top 5 best albums of the 90's and the worst 5

I don't like saying "5 favourite albums" or bands or songs...because i have such a wide ranging taste that it's entirely about my mood as to what i think is great.

I love Nirvana's Nevermind. It's a great record.

I also agree love Sonic Youth's Washing Machine. They made a lot of great records, but that one is my favourite of the 90s.

I spent years obsessed with Beck's Mellow Gold,

Ween...well, i love me some Ween, but The Mollusk is probably the album of theirs that changed how i listened to music.

I must say though, that there was somd amazinc Australian music in the 90s, and a lot of my favourites are things most non-aussies (and probably most australians, haven't heard of.

One such is Black Milk by the legandary Beasts of Bourbon. This came out in 1990 - before the "grunge" explosion pushed all the underground rock music into the mainstream, which smoothed all the rough edges off, was safe and packaged neatly for the masses.

Actually, now that i mention, the Beasts of Bourbon - i'm reminded that guitarists and songwriters on that record, Kim Salomon, is credited for coining the term "grunge" to describe his own band (the Scientists) in something like 1982.

So, the Beasts are from the same lineage - a "supergroup" of Australian gritty rock'n'roll a bit ahead of the curve, with a few of its (many members) being part of the first waves of Australian punk rock (like Stu Spasm, who was a member at one point) that inspired and cross-pollinated with a lot of the bands that became associated with the term 'grunge' in the 90s.
But i digress.
Great album, i love it.

i don't even know the names of the music i hated in the 90s. Ricky Martin is one name that does spring to mind.
But at least boybands and pre-fab pop bands - overproduced as they were - didn't have auto-tune or that over-compressed, homogenous production that plagues contemporary pop.

But there was some very bad shit. So instead i'm going to break the rules and say some of the artists i think also made great records then; Tom Waits, Jesus and Mary Chain, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Butthole Surfers, Nick Cave, Rowland S Howard, Half Japanese, the Flaming Lips, Bjork, REM, Blur, Yo la Tengo, the Pixies, and as ali said - Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub.
Also, Beastie Boys, Run DMC...and so many others. Cypress Hill :)

Oh, but yeah - Limp Bizkit. Fuck they were awful. I hated that "nu-metal" era.

I agree about Sonic Youth - Washing Machine - awesome album. I saw them at the Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide when they toured it. Was very psychedelic. Much better than when i saw them in the early 90's with Helmet and Mudhoney at the Sydney Uni Refectory for $20. Great gig but Sonic Youth were outclassed that day.

PJ Harvey is another that deserves a mention as does Tori Amos.. consistently awesome albums. It is so hard to nail 5. I tried my best but that list would probably change every day.
 
awesome album. the opening riff from country home gives me chills.

alasdair
Yeah one of Neils Best. That and Freedom announced that he was back after pissing off David Geffen with experimental albums after Geffen sued him for making un Neil Young like albums LOL. My personal fav Neil album is On The Beach. No hit songs but every song is just killer. Seen him 3 times and he is always amazing. Still doing it too.
 
popular albums that were good:

The Division Bell - Pink Floyd
RHCP - BSSM
Tool - Undertow
Sublime - 40oz to freedom
Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily
DMB - Crash
 
Best
1 Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
2 Pantera - Far Beyond Driven
3 Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers
4 Mobb Deep - The Infamous Mobb Deep
5 Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Worst - So many bad albums I really can't make a list. And I don't remember the bad ones anyway.
 
Some of my favourites not mentioned:

PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
Dirty Three - Dirty Three
NAS - Illmatic
Morphine - Cure for Pain
Massive Attack - Blue Lines & Protection
Portishead - Dummy & self-titled
Nick Cave & Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream
 
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i didn't see "doggystyle" mentioned. never cared for the album myself but it had a massive impact on inner city "ghetto" culture. Which - IMO - is still relevant today. i have spent time in these areas over the years and am constantly reminded of the videos from this album; particularly "Gin and Juice"
 
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