I suspected you might have meant something statistical but decided to ignore it at the time

Okay, then we'll have to be considerably more lame and traditional:

1 Radiohead- OK Computer
2 DJ Shadow- Endtroducing...
3 My Bloody Valentine- Loveless
4 Aphex Twin- Selected Ambient Works vol. 2
6 Guided By Voices- Bee Thousand
7 Tortoise- Millions Now Living Will Never Die
8 Olivia Tremor Control, The- Black Foliage
9 Liz Phair- Exile in Guyville
10 Buena Vista Social Club- s/t

Note that using 10 albums may be slightly restricting, because you'll get a lot of low-point ties. If you change it to 20 or something, that would probably improve things.

I just started really listening to music in 2001, so cut me a bit of slack. These are my top 10 favourites of the 90's, in order...

Björk— Homogenic
Tori Amos— Little Earthquakes
Me'shell Ndegeocello— Bitter
Radiohead— OK Computer
Björk— Post
Sarah McLachlan— Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Sarah McLachlan— Surfacing
Tori Amos— Boys for pele
Sinéad O'Connor— I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Tom Waits— Bone Machine
Hole— Live Through This
Björk— Debut

I guess 1997 was my favorite year for music in the 90s.

1. OK Computer - Radiohead (1997)
2. Summerteeth - Wilco (1999)
3. Rid Of Me - PJ Harvey (1993)
4. either/or - Elliott Smith (1997)
5. Dig Me Out - Sleater-Kinney (1997)
6. Gentlemen - Afghan Whigs (1993)
7. I Can Hear The... - Yo La Tengo (1997)
8. Horse Stories - Dirty Three (1996)
9. AEnima - Tool (1996)
10.Perfect From Now On - Built To Spill (1997)

I was reading through this thread and it shocked me that it took 6 posts for someone to mention Nirvana.

Nirvana - Nevermind
Radiohead - OK Computer
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land
Green Day - Warning
Beck - Odelay
2Pac - All Eyez on Me
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
Weezer - Pinkerton

I'm older now and have much more varied tastes in music... but these albums are what I grew up on. For better or worse, I am truly a child of the 90s.

quote:

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Originally posted by Robby Digital:
I was reading through this thread and it shocked me that it took 6 posts for someone to mention Nirvana. .

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I certainly think Nevermind is one of the truly influential records of the 90's, but I can't say it's still one of my favorites. Maybe the songs (even the deep album cuts) got so much airplay and I got tired of them in that way. I think what bugs me the most about Nirvana, though, is the "cult of Cobain" and the people who want to bootleg his flatulence because he was such a genius. But then again, I have the same problem with the people who think Jim Morrison was a poet. Maybe it's the "tragically short life" argument at play. But I refuse to deify suicides and OD's.

Nevermind is a good, maybe even great, record. It certainly is one of the most important records of the 90's, for better AND worse. It changed commerical radio, it changed MTV, killed hair metal, and it moved college rock above ground. I was DJ'ing at a college station at the time, and had played "Teen Spirit" on my show. I remember loving it as a great Pixies tune that the Pixies didn't write. Then, a few weeks later, I remember being in a car with friends and hearing "Teen Spirit" on a pop station. I remember thinking..."what are they doing stealing OUR bands?" A few months later, the whole Seattle scene was a national news story. That's impressive. I hope, in a few more years, I'll pull Nevermind out and love it like I did when it first came out.

Hmm let's see....
10 albums spanning different genres I still believe hold up to this day.

(random order)

Dr Dre - The Chronic (1992)
Chuckii Booker Nice 'n Wild (1992)
Mint Condition - From The Mint Factory (1993)
Incognito - No Time Like The Future (1999)
Christian Mcbride - A Family Affair (1998)

Rachel Ferrell - Rachel Ferrell (1992)
Will Downing - A Dream Fullfilled (1991)
Michel Pettrucciani - Au Theatre des Champs Elysées (1995)
Maze Feat. Frankie Beverly - Back To Basics (1993)
R. Kelly - 12" Play (1993)

My top 10:

1. Radiohead - OK Computer (if not one of the greatest albums of the 90s, caputres the ethos of modernity perfectly, IMO, and for that they should get credit)
2. Oasis - What's the Story (Morning Glory)
3. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
4. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
5. Basement Jaxx - Remedy
6. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
7. Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
8. Pavement - Slanted + Enchanted
9. Alanis Morissette- Jagged Little Pill
10. Portishead - Dummy

Honourable Mentions, because I just have to mention them: Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, Massive Attack's Mezzanine, Fatboy Slim's You've Come A Long Way Baby, Joseph Arthur's Come To Where I'm From, and Fugazi's Repeater

thought of a few more contenders since my last post:

James: Laid (a fantastic album that turned out to be a bit of a fluke)
Morphine: Cure For Pain
Orbital: [Green Album] or [Brown Album]

On my own, I was curious about what I thought were the best albums by year in the 90's. Kind of a different approach:

90: Paul Simon- Rhythm of the Saints. (I love this album and think its woefully underrated. All you Public Enemy and Goodbye Jumbo people, better hit the reply button quick!)

91: Talk Talk- Laughing Stock. (Competitive year. Laughing Stock is the most intense and bravest, so it wins in my book. Close behind: MBV and Slint. Still great but not quite as good: Nirvana, R.E.M., U2, Primal Scream...)

92: R.E.M. - Automatic for the People. (Pavement and Beastie Boys had great records too.)

93: Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream

94: Jeff Buckley - Grace (I don't know. I love Grace, but it isn't flawless. Parklife, Crooked Rain and Dummy might be better...)

95: Tricky - Maxinquaye (Trip-hop's urban-angst masterpiece.)

96: DJ Shadow - Endtroducing (Beck's Odelay is just so overrated! I guess I'm not one for party albums.)

97: Radiohead - Ok Computer (97 is an unbelievable year. Bjork's Homogenic is a masterpiece too, better than most winners for other years. The Verve, Bob Dylan...the list goes on...)

98: Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane OR Beck - Mutations? (Mutations is the best Beck album easily. In the Aeroplane is that album that people- like me- name off to sound cool. It's still great though.)

99: The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (took awhile to grow on me. XTC, Magnetic Fields- terrific albums, both.

What'd I miss? A lot. For one thing, I know rock music much better than rap; so I ignored it. Sorry, I don't know any better. And the 90's were the decade of the female artists! Where are they!? Bjork is my fave; every album she's done is groundbreaking. PJ Harvey is wonderful too. Liz Phair? Exile in Guyville never impressed me. I think it lacks substance. Tori Amos and Sarah Mclachlan (Little Earthquakes and Fumbling Towards Ectasy, respectively) are both great albums too.

Oh yes! I forgot Lauryn Hill! Her album is a bit of a sprawl, but I still love her to death. Yup, she's definately one of those important female artists....

albums off the top of my head:

Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish
Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
Super Furry Animals - Radiator
Radiohead - The Bends
Brainiac - Bonsai Superstar
Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst
Aphex Twin - Richard D James Album
Quasi - Featuring "Birds"
Mogwai - Young Team
The Webb Brothers - Beyond The Biosphere
Lamb - Lamb
The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
Autechre - Chiastic Slide
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - f#a#oo
The Silver Jews - American Water
Add N To (X) - On The Wires Of Our Nerves
Slint - Spiderland
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See a Darkness
Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I


okay that's enough...!

quote:

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Originally posted by Ashurra:
On my own, I was curious about what I thought were the best albums by year in the 90's.

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Yeah. I've considered doing that in the past, but I usually run into the fact that some years are just better than others. In the '90s, you have '91 and '97 and '99 as completely chock-full of classics, and '93 as somewhat starved, IMHO.

Okay, this is tricky; I'm gonna have to divide my list into "rock" and "rap" categories, because a)they both produced an equal number of classics in the decade, and b)they're the only two genres that I can feel comfortable writing lists like this about. So here goes:

ROCK:

1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea (also my all-time favourite album)
2. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
3. Radiohead - OK Computer
4. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
5. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
6. The Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
7. Blur - Parklife
8. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
9. Radiohead - The Bends
10. Primal Scream - Screamadelica

...I realize the inclusion of The Beasties and maybe even Primal Scream will raise some eyebrows, but they just seem to fit better here...

RAP/HIP-Hop

1. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
2. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
3. Black Star - Black Star
4. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Mauraders
5. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
6. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
7. De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
8. OutKast - Aquemini
9. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low-End Theory
10. Ice Cube - Amerikkka's Most Wanted

1) MBV, Loveless
2) Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet
3) KMD, Black Bastards (criminally overlooked and although it wasn't released until the 00's, it was recorded in the 90's, so that's where I put it)
4) Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
5) Yann Tiersen, Le Phare
6) Beck, Odelay
7) Talk Talk, Laughing Stock
8) Yo La Tengo, ICHTHBAO
9) Radiohead, OK Computer

Tomorrow, maybe I can think of a better list.

1.Alanis Morissette-Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
2.Liz Phair-Whitechocolatespaceeg
3.Amy Grant-Behind The Eyes
4.Sheryl Crow-Sheryl Crow
5.PJ Harvey-To Bring You My Love
6.Leah Andreone-Veiled
7.Tracy Bonham-The Burdens Of Being Upright
8.Aimee Mann-Whatever
9.Ani DiFranco-Not A Pretty Girl
10.Tori Amos-Little Earthquakes

minty, you really have a thing for les femmes. I will agree wih Liz Phair, PJ Harvey and Ani DiFranco, but maybe I should shut up now.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

hehe, yeah, I love female singer-songwriters.

my brain splurts:

Air - Moon Safari
Pig - Praise the Lard
Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Bjork - Homogenic
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Dr Dre - The Chronic
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
The Buena Vista Social Club
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do...

I agree with a lot of the above, especially Radiohead, Bjork, Beastie Boys, Nirvana, and a lot of the rap. In my opinion the mid 90's were to rap what the late 60's were to rock. With Nas, Wu tang, Dre, Snoop, Tribe, De La, Black moon and others coming out with great albums back then, it makes current rap music look very sad.
Some others albums that come to mind from the 90's-
Oasis- Deffinetely Maybe
The Verve- Urban Hymnes
New Radicals- Maybe You've been brainwashed to

quote:

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Originally posted by dorzia:
Some others albums that come to mind from the 90's-
Oasis- Deffinetely Maybe
The Verve- Urban Hymnes
New Radicals- Maybe You've been brainwashed to

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These are all really nice choices. That New Radicals record was a real left-field stunner, a great combination of songwriting, music, and production. I saw them (him) play an abbreviated show for students at Emory University in Atlanta, and they were great. It's too bad fame wasn't what Greg wanted. Hopefully he'll make a new record sometime soon.

The Verve and Oasis records are also excellent choices...kudos!