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My favourite album from the 90's and the 'greatest' album would probably be different.
Favourite based on how often its been played (and just squeaks in at March 90) is I do not want what I haven't got by Sinead O'Connor
I think the greatest would have to be an album that inspired the most people to listen to music, go to gigs and form bands.....and that has to be Nevermind
Electronic Raise the Pressure is no way the best album. It is so watered down electronic pop. Even the pet ship boys were more hardcore! Electronic music the genre run rampant in the nineties and splintered into a thousand sub genres.
Can I go with half an album? The first half of I care because you do, is blinding. I like the 2nd half too, but the first few tracks just blew my rattly little pea brain mind.
Well to continue the love for the Cowboy Junkies in the '80s thread (Trinity Sessions) I'm going Pale Sun Crescent Moon.
Or possibly Richard Thompson, Mirror Blue.
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs was released in 1999 actually, so I think that's worth a mention.
Possibly the most-influential album that most people haven't heard of?
Can I go with half an album?
No, of course not.
The first half of I care because you do, is blinding.
Yes, it is.
Anyway, if we're going to start choosing half an album.... let's double up... first half of I care because you do, followed by second half of the Richard D James album. So much... "how can this be called music... but bloody hell it's amazing"... and not just when listening in the last century... still sounds rule breaking and mind warping even now.
Deliberately not read the previous posts before posting mine (no change from normal then) to avoid influencing my choice(s).
Difficult to pick just the one, but if I had to then the Prodigy 'Music for the Jilted Generation', but notable mentions for the following, all of which I still listen to frequently:
Air 'Moon Safari'
Chemical Brothers 'Dig Your Own Hole'
Daft Punk 'Homework'
Gomez 'Bring It On'
Faithless 'Reverence'
Leftfield 'Leftism'
Massive Attack 'Mezzanine'
Orbital '02'
Paul Van Dyk '45 RPM' (I rate 'Vorsprung Dyk Technik' betterer but technically that's a compilation)
some great and terrible suggestions in this thread!
But I can't believe no-one has suggested Orbital's 'In Sides' - up there with the great electronic music albums of the 90's IMO.
The first half of I care because you do, is blinding.
Alberto Balsalm is the 10th track though.
But I can’t believe no-one has suggested Orbital’s ‘In Sides’ – up there with the great electronic music albums of the 90’s IMO.
Do you rate it higher than the brown album?
Not Primus' best.
Electronic by Electronic
Great shout. 🙂
Some great shouts here. Hard to look past the Nirvana, Massive Attack & Radiohead behemoths. Every second of them is wonderful.
I'd like to add Fugees The Score just based on how many hours I listened to it on rotation.
The true test was which disc stayed in when you rotated the selection on your Aiwa 5 disc midi system. 👌
Has to be Blue Lines for me, it pretty much defined a whole genre.
With an honourable mention for Automatic for the People as the disc most likely to stay in my Aiwa...
Do you rate it higher than the brown album?
I reckon I do actually.
I loved it at the time, especially Impact and Halcyon, but now I think it sounds very much 'of its time' while I think In Sides just sounds as fresh now as it did when it came out. It's not so much tied to a scene. So while Halcyon is an instant nostalgia rush (for me anyway), The Girl With the Sun In Her Head just blows me away like it's the first time I'm hearing it.
Without thinking (too hard) I’m going to say:
I see a darkness - Bonnie “Prince” Billy. It had a profound influence on me.
And
Kanon Pokajanen - Arvo Pärt. This is my most played cd ever. Literally hundreds (quote possibly even thousands) of times.
30 Something by Carter USM.
Aphex Twin 'Selected Ambient Works' a good shout but not sure it reinvented music as posited above (Brian Eno might lay that claim though). Still, deffo one for the honourable mentions.
Selected Ambient Works II is the one that sounds like Eno's older ambient works... RDJ always claimed he wasn't inspired by Eno when making the soundscapes on that album... he's notoriously unreliable though, and no one believes him. It's a great album to go to sleep to or just have in the background. The first Selected Ambient Works compilation being commended however sounds nothing like Eno... and is arguably an essential pillar of IDM, especially with UK musicians... the title is misleading.
Achtung Baby deserves a mention IMHO, Zooropa was a good follow up, then U2 became pants.
Oasis Definitely Maybe and What's the Story are up there.
Radiohead - The Bends
Alanis Morrisette - Jagged little pill
First one that came into my head that I regularly listen to is Soundgarden Superunknown
Ill communication by the Beastie boys.
Nevermind obvs
fat boy slim better living through chemistry.
i could never pick one
90s was great decade for music
Had to check if my favourite mix album was released in the 90s and yes, Sasha's Ibiza Global Underground was released September 1999.
Suede- Dog Man Star if I had to pick one
My sister's boyfriend gave me a tape with Copper Blue on one side and Beaster on the other. Both blew my mind.
Copper Blue was NME’s album of the year in 1992. It’s awesome.
This thread reminded me of some great music, thanks all. But for me this is the album of the nineties.
Surprised to see only 1 vote for The Downward Spiral so far. I'll make that 2, but as a run of 3 albums (Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral and The Fragile) Nine Inch Nails were hard to beat for the entire decade personally.
As above, honourable mentions to Selected Ambient Works and the obvious OK Computer.
I’ll take that as an invitation to revisit both! 🙂
Mogwai - CODY
Anything by Pavement
Stereolab - Refried Ectoplasm
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
The Wolfgang Press - Queer
Meat Beat Manifesto - 99%
Coil - Love’s Secret Domain
Jesus Lizard - Goat
Lambchop - I Hope You’re Sitting Down
Aerial M - Aerial
Tindersticks - The First Tindersticks Album
Slint - Spiderland
Palace Brothers - There is No-One What Will Take Care of You
The Breeders - Pod
The Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Sorry. The 90s were too good.
Come find yourself by the fun loving criminals also got a lot of play in the 10 years after it was released, haven't listened to it as an album for ages, needs a revisit.
Not Primus’ best.
I'd agree.
For me and my teen age years it'd be......
Metallica - Metallica to start the 90's off
Daft punk - homework to end it
Forgot one of the great pop albums - Lightning Seeds, Jollification.
Metallica – Metallica to start the 90’s off
When Metallica went downhill.
@lister I’ve not listened to Copper Blue for ages. Will need to dig it out…
I manage to avoid commenting on lots of threads but this one has grabbed me.
42 as well so this really was my formative years. Agree with the indie big classics, Oasis, Radiohead, Gomez and the Bluetones but I am really surprised no one has mentioned the Miseducation of Lauren hill.
I went to Uni in 98 and this album really brings so many memories back of walking (with CD player in hand)from the High Street, down George the IV bridge and across the meadows to Merchiston.
Favourite: Where You Been or So Tonight That I Might See
Best: (probably) Ten
Already had a go with the Beta Band, but.......
Exit Planet Dust by The Dust Junkys might just edge it.
Not just tunes, BUT MC TUNES!
I think it defines the herbal and chemical chaos of clubbing in Manchester in the 90's more than anything else.
A proper cheeky mash up.
Everyone, from ravers to rockers just piled on.
Joyous.
I get a headache, sweats and tremors just listening to it now.
Purely from a personal point of view
Buffalo Tom - Let Me Come Over
Sugar - Copper Blue & Beaster
Fugazi - In On the Killtaker
DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
Unkle - Psyence Fiction
How could I forget: Play by Moby would be very high for me too!
Between a few for me:
Angel Dust, Faith No More
Dubnobasswithmyheadman, Underworld
...and honourable mention for Janes Addiction (Ritual Habitual or Nothing's Shocking)
Levelling the land. I still listen to it… and I still love it.
In no particular order:
Nevermind
Pearl Jam Vs
Soul Asylum Grave Dancers Union
Deftones Around the fur
Placebo
Reef Replenish
Finley Quaye Maverick a strike
William Orbit Strange cargo Hinterland
Beth Orton Trailer Park
Metallica (black)
The Crow (soundtrack)
Björk Post
RATM
Sneaker Pimps Becoming X
Edit:
need to add Leftism and Exit Planet Dust to that list
Exit Planet Dust by The Dust Junkys
Exit planet dust was under the Chemical Brothers name. Prior to that they were the Dust Brothers. I remember hearing a track early 90s as Dust Brothers on Tongy's show.
I've not seen the Orb mentioned?
Adventures beyond is brilliant.
it has to be Renaissance…
That was probably my most listened to album of the '90's
Lots on here that I was into at the time, but don't get much of a listen now - Portishead, Verve etc
The one that stands out for me most, that I listen to a lot now - Metallica - Metallica (Black Album)
For the 90's, I'm going with Pulp. But not Different Class, too many overplayed tracks on that even now. This is Hardcore.
Like the 2000s there's just too much choice in the 90s!
RATM - all 3 albums are 10/10 imo, not a bad song on any.
AiC - Facelift and Dirt
Nirvana - Nevermind and In Utero
Soundgarden - Superunknown and Badmotorfinger
Pantera - CFH, Far Beyond Driven, Vulgar Display of Power, Trendkill
Blink 182 - Enema of The State
Green Day - Dookie
I can do without britpop though, apart from some Blur.
Exit planet dust was under the Chemical Brothers name. Prior to that they were the Dust Brothers. I remember hearing a track early 90s as Dust Brothers on Tongy’s show
They used to do regular sets as the Dust Brothers at the awesome Sleuth nights at Paradise Factory in the early 90’s.
Saw them loads of times in the pre-Chemical Brothers days. Exit Planet Dust is a top album!
Anyway… another contender. Absolutely epic and still sounds incredible today
I reckon I do actually.
I loved it at the time, especially Impact and Halcyon, but now I think it sounds very much ‘of its time’ while I think In Sides just sounds as fresh now as it did when it came out. It’s not so much tied to a scene. So while Halcyon is an instant nostalgia rush (for me anyway), The Girl With the Sun In Her Head just blows me away like it’s the first time I’m hearing it.
That's interesting, I listened to the brown album all the way through a month or two ago and was surprised by how consistent and timeless it sounds.
Obviously it's subjective though, and I never fully clicked with "intelligent techno".
Blink 182 – Enema of The State
Holy crap, yes! So much good music from the 90's.
The Dust Junkys and The Dust Brothers (UK) were not the same guys!
The confusion is in the album name. Can't remember what the Dust Junkys one was... but also had "dust" in the title.
[ I also was in MCR in the 90s ]
Anyway... I might want to change my choice again! 808 State shouldn't have been overlooked. *ex:el* ?
As for In Sides.. The Box overshadows the rest of that album. Still such a huge tune.
Dust Junkys - Done and Dusted was the first album
Dust Brothers became the Chemical Brothers as there was already the Dust Brothers in the US
I’ve only read the first few entries because I’m going to have to give this some thought. But I wanted to get in early and say the Insomniac is better than Dookie.
Actually scratch thinking about it. Whatever and Ever Amen is the best album of the 1990s.
Late contender and don't know if it's been mentioned - almost forgot about it myself.
Brilliant album, shame they couldn't follow it up. Local lad/s too - Gomez, Bring It On
Might listen to it in a bit, but currently got Urban Hymns playing in the headphones off the back of this thread
Oh and another - Embrace, The Good Will Out. Saw them twice in that era
For the 90’s, I’m going with Pulp. But not Different Class, too many overplayed tracks on that even now. This is Hardcore.
The fact there are so many overplayed tracks is because it is the greatest album of the decade. But I'm with you, Hardcore is my preference.
Minor claim to fame, I went to school with half the Chemical Brothers; I was 6th form and so teachers could nick off and smoke in the staffroom at lunch, we had to supervise the younger kids at lunchtime (we had no school dinners, packed lunch in your form room). I made him take his turn sweeping up like any other kid....
Earth V's the Wildhearts.
Completely different from anything else that was going on at the time.
and raise it with Mark Hollis by Mark Hollis.
I was wondering if someone would suggest that! While I adore Talk Talk’s entire discography, that album I find incredibly difficult to listen to. It’s because there’s so much space in it, it’s about as minimalist as an album can get without it being an hour’s worth of silence, and I find it uncomfortable to listen to.
And believe me, I’ve tried, I bought it as soon as it was released, but I’ve never grown to love it.
And considering just how the Talk Talk albums progressed, getting sparser as they went along, ‘Mark Hollis’ is as near to an album’s worth of just ambient noise as he could get away with!
Brilliant album, shame they couldn’t follow it up. Local lad/s too – Gomez, Bring It On
Funny you say that, one of my favourite albums. And they haven’t put out an album I don’t like yet (listening to Ben Ottewell right now). For the last few years my youngest son will listen endlessly to Gomez… we actually have to stop him.
listening to Ben Ottewell right now
He often crops up at little gigs around Matlock
Took this a few years ago
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Pulp are a funny one, they seem very nice people and I can tell they make smart, sophisticated pop - but I just can't connect with their music. Maybe they're a bit too arch for me?
Anyone else?
Pulp are a band where if I hear one of their songs on the radio every now and then I will really enjoy it, but I couldn't listen to a whole album.
Actually scratch thinking about it. Whatever and Ever Amen is the best album of the 1990s.
Blimey. You could be right.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
+1
You'd think it would be OK Computer, until you remembered Urban Hymns - then squeaking it on the line you realise it's Beyond Skin -