Best Album of the 1990s?

Still listening 25 years later.

Not much disagreement with what has been said above, but gotta add Check Your Head and Angel Dust.

I like to dislike a lot of commercial music, but throughout the 90's I had a long commute and we had the good fortune of an excellent radio station locally. And I can remember thinking, wow, we're in the middle of something really good here, this is a great time for music. 
 I can't  choose just one, there are too many great albums from that era

Gotta mention another:

I guess the back of the sleeve is a bit less controversial.

Getting into standouts from other genres:

Portishead - 'Dummy'
Massive Attack - 'Mezzanine'
Sting - 'Ten Summoners Tales'

Edit:
Tori Amos - 'Little Earthquakes'

In reply to preach (dudeist priest) :

Temple of the Dog

In reply to Beer Baron :

I was going to list Dummy. Loved that album 

In addition to all the great albums already mentioned:

Garbage - Garbage 

No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom (the last good album they released before Gwen went Top 40) 

Stone Temple Pilots - Core

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

Not much disagreement with what has been said above, but gotta add Check Your Head and Angel Dust.

 

Angel Dust is in my top 5. The one before that was epic too.

Anyone that says the 90s had no good music does not actually like music. 
 

So many good albums have been mentioned here. I can't even narrow it down. Blood sugar sex magik is an amazing album. But choosing the best is impossible. 
 

Picture it, though. I was an impressionable 16 year old that was raised by a Presbyterian minister. I had some pocket money saved up and received a cd player for Christmas. The first batch of six CDs that I bought included blood sugar sex magik. I do not think you could have blown my mind any further open than that. I distinctly remember one of the reviews ciriticizing the album saying "just because a cd can fit 74 minutes of music on it doesn't mean you have to fill it." I could not have disagreed more and can't imagine cutting a single track. 
 

Note that although I came of age in the 90s, I am not one of those people that claims the best music just happens to be from the era they came of age. There's good music in every decade and even now amazing music is being made. Anyone that claims otherwise see the first paragraph. 

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Check the liner on the back of that one, final mixing was done at Sheffield recording studios in Phoenix, MD by some sound engineer who worked for IMP at the time. 

 

 

You?!?!?!

I went to high school in DC from 80-84 so I suppose you could say gogo played a part in the development of my musical tastes.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Check the liner on the back of that one, final mixing was done at Sheffield recording studios in Phoenix, MD by some sound engineer who worked for IMP at the time. 

 

 

You?!?!?!

I went to high school in DC from 80-84 so I suppose you could say gogo played a part in the development of my musical tastes.

For those not in the area, Sheffield is in the middle of nowhere. 

I'll add another random bit to it, the building to the right of it (now says dance center) was my company building for years. 
 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

So in the middle of nowhere that there, at least used to be, and I believe still is, a buffalo farm across the street. 

That was the first single that I was ever involved in the production of, seeing as it was the final mix of a live recording, I didn't expect it to be released as a single. About 2/3rds of the track are from a live recording from a show he did in Philadelphia (which I was not on the board for). I was also still in high school at the time and only managed to get to the studio on late Saturday nights, Sundays and the occasional Tuesday or Wednesday evening after practice, but over the summer, by 1pm I was there until 9-11 every night, with some nights going to sunup.

In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

Damn son, you've had an interesting life!

Man this brought back some memories of the 90's and the music that I was listening to back then-
Live-Throwing Copper

Bush-Sixteen Stone

Del Amitri-Change Everything

Better than Ezra-Deluxe

Dishwalls-Pet your friends 

Since a lot of mine are already posted, I'll add

GZA-Liquid Swords

and for nostalgia's sake
Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dream
Modest Mouse-The Lonesome, Crowded West

In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

That Song is a total banger, always has been and even the kids love it today (9 & 12)! Very cool story that you were a part of it. 

According to the Grammy's, the best album to come out in 1991 was 'Unforgettable... with Love' by Natalie Cole.

Not exactly mainstream but Electric Wizard's self titled album came out in the 90s. 

Maybe not the "best" but something that I definitely listen to all the time, one of the songs was even in my wedding

Couple of albums are missing.

Playable,  front to back. Many hours spent listening to them both. Cypress Hill's Black Sunday and Sublime's Sublime.

Beer Baron said:

According to the Grammy's, the best album to come out in 1991 was 'Unforgettable... with Love' by Natalie Cole.

Winning a lot of Grammies moves it farther from "best" in my personal reckoning.  At any rate, it's totally irrelevant to quality.

Duke said:

Beer Baron said:

According to the Grammy's, the best album to come out in 1991 was 'Unforgettable... with Love' by Natalie Cole.

Winning a lot of Grammies moves it farther from "best" in my personal reckoning.  At any rate, it's totally irrelevant to quality.

This was a sarcastic comment about how bad the Grammies are at recognizing what is actually great. That's what they picked in the same year that saw 'Nevermind', 'Blood Sugar Sex Magic', 'Ten', 'Bad Motorfinger', 'Use Your Illusion', 'The Low End Theory', Metallica's Black Album, 'Sailing the Seas of Cheese', 'De La Soul is Dead', 'Temple of the Dog'... *That* was their pick.

I suppose they did give the nod to R.E.M.'s 'Out of Time' for Best Alternative Album. Which is pretty weaksauce, even if we do memorialize one of the songs from it on this board.

Fiona Apple- Tidal

David S. Wallens said:

Gotta add this to the conversation:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/jFKWVt8-9J0?rel=0

 

That one is way up there. I always thought that from start to finish, Live Through This was better than any Nirvana album. 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

I won't say that it's better than Bleach or Nevermind but, yeah, start to finish it's spot-on.