Like a lot of things from the past, it’s best to view this in context. The original B&B ran from '93 to '97, long before internet streaming was a thing. Commercial radio still controlled what music most people heard. This show broke the mold and exposed people to A: underground music that didn’t get airplay “ladies and gentlemen… the Butthole Surfers” and B: older music that didn’t get played on the radio anymore. FM radio was pretty freeform until the mid 80’s when deejays were required to stick to a strict playlist. The impact was obvious when CD sales spiked for old/underground music after being featured on the show. Same thing for songs used in video game soundtracks.
Like a lot of things from the past, it’s best to view this in context. The original B&B ran from '93 to '97, long before internet streaming was a thing. Commercial radio still controlled what music most people heard. This show broke the mold and exposed people to A: underground music that didn’t get airplay “ladies and gentlemen… the Butthole Surfers” and B: older music that didn’t get played on the radio anymore. FM radio was pretty freeform until the mid 80’s when deejays were required to stick to a strict playlist. The impact was obvious when CD sales spiked for old/underground music after being featured on the show. Same thing for songs used in video game soundtracks.