Best Albums of the 1990s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1990s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 50,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1990s decade summary
YearAlbums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts. Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year) Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
19902,660136,520
19912,719269,073
19922,875173,257
19933,016193,772
19943,297298,332
19953,463225,843
19963,693194,005
19973,842274,207
19983,832202,647
19993,881190,426
Total33,2782,158,081

The best artists of the 1990s were Radiohead, Nirvana (US), Neutral Milk Hotel, The Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis, Pearl Jam, Weezer, R.E.M. and Richard David James.
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Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
85,089
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Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44,621
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Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44,111
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Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,725
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Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,505
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Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,458
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Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,216
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Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,577
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Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,272
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Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,146
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1990s composition

Year Albums %


1990 87 9%
1991 81 8%
1992 99 10%
1993 104 10%
1994 126 13%
1995 114 11%
1996 113 11%
1997 97 10%
1998 98 10%
1999 81 8%
Artist Albums %


The Flaming Lips 6 1%
Blur 6 1%
Alice In Chains 5 1%
Stereolab 5 1%
Pearl Jam 5 1%
Green Day 5 1%
R.E.M. 5 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 543 54%
United Kingdom 258 26%
Canada 42 4%
Mixed Nationality 26 3%
Australia 20 2%
Sweden 15 2%
Japan 13 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 980 98%
Yes 20 2%
Live? Albums %
No 982 98%
Yes 18 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 11 1%
Popular  Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
3. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
4. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
5. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
6. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
7. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
8. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
9. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
10. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
11. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
12. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
13. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
14. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
15. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
16. Top 90.3 Listener Voted Albums by KEXP (2008)
17. All Time Top 100 Albums by Sounds (1985)
18. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Channel 4 (2005)
19. The Guardian 100 Best Albums Ever by The Guardian (1997)
20. Os 100 Melhores Discos de Todos Os Tempos by Sinewave (2012)
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