Posted on 10/22/2006 10:42:07 AM PDT by Pyro7480
I was born in 1980, which is considered either to be the tail-end of Generation X, part of Generation Y, or part of the so-called "MTV Generation," or the XY Cusp. I was only a pre-teen when grunge appeared, and a teenager and/or college student when the current wasteland of music started.
There are ten albums, which after 8-14 years, are still great, at least to me. Some of them I actually found out about years after they came out, but I consider them to be "classics" of the decade.
Here are the ten albums, organized in alphabetical order by artist (not by ranking).
1.) Jeff Buckley - Grace
It was around the year 1995, when I was listening to the now-defunct rock station, WDRE, out of Philadelphia, that I heard a track called "Last Goodbye," which is track 3 off "Grace." Though I only heard a handful of times, it made a huge impression on me. Jeff Buckley had such a memorable/haunting voice. I heard the track again years later when I was in college, and I ended up buying the album. It was the only full album he release before his premature death in 1995. My favorite tracks are the title track, "Last Goodbye," "Corpus Christi Carol," and "Dream Brother."
2.) Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
Released in 1997, this album is the second release for the Foo Fighters, who was founded by Dave Grohl, the former drummer of Nirvana (which means this isn't a "completely" Nirvana-free list, but I don't think this counts). While it has three or four well-known tracks, the rest of the album's track don't disappoint either. The highlight of the lesser-known tracks is "February Stars." Of course, most who followed rock at the time can't forget the track "Everlong," which is one of my all-time favorites from the 1990s.
3.) Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
I was probably 13 years old when I first heard this entire album. I loved it then, and I love it now. I had it on tape at first, but when I lost my copy in 1997, during a trip to Europe, I bought the CD used. From start to finish, even with two weaker tracks ("Cajun Song," which I happen to like, and "Cheatin'"), is a work of art. Everyone remembers "Hey Jealousy," but I like "Found Out About You" much better. Of the lesser-known tracks, "29" (track 10 on the album) is my favorite.
4.) Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming
I remember when the track "What Would You Say" came out on the radio. It was definitely "different" from most stuff played on "alternative" radio. My sister and I got into their music soon after. Though a lot of modern music listeners aren't fond of DMB, for one reason or another, I truly like this album. It is well-crafted, and while all of the tracks have the same "sound," they all have unique qualities. My favorite tracks are "Warehouse" and "Satellite."
5.) Portishead - Roseland NYC Live
This album probably stands out from the rest, since it can't be categorized as "alternative" at all. It is also the only live album out of the ten I've chosen. During my last two years of high school, and in college, I got into the whole "electronica" music thing. While most of the music of that category from the 1990s were of the "danceable" type, Portishead cannot be labeled as such. The mix of a live orchestra, a DJ scratching on a turntable, electric organ, and other instruments is truly unique. I really don't have a favorite track on this album, except maybe the very first track, "Humming," since it's good from start to finish.
6.) Radiohead - The Bends
Other than hearing the tracks that received radio play, such as "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees," I didn't hear this entire album until a few years after it was release, probably around 1998. While the afforementioned tracks are great, the rest of album cannot be considered mediocre, in my opinion. "My Iron Lung" is my favorite of the lesser-known tracks. A friend of mine has said that a riff in that track is similar to Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady," and I know what he means.
7.) Radiohead - Ok Computer
This is Radiohead's "masterpiece." I bought the album shortly after it came out in 1997, and actually wrote a review of it in my high school's student newspaper. While "Karma Police" is the most well-known of the tracks on this album, and I really like it, I consider "Airbag" and "Lucky" are my favorites on this album. Radiohead really changed their sound after this album, so "Ok Computer," when put in context of "The Bends" and the subsequent album, "Kid A," really is a transitional album.
8.)Stone Temple Pilots - Core
This album was actually one of the first CDs I ever got, after I got a CD boombox for Christmas, early in the 1990s. The Wikipedia article on the album (link above) states that some critics saw this album as a rip-off of the other grunge bands of the time, but I agree with the others who say that the album is "a true symbol of the movement, and it is generally thought of as a staple of the genre." Everyone remembers "Plush," of course, but that doesn't take away from the rest of the album.
9.) Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
Real "emo" isn't the stuff that is often labeled as such by many music reviewers. Real "emo" is the music on "Diary," Sunny Day Real Estate's debut album from 1994. While they came out of the same Seattle scene as the more popular "alternative" bands (this album was released by "Sub Pop" Records, the same label Nirvana started out on), their sound can't really be considered to be grunge. I actually didn't hear this album until about a decade after it came out. But in retrospective, this album should be considered to be a "classic" of the 1990s. Most of the tracks follow a "standard" model of having a slow and/or soft section, alternated with a louder/faster section, which became common in the subsequent "emo," "screamo," and related bands.
Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album)
Though I like all ten of the albums in this list, this album (or maybe Gin Blossom's "New Miserable Experience") is probably my favorite out of the bunch. I like all of the tracks. I don't think any of them are weak. I've seen Weezer the most times of any band in concert (out of the bands on the list, I never got to see Jeff Buckley and his band, Portishead, or Sunny Day Real Estate in concert; 7 out of 10 isn't bad at all). I can't say much more about it. If I had to pick a favorite track, it would be "My Name is Jonas."
a few more...in no special order:
Nirvana - Nevermind
Pearl Jam - Ten
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Metallica - Metallica (black album)
Queensryche - Empire
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
On Weezer - the Blue Album is good, but Pinkerton is far better.
I know I'm late to this thread, but...
My top 10 for the 90's (not necessarily in order):
1. Social Distortion - Live at the Roxy
All the greatest songs by my favorite band, accompanied by the between-song ramblings of Mike Ness. Perfect.
2. Quicksand - Manic Compression
Very underrated band, not very well-known, but really good. Sort of similar to Tool, but without the pretentious edge. Self-titled first album is also really good.
3. Helmet - In the Meantime
The first band to play around so excessively with drop-tunings, stop-and-start rythyms, guitar feedback, etc. Way better than all subsequent bands who turned these into cliches.
4. Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It
Best album from the whole mid-to-late 90's ska craze.
5. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
I'm not usually into metal, especially stuff this heavy, but Pantera is the exception.
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Everyone of my generation owns a copy of this album. Helped define "alternative" for the 90's.
7. Jawbreaker - Dear You
I would actually put this as a toss-up against their previous record, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. Excellent band.
8. Rancid - Life Won't Wait
They finally took ripping off the Clash as far as they could take it. While Tim Armstrong sure ain't no Joe Stummer, this album is still better than a lot of the crap that came out in the 90's.
9. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Probably the only rap album released in the 90's that I liked.
10. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
Are they flaming leftists? Yeah. Do they know how to rock? Hell yeah. So I'll let it slide.
Honorable mention: The Johnny Cash American Recordings series (some of which were not released in the 90's).
I love Pinkerton, so it definitely gets an honorable mention from me.
Yeah, I have some Lush albums. "Gala" is by far the best of their stuff. Everything after that just seemed to be weaker copies of the same songs. Now that you mention it, I guess I do have quite a few "shoegazing" albums (I also have some My Bloody Valentine) but overall I tend to like particular bands versus styles. For example, I mostly can't stand metal, but I really like the early Metallica albums like "Master of Puppets".
That's why I download! I get the music. They don't get my money.
I'll agree with you on most of that list are good but I would have to put Ten, Vitalogy, and Yield in there. All 3 of them in the top 10. I'd also maybe add August and Everything After. I've seen the Gin Blossoms several times in concert. For a few years, I think my Discman consisted entirely of a rotation of Ten, Dookie, August, and New Miserable Experience.
The Worst of the Jefferson Airplane.
(Currently listening to DSOTM)
Ooooops.... wrong decade.... wrong DNA.... wrong lifeforms!
Where is Amadeus when you need him?
Too gone.
Too long.
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