Top 100 Music Albums of 1991
by 
Repo 
See Discussion from forum here...
https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=496438#496438
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***Repo's 1991 Hall Of Fame (Limit of 10 per year)****
1. Nirvana - Nevermind
2. MBV - Loveless
3. Slint - Spiderland
4. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
5. A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
6. Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
7. Pixies - Tromp Le Monde
8. Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
9. Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
10. Primal Scream - Screamadelica ( but this has aged the worst of this top ten)
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***Essential EPS///
1. Pavement - Perfect Sound Forever
2. Dinosaur - Whatever's Cool With Me
3. Blake Babies - Rosy Jack World
4. Slowdive - Holding Our Breath
6. Babes In Toyland - To Mother
7. MBV - Tremolo
8. Ride - Today Forever
9. Moose - Jack
10. Tsunami - Headringer 7"
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Essential Comps
1. The Screaming trees - The SST Years
2. Dinosaur Jr - Fossils
3. Scratch Acid - The Greatest Gift
4. V/A - Kill Rock stars
5. Spacemen 3 - Losing Touch with Your Mind
6. Talulah Gosh - They've Scoffed The Lot
7. Saint Vitus - Heavier Than Thou
========================================
***Not "Mellow" Enough (i.e. albums I'll come back to next year when I'm younger)
1. The Aints - Ascension
2. Athiest - Unquestionable Presence
3. NoMeansNo - 0 + 2 = 1
4. White heaven - Out - sounds really good, MC5 influence Japanese RAWK
5. Sepultura - Arise
6. Death - Human
7. Drive Like Jehu - Drive Like Jehu (Essential heavy Indie Rock)
8. Ice Cube - Death Certificate
9. Public Enemey - Apocalypse (Not as good as the first two)
10. Leatherface - Mush
11. Motorhead - 1916
12. Nation of Ulyses - 13 Point Plan to Destroy America
13. Jesus Lizard - Goat (Essential Noise Rock)
14. L7 - Smell The Magic (Essential Riot Grrrl )
15. Mr. Bungle - s/t (Essential Alt Metal)
16. Hole - Pretty on The Inside ((Essential Riot Grrrl )
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***ALBUMS THAT MISS THE CUT (3+ listens )****
***Just not my thing///
1. Blue Aeroplanes - Beatsongs
2. Sam Phillips - Cruel Inventions
3. Fatima mansions - Bertie's Brochures
4. Caetano Veloso - Circulado
5. Danny Gatton - 88 Elmira Street
6. Crowded House - Woodface
My thing, but just okay or I'm tired of///
1. Metallica - Metallica
2. RHCP - Blood Sex Sugar Magic
3. U2 - Achtung Baby
4. Pearl Jam - Ten
5. REM - Out of Time
6. FSOL - Accelerator (some great singles though)
7. The Cramps - Look Mom, No Head (Simply passed by their imitators even though their influence was massive in '91, sounds a tad uninspired c/w their past and the new class of garage bands of '91)
8. Kitchens of Distinction - Strange Free World
to Listen
The Ex + Tom Cora -Scrabbling at the lock
Teh Legenderary Pink Dots - The Maria dimension
nusrat fateh ali khan - shahbaaz
.
- Chart updated: 09/21/2025 03:45
- (Created: 12/19/2017 23:54).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 13 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 has an average rating of 94 out of 100 (from 24 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Lo Fi
Essential
III was one of the albums made me believe that anything was possible in rock n’ roll. It sounded like nothing else back at the time. Considering Slanted & Enchanted was still a year off, and Bee Thousand was like two years off, III was the first serious volley of the lo-fi sound. It was the punk rock movement of the time. That all u need was some 4 track in your bedroom and you could make an album. Some of it is like high school year book shit - it was purposeful familiar and small. It dealt with real insecurities. It dealt with insecurity and teen alienation far better than Nevermind- the other American watershed album of the year. I was a HUGE Dinosaur fan when this dropped, and I loved this every bit as much as the first three dinosaur albums.
This is one of those magical double LPs like Zen Arcade were every song matters. every bit has been memorized. Internalized. Even Especially the mistakes. But, its sort of like religion. It’s like coming across some bizarre radio station while hanging out in your bedroom as a bored middle schooler that you know was meant just for you. Bakesale and Harmacy (thanks, KD) are great as well, but they are far less left-of-the dial. Far less off the beaten path. I mean that stuff just sounds like great indie rock songs. III sounded sacred. And for some of us, it was. [First added to this chart: 12/27/2017]
Essential
III was one of the albums made me believe that anything was possible in rock n’ roll. It sounded like nothing else back at the time. Considering Slanted & Enchanted was still a year off, and Bee Thousand was like two years off, III was the first serious volley of the lo-fi sound. It was the punk rock movement of the time. That all u need was some 4 track in your bedroom and you could make an album. Some of it is like high school year book shit - it was purposeful familiar and small. It dealt with real insecurities. It dealt with insecurity and teen alienation far better than Nevermind- the other American watershed album of the year. I was a HUGE Dinosaur fan when this dropped, and I loved this every bit as much as the first three dinosaur albums.
This is one of those magical double LPs like Zen Arcade were every song matters. every bit has been memorized. Internalized. Even Especially the mistakes. But, its sort of like religion. It’s like coming across some bizarre radio station while hanging out in your bedroom as a bored middle schooler that you know was meant just for you. Bakesale and Harmacy (thanks, KD) are great as well, but they are far less left-of-the dial. Far less off the beaten path. I mean that stuff just sounds like great indie rock songs. III sounded sacred. And for some of us, it was. [First added to this chart: 12/27/2017]
2. (=)
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[First added to this chart: 12/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,753
Rank in 1991:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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Hip Hop
HOF#2 [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
HOF#2 [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,241
Rank in 1991:
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[First added to this chart: 12/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,210
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
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Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,494
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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[First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,746
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/27/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,179
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Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
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'91:11 Character Sketches From a Saturday Night
Now this is what I was looking for. Country Blues that is immediate & real & raw. Character sketches that I can relate to. About human fallibility. About our flaws. Real life short stories that show just how little control we sometimes have over our lives & actions. The breadth of country music on display here is staggering and this is easily Gilmore's masterpiece. He's a worthy disciple of Townes Van Zandt, and I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who likes TVZ and his brand of country. This is now my favorite album of 1991. It's just that good. And my kids are memorized by the homespun lyrics. How they speak the simple truths of human nature in just a few lines.
Essential. [First added to this chart: 01/14/2018]
Now this is what I was looking for. Country Blues that is immediate & real & raw. Character sketches that I can relate to. About human fallibility. About our flaws. Real life short stories that show just how little control we sometimes have over our lives & actions. The breadth of country music on display here is staggering and this is easily Gilmore's masterpiece. He's a worthy disciple of Townes Van Zandt, and I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who likes TVZ and his brand of country. This is now my favorite album of 1991. It's just that good. And my kids are memorized by the homespun lyrics. How they speak the simple truths of human nature in just a few lines.
Essential. [First added to this chart: 01/14/2018]
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[First added to this chart: 01/08/2018]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
950
Rank in 1991:
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Overall Rank:
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Comments:
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Power Pop
Essential
Spin took a lot of heat back in 1991 for naming this the best album of the year. I think they come out of it looking like geniuses. Easily one of the best of the year, and one of the finest power pop albums of all time. It was hardly derivative of Big Star.
Their ENTIRE discography is worth hearing. Not too many bands you can they that about! Totally agree that those three along with A Catholic Education r the highlights. 13 is underrated though. (I still need to check out The King though. ) [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Essential
Spin took a lot of heat back in 1991 for naming this the best album of the year. I think they come out of it looking like geniuses. Easily one of the best of the year, and one of the finest power pop albums of all time. It was hardly derivative of Big Star.
Their ENTIRE discography is worth hearing. Not too many bands you can they that about! Totally agree that those three along with A Catholic Education r the highlights. 13 is underrated though. (I still need to check out The King though. ) [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,621
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Field Mice | 2 | 2% | |
| Saint Etienne | 1 | 1% | |
| Mudhoney | 1 | 1% | |
| The Ocean Blue | 1 | 1% | |
| Primus | 1 | 1% | |
| Screeching Weasel | 1 | 1% | |
| Moe Tucker | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
60 | 60% | |
 |
28 | 28% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 9th to 10th Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub |
| Down 1 from 10th to 11th Steady Diet Of Nothing by Fugazi |
| Down 1 from 11th to 12th Trompe Le Monde by Pixies |
| New entries |
|---|
| Sailing The Seas Of Cheese by Primus |
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Repo has created 71 other 1991 year charts - click here to explore them all.
Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 24 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 05/31/2023 04:11 | Johnnyo | 2,557 | 80/100 |
| ! | 11/10/2020 11:28 |  desh79 | 1,278 | 93/100 |
| ! | 07/16/2019 21:44 |  gidgidi | 114 | 88/100 |
| ! | 06/30/2019 05:53 |  RoundTheBend | 372 | 92/100 |
| ! | 06/29/2019 23:21 |  LedZep | 1,104 | 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 94.4/100, a mean average of 97.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 98.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.1.
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Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 comments
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From Johnnyo 05/31/2023 04:11 | #297309
Excellent chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
dihansse 06/29/2019 18:51 | #238643
dihansse 06/29/2019 18:51 | #238643
congrats Tilly: one of those charts you keep coming back to!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
TheDude85 06/29/2019 16:36 | #238628
TheDude85 06/29/2019 16:36 | #238628
Great information. I'll come back to this again and again.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From gidgidi 06/29/2019 09:49 | #238614
gidgidi 06/29/2019 09:49 | #238614
Wow! So detailed!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 06/29/2019 09:06 | #238613
ForegroundNoise 06/29/2019 09:06 | #238613
How could I give this any less than 100? As with all your Mellow Zone lists, this chart is a comprehensive snapchat for that year in music without losing any sense of your own personable charm.
You may have come across it anyway, but I'd thought I'd recommend the Les Razilles Dénudés bootleg, '77 Live, released in 1991 as something worth checking out. It's an album with a bit of a cult following and also a personal favourite of mine, catchy garage rock bass riffs overladen with screeching feedback. Let me know your thoughts on it!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 12/15/2018 12:29 | #227181
DommeDamian 12/15/2018 12:29 | #227181
May not dig the albums that much, but descriptions are fine as ever.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Ulf 05/22/2018 20:23 | #215445
great chart great year
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
elo269megv 05/22/2018 15:30 | #215433
elo269megv 05/22/2018 15:30 | #215433
Great choices and even better commentary. You've given me a lot to discover so thank you! "Who cares about marketing? Fuck those guys..." you rock
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
HoldenM 05/22/2018 08:44 | #215406
HoldenM 05/22/2018 08:44 | #215406
Almost unparalleled year in music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
NoisyBeast 05/09/2018 13:18 | #214481
NoisyBeast 05/09/2018 13:18 | #214481
A truly Awesome 1991 chart; encompassing a nice diversity of genres!
Looking forward to explore a bunch of those unfamiliar titles... *especially* because of the excellent descriptive commentaries!!! I agree with baystateoftheart, would be interesting to see where your Hall of Fame items drop in. But either way, great job on this one!! A++
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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