Definitive Rock Albums of the 90's
 

There were a countless number of definitive and influential albums that made music in the 90's so great...

Here's my top 10...

1.) Nirvana- Nevermind
2.) Radiohead- OK Computer
3.) Pearl Jam- Ten
4.) Oasis- What's the Story Morning Glory?
5.) Smashing Pumpkins- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
6.) Alice in Chains- Dirt
7.) Dave Matthews Band- Under the Table Dreaming
8.) Green Day- Dookie
9.) Red Hot Chili Peppers- Blood Sugar Sex Magik
10.) Blink 182- Enema of the State

Honorable Mention...

Weezer- Blue Album
Nirvana- In Utero
Oasis- Definitely Maybe
Gin Blossoms- New Miserable Experience
Soundgarden- Badmotorfinger
Soundgarden- Superunknown
Stone Temple Pilots- Core
Foo Fighters- The Colour and the Shape
No Doubt- Tragic Kingdom
Pavement- Slanted & Enchanted
Korn- self-titled
Beck- Mellow Gold
R.E.M.- Automatic for the people
Bush- Sixteen Stone

Good thread man.

Here's my list:

1. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (I know most of you aren't into hip hop, but this guy is amazing. This album still gives me goosebumps)
2. Faith No More - The Real Thing (I know this was recorded in 89, but it's close enough and Faith no More was one of the best bands of the 90's in my opinion)
3. Social Distortion - Social Distortion
4. The Offspring - Smash
5. Sublime - 40oz to Freedom
6. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
7. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
8. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
9. Death In Vegas - The Contino Sessions
10. Rancid - And Out Come the Wolves

Pretty good job with your list; the 90s were indeed great. Naturally I'd put Slanted and Enchanted higher (even Spin ranked it #5 of the 90s--any genre!!) and include Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain from Pavement. Their influence on the underground was massive and they also had a strong influence on many mainstream bands which goes unappreciated.

The major oversight that I can see in terms of 90s landmarks is "Rage Against the Machine" self titled. Not saying the road it led too (all these rap/metal hybrids) was a pretty one, but it at least got the movement off to a ferocious and amazing start. Too bad the Limp Bizkits of the world would screw it up. Tremendous technical album that influence so many.

Everyone also says that Loveless by My Bloody Valentine was some sort of masterpiece...honestly I never got into it, but I'll mention it. Lastly, I must wonder how Blink 182 got on your list?? :) Grandfather to the crap pop/punk we have today I guess?

My top 10:
1. Nirvana-Nevermind
2. Radiohead-OK Computer (easily the BEST of the 90s)
3. Pavement-Slanted & Enchanted
4. Pearl Jam-Ten
5. Rage Against the Machine-s/t
6. Janes Addiction-Ritual de lo Habitual
7. Nirvana-In Utero
8. Pearl Jam-Vitalogy
9. Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dream
10. Beck-Odelay

also: Red Hot Chili Peppers (BloodSugarSexMajik)... Soundgarden (Badmotorfinger; Superunknown)... Weezer (Blue; Pinkerton)... Pavement (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; Wowee Zowee)... Radiohead (The Bends)... AIC (Dirt)... NIN (Downward Spiral)... Sebadoh (III)... Tool (Aenima)... REM (Automatic for the People)... U2 (Achtung Baby)... My Bloody Valentine (Loveless)

There wasn´t any good rock music during the 90´s.
That´s the main reason why I started to listen to hardcorepunk.
And everyone who puts Blink 182 on a top 10 list deserves to be punished. ;)

The 90s probably launched the genre of (U.S.)death metal (Morbid Angel - 'Altars of Madness', 'Blessed are the Sick', of course, Cannibal Corpse - 'Eaten Back to Life' and 'Butchered at Birth', and Carcass - 'Symphonies of Sickness' amongst others) and "Swedish" death metal (Entombed's 'Left Hand Path'); essentially put grindcore on the map (with Napalm Death hitting their stride on 'Harmony Corruption' and 'Utopia Banished', and Bolt Thrower with 'Warmaster' and 'The IVth Crusade'); and solidified black metal's presence (Burzum - 'Burzum', Mayhem - 'From the Darkest Past', Darkthrone - 'A Blaze in the Northern Sky') . . .

While these genre's are certainly not to MOST people's liking, they hit the forefront in the 90s, and these are some of the more seminal bands and albums that helped put them on the map . . . not such a bad decade afterall . . .

As a final point, I would throw out Fear Factory's 'Soul of a New Machine' as one of the decade's definitive albums, along with Pantera's 'Vulgar Display of Power' . . .

Great list, only change I would make is dropping Blink to honorable mention, and I would put in the Top 10 NIN Pretty Hate Machine, which I think was their best album.

Other great albums:
Live- Throwing Copper
Offspring- Smash
Pearl Jam- Vitalogy
Stone Temple Pilots- Purple

Well maybe you should download or buy some of these albums and have a listen, because just about all of them are filled with quality music.

The title of the thread is "Definitive Rock Albums of the 90's". Albums that made 90's music what it is today. Now I agree with you, Blink 182 pretty much sucks. But there is no questioning the influence that they had on the 90's and on music. Without them, bands like NFG and Simple Plan wouldn't be around today. That is why I included them on my list.

****1) Achtung Baby-U2***

Three good calls with Pearl Jam/Ten, STP/Core, and Social Distortion.

No thanks! I have heard all the bands and I don´t like them.
I listen to the bands before I decide if it´s crap or not.

I think the best grindcore was done in the late 80´s.
Napalm Death-Scum,From Enslavement To Obliteration,1st Peel Session.
Carcass-Reek Of Putrefaction.

Although I would argue that the best grindcore was indeed created in the 90s (and some of the best has been produced in the last few years - of course it is now probably considered "gore-grind" or "death-core", as opposed to whatever pure "grindcore" would be), I see your point and would agree that grindcore was certainly birthed in the late 80s . . . my point dealt more with the fact that it was truly "put on the map", so to speak, in the early 90s, when bands like Napalm and Godflesh began to really tour the States . . .

Just to point out....

I think Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream put them on the map and had a more profound impact at the Time than any other record they put out. Melancholy and the Infinite sadness was probably more successful financially...but their sound and the Smashing Band wagon was in full motion with Siamese Dream . Gish... started them and Siamese Dream put them on the map. I think by the time Melancholy was released the market was already saturated with Bands that had the same sound.

That is true.
There are also some great, more recent bands like Phobia and Excruciating Terror.
Two bands I would recommend if you haven´t already heard them.

Also, Cephalic Carnage is about as good as it gets nowadays - "hydrogrind" . . .

Fotiu - Check out this months 'Revolver' mag - whole article on Napalm and a list of their top 10 grind albums of all-time . . . btw, they list "Scum" as numero uno (nice job :D ) . . .