Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 13 hours ago
- (Created: 12/04/2011 20:30).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 22 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 45 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from France. (Remove this filter)
- #Sponsored
Produced By AIR
1. La Femme D’Argent
2. Sexy Boy
3. All I Need
4. Kelly Watch The Stars
5. Talisman
6. Remember
7. You Make It Easy
8. Ce Matin La
9. New Star In The Sky (Chanson Por Solal)
10. Le Voyage De Penelope
Yet another duo (following Boards Of Canada and Steely Dan), Air came out of France in 1998 with their debut, Moon Safari. Using 70’s style electronic (and album art), the pair made an album that is not exclusively electronic, and that is as immediate and listenable as any album that has a drop of synthesizer on it. Moon Safari not only has cool and perfect sounds, it also has songs, which makes it all the more exciting. Air is the perfect name for this group, and Moon Safari is the perfect name for the album: this contains both. There’s nothing thin or repetitive about this, and there’s also nothing that would make you think you’re suddenly in the middle of a dance club. This is thick, dense music with a masterful use of layering and instrumentation (you will hear synths…you will also hear guitars, real drums, glockenspiels, pan pipes and harmonicas.), produced and arranged to absolute perfection.
You will hear some atmospheric keyboard vocals off in the background, but you will also hear some beautiful singing from Beth Hirsch. Jean-Benoit-Dunckel and Nicolas Godin are multi instrumentalists, and they show off their prowess at every turn. Moon Safari is a highly influential album (it practically started the style of downtempo on its own), and most importantly, it’s a beautiful listen that only gets better each time. The heavy 70’s influence only adds to its charm. Air went on to create the soundtrack to the film The Virgin Suicides, and they remain an important electronic act…but they’ve never quite matched the special atmosphere of Moon Safari. An amazing and beautiful album from start to finish, this is one that I can very easily recommend to anyone…regardless of the music you may tend to like. A masterpiece. [First added to this chart: 01/22/2025]
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
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| 1990 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1991 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1992 | 15 | 15% | |
| 1993 | 17 | 17% | |
| 1994 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1995 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1996 | 6 | 6% | |
| 1997 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1998 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1999 | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Uncle Tupelo | 4 | 4% | |
| Pearl Jam | 3 | 3% | |
| Nirvana | 3 | 3% | |
| Radiohead | 2 | 2% | |
| Pavement | 2 | 2% | |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 2% | |
| The Black Crowes | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
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| |
79 | 79% | |
 |
11 | 11% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 6 from 49th to 43rd Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 43rd to 44th Temple Of The Dog by Temple Of The Dog |
| Down 1 from 44th to 45th Tidal by Fiona Apple |
| Down 1 from 45th to 46th Yourself Or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s similar charts
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s |  Brandon8 | 1990s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | Finky | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 83 Music Albums of the 1990s | maverick470 | 1990s decade chart | 2015 |  |
| Los 100 mejores discos de los años 90 | Diariocrítico | 1990s decade chart | 2016 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | edubs | 1990s decade chart | 2016 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Romanelli | Overall chart | 2025 | |
| My Overall Chart: 201-300 | Romanelli | Custom chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s |  StefanR10 | 1990s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums Of The 1990s | WayneMC | Custom chart | 2019 | |
| 100 Best Albums of the Nineties | Rolling Stone | 1990s decade chart | 2010 | |
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Other decade charts by Romanelli
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 7 Music Albums of the 2020s | Romanelli | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | Romanelli | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Romanelli | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | Romanelli | 1990s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | Romanelli | 1980s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | Romanelli | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s | Romanelli | 1960s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 25 Music Albums of the 1950s | Romanelli | 1950s decade chart | 2025 | |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s ratings
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 45 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 50/100  | 02/09/2023 22:04 |  pedro1976 | | 85/100 |
| 65/100 | 02/06/2023 02:26 | jonatascv1990 | | 78/100 |
| 100/100 | 02/10/2022 00:40 |  Larcx13 | | 86/100 |
| 90/100 | 06/26/2021 23:01 |  zwiebel | | 86/100 |
| 100/100 | 05/03/2021 09:53 |  jnfbn | | 96/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 86.8/100, a mean average of 85.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 17.1.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s comments
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Good chart!
Larcx13 02/10/2022 00:44
Good descriptions and a bunch of new records for me to check out. Favorited.
This is an excellent list. Lots of "alt-country" here, which is much more Replacements-Meets-Bruce Springsteen than traditional folk or country.
seb7 05/03/2021 18:04
I can't really give a good rating because I haven't listened to 96 of these albums, but I just want to say that I am convinced that Romanelli and AM are the same person
Great chart
ExTeaSea 01/18/2020 16:05
I really appreciate some of the more personal picks. This is a really good chart. 14 albums in common is pretty good. Perhaps one day I'll check out Uncle Tupelo.
ForegroundNoise 05/30/2019 07:36
Really love the detailed notes and careful selections!! I still feel it's a little too focused on American alt-rock for my liking however, would be nice to see some electronic releases/more hip hop besides Public Enemy at no.73!
RoundTheBend 05/30/2019 02:57
23 albums in common. Solid other picks!
awesome chart!
HoldenM 10/01/2017 05:52
Ahhh... That's a great chart right there.
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