Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s by buzzdainer

The nineties were an adventure-filled, geographically complicated decade for me. I began the decade in college, where I hosted a weekly alternative rock show on the campus radio station and worked part-time at an independent record store. After that I worked in various jobs--high school social studies teacher, naturalist, ESL instructor, food service flunkie, wilderness trip leader, outdoor program director, and (believe it or not) children's television game show host. During the nineties I lived in places as far-flung as Maine, Vermont, New York, Western Australia, Alaska, North Carolina, and South Korea. Songs about travel and displacement were especially meaningful to me.

My musical tastes from the nineties reflect what I was doing at the time. Toward the beginning of the decade I can see the way my involvement in disc jockeying and selling records affected my taste, as there's a lot of alternative rock and underground rock in my collection from that period. Once I moved to North Carolina, I started listening a lot to WNCW, a great community station out of Spindale, which plays a ton of folk, bluegrass, and Americana. A lot of the music I listened to then, and since, is a product of my love for WNCW. As a result, I didn't pay very much attention to developments in boom bap, gangsta rap, shoegaze, post-rock, math rock, metal, or TV soundtracks. I'm retrospectively expanding my tastes into some of those areas. As always, I'd love to receive your feedback on this chart, and I'd appreciate any musical recommendations you might have.

• Chart updated: 05/05/2024 02:45
• (Created: 02/16/2016 18:46).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 20 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s has an average rating of 92 out of 100 (from 18 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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6. (=)

Nevermind 

 Nirvana

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Around four o'clock in the morning on September 24, 1991, I was asleep in my room in my apartment in Perth, Western Australia, when there was a loud, insistent knock on the door. I opened the door, and my buddy Josh was there, looking even wild-eyed and manic than ever. He'd been at a CD release party downtown and had taken a cab back to the apartment complex where we both lived. He slapped some headphones over my ears and made me listen, way too loud, to the opening of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I felt the smile come over my face, knowing that groggy early morning in September would always be a landmark moment in the history of music, even though the term "grunge" hadn't yet gone mainstream. There was an immediacy, an urgency, to Nirvana's sound, combined with a clarity of production values, that made it unlike anything I'd ever heard before. Obviously Nirvana had a huge influence on other bands, especially those from the Seattle area, but I still can't say I've heard anything quite like Nevermind since. [First added to this chart: 02/17/2016]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

3,116 charts

Rank Score:

42,276

Rank in 1991:

1

Rank in 1990s:

2

Overall Rank:

14

Average Rating:

 87 (4,241 votes)

Comments:

407

21. (=)

Green Mind 

 Dinosaur Jr.

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The music scene in Amherst/Northampton, Massachuetts, back in the late eighties and early nineties has to have produced more great bands per capita than any other in history. J Mascis is one of rock history's greatest under-the-radar guitar gods, underrated perhaps because his extravagant soloing contrasts in such an extreme way with his underachieving slacker vocal style. I'm going a little against the grain here by choosing Green Mind as Dinosaur Jr.'s best album, but I've got to call this one as I see it: I prefer the tight instrumentation and relatively clean production here to the sludgy, sloppy (if wonderful) mess that is You're Living All Over Me. It's not like the band "sold out" or lost its identity on this album (or, really, any of their albums)--and really, can any album whose best song is called "Puke + Cry" really be considered overproduced for mass consumption? [First added to this chart: 02/17/2016]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

169 charts

Rank Score:

680

Rank in 1991:

33

Rank in 1990s:

421

Overall Rank:

2,365

Average Rating:

 77 (200 votes)

Comments:

8

26. (=)

The Low End Theory 

 A Tribe Called Quest

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I've always had a major affinity for A Tribe Called Quest, initially because they created a brand of cerebral hip hop that appealed to both my artistic and political sensibilities. Later, after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes while in my forties, I learned that one of Tribe's two main MC's, Phife Dawg, was a fellow sufferer from T1D. Sadly, Phife never quite learned how to manage the illness, which, as I've learned firsthand, is totally understandable, given how much it's an ever-moving target. His death from complications of the disease hit me pretty hard. I'll miss the playful rhymes he brought to classic compositions such as "Buggin' Out," "Excursions," and "Scenario," and I'll always think of him in my pantheon of the great hip hop emcees. Rest in peace. [First added to this chart: 02/18/2016]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

962 charts

Rank Score:

11,025

Rank in 1991:

6

Rank in 1990s:

29

Overall Rank:

138

Average Rating:

 85 (1,104 votes)

Comments:

65

36. (35) 1

Trompe Le Monde 

 Pixies

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While Doolittle and Surfer Rosa get a lot more attention from critics, I place Trompe le Monde right there alongside those two albums in my own Pixies pantheon. Probably the most important difference between Trompe le Monde and the Pixies' earlier work is the reduced role of Kim Deal, making this record somewhat closer to a Frank Black solo album than any of their previous efforts. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The high points here are as good as anything else in the Pixies' catalog, especially the loud, indulgent, and bizarre "Space (I Believe In)," with its memorable if ponderous refrain, "Jefrey with one F, Jefrey." [First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

360 charts

Rank Score:

2,257

Rank in 1991:

14

Rank in 1990s:

142

Overall Rank:

792

Average Rating:

 78 (607 votes)

Comments:

33

40. (39) 1

Still Feel Gone 

 Uncle Tupelo

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Uncle Tupelo's sophomore release finds the band expanding their sound a little bit, while sticking to the basic alt-country and cowpunk that made their first effort, No Depression, such a success (critically, anyway). My favorite track here is probably Jay Farrar's explosive and disaffected guitar rocker "Discarded," with its bits of rollicking banjo holding the song's disparate pieces together, highlighting the desperation of the lyrics: " It's so goddamned hard to make things work / No easy way out of this one / Always someone or something to get lost in the shuffle / At least this road leads straight outta here." [First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

57 charts

Rank Score:

198

Rank in 1991:

90

Rank in 1990s:

1,107

Overall Rank:

6,530

Average Rating:

 77 (53 votes)

Comments:

2

49. (=)

III 

 Sebadoh

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I'm glad that Lou Barlow, Jason Loewenstein, and Eric Gaffney were able to coexist in Sebadoh long enough to make a couple of great albums, this one and Bakesale. What makes III unlike any other Sebadoh album is Gaffney’s work. In the liner notes, Gaffney insists that he was “band leader” at this time, and it certainly sounds as though he was able to assume control of the group when they actually assembled together to play and coax cohesive performances of his songs out of them. “Violet Execution," “Scars, Four Eyes," “Holy Picture,” and “Supernatural Force” all share a similar jaunty, jangling style (achieved with an open tuning on an acoustic with the G string removed, Gaffney explains) that was superficially accessible; really it provided tonal tension for the cryptic, troubling sentiments conveyed via the fragmented lyrics: “Agony abounds in dreams so you speak / Legends of torture rock you to sleep”; “Evil pit is never snared / Figured out how to get nowhere”; “Her lilac breath reminds me I’m dead.” [First added to this chart: 11/08/2019]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

80 charts

Rank Score:

443

Rank in 1991:

49

Rank in 1990s:

576

Overall Rank:

3,324

Average Rating:

 76 (93 votes)

Comments:

8

Total albums: 6. Page 1 of 1

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s composition

Year	Albums	%
1990	6	6%
1991	6	6%
1992	10	10%
1993	8	8%
1994	11	11%
1995	11	11%
1996	10	10%
1997	13	13%
1998	10	10%
1999	15	15%

Artist	Albums	%
Greg Brown	4	4%
Uncle Tupelo	4	4%
Blue Mountain	3	3%
Wilco	3	3%
Beastie Boys	3	3%
Son Volt	2	2%
Tom Waits	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	89	89%
	4	4%
	4	4%
	2	2%
	1	1%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 16 from 46th to 30th Too Far To Care by Old 97's

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 30th to 31st Strangers Almanac by Whiskeytown
Down 1 from 31st to 32nd Your Favorite Music by Clem Snide
Down 1 from 32nd to 33rd March 16-20, 1992 by Uncle Tupelo

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s similarity to your chart(s)

Other decade charts by buzzdainer

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 18 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
95/100	05/26/2023 09:09	Johnnyo	2,017	80/100
95/100	10/17/2020 06:48	leniad	686	85/100
95/100	08/29/2020 03:28	areminder	49	78/100
100/100	08/28/2020 23:52	Lgk21	141	95/100
100/100	08/28/2020 13:25	LedZep	1,079	84/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 92.5/100, a mean average of 96.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 96.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.4.

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s comments

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Rating:  

95/100

From Johnnyo 05/26/2023 09:09

Outstanding chart. One of the best ‘90’s charts on the site

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From buzzdainer 07/28/2021 23:08

Thanks for those great suggestions, Larcx13! For some reason Blowout Comb never quite clicked for me, but I also haven't spent anywhere near as much time with it as I did with Reachin'. I agree that A Tribe Called Quest has made a bunch of great albums, and I probably need to find room for more of them in my decade charts. Phife Dawg (RIP) and I are both Type 1 diabetics, so I feel a kinship with that band that I might not feel so strongly otherwise.

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Rating:  

100/100

From Larcx13 12/05/2020 15:41

Nice to see Digable Planets all the way up there, though I prefer Blowout Comb. Of course A Tribe Called Quest! Id say check out more releases from Tribe in the 90s as well The Pharcyde, maybe even The Roots. There's also Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Guru from Gang Starr's Jazzmatazz vol. 1, as well as De La Soul for similar music.

Cheers!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From areminder 08/29/2020 03:31

What a interesting journey you had. Great chart and wonderful taste, really enjoyed the genuine stories and comments on the albums. Look forward to revisiting some of these albums.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Lgk21 08/28/2020 23:52

This is a killer chart.

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Rating:  

100/100

From Larcx13 08/28/2020 11:17

Great effort on here.

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From buzzdainer 11/29/2016 17:42

Thanks for that kind comment, Stover75! I really enjoyed viewing your nineties chart, as well. I definitely can't disagree with OK Computer at #1, as it's such a fantastic document of everything that went right in the nineties. A lot of people think it was the last--or at least most recent--truly great, transformative, landmark album. I can't quite agree with that (because I love lots of things that have come out since), but I do think it's deserving of the accolades it gets. Thanks for taking the time to have a look at my chart!

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Rating:  

90/100

From CharlieBarley 11/25/2016 23:07

Good 90s chart. Like you said 11 in common. Loads of albums for me to check out. Good notes too.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From buzzdainer 09/09/2016 16:46

Thanks for that nice comment, sethmadsen! That's funny that you mention the skits on The Carnival. I have found the skits on a number of nineties hip hop albums to be really annoying (and unfunny). Take, for example, Fugees' breakthrough album The Score: an interesting album musically, but the Chinese restaurant skit in "The Beast" is so insipid and offensive it's enough to knock it out of my nineties decade chart (though it did make my 1996 year chart). I gravitate to hip hop artists who seem to be all about the music, hence my love of Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, and others.

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Rating:  

100/100

From RoundTheBend 09/09/2016 04:43

Your love of music shows well in your memories with it. Fantastic chart and thanks for letting us peak into your experiences with these albums. Oh and The Carnival- skip the skits your first listen - just get into the music.

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