The 50 Greatest Albums of the 1990s

Nolan James
Editor-in-Chief

The 80s may be the current popular trend, but the 90s left an arguably greater impact on the music industry in terms of the sheer quality of its releases. The vast amount of great 90s records and the noticeable progression of many diverse genres ended the 20th century on a high note. So here is my list of the 50 best albums of the 1990s, in descending order. Each artist was only allowed one release on the list to create room for more acts. The 90s was known for its diversity, so there might as well be diversity amongst the artists. Ever since I first started exploring the album as an art form to be analyzed, the 90s has stood out to me in terms of its sheer quantity of amazing releases, perhaps the most of any decade during the album era (though the 70s certainly competes). I think I have listened to enough records now to comfortably publish a top 50 list, though this is by no means definitive. My opinions will continually change and mature, so I am happy to view this as a snapshot of my taste as a college senior. Maybe I will be embarrassed by what I have put here later on in life. I am okay, even happy, with that. If you strongly disagree with this list, you are welcome to share your own. I am sure there are plenty of records out there that I still need to hear. Listening to albums is my primary hobby, so I am very happy to get to share this with you.

 

50.   Weezer

Weezer

May 10, 1994 Power Pop/Alternative Rock
Weezer are a bit of a joke now, but they were once a critically-acclaimed breath-of-fresh-air in a dying alternative rock scene. While the rock genre was struggling to define itself as grunge’s short-lived chokehold on the music industry faded, Rivers Cuomo and co. wrote 10 joyful little rock tunes that seemed far more forward-thinking and far less afraid of its pop sensibilities than many groups at the time. Production being handled by legendary Cars frontman Ric Ocasek no doubt helped boost the record’s legitimacy as a power pop classic. Weezer would never again reach such heights, but these 10 legendary songs, ranging from silly cuts like Undone—The Sweater Song to more serious, emotional tracks like Say It Ain’t So, are all classics in their own right.

 

49.   Genius/GZA

Liquid Swords

Nov. 7, 1995 East Coast Hip Hop
GZA was never the most skilled or noteworthy member of the Wu-Tang Clan, yet he managed to make the most legendary solo album of any of the lot. There are classic cuts here that rival the material on 36 Chambers—the title track, 4th Chamber, and of course Shadowboxin’ are all amongst the most legendary rap songs of the era. And while Liquid Swords may not feel as fresh or consistent as 36 Chambers, it reinforces that these were some of the greatest rappers alive. What a time for the genre. Plus, that has got to be one of the greatest album covers of all time.

48.   The Dismemberment Plan

Emergency & I

Oct. 26, 1999 Indie Rock/Post-Punk
Emergency & I came right at the tail-end of the 90s, and it really does sound more like the rock music that would be released throughout the next decade, with its soft male-lead vocals and noisy, basic guitar. It is pretty forward-thinking in that way. The album is a unique, albeit often frustrating, experience, in which meandering verses suddenly transition into great, climactic choruses, and likewise subdued and unexciting choruses follow intricate, well-built verses. There is not a song on here with both great choruses and verses, yet the end result is a fantastic feeling of anticipation and reward. Essential listening for any 2000s indie rock fan.

 

47. Talk Talk

Laughing Stock

Sep. 16, 1991 Post-Rock
Compared to its predecessor Spirit of Eden, Laughing Stock is the more subtle, complex, and thought-provoking record, though ultimately the less rewarding and enjoyable experience. Talk Talk proved with Spirit of Eden that they could make some of the most beautiful music ever recorded, and with this album, unfortunately their final, they produced something knottier, more intricate, and with a wider array of influences. The music floats by as if on clouds, often barely even there and threatening to disappear at any minute, yet it keeps going, slowly and methodically. Do not expect any big, gratifying climax, and just try to be absorbed by the music. You might find a new favorite album.

 

46. U2

Achtung Baby

Nov. 18, 1991 Alternative Rock
Achtung Baby’s title is a joke, according to Bono, to try and trick people at the time into thinking this would not be a very serious record. The material present is the most emotional and dark the band had ever released, however, and the album is all-the-better for it. Big hits like Mysterious Ways and, of course, One, which is potentially U2’s greatest single, helped boost an album that’s more experimental and vast in its influences than what they had released before. With The Joshua Tree, U2 became one of the biggest bands in the world. With this, they became one of the best.

 

45. Soundgarden

Superunknown

March 8, 1994 Grunge/Alternative Rock
Soundgarden had always had the talent to be more than just a grunge band, and with the genre on its last legs, Chris Cornell and co. released a record that seemed to be more than just another great grunge classic. The record’s standout hit, Black Hole Sun, was too big to be just another genre classic; Soundgarden were becoming arena-rock stars. At well over an hour, Soundgarden somehow managed to keep their hefty aspirations consistent and tight. There is no filler here. Kurt Cobain would unfortunately take his life less than a month after the release of this record, and Pearl Jam was never all that good in hindsight, but Soundgarden managed to stay relevant during a tumultuous time for the genre.

 

44. Stereolab

Dots and Loops

Sep. 22, 1997 Art Pop
Socialism and elevator music? Yes please. Jokes aside, Dots and Loops is a profound, political, and beautiful album that feels so far removed from everything else going on in the music industry at the time. Perhaps more well known for this album’s predecessor, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Stereolab nonetheless perfected their mix of soft rock and pop, with their signature wide array of influences, from jazz to Brazilian pop, with this seminal release. If you have never heard of Stereolab, you are missing out.

 

43. PJ Harvey

To Bring You My Love

Feb. 27, 1995 Alternative Rock
Some people will say that this is PJ Harvey’s best record, and those people are wrong. Both 2000’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea and 2011’s Let England Shake are superior releases, and amongst the greatest albums of their respective decades. That Harvey released three of the greatest records across three different decades is immensely commendable and impressive. Compared to the later releases, To Bring You My Love is a few degrees louder and angrier, as much of her early work was, emphasizing her abilities as a rockstar over her strong songwriting and lyrical abilities. The more thoughtful tracks like Down By the River, however, are the best material the record has to offer.

 

42. Megadeth

Rust in Peace

Sep. 24, 1990 Thrash Metal
The feud between Metallica and Megadeth in the 80s was largely one-sided, with Metallica easily besting their rival thrash metal competitors with classic-after-classic. Then the 90s hit, and the tables turned a bit. While Metallica’s self-titled record may be the biggest selling metal album of the era and of their career, in terms of quality, Megadeth proved with this release that they were proper rivals. There are so many fantastic, energetic, charged riffs on this release, and the songs are hit-after-hit. While there are more technical and more extreme metal releases of this era, there are very few that equal Rust in Peace.

 

41. Mos Def

Black on Both Sides

Oct. 12, 1999 East Coast Hip Hop
There are better rap albums, sure, but few are as consistently enjoyable as this. Mos Def is a skilled MC who helped successfully lead hip hop, with its newfound mainstream success, into the next decade. His skillful lyricism and poetic imagery put him close to the level of other conscious East Coast rappers like Nas, though perhaps without the same staying power—while Nas’ hooks stay in the mind long after the album has ended, Mos Def’s fade away, with only the memory of general enjoyment staying. Still, what an enjoyable experience it was.

 

40. Sonic Youth

Goo

June 26, 1990 Alternative Rock
Sonic Youth’s 1988 release Daydream Nation may very well be the greatest album of the 80s (that or Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back), but starting with this release and even more so with 1992’s Dirty Sonic Youth started to see some moderate commercial success, albeit less than many of their other alternative rock contemporaries in the wake of Nirvana’s breakthrough into the mainstream. With this album, Sonic Youth returned to the style of shorter, tighter rock records they had been making before Daydream Nation’s epic 70-minute sprawl of a tracklist. Some fans bemoan the group’s transition into stronger pop-sensibilities, seeing it as a betrayal of the outsider noise rock the group had been known for, but at the end of the day, a great record is a great record.

 

39. Aphex Twin

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Nov. 9, 1992 Ambient Techno/IDM
Trying to sit down and listen to this as a serious piece of art to be analyzed and dissected will likely result in frustration and boredom, but as background music, there are few who can perfectly match a mood like Aphex Twin. Though what is easily his most famous song, Windowlicker, would not be released until much later in the decade, this debut album, one of the greatest debuts of all time, pretty much perfected electronic music right from the get-go. It is the sort of thing one can find new details in, new hooks to latch onto, each time they give it a listen.

 

38. 2Pac

All Eyez on Me

Feb. 13, 1996 West Coast Hip Hop
An album that is well over two hours—and with no skits, at that—has no right being this consistent, yet here we are. Sure, it is 2Pac’s most commercial album, but it is also his biggest, his grandest, and his most important statement. 2Pac is one of the greatest rappers of all time, and while other artists in his lane might make more definitive hip hop records, there is no denying the legitimacy of his legacy. It is supremely unfortunate for the music industry that his life was cut so short. 2Pac was a problematic figure who nonetheless contributed to a high point in hip hop’s history.

 

37. Alice in Chains

Dirt

Sep. 29, 1992 Grunge/Alternative Metal
Grunge was described as a cross between punk and metal, and Alice in Chains emphasized the metal. The best grunge band this side of Nirvana, they perhaps have the highest number of acclaimed releases of any of the grunge groups, with their most famous arguably being the 1994 EP Jar of Flies. This studio album, however, is a classic. Layne Stayley is one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time and he gave some of his most famous performances on this record, most notably on the hit Would?, which is one of the best rock singles of the decade, grunge or no.

 

36. Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

Nov. 3, 1992 Rap Metal
It is a bit of a joke now that conservatives managed to miss such an obviously leftist message, but come one. How stupid do you have to be? One of the most blatantly political records of the era, the actual surprise lies in how good the rap and metal combination works here. So much rap metal throughout this and the next decade was so bad, yet here were some of the most expertly performed and written rock songs of the era, backed by a fierce performance by Zack de la Rocha. Killing in the Name, the album’s biggest hit, might be most known for its anti-authoritarian outro message, but it is the anti-cop sentiments that lead up to it that feel even more prevalent today.

 

35. Elliott Smith

Either/Or

Feb. 25, 1997 Singer-Songwriter/Indie Folk
Elliott Smith was one of the greatest and most enigmatic songwriters in the history of pop music. From his release until his final posthumous album From a Basement on a Hill in 2004 following his mysterious death, Smith released classic-after-classic, most notably this album. 36 minutes of pure, emotional beauty, Either/Or is a prime example of it being okay to just sit and wallow in despair from time-to-time. Importantly, however, the album leaves off on a more positive note, or at least an optimistic one. Wallow for a bit, then move on. How else is one supposed to navigate life?

 

34. The Smashing Pumpkins

Siamese Dream

July 27, 1993 Alternative Rock
The Smashing Pumpkins are primarily known for this and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, a two-hour rock epic containing one of the most famous songs in the history of rock music, 1979. It is this release, however, that saw the band at their best. Some of the longer tracks in the latter half perhaps drag the record down a tad, but not enough to diminish the overall impact of the record. The band deserves commemoration for managing to find success during the tail-end of the grunge movement, paving the way forward for post-grunge rock bands, including ironically Soundgarden after they moved on from their grunge roots.

 

33.    DJ Shadow

Endtroducing…

Sep. 16, 1996 Instrumental Hip Hop
Listed as the first album made entirely out of samples by Guinness World Records, Endtroducing… is an extremely important watershed moment for hip hop, and something that is not very likely to be repeated ever again. The cover art says it all; this album feels like going to a record shop, picking out a few dozen records, and combining the best sounds and beats from each of them. The end result is beautiful and emotional, and somehow manages to tell a story despite its mostly instrumental nature. This is easily the most famous hip hop album without a rapper, and if that combination sounds contradictory to you, you really need to explore the genre more.

 

32. Jeff Buckley

Grace

Aug. 23, 1994 Singer-Songwriter/Alternative Rock
What was up with famous 90s singer-songwriters dying early? While not as mysterious as Elliott Smith’s stabbing, Buckley getting caught in the wake of a boat and drowning is one of the most frustrating ends to a promising career of any musician. At least we have this, one of the definitive singer-songwriter records of all time. Jeff’s soft voice, which could unexpectedly really rock out when it needed to, perfectly guide the listener through this suite of gorgeous rock tracks. And this version of Hallelujah is the definitive one. There is really no competition there.

 

31. Cocteau Twins

Heaven or Las Vegas

Sep. 17, 1990 Dream Pop
Elizabeth Fraser is one of the greatest vocalists of any pop music group; the fact that Mezzanine turned down Madonna to feature Fraser on their hit Teardrop is proof enough of that. Admittedly, what she is singing on this album is pretty darn unintelligible, but the music is so beautiful that it really does not matter. When music sounds good, it is good, and that is the case for this whole album. While the monotonous nature of Heaven or Las Vegas does start to drag a bit near the end of the record, it is short enough to not really make that much of a difference. Plus, the title track really is one of the most gorgeous singles of all time.

 

30. OutKast

Aquemini

Sep. 29, 1998 Southern Hip Hop
Let me get this out of the way: Mamacita sucks. It is a bad song. The chorus in particular is really annoying. That is just five minutes out of a 75 minute album that is otherwise arguably the greatest Southern hip hop album ever released. André 3000 really stepped up his game from ATLiens, which is also a great release, albeit one with some unfortunate homophobia thrown in—something which was smartly avoided this time around. While it would not be until the next decade that the duo would become true superstars with uber-popular singles such as Ms. Jackson, B.O.B., and of course the legendary Hey Ya!, but to many, this album represents them at their peak. Mamacita excluded.

 

29. Liz Phair

Exile in Guyville

June 22, 1993 Indie Rock/Lo-Fi
Apparently a response to The Rolling Stones’ famous double LP Exile on Main St., perhaps the definitive and greatest rock ‘n roll album of all time, it will probably be easier to appreciate this album if you do not go into it comparing it to that masterpiece. That being said, this is still a masterpiece in its own right. Phair is a fantastic songwriter, and like her Matador contemporaries Pavement, proved that excellent music could be produced from low-fidelity recordings. Above all, these are just 18 fantastic tracks, which, admittedly, is what made the Rolling Stones’ album so great.

 

28. Mobb Deep

The Infamous

April 25, 1995 East Coast Hip Hop
What holds this album back compared to the hip hop albums ranked above it is that Prodigy and Havoc, while by no means mediocre rappers, are not nearly as proficient on the mic as many of their greatest contemporaries, to the degree that they are often overshadowed in their own songs. Though really any rapper having Nas on a track is going to be outshone. In any case, these are some of the greatest rap songs ever released. Shockingly consistent, vivid in terms of detail, and with a superb tracklist flow, The Infamous proves you do not need to be one of the greatest rappers to make one of the greatest rap albums ever.

 

27. Sleater-Kinney

Dig Me Out

April 8, 1997 Indie Rock/Punk Rock
The riot grrrl movement was an important watershed for feminist and punk music, but ultimately few great bands and records actually made it out with any staying power. Sleater-Kinney was the best of the bunch, though their greatest records happened later, when they started relying more on indie rock influences, like this album and even more so with 2005’s The Woods, one of the definitive rock albums of the 2000s. So while Dig Me Out is not the group’s best effort, it is one of the most concise, raw, and powerful rock records of the 90s.

 

26. Built to Spill

Perfect from Now On

Jan. 28, 1997 Indie Rock

Did Built to Spill perfect the indie rock sound? They certainly came close. Though there are indie rock albums with better songs, few sound this good and distill what indie rock is as a genre so perfectly. These are some pretty long tracks, with the shortest running just shy of five minutes and the longest stretching out to nearly nine, yet the album manages to stay engaging throughout its entire run. Many indie rock vocalists tend to be annoying or come across as pretentious, but Doug Martsch manages to perform right alongside the instruments as merely another facet of the music, opting not to outshine, and the record is all the better for it.

 

25. Depeche Mode

Violator

March 19, 1990 Synthpop
This definitely sounds more like an 80s album than a 90s one, which is appropriate considering how early in the decade it was released, but it manages to be deeper and stronger than most albums described as having an “80s sound.” There are the hits, Enjoy the Silence and Personal Jesus, which actually was an 80s single, but this is not a single-driven album; it is a cohesive, consistent release that offers a lot more than just one song could provide. This might be the greatest synthpop album ever released, and one of the few major synthpop releases with genuine artistic integrity.

 

24. Lauryn Hill

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Aug. 25, 1998 Neo Soul/R&B/East Coast Hip Hop
In 1998, Lauryn Hill could do no wrong. Coming straight off her massive success with her group Fugees, Hill managed to reach new artistic peaks with this seminal release, the first hip hop album in history to win the Album of the Year award at the Grammys, as well as the first hip hop album by a woman to be certified Diamond. Unfortunately, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill remains her only solo release, with Hill retreating out of the public eye and disavowing the music industry. Still, her work with Fugees and especially with this record proves that Hill is one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as one of the greatest and most defining artists of her generation.

 

23. Pulp

Different Class

Oct. 30, 1995 Britpop
Britpop was supposedly the U.K.’s response to grunge, and in all honesty, it was kind of a lackluster response. In hindsight, the big names—Oasis and Blur—provided some decent pop material, but nothing on the level of what was being released in America. Blur was the major exception, with this album in particular: smart, well-written songs and track-to-track consistency the bigger britpop groups could only dream of. And to top it all off, Common People is not just the greatest britpop single, but perhaps the best single of all of the 90s. Oasis’ falling out would be a grand event and all over the news, and Damon Albarn of Blur would go on to make better material as Gorillaz, but despite a few decent releases after this, Pulp just kind of faded away. This album remains, like its cover, a snapshot in time, to a different music scene that could have been more.

 

22. Dr. Dre

The Chronic

Dec. 15, 1992 West Coast Hip Hop
N.W.A might be the most important rap group of all time, but their major record, Straight Outta Compton, was never really one of the greatest rap albums of the 80s, or even 1988 (Public Enemy’s masterful It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back easily overshadows it in terms of quality). Too bloated and frontloaded. But Dr. Dre came back with this amazing solo release, perhaps the definitive West Coast hip hop album of the 20th century. With hit-after-hit, even the problematic and offensive material (of which there is an abundant amount) and a terrible sex skit (why were rappers of this era so obsessed with those?) cannot ruin the experience.

 

21. Portishead

Dummy

Aug. 22, 1994 Trip Hop
This is probably the most beloved trip hop release, though not the best (see #4 on this list for that). That is likely largely in part due to Beth Gibbons’ amazing voice. The trip hop instrumentals and samples here are certainly good, but let us be honest. It is Gibbons who carries the record. Right from the opening track Mysterons, one of the greatest album openers of all time, to the closing track Glory Box, easily Portishead’s most famous hit, there is nothing but great music to behold. Trip hop is one of those genres that does not have very good name recognition, and is not particularly relevant in the music scene anymore, but it truly dominated so much of the best music of the 90s, and this is one of the prime examples.

 

20. The Notorious B.I.G.

Ready to Die

Sep. 13, 1994 East Coast Hip Hop
The East Coast–West Coast Hip Hop feud of the 90s unnecessarily led to the deaths of its two biggest names, but it did produce some of the best hip hop albums of all time. Biggie’s murder and subsequent acclaimed posthumous release, Life After Death, may have immortalized him alongside 2Pac and even other famous 90s figures such as Kurt Cobain, but this debut album proved on its own that he was one of the greatest voices in hip hop. Awkward, embarrassing sex skits aside, Biggie released a suite of emotional, well-written songs, delivered with his signature power and coolness that rarely betrayed the fear and emotion underneath. Out of all the 90s hip hop albums, this might be the most essential, even if it is not quite the best.

 

19. Swans

Soundtracks for the Blind

Oct. 22, 1996 Post-Rock/Experimental Rock
Not everyone will have the patience for a two-and-a-half hour piece of slow, repetitive experimental rock music. Those who do will be rewarded with an emotional, unique, and supremely satisfying experience. Swans’ resurgence in the last decade has led to increased popularity amongst a certain subset of internet music culture, but it is this epic in their discography that remains their masterpiece. It is a patience tester, certainly, but if one can get into the mood of the album, they will find that it somehow manages to be consistently engaging and climactic throughout its entire running time. It will not be for everyone, or even really most people, but that does not diminish how great the music here actually is.

 

18. A Tribe Called Quest

The Low End Theory

Sep. 24, 1991 East Coast Hip Hop/Jazz Rap
Was Sep. 24 of 1991 the single greatest day for releases in the history of popular music? Besides this seminal rap release, the Red Hot Chili Peppers also released their uber-popular Blood Sugar Sex Magik and, most notably, Nirvana shook the whole industry with Nevermind. In any case, The Low End Theory is great for a lot of reasons, from its gorgeous, jazzy production to its conscious, political lyrics (which were almost ruined with the inclusion of the extremely homophobic Georgie Porgie, which thankfully was removed from the record and replaced with the excellent Show Business). Also worth checking out is the equally as beloved followup Midnight Marauders and acclaimed 2016 release We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service.

 

17. Pavement

Slanted and Enchanted

April 20, 1992 Indie Rock/Lo-Fi
Many will point to Pavement’s second release, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, as the band’s best album, but that really feels like some strong anti-lo-fi bias. This debut may not have the cleanest audio quality, but it would be worse if it did. The raw, angsty emotions of many of these tracks are able to ooze so effectively precisely because of the rough recordings. In any case, these are some fantastic songs. Summer Babe, Trigger Cut, In the Mouth a Desert, Here, etc. Maybe there is no Gold Soundz, but this is one of the most consistent and probably the single greatest indie rock release of the early 90s.

 

16. Wu-Tang Clan

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Nov. 9, 1993 East Coast Hip Hop
Not the most political or meaningful hip hop album of the era, but certainly one of the best, Enter the Wu-Tang helped set the stage for East Coast hip hop going forward, with its smart lines, genius production, and skits that were admittedly a lot less terrible than most rap albums of the 90s. Actually, they could be kind of charming. The members were not equal in terms of their performance quality, but their chemistry was fantastic. There really is not that much to say about this release—it is one of the best rap albums ever, and it does everything well. Listen to it.

 

15. Death

Symbolic

March 21, 1995 Death Metal
Death metal is obviously not going to be everyone’s cup-of-tea, but really everyone should at least try to give Symbolic a chance. It is loud, harsh, and yes, he does scream a lot, but the instrumentals can be shockingly catchy and beautiful at times, and every song sounds so good. This is one of the greatest metal albums ever, and absolutely essential listening. Chuck Shuldiner is one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and that his life was cut so short is one of rock’s greatest travesties. If you do not think you can sit through a whole death metal album, at the very least give Crystal Mountain a shot. It does not get much better than that.

 

14. Beck

Odelay

June 18, 1996 Alternative Rock
Due to his ties to Scientology (which Beck has since disavowed, admittedly), and the Grammys’ insistence on giving him undeserved awards, it has been made more difficult in recent years to appreciate just how great of an artist Beck really was, but just go back and listen to this record and the debut as proof that he did at one point deserve all the acclaim. Best known for the hit single Loser, an excellent alt-rock/rap fusion off his debut, Beck reached new artistic heights with Odelay, refining his sound and compiling a more consistent, excellent tracklist. This album just exudes 90s energy, despite how ahead-of-the-curve it was. And to think it was supposed to be a failure!

 

13. Daft Punk

Homework

Jan. 20, 1997 House/Techno
Apparently it is cool these days to hate on this album, but that is just nonsense. There is very little music as danceable and catchy as this. While it is maybe not as immediately digestible as Discovery or Random Access Memories, it is by no means a lesser album. It has its hits with Da Funk and Around the World, but the whole journey is one worth dancing along to. Or at least nodding your head along to while you lay in your room by yourself. It really is a shame we will not be hearing more from this duo. It feels like they gave us so little, but really that is just because it was all so great.

 

12. Ween

The Mollusk

June 24, 1997 Art Rock/Neo-Psychedelia
Arguably Ween’s most famous album, though not their best—that platitude goes to 2003’s Quebec, one of the greatest alternative rock records of all time—The Mollusk’s popularity was certainly helped by its hit single Ocean Man, whose popularity was boosted after appearing in the first Spongebob movie. Appropriately, this album was very inspirational to Stephen Hillenburg in creating the Spongebob show and character. The nautical themes and Ween’s signature immature sense of humor are coupled with some genuinely emotional storytelling and the most beautiful instrumentals the duo had yet performed. There is a lot more here to enjoy than just Ocean Man.

 

11. Slint

Spiderland

March 27, 1991 Post-Rock/Math Rock
Easily the definitive math rock album, Slint released just two studio albums during their short time together, and the improvement shown from their debut Tweez to this is astounding. Complex, emotional guitarwork, dry, haunting lyricism, and a strong sense of dread result in a completely atmospheric rock album. It may be too cold for some people’s taste, and in the case of this reviewer, it took quite some time to grow fond of, but it really is amongst the greatest rock albums of all time, and only barely misses out on the top 10 of this list. Blame that on For Dinner…

 

10. Björk

Homogenic

Sep. 20, 1997 Art Pop/Electronica
Björk is one of the great voices in the music industry. Her presence is otherworldly, carrying vast amounts of power and weight behind it. Just listen to Jóga as proof. She started out in the 80s as an indie darling during her tenure with the band Sugarcubes, before becoming the queen of electronica and house during the 90s. This album is a perfect summation of the vast quality of great material under her belt up until this point. While 2001’s Vespertine might be her magnum opus, there is certainly debate to be had that this album is the best representation of her discography.

 

9. R.E.M.

Automatic for the People

Oct. 5, 1992 Alternative Rock
Some people consider this album to be where R.E.M. sold out, and that is typically the case when college indie rock heroes become stadium ballad stars, but somehow, Michael Stipe and co. make it work. Perhaps this is the beginning of the group’s downfall, since they would never again release a truly beloved record, but on its own, this is some of the best alternative rock ever put to tape. Everybody has heard Everybody Hurts, to the degree that it is easy to overlook just how well-made of a song it is, but that it is far from being the best this record has to offer is proof of its excellency.

 

8. Belle and Sebastian

If You’re Feeling Sinister

Nov. 18, 1996 Chamber Pop/Indie Pop
You will either find this really emotional or really bland, but hopefully the former is the case. Each song is like a vignette into some fictional character’s life, many of whom are unique and progressive, like Hillary who is into S&M and Bible studies, or the boy on the bike riding to nowhere. Usually when straight people write about queer characters it ends up exploitative, but Stuart Murdoch writes a genuinely emotional track about a closeted gay lover. There was not much like that in 1996. Soft, gorgeous instrumentation and vocals, meaningful songwriting, and amazing track-to-track consistency results in the best indie pop release this side of The Smiths.

 

7. Fishmans

Uchū Nippon Setagaya

July 24, 1997 Dream Pop
Fishmans might be more well known for the uber-beloved Long Season and the hit-filled Kūchū Camp, but this studio record, unfortunately their last before the untimely death of lead singer Shinji Sato, is their masterpiece. That is, at least as far as studio recordings go, since their live album 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare is amongst the greatest of all live recordings. For studio albums, though, which is the focus of this list, Uchū Nippon Setagaya is the group’s most beautiful, most consistent, and most definitive release. It re-incorporates some of their earlier dub and reggae influences that they had previously drowned in during their early records much more subtly and skillfully this time. It also keeps the emotionally-charged dream pop of Long Season intact, resulting in what may very well be the definitive dream pop experience.

 

6. Neutral Milk Hotel

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Feb. 10, 1998 Indie Folk/Indie Rock
You can blame this album for all the awful folk punk of the 2000s, but inspiring terrible music is not a crime in-and-of itself. This is one of the most important records to get major traction during the earlier days of the internet—it is the mascot of 4Chan’s music board, /mu/, after all—and honestly, it deserves all of that praise. Jeff Mangum (not Magnum) is a poet, albeit a frustratingly oblique and abstract one, whose raw emotions pour out through his words. At merely 39 minutes, this is a tight experience, and certainly a unique one. How many concept albums about Anne Frank can you name? Though honestly, the importance of her role is greatly overstated. There is a lot more to this album than the memes might suggest. And that is not a potato on her head.

 

5. Nas

Illmatic

April 19, 1994 East Coast Hip Hop
Illmatic is the best rap album of the 90s, and it is not really close. Many people call Nas the greatest MC of all time, and just because of this one album. How many other rappers are genuinely in the running for greatest of all time based solely on their debut album released almost 30 years ago? At under 40 minutes during a time when most hip hop albums had to be an hour plus and filled with dumb skits, Nas’ laser-focus allowed for some of the greatest political and social dissections in music history. The production is simple, and that is a good thing. It has aged a lot better than many of the overproduced and overblown rap records before it, to the point that if this was not such a classic so fully ingrained into the DNA of hip hop, this could be mistaken for a much more recent release. If there was ever a bias for East Coast hip hop amongst music critics, as was often claimed, it is albums like this that somewhat justify that bias.

 

4. Massive Attack

Mezzanine

April 20, 1998 Trip Hop
Massive Attack released one of the most critically acclaimed debut records of all time with Blue Lines, which contained their mega hit Unfinished Sympathy, but they perfected the trip hop sound with this third album in their discography. Sleek, polished, and exuding coolness, it is hard to give this album enough praise. The songs on it are just so great and immaculate. They even play the same song twice and it somehow works. If you want to know what trip hop is, just listen to this album. It distills it so perfectly that it might as well be a how-to guidebook on the genre. Despite going on for over an hour, the different vocalists keep things fresh for the entire time it is playing. Essential 90s listening.

 

3. My Bloody Valentine

Loveless

Nov. 4, 1991 Shoegaze
Shoegaze is a genre you either love or have not heard of. This is the seminal shoegaze release. It is to the genre what Halloween was to slasher movies or Jaws was to shark movies. Loveless is also a prime example of an album cover representing exactly the music that lies beneath—distorted, hazy, harsh, yet warm, beautiful, and, ironically, full of love. The album is extremely monotonous and repetitive, but all that works in its favor somehow, and it manages to keep its freshness throughout its entire run. When You Sleep, the album’s biggest single, is one of the greatest songs of all time, yet every other full-length track stands just as tall. That is how excellent this record is. Give it a listen, it may seem difficult at first, but it is hauntingly beautiful.

 

2. Nirvana

Nevermind

Sep. 24, 1991 Grunge
There has not been an album like Nevermind since its release. While its claims of completely reinventing the music industry are exaggerated, as all such claims are, it did represent a very optimistic moment for rock music. Sure, maybe the whole grunge movement was more based in commercial discourse rather than reality—Pearl Jam at times seemed to have more in common with the bland hair metal of the 80s than Nirvana’s stripped back, anti-establishment, punk attitude—but is it not cool that a relatively unestablished alternative band could top the Billboard? That they displaced the uber-successful Michael Jackson for that platitude? That something so against the downward trend of commercial rock music could end up so commercially successful? At the end of the day, what made this album so successful was Kurt Cobain’s superb songwriting. His talent rivaled that of Lennon and McCartney, and coupled with his angry, depressive, thoughtful personality that shone through his simple yet provocative lyrics, it was about time someone like him broke into the public consciousness. And that is not to discredit Krist Novoselic or Dave Grohl—the album would not work without their tight performances. The unfortunate suicide of Cobain, perhaps the most famous of the 27 club, perhaps helped cement the band’s legacy as one of the greats, but really, at the end of the day, what matters if that these are 12 of the best songs ever, each and every one of them.

 

1. Radiohead

OK Computer

May 21, 1997 Alternative Rock
Radiohead burst onto the scene with 1992’s hit single Creep, and then proved they were not one-hit-wonders with 1995’s seminal alt-rock classic The Bends. Then they made one of the greatest albums of all time. It can be hard to see through the enormous praise and platitudes heaped upon this record, which regularly tops lists and polls of the greatest albums of all time. Nothing can live up to that enormous hype, but through the waves of excessive praise and fan obsession, what actually exists is an emotional, politically-charged, and ever-relevant concept record. Since 1997, consumerism, capitalism, and technology taking over our lives have all become even more prevalent issues, with no end in sight. You are reading this on a website rather than print, are you not? While Nevermind, which is in all honesty an equally great record, represented a singular, optimistic point in time for a generation and for underground music as a whole, OK Computer continually points toward the future. Its 70s influences, Pink Floyd and David Bowie in particular, are obvious, but its cold, robotic style of rock sounds fresh today, like the dying grasps of rock music making its final statement, one that has not faded all these years later. After this record, even Radiohead would begin to abandon their rock roots with their seminal 2000 electronic release Kid A. Yet OK Computer still sounds as relevant and influential 25 years on. Its superb production, performances, songwriting, lyricism, political, anticapitalist message and personal, emotional concept all combine into what is the greatest album of the 1990s.

 

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