Top 14 Music Albums of 1994
by 
DriftingOrpheus 
- Chart updated: 02/05/2025 18:15
- (Created: 06/12/2020 14:26).
- Chart size: 14 albums.
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and this chart has not been rated yet. Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Acid Bath were an outfit from the swamps of Louisiana, likely the only place where music of this ilk could be spawned. The sludge metal group only produced two studio albums with a lifespan abridged by the sudden death of bassist Audie Pitre. The introduction to their brief discography is nothing less than a masterwork in the metal genre, an album of intense hate coupled with stunning musical proficiency that many have overlooked, or more likely, have never experienced. The guitar work is polarizing, often resembling a slithering eel bathing in distortion and feedback. Honestly, what else could suffice for a record that brandishes track titles such as "Cassie Eats Cockroaches", "Dr. Seuss is Dead" and the penultimate "The Bones of Baby Dolls". As horn-rimmed glasses wearing, toffee-nosed onlookers may categorize its content as a slobbering collection of shock rock, the truth is far more personal.
Lead vocalist Dax Riggs likens tracks Tranquilized and Cheap Vodka to drug-triggered, personal anecdotes. The bluesy restraint of Scream of the Butterfly harkens back to the regret of an abortion and the distinctive sound of the woman's grief over said act. Toubabo Koomi is cajun french for Land of the White Cannibals and takes aim at the savagery of the governmental system. Finally, The Bones of Baby Dolls details the unvarnished evil of a child molester. All in all, When the Kite String Pops is not for the faint of heart.
With John Wayne Gacy plastered on the cover, few would gaze upon the album and foresee the intense, brilliant musicianship buried within the catacombs of this striking record. This is partly the appeal. Sometimes it seems like this is something we shouldn't be listening to, like a suicide caught on tape. The dichotomy of the vulgarity and poetry on the album makes it the best kind of rarity. It's a shame that it will likely be restricted to residing in dusty attics, at the bottom of garage sale bins and quiet corners of failing record shops. Listening to When the Kite String Pops is the musical equivalent of watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). A brilliant film no doubt, but one of immense depravity. When the Kite String Pops makes you want to shower once it's over, but you are helpless to the notion of starting it all over again, bathing in its magnificent grime.
"I feel the wetness of her tongue that slides across my skin
The viruses crawl over me and feel for some way in."
-Cassie Eats Cockroaches
Standout Tracks:
1. The Bones of Baby Dolls
2. The Blue
3. Dr. Seuss is Dead
98.4 [First added to this chart: 06/14/2020]
Lead vocalist Dax Riggs likens tracks Tranquilized and Cheap Vodka to drug-triggered, personal anecdotes. The bluesy restraint of Scream of the Butterfly harkens back to the regret of an abortion and the distinctive sound of the woman's grief over said act. Toubabo Koomi is cajun french for Land of the White Cannibals and takes aim at the savagery of the governmental system. Finally, The Bones of Baby Dolls details the unvarnished evil of a child molester. All in all, When the Kite String Pops is not for the faint of heart.
With John Wayne Gacy plastered on the cover, few would gaze upon the album and foresee the intense, brilliant musicianship buried within the catacombs of this striking record. This is partly the appeal. Sometimes it seems like this is something we shouldn't be listening to, like a suicide caught on tape. The dichotomy of the vulgarity and poetry on the album makes it the best kind of rarity. It's a shame that it will likely be restricted to residing in dusty attics, at the bottom of garage sale bins and quiet corners of failing record shops. Listening to When the Kite String Pops is the musical equivalent of watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). A brilliant film no doubt, but one of immense depravity. When the Kite String Pops makes you want to shower once it's over, but you are helpless to the notion of starting it all over again, bathing in its magnificent grime.
"I feel the wetness of her tongue that slides across my skin
The viruses crawl over me and feel for some way in."
-Cassie Eats Cockroaches
Standout Tracks:
1. The Bones of Baby Dolls
2. The Blue
3. Dr. Seuss is Dead
98.4 [First added to this chart: 06/14/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
92.2
[First added to this chart: 02/23/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones was 20 years of age in the early part of 1994. He had spent the last two years recording what would become his magnum opus and what's widely seen as the crown jewel of today's most preeminent music genre. He was still a minor but possessed the sagacious foresight of a storyteller that had lived five lifetimes. Born in Brooklyn but raised in nearby Queens, his experiences provided the narrative bedrock for 1994's Illmatic, incorporating his observations as a youth and synthesizing them with his reflections as a burgeoning adult. His insight provided social commentary that remains poignant and pertinent over 25 years later. The legendary-titled "N.Y. State of Mind" perhaps prophesied it best. This was the birth of "Nasty Nas" as an idea instead of a name and the beginning of a never-ending chase for genre peers to one-up his debut masterpiece. As of today, it has never been achieved.
After an establishing intro entitled The Genesis, Nasty Nas announces himself with N.Y. State of Mind, a stirring adrenaline shot that simultaneously cherishes (as a haven) and chastises (as a hellhole) the Big Apple. DJ Premier produced the track and provided the spine of the song with a daunting piano sample that is wonderfully dissonant behind Nas' silky delivery. Speaking of silky, Nas' philosophy and flow is on full display throughout the track. He spits, "I'm an addict for sneakers, 20's of Buddha and bitches with beepers, in the streets I can greet ya, about blunts I teach ya, inhale deep like the words of my breath, I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death." His first proper track on his debut LP remains one of the genre's defining statements. That's pretty quick work indeed. He collaborates with fellow New York native, AZ, on third track Life's a Bitch. AZ's verse nearly highlights the song with his mile a minute delivery. However, never to be outdone, Nas equalizes during the second half of the three and a half minute cut. He declares, "Got rhymes 365 days annual, plus some, load up the mic and bust one, cuss while I pus from, my skull, cause it's pain in my brain vein, money maintain, don't go against the grain, simple and plain." The track is delicately produced by L.E.S with Nas himself having a hand in crafting the backbone of Life's a Bitch. It's a restrained approach that recognizes the strength of the flows of the rappers involved and gives them ample space to breathe. It then fades out gorgeously with a cornet outro played by Nas' own father, Olu Dara. Fourth track, The World is Yours, is likely the finest representation of the supreme fluidity of its orator. It's often cited as the lynchpin that binds arguments for Nas' possession of the best flow in history. Take for example: "Yet I'm the mild, money-gettin' style, rollin' foul, the versatile, honey-stickin', wild, golden child, dwellin' in the Rotten Apple, you get tackled, or caught by the devil's lasso, shit is a hassle." The World is Yours is nothing less than a lyrical masterclass communicated with the precision of an expert marksman.
The midpoint of the album is appropriately titled, Halftime. In some ways, you can't even tell that The World is Yours has ended, given how effortlessly Nas vocally sails through the fifth track. "I used to hustle, now all I do is relax and strive, when I was young I was a fan of the Jackson 5, I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it, with more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach," he details. The track was actually released in 1992 as Nas' first single, under the moniker Nasty Nas. This seems to play a role in the track's omission when talking about the spoils of Illmatic. Nevertheless, Halftime is impossible to ignore, even amongst the giants it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with. After a velvety trip down memory lane, Nas concocts what is likely the summit of his poetic genius. One Love is expertly told and beautifully chronicled. The track snakes along, documenting fictitious letters that Nas has written to his companions who are behind bars. He explains, "What up, kid? I know shit is rough doin' your bid, when the cops came you shoulda slid to my crib, fuck it, black, no time for lookin' back, it's done, plus, congratulations, you know you got a son, I heard he looks like ya, why don't your lady write ya?" Later letters warn his friend to be wary of the dangers of incarceration and his own desire to want to murder out of frustration. He then recants because of his devotion to "One Love". A beautiful and haunting contemplation. He finishes the mosaic by fearing a similar fate for a younger confidante, "Shorty's laugh was cold-blooded as he spoke so foul, only 12, tryin' to tell me that he liked my style, then I rose, wipin' the blunt's ash from my clothes, then froze, only to blow the herb smoke through my nose and told my little man I'ma ghost, I broze, left some jewels in his skull that he can sell if he chose, words of wisdom from Nas: try to rise up above, keep an eye out for Jake, Shorty Wop, one love." The lyricism is unbelievably profound as the Brooklyn-based bard paints a harrowing picture of the dangers of living in poverty and the effect of disenfranchisement and bias towards people of color. However, Nas promises to rise above the immense sociological disadvantages handed to him while hoping others will follow his lead. A sentiment that remains frighteningly relevant today. One Love is a landmark in hip-hop storytelling pageantry.
Nas' Illmatic remains entrenched in the pantheon of the lauded era of 90's hip-hop. On the other hand, it seems far ahead of its time. Its production and beats are some of the best that the era had to offer but it's the poetry on the LP that allows it to elude the aging process. Illmatic almost functions as a "Benjamin Button" of sorts, becoming more and more essential as time passes. Echoes of its excellence are heard in numerous hip-hop projects each and every year. In 2014, a documentary film, "Nas: Time is Illmatic", explored the album and its lasting legacy. Nas himself has even called the 25 years since the release as "a lifetime". It's perfectly understandable coming from the man who lived it, but the music never fails to be a product of the moment when it hits your eardrums and heart. If you listen closely, you can hear it reverberate off the brick walls of New York's compressed alleyways, rising above the sound of traffic, banter and the steam that rises from the streets.
"My intellect prevails from a hangin' cross with nails,
I reinforce the frail with lyrics that's real,
Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats,
I decipher prophecies through a mic and say peace."
- Memory Lane (Sittin' in Da Park)
Standout Tracks:
1. One Love
2. Halftime
3. N.Y. State of Mind
92 [First added to this chart: 06/18/2020]
After an establishing intro entitled The Genesis, Nasty Nas announces himself with N.Y. State of Mind, a stirring adrenaline shot that simultaneously cherishes (as a haven) and chastises (as a hellhole) the Big Apple. DJ Premier produced the track and provided the spine of the song with a daunting piano sample that is wonderfully dissonant behind Nas' silky delivery. Speaking of silky, Nas' philosophy and flow is on full display throughout the track. He spits, "I'm an addict for sneakers, 20's of Buddha and bitches with beepers, in the streets I can greet ya, about blunts I teach ya, inhale deep like the words of my breath, I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death." His first proper track on his debut LP remains one of the genre's defining statements. That's pretty quick work indeed. He collaborates with fellow New York native, AZ, on third track Life's a Bitch. AZ's verse nearly highlights the song with his mile a minute delivery. However, never to be outdone, Nas equalizes during the second half of the three and a half minute cut. He declares, "Got rhymes 365 days annual, plus some, load up the mic and bust one, cuss while I pus from, my skull, cause it's pain in my brain vein, money maintain, don't go against the grain, simple and plain." The track is delicately produced by L.E.S with Nas himself having a hand in crafting the backbone of Life's a Bitch. It's a restrained approach that recognizes the strength of the flows of the rappers involved and gives them ample space to breathe. It then fades out gorgeously with a cornet outro played by Nas' own father, Olu Dara. Fourth track, The World is Yours, is likely the finest representation of the supreme fluidity of its orator. It's often cited as the lynchpin that binds arguments for Nas' possession of the best flow in history. Take for example: "Yet I'm the mild, money-gettin' style, rollin' foul, the versatile, honey-stickin', wild, golden child, dwellin' in the Rotten Apple, you get tackled, or caught by the devil's lasso, shit is a hassle." The World is Yours is nothing less than a lyrical masterclass communicated with the precision of an expert marksman.
The midpoint of the album is appropriately titled, Halftime. In some ways, you can't even tell that The World is Yours has ended, given how effortlessly Nas vocally sails through the fifth track. "I used to hustle, now all I do is relax and strive, when I was young I was a fan of the Jackson 5, I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it, with more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach," he details. The track was actually released in 1992 as Nas' first single, under the moniker Nasty Nas. This seems to play a role in the track's omission when talking about the spoils of Illmatic. Nevertheless, Halftime is impossible to ignore, even amongst the giants it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with. After a velvety trip down memory lane, Nas concocts what is likely the summit of his poetic genius. One Love is expertly told and beautifully chronicled. The track snakes along, documenting fictitious letters that Nas has written to his companions who are behind bars. He explains, "What up, kid? I know shit is rough doin' your bid, when the cops came you shoulda slid to my crib, fuck it, black, no time for lookin' back, it's done, plus, congratulations, you know you got a son, I heard he looks like ya, why don't your lady write ya?" Later letters warn his friend to be wary of the dangers of incarceration and his own desire to want to murder out of frustration. He then recants because of his devotion to "One Love". A beautiful and haunting contemplation. He finishes the mosaic by fearing a similar fate for a younger confidante, "Shorty's laugh was cold-blooded as he spoke so foul, only 12, tryin' to tell me that he liked my style, then I rose, wipin' the blunt's ash from my clothes, then froze, only to blow the herb smoke through my nose and told my little man I'ma ghost, I broze, left some jewels in his skull that he can sell if he chose, words of wisdom from Nas: try to rise up above, keep an eye out for Jake, Shorty Wop, one love." The lyricism is unbelievably profound as the Brooklyn-based bard paints a harrowing picture of the dangers of living in poverty and the effect of disenfranchisement and bias towards people of color. However, Nas promises to rise above the immense sociological disadvantages handed to him while hoping others will follow his lead. A sentiment that remains frighteningly relevant today. One Love is a landmark in hip-hop storytelling pageantry.
Nas' Illmatic remains entrenched in the pantheon of the lauded era of 90's hip-hop. On the other hand, it seems far ahead of its time. Its production and beats are some of the best that the era had to offer but it's the poetry on the LP that allows it to elude the aging process. Illmatic almost functions as a "Benjamin Button" of sorts, becoming more and more essential as time passes. Echoes of its excellence are heard in numerous hip-hop projects each and every year. In 2014, a documentary film, "Nas: Time is Illmatic", explored the album and its lasting legacy. Nas himself has even called the 25 years since the release as "a lifetime". It's perfectly understandable coming from the man who lived it, but the music never fails to be a product of the moment when it hits your eardrums and heart. If you listen closely, you can hear it reverberate off the brick walls of New York's compressed alleyways, rising above the sound of traffic, banter and the steam that rises from the streets.
"My intellect prevails from a hangin' cross with nails,
I reinforce the frail with lyrics that's real,
Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats,
I decipher prophecies through a mic and say peace."
- Memory Lane (Sittin' in Da Park)
Standout Tracks:
1. One Love
2. Halftime
3. N.Y. State of Mind
92 [First added to this chart: 06/18/2020]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,331
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
86.5
[First added to this chart: 12/09/2021]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
86.3
[First added to this chart: 06/14/2020]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,893
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
83.9
[First added to this chart: 11/05/2021]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,613
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
83.2
[First added to this chart: 10/01/2024]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,387
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
83.1
[First added to this chart: 06/14/2020]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,597
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
81.3
[First added to this chart: 02/17/2023]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
81.2
Total albums: 14. Page 1 of 2
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| 王靖雯 [Shirley Wong] | 2 | 14% | |
| Manic Street Preachers | 1 | 7% | |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 1 | 7% | |
| Portishead | 1 | 7% | |
| Nine Inch Nails | 1 | 7% | |
| NOFX | 1 | 7% | |
| Acid Bath | 1 | 7% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 10th to 11th The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails |
| Down 1 from 11th to 12th Punk In Drublic by NOFX |
| Down 1 from 12th to 13th I Could Live In Hope by Low |
| New entries |
|---|
| 迷 [Mystery] by 王靖雯 [Shirley Wong] |
Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
DriftingOrpheus has created 71 other 1994 year charts - click here to explore them all.
Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 ratings
Not enough data 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.
Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 favourites
Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 comments
Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!
Your feedback for Top 14 Music Albums of 1994
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Member Levels | |
|---|---|
| NiceLemon282 | Level 2 |
| Rapidexal | Level 2 |
| New levels achieved over the last 7 days. Well done to all :) | |
