy band the Backstreet Boys. To this day, it’s one of the ’90s teen pop songs everyone knows. You couldn’t escape the song - even your grandma was probably singing “tell me why” just like Nick Carter. It totally changed the game for boy bands for the rest of the era. “I Want It That Way” is the lead single from the Backstreet Boys’s second album Millenium.

Whether you like ’90s boy bands or not, you can’t make an ultimate ’90s playlist without including this song.

But you can listen to the songs on this playlist with minimal guilt - and maybe drive your kids bonkers in the process. And Aaliyah’s song “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number” takes on a whole new meaning in light of the R. Songs like “Rape Me” by Nirvana are considered insensitive. Some of them are filled with innuendo that we may not have realized (take a listen to the lyrics of Third Eye Blind’s “Semi Charmed Life” again). Unlike previous decades, most of the biggest hits from the ’90s aren’t rife with problematic themes and lyrics. But I refuse to believe that it was almost 25 years ago that I spent hours learning Left-Eye’s rap in “Waterfalls.” All of my favorite playlists on Spotify have words like “throwback” in the title. You don’t think you’re old, and then you hear “Buddy Holly” on the classic rock radio station. Somehow, the songs on this playlist are at least 20 years old. So, if you want to take a stroll down memory lane in your Steve Madden sandals, may I present to you the ultimate ’90s playlist for all your nostalgia needs. And now, many of the things we love from the decade are making a comeback in a big way.

Some of our favorite things are products of the ’90s, from shows like Friends, to movies like Clueless, to musicians like Shania Twain. In terms of pop culture, everyone loves the ’90s.

Backstreet tell me why