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
========================================
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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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]
8
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[First added to this chart: 12/19/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
41,997
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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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:
11,009
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:
13,739
Rank in 1991:
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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Post-Hardcore
Essential [First added to this chart: 01/05/2018]
Essential [First added to this chart: 01/05/2018]
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[First added to this chart: 12/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,269
Rank in 1991:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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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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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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'91:1 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]
Total albums: 59. Page 1 of 6
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Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| The Field Mice | 2 | 2% | |
| Superchunk | 1 | 1% | |
| Moose | 1 | 1% | |
| Green On Red | 1 | 1% | |
| The Ocean Blue | 1 | 1% | |
| Nirvana | 1 | 1% | |
| LFO (UK) | 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
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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).
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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 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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