I really like Pulp, how did you know?! Their quintessentially British and witty. I favor them over Blur (too cerebral), Suede (ditto), Oasis (too ... errrm ... Gallagher = rather non-cerebral), Radiohead (too ... I think I just fell asleep
trying to come up with a suitable description, their version of Albert Hammond's "The Air that I breathe" was also kind of creepy and paled next to the original).
I kinda liked Ride's druggy atmospherics, unlike Radiohead they at least sounded like the took good drugs, not just antidepressants.
I guess in the US, REM (besides Nirvana and their grunge followers) summed up the 90ies, and though I could do very little with them at the time (no guitar playing included you might want to throw Jimi Hendrix/Ritchie Blackmore/Janick Gers-shapes to!), my view toward them has mellowed a great deal and I even miss that they are not together anymore bringing out new work. And I still buy new Soundgarden (I'm a glutton for punishment with their weird chord changes) and Alice in Chains CDs, so there!
Essentially, I agree with slinkp (though not on Ra
yawniohead!!!) that the 90ies had highs and lows - like any other era. They are just not that long ago enough to be yet bathed in the same nostalgic evening sunlight that the 80ies have begun to enjoy. Though you can't really like a decade that brought U2 to the fore either.
That didn't keep me from buying and very much liking the last Boy George album though.