6 electronic devices from the 90s that boomers kept "just in case" that genuinely still function perfectly

Remember that junk drawer in your parents' house? The one with the tangled cables, mysterious adapters, and electronics that looked like they belonged in a museum?

Last month, I helped my mom clean out her garage in Sacramento, and we stumbled upon a goldmine of 90s tech. The funny part? When we tested everything, most of it still worked perfectly. She looked at me with that satisfied smile and said, "See? I told you we'd need these someday."

And you know what? She wasn't entirely wrong.

There's something oddly comforting about discovering that the devices we thought were obsolete still function like they did decades ago. No software updates, no subscription fees, no planned obsolescence. Just solid, reliable technology that refuses to quit.

Let's explore six electronic devices from the 90s that our boomer parents kept stashed away, and that somehow still work as well as they did when Friends was must-see TV.

1. The Sony Walkman (and later, the Discman)

Pull out that yellow Sports Walkman from 1995, pop in a cassette tape, and prepare to be amazed. The thing still plays like a dream.

I've mentioned this before, but there's something deeply satisfying about the mechanical click of inserting a cassette and pressing that chunky play button. No buffering, no Wi-Fi needed, no algorithm deciding what you should listen to next.

My collection of mixtapes from high school still plays perfectly on my old Walkman. The sound quality? Surprisingly warm and rich, especially compared to compressed streaming files.

Sure, you might need to clean the heads with a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol, but that's about all the maintenance required in three decades.

The Discman evolved from this, and while it had its skip-prone moments, the later models with ESP (Electronic Skip Protection) were built like tanks. Many still spin CDs flawlessly today.

Why do these still matter? Because they work independently. No internet outages affect them. No company can remotely brick them with an update. They just... work.

2. VCRs that refuse to die

That JVC or Panasonic VCR sitting in the basement? It's probably still ready to play your wedding video or that bootleg concert footage you recorded off MTV.

The mechanical engineering in these machines was remarkable. They were built during an era when companies competed on reliability, not on how quickly they could get you to buy the next model.

What's fascinating is how many people are rediscovering their VHS collections and finding that both the tapes and players still function perfectly. The picture quality might not be 4K, but there's an authenticity to the analog warmth that streaming can't replicate.

Plus, these machines are becoming surprisingly valuable. Working VCRs are selling for decent money online because people want to digitize their old home videos, and new VCRs haven't been manufactured in years.

3. Nintendo Game Boy (the original brick)

Have you ever wondered why that chunky, monochrome Game Boy from 1989 still powers on while your smartphone from three years ago barely holds a charge?

The Game Boy was engineered for longevity. Its simple LCD screen, efficient processor, and robust construction mean that most units still work today. Even the ones that have been through absolute hell. There's a famous Game Boy in the Nintendo World Store that survived a bombing during the Gulf War and still plays Tetris.

The beauty of these devices lies in their simplicity. No operating system to corrupt, no hard drive to fail, no touch screen to crack. Just solid-state electronics and good old-fashioned cartridges.

I recently found mine buried in a box of old electronics. Four AA batteries later, and I was playing Super Mario Land like it was 1991. The buttons still clicked satisfyingly, the speaker still worked, and that familiar green-tinted screen brought back floods of memories.

4. Those indestructible Nokia phones

The Nokia 3310 might be from 2000, but its predecessors from the 90s share the same DNA of indestructibility.

These phones did one thing exceptionally well: they made phone calls. And they still do. Pop in a SIM card (if your carrier still supports 2G), and many of these phones will connect to the network.

But even without cellular service, they're useful. The built-in games still entertain. The calculator still calculates. The alarm clock still wakes you up. The battery? Many original batteries still hold a charge for days.

There's a psychological lesson here about feature creep and complexity. These phones succeeded because they perfected their core function instead of trying to do everything.

5. Digital cameras that keep clicking

Before smartphones killed the point-and-shoot market, digital cameras from the late 90s were revolutionary. And many still take perfectly good photos today.

My old Olympus from 1998 uses SmartMedia cards and runs on AA batteries. The resolution is only 1.3 megapixels, but for sharing photos online or printing 4x6 prints, it's more than adequate.

What's interesting is how these cameras forced you to be intentional. Limited storage meant you thought before shooting. No instant preview on early models meant you trusted your instincts. The results? Often more thoughtful, composed photographs than the spray-and-pray approach smartphones enable.

Professional photographers are even returning to these older digital cameras for their unique color science and rendering. What was once considered outdated is now considered artistic.

6. Portable CD players with surprisingly good sound

Beyond the Discman, the 90s saw an explosion of portable CD players from companies like Aiwa, Kenwood, and Panasonic. Many featured impressive audio processing for their time.

These players often included bass boost, various EQ presets, and some even had early digital signal processing. Paired with decent headphones, they deliver audio quality that rivals modern devices.

The lack of wireless connectivity is actually a benefit. No compression for Bluetooth transmission. No interruptions from notifications. Just pure, uninterrupted music.

I still use my old Panasonic player in my workshop. It's covered in paint splatters and dust, but it soldiers on, playing mix CDs I burned in college while I work on projects.

Wrapping up

These devices remind us that good engineering transcends trends. They were built during a time when durability was a selling point, not a liability to future sales.

There's also something to be said for the focused functionality of 90s tech. Each device did one or two things really well, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

Maybe our parents were onto something when they refused to throw these things away. In an age of planned obsolescence and forced upgrades, there's comfort in knowing that some things just keep working.

The next time you're tempted to mock someone for keeping old electronics "just in case," remember that their 30-year-old Walkman will probably outlast your current smartphone. And when the cloud services shut down or the company stops supporting your device, that shoebox full of CDs and cassettes will still be playable.

Sometimes, the old ways aren't just nostalgic. They're practical.