Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 by 
Repo 
See Discussion from forum here...
https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=496438#496438
========================================
***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)
========================================
***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
========================================
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 )
=============================================
***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: 06/30/2023 02:45
- (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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[First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,265
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
33
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[First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,709
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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'91:6 THE MARIONETTES
aka Speedballing Down The Interstate
I’m just telling you what I remember. It’s not much. Mostly a blur. A memory of a memory. Faded and bleached. By the years. By the drugs too, I guess. But mostly by the years.
It was 1991. I was young. Headed off to Manhattan to conquer the world. I was already a music junkie by them. Hell. I had been for years. I headed to CBGBs as I did pretty much every night. Picked up a 40 oz of Olde English (my favorite back then) at one of those no-named Asian convenience stores that dotted the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I’m sure they’re probably all gone now. You’d always pop in there before going out to pick up a forty. They’d put it a paper bag for you so you could drink while taking the subway or even just walking the streets. Great way to get a buzz for like two dollars in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Anyways, this particular night stood out…
Remember moshing? Well I was a professional. I could just give my body over to the pit. That was the secret. Become this rag doll. It’s not like I was afraid to push back or anything. I was pretty built back then. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to relax and just let go. Become this happy bouncing electron careening about. Driven by forces outside of you and in you. That’s where the high came from. You see people forget. Moshing brought you closer to the music. It was the ultimate surrender. The music would come off the stage and just take over you. And the crowd. The best thing was just to let go. And smile.
And Swervedriver concocted some of the best music I’ve ever moshed to. The guitars would seemingly ping-pong back & forth and ricochet every which way. Pushing the crowd this way and that. Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, the guitarists, were like the greatest marionettes ever.
As I said, the memory’s mostly gone. But, what was clear was that Swervedriver ROCKED that night. But, let’s be fair. Almost all the shoegaze bands back then rocked pretty hard. Ride. Lush. MBV. They all kicked serious ass in concert. (Well except for Slowdive. They decidedly did NOT rock. But, they were great in their own way) No. What made Swervedriver different, what made them stand out, was their ginormous debt to the American indie scene. They were easily the most American of all they peers. Sure. My Bloody Valentine’s Isn’t Anyting may have been the most important album in their record collection. But sitting right next to it - in plain sight - was Dinosaur Jr.’s Your Living All Over Me.
Ok. Here it goes. Laugh if you must. But due to Adam Franklin’s laid back vocals and dreads, I always thought of Swervedriver as “that shoegaze band fronted by that reggae dude”. He was like some kind of California surf rat. It always sounds like he had just took a long drag on some spliff. Eternally stoned. And THAT was their secret ingredient. Swervedriver were like the ultimate speedball. Heroin + cocaine. Franklin’s lysergic vocals buried underneath all those swirling, driving guitars. It was like every single receptor of my cortex was being fed with something. Gaba. Beta. Alpha. Lol. Clearly it was like the best Greek party ever going on in my brain. Every single receptor being landed on & triggered at once resulting in the quintessential high.
To be honest, I loved this album so much, I had the hardest time getting into Mescal Head when it came out. It just seemed like Raise Lite. I still prefer Raise today.
From what I remember.
Grade: A+. Essential. LittleM nailed it. It’s the perfect mix of shoe gaze and grunge. I never thought of it that way. To me it was just shoegaze. Shoegaze fronted by that reggae dude. lol. It’s only now in retrospect that I realize how much of the American Underground those cats were taking in. And sure. My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless is the best shoe gaze album of 1991. I’ll give you that. But this is number two. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
aka Speedballing Down The Interstate
I’m just telling you what I remember. It’s not much. Mostly a blur. A memory of a memory. Faded and bleached. By the years. By the drugs too, I guess. But mostly by the years.
It was 1991. I was young. Headed off to Manhattan to conquer the world. I was already a music junkie by them. Hell. I had been for years. I headed to CBGBs as I did pretty much every night. Picked up a 40 oz of Olde English (my favorite back then) at one of those no-named Asian convenience stores that dotted the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I’m sure they’re probably all gone now. You’d always pop in there before going out to pick up a forty. They’d put it a paper bag for you so you could drink while taking the subway or even just walking the streets. Great way to get a buzz for like two dollars in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Anyways, this particular night stood out…
Remember moshing? Well I was a professional. I could just give my body over to the pit. That was the secret. Become this rag doll. It’s not like I was afraid to push back or anything. I was pretty built back then. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to relax and just let go. Become this happy bouncing electron careening about. Driven by forces outside of you and in you. That’s where the high came from. You see people forget. Moshing brought you closer to the music. It was the ultimate surrender. The music would come off the stage and just take over you. And the crowd. The best thing was just to let go. And smile.
And Swervedriver concocted some of the best music I’ve ever moshed to. The guitars would seemingly ping-pong back & forth and ricochet every which way. Pushing the crowd this way and that. Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, the guitarists, were like the greatest marionettes ever.
As I said, the memory’s mostly gone. But, what was clear was that Swervedriver ROCKED that night. But, let’s be fair. Almost all the shoegaze bands back then rocked pretty hard. Ride. Lush. MBV. They all kicked serious ass in concert. (Well except for Slowdive. They decidedly did NOT rock. But, they were great in their own way) No. What made Swervedriver different, what made them stand out, was their ginormous debt to the American indie scene. They were easily the most American of all they peers. Sure. My Bloody Valentine’s Isn’t Anyting may have been the most important album in their record collection. But sitting right next to it - in plain sight - was Dinosaur Jr.’s Your Living All Over Me.
Ok. Here it goes. Laugh if you must. But due to Adam Franklin’s laid back vocals and dreads, I always thought of Swervedriver as “that shoegaze band fronted by that reggae dude”. He was like some kind of California surf rat. It always sounds like he had just took a long drag on some spliff. Eternally stoned. And THAT was their secret ingredient. Swervedriver were like the ultimate speedball. Heroin + cocaine. Franklin’s lysergic vocals buried underneath all those swirling, driving guitars. It was like every single receptor of my cortex was being fed with something. Gaba. Beta. Alpha. Lol. Clearly it was like the best Greek party ever going on in my brain. Every single receptor being landed on & triggered at once resulting in the quintessential high.
To be honest, I loved this album so much, I had the hardest time getting into Mescal Head when it came out. It just seemed like Raise Lite. I still prefer Raise today.
From what I remember.
Grade: A+. Essential. LittleM nailed it. It’s the perfect mix of shoe gaze and grunge. I never thought of it that way. To me it was just shoegaze. Shoegaze fronted by that reggae dude. lol. It’s only now in retrospect that I realize how much of the American Underground those cats were taking in. And sure. My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless is the best shoe gaze album of 1991. I’ll give you that. But this is number two. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
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Noise Rock
Essential comp [First added to this chart: 01/08/2018]
Essential comp [First added to this chart: 01/08/2018]
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'91:8 It Should Have Been BIGGER Than….. Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld.
“This is music for aliens, Dada “ - Genni, age 5 & aspiring music critic
China occupying Tibet. Trump being somehow immune to the #MeTwo movement. Not one of you fucks mentioning Biosphere’s Microgravity on their 1991 lists. Not one of ya! And it’s not just you. Spin. The Village Voice. Pitchfork. Even AllMusic’s exhaustive Allmusic Loves 1991 retrospective failed to give it a mention. I mean what gives. Because it is arguably the greatest electronica album of the entire 90s never mind just 1991
There’s not much I can do about the first two. You know - Tibet & Trump. I’m just a stay at home Dad trying to make ends meet. Trying to decide whether “Natural” Skippy is really worth a buck more than “Regular” Skippy. (Probably not but… it has No High Fructose Corn Syrup. That’s something. That High Fructose Corn Syrup shit will kill ya!) Clipping coupons from the weekly Pennysaver. Making sure my kids have clothes on. You know. The basics. And on the side I do my simple part to fix the great musical injustices of the world. And in 1991, there was no bigger injustice than Biosphere’s Microgravity getting the shaft. The whole world went gaga over The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. And Microgravity positively DESTROYS the ambient house brand of choice for 1991. The titles is already a tip. Microgravity is far cooler than the super-dweeb sounding Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. I mean just how stoned do you have to be for that title to sound cool? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
A-side: I do really, really like The Orb’s debut. It will totally make my year chart. Well at least that first disc. I mean, how many of you out there - besides you, BobbyB - actually make it though both discs in one sitting? I thought so! My hunch - and I’m just guessing here - is that Disc 2 of Orb’s double CD extravaganza may just be the least played disc in the entire Pitchfork 100 of the 90s! But perhaps I just need more quality time with disc 2.
Grade: A+. 1991 was a seminal year for IDM and electronica music. With debuts by such electronica greats as The Orbital, LFO, and yes, The Orb. And this is the best of the lot. Easy. And arguably the best ambient house album of all time. No music evokes space so effortlessly. Even my five year old connected to it immediately. And my 8 year old absolutely loves every single song. Racing. Striving. It’s kinetic. Amniotic, alive & pulsating yet cold, pristine & precise. The ambient noises of some futuristic city run entirely by machines. Metal on metal. Strap yourself into a stolen sports car just past midnight next chance you get. Throw this on the stereo. And make sure you’re buckled in (Safety first! I’m a Dad, remember.) . Because this is easily the most exhilarating late night driving music out there. It should come fully loaded with EVERY gaming station’s analogous Pole Position style game. Every single one. Take no substitutes. For the ultimate in gaming & driving pleasure, choose Biosphere next time you want to take a 1991 Ambient House trip. And as Maui says, “You’re Welcome!”
Essential. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
“This is music for aliens, Dada “ - Genni, age 5 & aspiring music critic
China occupying Tibet. Trump being somehow immune to the #MeTwo movement. Not one of you fucks mentioning Biosphere’s Microgravity on their 1991 lists. Not one of ya! And it’s not just you. Spin. The Village Voice. Pitchfork. Even AllMusic’s exhaustive Allmusic Loves 1991 retrospective failed to give it a mention. I mean what gives. Because it is arguably the greatest electronica album of the entire 90s never mind just 1991
There’s not much I can do about the first two. You know - Tibet & Trump. I’m just a stay at home Dad trying to make ends meet. Trying to decide whether “Natural” Skippy is really worth a buck more than “Regular” Skippy. (Probably not but… it has No High Fructose Corn Syrup. That’s something. That High Fructose Corn Syrup shit will kill ya!) Clipping coupons from the weekly Pennysaver. Making sure my kids have clothes on. You know. The basics. And on the side I do my simple part to fix the great musical injustices of the world. And in 1991, there was no bigger injustice than Biosphere’s Microgravity getting the shaft. The whole world went gaga over The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. And Microgravity positively DESTROYS the ambient house brand of choice for 1991. The titles is already a tip. Microgravity is far cooler than the super-dweeb sounding Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. I mean just how stoned do you have to be for that title to sound cool? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
A-side: I do really, really like The Orb’s debut. It will totally make my year chart. Well at least that first disc. I mean, how many of you out there - besides you, BobbyB - actually make it though both discs in one sitting? I thought so! My hunch - and I’m just guessing here - is that Disc 2 of Orb’s double CD extravaganza may just be the least played disc in the entire Pitchfork 100 of the 90s! But perhaps I just need more quality time with disc 2.
Grade: A+. 1991 was a seminal year for IDM and electronica music. With debuts by such electronica greats as The Orbital, LFO, and yes, The Orb. And this is the best of the lot. Easy. And arguably the best ambient house album of all time. No music evokes space so effortlessly. Even my five year old connected to it immediately. And my 8 year old absolutely loves every single song. Racing. Striving. It’s kinetic. Amniotic, alive & pulsating yet cold, pristine & precise. The ambient noises of some futuristic city run entirely by machines. Metal on metal. Strap yourself into a stolen sports car just past midnight next chance you get. Throw this on the stereo. And make sure you’re buckled in (Safety first! I’m a Dad, remember.) . Because this is easily the most exhilarating late night driving music out there. It should come fully loaded with EVERY gaming station’s analogous Pole Position style game. Every single one. Take no substitutes. For the ultimate in gaming & driving pleasure, choose Biosphere next time you want to take a 1991 Ambient House trip. And as Maui says, “You’re Welcome!”
Essential. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
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'91:1 IT COULD ONLY HAVE COME FROM TEXAS
I have no idea what this is. What genre it belongs to. But I know where it’s from. That’s obvious. TEXAS. In big capital letters. I didn’t have to look at no stinkin' biography. I didn’t have to read about his influences. Because this is Texas rock through & through. And by all rights, it should have been HUGH in 1991. Because It’s Country Blues Roots Rock that’s not really that far removed in a lot of respects from what was going on in Seattle. It’s raw. It’s naked. It’s confessional. It does for country and roots rock what grunge was doing for heavy metal. Strips away the artificially and 80s production, to reveal something naked, raw & vulnerable but ironically all the stronger & tougher for it. It seems to have been spawned from the the land. The Texas dirt itself. If Chris Whitley had been born in the pacific Northwest instead of Texas, it is easy to imagine that he could have been spearheading some grunge band. With both vocals and guitar. I’m so glad he was from Texas instead.
Grade A: ESSENTIAL. This easily deserves a spot on the 1991 dais. As one of its best albums. It’s an oddity. Firmly planted in Texas’ Country Blues lore, yet with its own singular vision and style. It’s an impassioned record. Naked and raw like some of the other best music of this year. Far, far removed from the "Nashville" country of this period.
I remember back at the time seeing it in a bunch of year end lists, but my tastes were too far removed from roots rock, blues, and country then. But, now I clearly see why. And it takes the first spot (for now) on my first year chart on this first day of this new year.
Blood Simple (Country That Bleeds)
This isn't Alt country. This is country that bleeds. That from the dirt streets. It kind that belongs in Blood Simple that movie by the Cohen brothers. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
I have no idea what this is. What genre it belongs to. But I know where it’s from. That’s obvious. TEXAS. In big capital letters. I didn’t have to look at no stinkin' biography. I didn’t have to read about his influences. Because this is Texas rock through & through. And by all rights, it should have been HUGH in 1991. Because It’s Country Blues Roots Rock that’s not really that far removed in a lot of respects from what was going on in Seattle. It’s raw. It’s naked. It’s confessional. It does for country and roots rock what grunge was doing for heavy metal. Strips away the artificially and 80s production, to reveal something naked, raw & vulnerable but ironically all the stronger & tougher for it. It seems to have been spawned from the the land. The Texas dirt itself. If Chris Whitley had been born in the pacific Northwest instead of Texas, it is easy to imagine that he could have been spearheading some grunge band. With both vocals and guitar. I’m so glad he was from Texas instead.
Grade A: ESSENTIAL. This easily deserves a spot on the 1991 dais. As one of its best albums. It’s an oddity. Firmly planted in Texas’ Country Blues lore, yet with its own singular vision and style. It’s an impassioned record. Naked and raw like some of the other best music of this year. Far, far removed from the "Nashville" country of this period.
I remember back at the time seeing it in a bunch of year end lists, but my tastes were too far removed from roots rock, blues, and country then. But, now I clearly see why. And it takes the first spot (for now) on my first year chart on this first day of this new year.
Blood Simple (Country That Bleeds)
This isn't Alt country. This is country that bleeds. That from the dirt streets. It kind that belongs in Blood Simple that movie by the Cohen brothers. [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
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Power Pop
Great [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Great [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
669
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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'91:4 THE BIG FOUR PLUS ONE
I don’t care what anyone else says. The Screaming Trees were one of “The Big Four” of grunge. Call it the Big Five if you have to. Knock out those pussies in Pearl jam if you have to. I really don’t care. But they belong. They were there from the start. Cranked out SEVEN consistently good grunge albums staring all the way back in 1986. The first to sign to SST - THE American indie label back then YEARS before anyone had even heard of Sub Pop. They looked like lumberjacks before anyone else did. They sounded like lumberjacks before anyone else did. And most importantly, they concocted their very own mutated strain of hard rock mixed with psychedelia that could only have been coined grunge in retrospect. I mean nothing else quite fits. Mudhoney, Soundgarden and The Screaming Trees were the three bands that literally defined what was possible for the grunge sound back in the late 80s. Back when Kurdt was nothing more than the biggest fanboy of King Buzzo (All hail his lordship!). And this - Uncle Anesthesia- is arguably The Screaming Trees best. I mean it’s really hard to decide. They were that consistent. But this one definitely rocks the hardest of any of their major label offerings. I have no idea why this album languishes at the bottom of the BEA charts. Why no one but the wise & all knowing Dihansse even mentioned it on any of their best of 1991 lists. But, I can assure you of this - It Belongs.
Grade: A+ ESSENTIAL. Easily one of the best grunge albums of 1991. It should be mentioned in same hallowed breath as Badmotorfinger, Nevermind, and Mudhoney’s Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (whose review will be forthcoming). For whatever reason, the marketing boys at Epic records really dropped the ball on this baby. Because it should have been huge. But who cares about marketing? Fuck those guys. Anyone looking for one of the best grunge albums of all time, simply needs to drop the needle on this massive platter of tripped out fuzz. It’s grunge rock _________.
A-side: I’ve always wondered if the production on this held the album back somewhat. Anyone more versed on the production side of things please comment. I'd love to get your opinion. Enquiring minds want to know. Because these songs are amazing! But I do think the production maybe a bit on the murky side. But perhaps that’s its charm. I ask - You Decide! [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
I don’t care what anyone else says. The Screaming Trees were one of “The Big Four” of grunge. Call it the Big Five if you have to. Knock out those pussies in Pearl jam if you have to. I really don’t care. But they belong. They were there from the start. Cranked out SEVEN consistently good grunge albums staring all the way back in 1986. The first to sign to SST - THE American indie label back then YEARS before anyone had even heard of Sub Pop. They looked like lumberjacks before anyone else did. They sounded like lumberjacks before anyone else did. And most importantly, they concocted their very own mutated strain of hard rock mixed with psychedelia that could only have been coined grunge in retrospect. I mean nothing else quite fits. Mudhoney, Soundgarden and The Screaming Trees were the three bands that literally defined what was possible for the grunge sound back in the late 80s. Back when Kurdt was nothing more than the biggest fanboy of King Buzzo (All hail his lordship!). And this - Uncle Anesthesia- is arguably The Screaming Trees best. I mean it’s really hard to decide. They were that consistent. But this one definitely rocks the hardest of any of their major label offerings. I have no idea why this album languishes at the bottom of the BEA charts. Why no one but the wise & all knowing Dihansse even mentioned it on any of their best of 1991 lists. But, I can assure you of this - It Belongs.
Grade: A+ ESSENTIAL. Easily one of the best grunge albums of 1991. It should be mentioned in same hallowed breath as Badmotorfinger, Nevermind, and Mudhoney’s Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (whose review will be forthcoming). For whatever reason, the marketing boys at Epic records really dropped the ball on this baby. Because it should have been huge. But who cares about marketing? Fuck those guys. Anyone looking for one of the best grunge albums of all time, simply needs to drop the needle on this massive platter of tripped out fuzz. It’s grunge rock _________.
A-side: I’ve always wondered if the production on this held the album back somewhat. Anyone more versed on the production side of things please comment. I'd love to get your opinion. Enquiring minds want to know. Because these songs are amazing! But I do think the production maybe a bit on the murky side. But perhaps that’s its charm. I ask - You Decide! [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
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Conscious Rap
Great [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Great [First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
476
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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'91:3 GOT NO BEAUTIFUL GIRL
Who’s going to love me, who’s going to love me
the way that I am ( I’ve Lost You)
Let’s simplify things. Everything you need to know about Beat Happening can be summed up with two swift, facile comparisons to The Cramps.
Comparison No. 1: They lifted The Cramps’ sound. Stole it. That primal psychobilly howl. Their sound was P-R-I-M-I-T-I-V-E. And then took it a step further. Flaunting that the they didn’t give two shits about musical expertise. About knowing how to play their instruments. Switching musical instruments like some hipsters game of musical chairs after every freakin’ song. All the while Calvin & Heather flip-flopped singing duties like it was some kind of hot potato. This band did not suffer egos gladly. They were the living in-your-face (but in a polite, super PC Evergreen College way) embodiment of the American DIY punk rock spirit.
Observation 2. And then they turned it on its head. They totally upended The Cramp’s image. That of some comical monster-movie ID come to life - hyper-sexual and all unrepressed. Calvin was a spazz. Heather was a wallflower (whose very name I had to look up just to write this post.) Instead of nerds getting to live out their exaggerated, comical over-sexed alter egos as a Lux Interior & Poison Ivy, we got the kids who choose to stay in & hang out in each others dorm rooms while everyone else was going to frat parties and slurping up drinks on ice luges.
I mean just look at them…
And that’s what made them so damn appealing. They were just nerds who really dug music. Just like us. As Calvin perfectly summed it all up, Kill Rock Stars. Because let’s face it. They’re mostly assholes.
Grade: A-. Highly Recommended for all. Essential of all you indie kids out there! You know who you are. [First added to this chart: 12/30/2017]
Who’s going to love me, who’s going to love me
the way that I am ( I’ve Lost You)
Let’s simplify things. Everything you need to know about Beat Happening can be summed up with two swift, facile comparisons to The Cramps.
Comparison No. 1: They lifted The Cramps’ sound. Stole it. That primal psychobilly howl. Their sound was P-R-I-M-I-T-I-V-E. And then took it a step further. Flaunting that the they didn’t give two shits about musical expertise. About knowing how to play their instruments. Switching musical instruments like some hipsters game of musical chairs after every freakin’ song. All the while Calvin & Heather flip-flopped singing duties like it was some kind of hot potato. This band did not suffer egos gladly. They were the living in-your-face (but in a polite, super PC Evergreen College way) embodiment of the American DIY punk rock spirit.
Observation 2. And then they turned it on its head. They totally upended The Cramp’s image. That of some comical monster-movie ID come to life - hyper-sexual and all unrepressed. Calvin was a spazz. Heather was a wallflower (whose very name I had to look up just to write this post.) Instead of nerds getting to live out their exaggerated, comical over-sexed alter egos as a Lux Interior & Poison Ivy, we got the kids who choose to stay in & hang out in each others dorm rooms while everyone else was going to frat parties and slurping up drinks on ice luges.
I mean just look at them…
And that’s what made them so damn appealing. They were just nerds who really dug music. Just like us. As Calvin perfectly summed it all up, Kill Rock Stars. Because let’s face it. They’re mostly assholes.
Grade: A-. Highly Recommended for all. Essential of all you indie kids out there! You know who you are. [First added to this chart: 12/30/2017]
Total albums: 100. Page 2 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| The Field Mice | 2 | 2% | |
| Mercury Rev | 1 | 1% | |
| Rain Tree Crow | 1 | 1% | |
| Black Sheep (US) | 1 | 1% | |
| Talk Talk | 1 | 1% | |
| Pierre Boulez | 1 | 1% | |
| Ryuichi Sakamoto | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
59 | 59% | |
 |
29 | 29% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
 Up 38 from 100th to 62ndNative Son by The Judybats |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 62nd to 63rd Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge by Mudhoney |
| Down 1 from 63rd to 64th Between Happiness And Heartache by Breathless |
| Down 1 from 64th to 65th Jack Frost by Jack Frost |
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Other year charts (from the 1990s) by Repo
Top 48 Music Albums of 1999 by Repo (2024)Top 62 Music Albums of 1998 by
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Repo (2023)Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 ratings
94/100 (from 24 votes)
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 24 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 05/31/2023 04:11 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
| 100/100 | 11/10/2020 11:28 |  desh79 | | 93/100 |
| 100/100 | 07/16/2019 21:44 |  gidgidi | | 88/100 |
| 100/100 | 06/30/2019 05:53 |  RoundTheBend | | 92/100 |
| 100/100 | 06/29/2019 23:21 |  LedZep | | 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 favourites
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Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 comments
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90/100
From Johnnyo 05/31/2023 04:11
Excellent chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
dihansse 06/29/2019 18:51
dihansse 06/29/2019 18:51
congrats Tilly: one of those charts you keep coming back to!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
TheDude85 06/29/2019 16:36
TheDude85 06/29/2019 16:36
Great information. I'll come back to this again and again.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From gidgidi 06/29/2019 09:49
gidgidi 06/29/2019 09:49
Wow! So detailed!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 06/29/2019 09:06
ForegroundNoise 06/29/2019 09:06
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)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 12/15/2018 12:29
DommeDamian 12/15/2018 12:29
May not dig the albums that much, but descriptions are fine as ever.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Ulf 05/22/2018 20:23
great chart great year
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
elo269megv 05/22/2018 15:30
elo269megv 05/22/2018 15:30
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)
100/100
From 
HoldenM 05/22/2018 08:44
HoldenM 05/22/2018 08:44
Almost unparalleled year in music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
NoisyBeast 05/09/2018 13:18
NoisyBeast 05/09/2018 13:18
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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We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.