Top Albums of the 90s

By Richard Aquilone

• Produced by minimalist and abrasive music industry man Steve Albini

• The band’s loudest, angriest and most aggressive album

• Last album made before Cobain’s death

• Debut album of Notorious B.I.G., and the only one released during his lifetime

• Impeccable lyrical flow/content and excellent production

• Broke the west coast’s dominance of the rap scene

• Third and final album of the band before frontman Bradley Nowell’s death

• Has a friendly, laid-back vibe mixing punk and reggae

• First Green Day album to achieve mainstream success

• Skyrocketed the pop punk genre to mainstream popularity

• Has a like-it-or-go-to-hell attitude

• After gaining popularity with “Siamese Dream”, this double album propelled them to permanent alternative superstardom

• Four of the album’s 28 tracks became hits

• Features the band’s first Top 40 hits to cross over to pop radio

• Incorporated pop and rock sounds that earned the fondness of both pop and rock radio

• Sound and tone of songs runs the gamut from happy-go-lucky (Hand in My Pocket) to straight-up angry (You Oughta Know)

• A band with a loyal cult following that never achieved mainstream recognition

• This album is a fan and critic favorite

• Packed with energy and great songwriting

• Debut solo album of Dr. Dre

• Dre is an excellent producer who can play to his strengths and find great rappers to cover up his weaknesses

• Features a young Snoop Dogg

• Second album for the band, which made them an international phenomenon

• A classic of both indie and Britpop

• Feuding between members meant that Oasis were never able to follow up with a better album after this

• Helped propel Phish from a Vermont jam band to one of the biggest jam bands out there

• Made the loyal cult following of Phish a nationwide phenomenon to rival the Deadhead culture