The Definitive Top Ten Albums of the '90s

by Jason Hicks

Ahh the '90s, our society's last wheezing gasp of innocence.  A simpler time when tying a flannel shirt around your waist and getting a pair of Doc Marten boots was all you needed to be cool.  The internet was just taking shape, the economy was good, hip hop was in its golden age and genuine rock n' roll sang its swan song in the form of grunge.  I myself spent the entire decade in high school and in and out of college so it is a time I look back on with much nostalgia and fondness.

It was also the last time that you could put out an album and get the single played on the radio which would in turn get millions of people to cough up $15.99 for the CD.  These days it's all about cross-promotion with product tie-ins, movie soundtracks, iTunes downloads and a whole host of other junk that has little to do with the actual music.  So with that in mind I present to you the 10 finest albums of the '90s, definitively.  That's right, this list is completely inarguable.  You might think there are other albums more deserving of being on this list, but you're wrong.  Enjoy!

10. Nirvana- Nevermind

Wait a minute, shouldn't this be at the top of the list and not the bottom?  No it shouldn't.  It's a great album and every song could have easily been a single, but it's not the work of "genius" that some folks would have you believe.  It's an outstanding collection of rather simple songs that are catchy as hell.  Actually, if there is any genius at work here it is probably Butch Vig's crystal clear production that perfectly emphasizes the band's loud/soft dynamics.

9. Bjork- Post

Sure it's kind of dated and Bjork herself has become insufferably pretentious in recent years, but when this album came out it was like nothing else that came before it.  Combining electronics, harps, and big band rave ups with Bjork's unique voice and perspective makes for one interesting trip of an album.  Bjork's vocals go from a kittens purr to a shriek at a moment's notice which matches up perfectly with her eclectic music. 

8. R.E.M.- Automatic For the People

After virtually defining alternative rock in the '80s and breaking into the mainstream in a major way with 1990's Out of Time R.E.M. took a step back and released this collection of mainly hushed, textural classics.  Sure there are some big singles like "Man on the Moon" and the played to death "Everybody Hurts", but the album's best moments come when Michael Stipe tackles topics like his ambivalence toward fame on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" and the dysfunction of our political system on "Ignoreland".

7. Beastie Boys- Check Your Head

A lot of folks will give the nod to the dense sampling of the trio's second album Paul's Boutique as their best, but it was on the subsequent Check Your Head that the group's creativity hit its apex.  Moving effortlessly from punk to funk, and managing to squeeze in a couple old school barn burners like "Pass the Mic", the boys practically invented a new genre of music with this one.

6. DJ Shadow- Endtroducing

Perhaps still the best argument for the ability of sampler based music to have an emotional impact, this is without a doubt the best instrumental hip hop album of all time.  DJ Shadow, nom de reality Josh Davis, takes pieces of obscure records found in dusty bargain bins and recontextualizes them to create something that is not only new but deeply moving as well.  Endtroducing builds upon its source material while paying tribute to it at the same time.

5. Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream

It's well known that chief songwriter and guitarist of the Pumpkins Billy Corgan is somewhat of a control freak and egomaniac, but sometimes those qualities pay off with musical brilliance and the group's 1993 sophomore album is a perfect example.  Much like Nirvana's Nevermind virtually every song here is strong enough to be a single and the fact that Butch Vig produced both albums is probably no coincidence.  It's been reported that on sections of the album 26 recording tracks were used for the guitar alone, and that Corgan and Vig spent up to two days to record passages as short as 45 seconds.  The obsessive attention to detail shines through when listening to this intricate masterpiece. 

4. Public Enemy- Fear of a Black Planet

Not only does this album deserve a spot on this list, it's also one of the greatest rap/hip hop albums of all time.  All socially conscious hip hop (with the possible exception of KRS-One) traces its roots back to this and It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the album's predecessor.  With this 1990 album the trademark sonic assault of the Bomb Sqaud production team had been perfected.  Somehow this dense collage of samples and beats still doesn't sound dated.

3. Beck- Odelay

You would be hard pressed to find an album that exemplifies the post modern cut and paste aesthetic better than Beck's 1996 opus.  Not only does Beck combine rock, folk, hip hop, jazz, funk and even country into a coherent and dynamic whole, but Odelay was a perfect distillation of the mid-90s zeitgeist that still remains relevant to this day.  Combining Beck's bohemian sensibilities, hip hop style production courtesy of the Dust Brothers and his dada yet topical lyrics created one of the more original albums in not so recent memory.  

 2. The Orb- Orbus Terrarum

The third full length album by the electronic music pioneers was actually widely panned in their native UK when it was released in 1995.  It's not hard to see why as the linear four on the floor dance beats were left far behind in favor of an extremely complex musical tapestry that was highly abstract and at times fairly jarring.  This new style brings to mind comparisons to 20th Century classical composers such as Stravinsky and Cage.  The Orb were known as pioneers of "chill out" music, the type of techno you would hear in the smaller rooms at raves in between exhausting dance sessions in the big room.  But given the density and obliqueness of Orbus Terrarum this side of the Orb felt more like the soundtrack to a psychotic break than to wee hours relaxation.  However the Orb's famous sense of humor remained in tact, as evidenced by the sampling of a children's story on the epic album closer "Slug Dub".

1. Radiohead- OK Computer

Infusing the alternative rock of the day with the space rock aesthetic of the 70s, OK Computer heralded Radiohead's arrival as one of their generation's top tier bands.  With its themes of fear, isolation and technology in many ways it is the 90's answer to Pink Floyd's 1979 monument to paranoia The Wall, but to claim that Radiohead are merely an updated Floyd is to sell their achievements short.  Johnny Greenwood's schizophrenic soloing on "Paranoid Android" and chorale arrangements throughout the album are clearly the work of a unique musical genius.  While the themes of the album are indeed dark, Thom Yorke serves as the beating heart within the machine, bringing a sensitiveness and vulnerability not often seen in rock n' roll vocalists.  When Yorke boasts in the album opening "Airbag" that he is "back to save the universe" for a brief moment it seems like he just might be, and it's that sort of possibility that the most transcendent musical experiences are all about.

In an attempt to head off dissenters at the pass, here are a few honorable mentions:

Flaming Lips- Soft Bulletin, Pixies- Trompe Le Monde, Alice in Chains- Dirt, Pharcyde- Bizarre Ride II, Chemical Brothers- Exit Planet Dust, Pearl Jam- Ten, Dr. Octagon- Dr. Octagon, Nine Inch Nails- The Downward Spiral, U2- Achtung Baby.

Comments

[Mitch]

Well Done. While I don't agree with you, What you wrote was well thought out and YOUR opinion.
Good Job.
__Mitch

[Brenda]

Jason, you are a genius. I base that assessment on the fact that 7 of your 10 picks are also at the top of my own top albums of the 90's list. I think you missed Garbage-Garbage and Red Hot Chili Peppers-Californication.

Good work, all-in-all.