Most Loved Books, Movies, Albums & Toys From The Past 20 Years

I don't often share stuff direct from brands or PR companies but I found these lists tracking the book, movie, music and toy tastes of the nation from the past 20 years from Amazon so interesting I decided they deserved a share.

Apparently Ed Sheeran’s X, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Dan Brown's, The Da Vinci Code have been voted the best album, film and book of the last 20 years, according to a poll of the nation by researchers from Amazon who surveyed 2,000 Britons to celebrate 20 years of Amazon UK.

And according to Brits, Ed Sheeran’s album X (25 percent) is the best album of the last two decades - just pipping Adele’s 21 to the top spot (24 percent) and Amy Winehouse coming third with her seminal album Back to Black. Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code which had the nation enthralled when it was first released in 2003 was voted the most influential book of the last 20 years, narrowly beating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – the final book in the seven book opus. Fifty Shades of Grey made the top 20 best books, as did Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins – later made into a film starring Emily Blunt. When it comes to our favourite movie of the last 20 years, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (23 percent) proved first is best, beating a host of other Potter movies to the top spot.

 In fact, an incredible FIVE Harry Potter movies made the top twenty best loved movies list. Mamma Mia picked up an impressive 22 percent of the vote, followed by Tom Hank’s 1998 wartime blockbuster Saving Private Ryan. When it comes to the top trends of the last 20 years, the skinny jean emerged as the most adopted fashion item with 40 percent of the votes, with jeggings in second (30 percent) and surprisingly onesies (24 percent) came in third.  Unsurprisingly, the smart phone was voted the most influential piece of tech over the last 20 years, followed by Wi-Fi, broadband and social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Film and TV streaming services such as Prime Video, banking apps and tablets also made the top 10.  “Since we opened our virtual doors for the first time as an online bookseller in 1998, Amazon.co.uk has expanded year on year and now offers customers access to more than 250 million products,” said Doug Gurr, Amazon's Country Manager.
 "Looking back at the bestsellers and most loved products provides a nostalgic year-by-year snapshot of what has grabbed the nation’s attention. As we move forward, we’ll continue to innovate for our customers so that they can quickly and seamlessly discover and enjoy anything they might want to buy online.”  The Tamagotchi digital pet became a national obsession when it hit the UK in 1998 and came top of the most influential toys. Pokémon came second in the list (24 percent), followed by Furby (22 percent) and Monopoly Millionaire (17 percent). According to the data, doing our shopping online saves us four hours 42 minutes every week. We also save £368 every year – that’s an incredible £23,000 over an average lifetime. 20 BEST LOVED ALBUMS OF LAST 20 YEARS  1. Ed Sheeran – X 2. Adele – 21 3. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black 4. Adele – 255. Ed Sheeran - +6. Adele – 19 7. Green Day – American Idiot 8. Eminem – Marshall Mathers LP 9. Lady Gaga – the Fame 10. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack 11. Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory 12. Coldplay – X & Y13. Evanescence – Fallen 14. Snow Patrol – Eyes Open 15. Rhianna – Good Girl Gone Bad16. Britney Spears – Oops I Did It Again 17. Take That – The Circus 18. Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head19. David Bowie – The Next Day 20. Robbie Williams - Escapology THE 20 BEST LOVED MOVIES OF THE LAST 20 YEARS  1. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 3. Mamma Mia 4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 6. Saving Private Ryan 7. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 8. Bridget Jones’s Diary 9. Toy Story 2 10. The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring 11. Pirates of the Caribbean (The curse of the Black Pearl)12. Toy Story 313. The Greatest Showman 14. Despicable Me 15. The Sixth Sense 16. Frozen 17. Pirates of the Caribbean (Dead Man’s Chest)18. The King’s Speech 19. Skyfall 20. Gladiator  THE 20 BEST LOVED BOOKS OF THE LAST 20 YEARS  1. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling 3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling5. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling8. 50 shades of Grey – E L James 9. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larson 11. The girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins 12. 50 Shades Darker – E L James 13. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins 14. 50 Shades Freed – E L James 15. Twilight – Stephanie Meyer 16. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn 17. Life of Pi – Yann Martel 18. Bridge Jones and the Edge of Reason – Helen Feilding 19. Time Travellers Wife – Audrey Nifnegger 20. The Girl who Played with Fire – Stieg Larson  20 BEST LOVED TOYS OF LAST 20 YEARS  1. Tamagotchi2. Pokémon 3. Furby 4. Monopoly Millionaire 5. Lego Harry Potter Set 6. Transformers 7. Fidget Spinners 8. Bratz Dolls 9. LeapPad Learning Tablet 10. Dr Who Sonic Screw Driver 11. Thunderbirds Tracy Island 12. Elsa Doll (Frozen)13. Hatchimals 14. Razor Scooter 15. Teksta Robot Dog 16. Moshi Monsters 17. Fingerling 18. Bey Blades19. Tomy Pop Up Pirates  20. Bob the Builder Doll

So what would be your top movie, book, music album and toy from the last 20 years? I think my movie might be Mamma Mia which I still love after 400 viewings, The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman as my fave book, A Beautiful Place To Get Lost by Honeygene as my favourite album and the Nintendo 2DS ( the one which doesn't fold) as my favourite toy - mainly because it's pretty tough even in the hands of reckless children!