With the recent explosion of retro social media content, club culture’s past feels more present than ever. These 10 accounts will leave you yearning for the “good old days.”
In 2025, nostalgia is big business. Marketing execs are leveraging its emotional impact to sell products, millions are caught up in wishing time had stood still, and today’s music is lamented for not being as good as it used to be. In light of all the instability, uncertainty and hopelessness in the world, this is understandable. A troubled present creates yearning for a romanticised past.
This is especially true on social media, where accounts across multiple forms of media are tapping into this need for comforting nostalgia. Music is particularly potent in this respect, shown by the popularity and sheer number of accounts showcasing music from the past. From ‘90s R&B videos to vintage clips of house music dancers in the ‘80s, retro music accounts captivate people worldwide. They thrive on emotional connections to the past, reminding us of our younger years (even if we didn’t actually live through those years), while holding a light to today’s music scene and fostering community.
Like music-obsessed DJs, the owners of these accounts dig for clips and content, sharing them with a personal touch while using engaging headlines to draw people in. There’s a certain magnetic appeal to these pages, and you can see that many of their followers are deeply attached to the era they represent, drawing meaning and identity from them. These accounts remind people what life was once like, of the good times—real or imagined—and the people they knew, the places they went, and the feelings they had.
Here’s a selection of the best music and DJ nostalgia pages on Instagram right now.
The owner of this page seems to go deep down into the realms of the internet to uncover footage from house music’s past. It’s a pleasant surprise to see that promoters filmed events back in the ‘80s, especially when it’s rare footage of artists who are no longer with us—Paul Johnson at Movement in Detroit, Aaron Carl’s debut live performance, Frankie Knuckles answering the question “Did house music really start in Chicago?”. This is what many would refer to as “God’s work.”
People may have been filming in clubs since close to the culture’s beginnings, but finding this footage is another matter. The archivist behind there_is_no_planet_earth really puts the work in, and in doing so they are creating an extensive online archive that celebrates Black American culture, and its more underground expressions, in a way that few others do.
While many nostalgia pages are anonymous, Super Progressive benefits from the presence of its owner, William Noglows. His infectious enthusiasm for progressive dance music shines through in every post, which is part of the reason why Super Progressive has become so popular. What makes this particular page so fascinating is that Will was just a kid when progressive had its big moment in the ‘90s and early 2000s. So as well as presenting music from the past for those who were there, followers see Will’s own voyage of discovery as he shares new findings and amazing clips.
He’s always candid about gaps in his knowledge, which encourages older followers, or those with more insight, to share what they know. This has created an active community that Will meets regularly at events around the world—from Miami Music Week to Balance Festival in Croatia. He is also well-liked by many of the scene’s most prominent artists, with a lot of the big names appearing on his podcast. Will’s passion for progressive also extends beyond celebrating the past to supporting new talent. Ultimately, all he wants is for the progressive genre, and community around it, to be galvanised and moving towards a better future.
Ibiza Past mainly covers a period in time ripe for nostalgia: the 1990s through to the 2000s. Lots of the images and videos shared on Ibiza Past are submitted by its followers, which gives things a personal touch. Often they will be accompanied by a story, or names of some of the Ibiza “faces” featured. This usually triggers a flurry of comments sharing similar memories, confirming the names of those mentioned or adding more intel.
The beauty of Ibiza Past lies in this detailed communal history. Venues like Space, DC-10, Pacha, Mambo, and Es Paradis feature heavily, along with lesser known spots like Bar M, Catalina, Le Rock Bar, Apache Bar, Con Gas and others that no longer exist. Former workers and regulars to the island share their stories. Even if you weren’t old enough to be in Ibiza during those glory years, the presentation of its history takes you there. DJs pop up from time to time, but it’s largely every day party people, and the workers who were an essential part of the island’s fabric, who are the true essence of the page.
This page’s strength is its diversity. Where many pages focus on a particular genre, Belters4U, which is run by Alan Gillies, showcases various styles of electronic music in line with Alan’s personal tastes. One post might feature an old dubstep release, while another might go back to ‘90s trance. Each one is nicely presented and is meticulously researched. Alan’s dedication to excavating gems from the past has made Belters4U hugely popular.
About a year ago, Alan also launched a label under the same name. 10 releases in and he’s put out a few vinyl cuts, as well as digital EPs. The page also now features premieres of new music, mixing it up with the older stuff. If you’re keen to discover contemporary releases as well as the very best music from the past, then Belters4U is a great place to start.
Of all the pages featured in this list, Re.Windz has the strongest visual identity. This page taps into the rich—and almost endless—well of ‘90s and 2000s R&B and hip-hop, an era many will agree was golden. The page has blown up over the last couple of years, with over 190,000 followers at the time of writing. Re.Windz goes that extra mile with themed posts, song challenges, groups, versus posts, and lots more. Sometimes the posts go back even further, to the days of soul and funk, and occasionally the page owner will throw in a curveball and share some guilty pleasures, too.
Re.Windz also allows followers to submit their own playlists (as long as the songs have videos) for a small donation. This adds to its personal, communal appeal. It’s a celebratory space that connects followers to their childhood, or to their peak clubbing days. There really is something about that era of R&B and hip-hop that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. As an example of how to present the past in a way that’s entertaining and emotive, Re.Windz is one of the best out there.
As the name suggests, this page dives into the never-ending rabbit hole of jungle music. Away from the big hits and jump-up classics, this is where you’ll find lesser known but equally great (if not even better) jungle releases. It might sound a little self-important to refer to oneself as a “connoisseur” but the title is more than deserved here. If you want to get a better understanding of the vast amount of jungle music that was made and played back in the mid-’90s, then this page is for you.
It can be bewildering to be met with all of this music that rarely sees the light of day anywhere else. Like with many other genres, throwback jungle events and DJ sets only ever seem to focus on the hits, neglecting a huge chunk of releases, artists, and labels that contributed to the groundbreaking genre and its development from 1992 onwards. Unless you’re already deep in the jungle, you’re bound to learn loads from this page. It’s a form of education served up through the lens of discovery and nostalgia.
Run by a music industry insider, this dance music page delves into the late ‘90s and early 2000s, when festivals became established in electronic music culture, and events like Radio 1’s Ibiza Weekender took things to a mainstream audience. Link ups with outfits like Clubavision, a popular UK TV show that documented ‘90s club culture, reinforce this page’s appeal. The footage, sometimes described as being “shot on a potato,” is not always the greatest quality, but what matters here is the energy—a huge trance anthem dropping at Cream in Liverpool, or Judge Jules getting on the mic live for Radio 1 in Ibiza.
1999leadballons ploughs the digital domain for videos that capture nostalgia in its purest form, often resulting in a slew of “not a phone in sight” comments. The owner of the page will often share their own insights, cultivating a personal connection with those who follow. Looking back, it’s interesting to see how commercial yet still somehow underground club culture was during this period. The absence of social media meant that it retained its magic and, odd to say, innocence.
One of a number of garage-leaning pages on Instagram, this one focuses on the housier end of the spectrum. When UK garage first began to formalise, many of the DJs who built its foundations were spinning US house and garage, often pitched up. The tracks that are featured on this page operate in this pre-UK garage zone. It’s a style of music that emanates soul and groove, with a hint of edge—think New Jersey garage and New York house.
DJ Vital, who runs the page, really knows his stuff and has found a visual style that showcases the records themselves, with the camera set up in the same position for each post. He also shares the labels for the records he plays, which is helpful (but less helpful if you’re battling a vinyl addiction). Even if you’re a house and garage connoisseur, this page is an informative place to be. You’ll encounter classic releases, ones you forgot about, and plenty you’ve never heard before. This is a space curated and maintained by a truly devout house and garage lover.
This page has over 725k followers, and deservedly so. It combines passion for Black music and cultural moments with personal insight and engaging headlines. Every post is carefully selected and edited for maximum impact, with the addition of an emotive caption above it to really double down on its effectiveness—“Remember When Tamia Had Us ALL In Our Feelings???” or “Every Girl Born Before 1995 Knows THIS Verse”. The captions under each post also add some personality, with the page owner using popular vernacular and personal insight to add yet more flavour to the media they’re sharing.
The clips themselves bring together cultural references from TV (The Fresh Prince, the California Dreams theme tune), underappreciated songs, tracks that were hits in the page owner’s own home, memories, and lots more. This is nostalgia done extremely well, with positive energy, enthusiasm, and a personality that resonates with the page’s huge following.
The 2010s weren’t that long ago at all but the world has changed a lot since then. Touting the early 2010s as “the last Golden Era,” this page celebrates that period, only posting clips from up until 2015. As well as digging for clips of the big tracks and moments, there’s also plenty of lesser known cuts that represent the diversity of the time. The page is largely focused on house and techno, from famous parties and labels like Fuse and Desolat, to DJs like Cesare Vs Disorder, Solomun and Maya Jane Coles, plus many more.
In amongst the daily clips from parties all over the world, you’ll find regular in-depth exploratory posts. These multi-slide uploads lean into the journalistic side of curation, marking anniversaries with deeper storytelling. This is where the page stands out, using the platform to share historical context and stories from the 2010s. There are also “selection” posts, which feature tunes that were being played during the 2010s, with occasional guest selections, where the page collaborates with other 2010s lovers to share their favourite tunes, and their connection to “the last Golden Era.” It’s only been around for a short time, but the page already has 20k followers, showing that recent history is just as potent as way back when, even if it only feels like yesterday.
Words: Marcus Barnes
