Saturday, October 29, 2011

All the Best

As I mentioned on this week's episode of CompCon, I recently sat down and compiled my list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s for a countdown feature on Popblerd. A total of 16 of us contributed their lists to the effort, which was then tabulated and ranked into the top 100; the countdown is currently into the 60s.

But I figured I'd share my top 100 here. Like my previous effort at a top 100 songs of all time list, this one took some time and I'm sure if I went back and looked at it, I would rearrange or add/subtract to it. But this is what I came up with at that particular point in time.

Nirvana's Nevermind was the top choice; both in terms of content and impact, it was massive. I don't need to go into it because the 20th anniversary just came and went and plenty of Internet bandwidth has been devoted to it.

Here's the rest of the list:

2. U2 - Achtung Baby

3. Radiohead - OK Computer

4. REM - Automatic for the People

5. Pearl Jam - Ten

6. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted

7. Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen

8. The Tragically Hip - Fully Completely

9. Sloan - One Chord to Another

10. Pixies - Bossanova

11. Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

12. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

13. Nirvana - In Utero

14. Foo Fighters - s/t

15. Beck - Odelay

16. Alice in Chains - Dirt

17. Jeff Buckley - Grace

18. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

19. Frank Black - Teenager of the Year

20. Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque

21. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual

22. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

23. Fugazi - Repeater

24. Smashing Pumpkins - Gish

25. Neil Young - Ragged Glory

26. Pearl Jam - Vs.

27. Pixies - Trompe le Monde

28. Sonic Youth - Goo

29. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love

30. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

31. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

32. Queens of the Stone Age - s/t

33. The Pursuit of Happiness - One-Sided Story

34. Weezer - Blue Album

35. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

36. Singles soundtrack

37. Wilco - Being There

38. Mudhoney - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

39. Living Colour - Time's Up

40. Temple of the Dog - s/t

41. Rollins Band - The End of Silence

42. Helmet - Meantime

43. Sloan - Twice Removed

44. Radiohead - The Bends

45. Sugar - Copper Blue

46. Superchunk - Foolish

47. Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been

48. Buffalo Tom - Let Me Come Over

49. Beck - Mellow Gold

50. Urge Overkill - Saturation

51. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange

52. Portishead - Dummy

53. Morphine - Cure for Pain

54. The Breeders - Last Splash

55. Soundgarden - Superunknown

56. Mother Love Bone - Apple

57. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville

58. Sebadoh III

59. Green Day - Dookie

60. Guided by Voices - Alien Lanes

61. PJ Harvey - Rid of Me

62. Afghan Whigs - Black Love

63. Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion

64. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

65. Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime

66. Faith No More - Angel Dust

67. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape

68. Built to Spill - Perfect from Now On

69. The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion

70. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

71. Elastica - s/t

72. Matthew Sweet - Altered Beast

73. Rage Against the Machine - s/t

74. Weezer - Pinkerton

75. Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

76. Rocket From the Crypt - Scream, Dracula, Scream

77. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin

78. Chris Whitley - Din of Ecstasy

79. Bjork - Post

80. U2 - Zooropa

81. Wilco - Summerteeth

82. R.E.M. - Out of Time

83. D Generation - No Lunch

84. Cracker - s/t

85. The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall

86. The Tragically Hip - Road Apples

87. Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen

88. Elvis Costello - Mighty Like a Rose

89. Fu Manchu - The Action is Go!

90. New Bomb Turks - Information Highway Revisited

91. The Nation of Ulysses - 13-Point Program to Destroy America

92. World Party - Goodbye Jumbo

93. Cornershop - When I Was Born for the 7th Time

94. The Posies - Frosting on the Beater

95. Sonic Youth - Dirty

96. Mudhoney - Piece of Cake

97. Frank Black and the Catholics - s/t

98. Buffalo Tom - Big Red Letter Day

99. Johnny Cash - American Recordings

100. Luscious Jackson - Natural Ingredients

Of course, there were many albums that just missed the list and I'm sure many that I overlooked. What would you put on your list? Let me know in the comments.

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