Every decade that comes and goes brings something new and different to the world of music and pop culture, and the 1990s were no exception. Frosted tips, mullets, hoop earrings, halter tops, cropped tanks, flared jeans, baggy pants, and Doc Martens were in style. Super bright colors accompanied roller blades, Super Nintendo competed with Sega Genesis for best video game console, and the Internet brought us AOL Online. The decade was full of popular TV shows such as Saved by the Bell, SeaQuest, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, 90210, and The X Files, while an entirely new music scene materializing out of Seattle entered the ears of music listeners walking around with their portable Aiwa CD players purchased at Silos. Mainstream alternative rock from American artists and bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Green Day, Soul Asylum, Beck, Counting Crows, Live, Spin Doctors, Goo Goo Dolls, The Offspring, No Doubt, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Mazzy Star, Jane’s Addiction, Cake, Smash Mouth, The Flaming Lips, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Gin Blossoms, Collective Soul, Rage Against the Machine, The Wallflowers, and Foo Fighters dominated the Billboard charts. Over in the UK, a counter-culture movement called “Madchester” was taking England by storm. The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses were part of an exciting wave of Britpop bands to go along with Oasis, The Verve, Blur, Suede, James, Pulp, Supergrass, Elastica, Republica, Ash, Travis, Bush, and Super Furry Animals. Meanwhile the early 90s was notorious for some unforgettable (and infamous) acts such as the ill-fated Milli Vanilli, the laughable Vanilla Ice, and the warbling 4 Non Blondes. The decade also brought us the dance-craze Macarena, the colorful Spice Girls, and a bunch of clean cut boy bands: NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Take That, and Westlife.
For me, the 1990s was arguably the most influential decade of music in my life. Two very different musical genres, grunge and shoegaze, emerged out of this decade, one of which I grew up listening to as a teenager, and one of which I discovered when I was much older in life. In the United States during the 90s, a lot of young people were looking for something fresh (aside from the prince of Bel-Air), and the Seattle grunge scene offered just that. As a teenager myself growing up during those formative years, I was able to relate very well to the angst and hopelessness from bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, The Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Smashing Pumpkins. In 1993 when my parents sent me off to a Jewish religious boarding school outside of Washington D.C., I met some students there who were raving about a band from Seattle called Nirvana. Before I involuntarily kicked myself out of the school and came back to Pittsburgh, I had amassed a small music collection on cassette tapes. Hard rock and heavy metal were frowned upon by the religious family I was boarding with, even though I secretly rebelled as a teenager searching for music that I could relate to as a troubled youth. A few months after I left D.C., Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide. I had just discovered this guy and now suddenly he was dead. It was a shock to every kid and adult at the time.
While I was listening to a tremendous amount of grunge music, I was also into heavy metal, and learned to play guitar thanks to listening to Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, Sepultura, Anthrax, Tool, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. My first electric guitar was a flaming cherry red mahogany Ibanez “S” series complete with double locking tremolos, a Floyd Rose locking nut, and a killer whammy bar. After renting a Fender Stratocaster for 3 months from the guitar shop, my dad bought me the Ibanez guitar for $649 (50% off at the time) around the 1993 holiday season. I took electric guitar lessons at the shop, Pianos n’ Stuff, for over a year, and met some friends who wanted to play metal with me too. I recall one of my Ukranian high school friends introduced me to a Russian kid who turned out to be a juvenile delinquent. He stole my “Metal Zone” Boss pedal when I was 15 or 16 years old. I’ll never forget tracking that boy down on the streets right before he threatened to smash my precious sound effect pedal on the pavement. I was hanging out with the wrong crowds as a youth while I was still navigating my way through an onslaught of musical choices and influences.
Not long after my early exposure to grunge and metal music, I quit buying cassettes and making mix tapes, started making mix CDs, and bought my very first CD (Zooropa by U2). I became so enamored by their music I built a fan website for them in 1997 that is still online to this day. I bought every single U2 album and single I could find from them towards the latter half of the decade, rummaging through record stores such as Jerry’s, Attic Records, and Dave’s Music Mine. I also discovered Radiohead even though I didn’t fully appreciate their music at the time. I’ll never forget when a friend of mine (and his brother) borrowed my Radiohead “The Bends” CD and didn’t return it. One cold Winter’s afternoon sometime in 1995, I walked over to my friend’s house, knocked on their door, said hello, followed them upstairs to their rooms, and spent the next few hours listening to music. After I had enough of hearing Bob Dylan, I grabbed my Radiohead CD (that I rightly owned), and ran down 3 flights of steps towards the front door with my friends in hot pursuit. The two brothers tried to wrestle me to the ground but they couldn’t stop me, as I dodged patches of ice on the sidewalk. In revenge, the boys signed me up on the Columbia House mail-order music club without my permission, and about a month later I received 12 CDs for a penny. Half of the albums were from Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams, neither of whom I cared for at the time. I ended up having to pay $50 or something to satisfy my treacherous agreement with the company. As I was maturing into a young adult, I also (unfortunately) discovered another band that I fell in love with: The Dave Matthews Band. I learned about a dozen songs of theirs on acoustic guitar and went to a bunch of DMB concerts. At the time I was truly lost, indulging in this college frat boy-loving band (even though I never once walked into a frat house), over music that I had yet to discover until 15 years later: Shoegaze. Well after the 1990s ended, I came across shoegaze/space rock bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Spiritualized, Spectrum, Lush, Curve, Chapterhouse, Catherine Wheel, Swervedriver, Kitchens of Distinction, Flying Saucer Attack, and The Telescopes. Tracing my influences back to the 1990s is where everything came together for me in terms of what I still listen to today.
Assembling an all-inclusive, “definitive” list of the top 50 most influential albums from the 1990s (or any decade) is no easy task, so rather than compiling a list that includes artists and bands of all kinds and genres, I’ve focused only on the albums and artists that I love. I could only hope that some of you discovering these albums for the very first time will not only enjoy listening to them, but find the music to be life-changing as well. I’ve organized the albums chronologically by year (in no particular order). Though some years contain more albums than others, it is only because the albums I picked happened to be released in that specific year. I also set a 3 album maximum limit for one single artist (so I could include albums from artists that weren’t as popular). Below this, I’ve included “5 Honorable Mentions” as well as a separate list of “Notables” that didn’t make the cut. During the decade of the music of my teenage rebellion, I was playing my favorite alt. rock songs on electric guitars, spinning CDs on my Aiwa home stereo with headphones on, and just beginning to experience live music in concert. Today you can hear this same music via Spotify playlists that I’ve provided below. Next week I will focus on the 2000s, the decade of music that shaped my adulthood. If you missed last week’s albums of the 1980s, you can check them out here (and the 1970s albums here).

1990
Ride Nowhere | |
Depeche Mode Violator | |
The Happy Mondays Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches |
1991
My Bloody Valentine Loveless | |
Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik | |
Nirvana Nevermind | |
Pearl Jam Ten | |
Talk Talk Laughing Stock | |
U2 Achtung Baby |
1992
10,000 Maniacs Our Time in Eden | |
Leonard Cohen The Future | |
R.E.M. Automatic for the People | |
Catherine Wheel Ferment | |
The Jesus and Mary Chain Honey’s Dead | |
Spiritualized Lazer Guided Melodies |
1993
Sting Ten Summoner’s Tales | |
New Order Republic | |
Orbital Orbital II | |
The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream | |
Slowdive Souvlaki | |
U2 Zooropa | |
Rush Counterparts |
1994
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Let Love In | |
Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral | |
The Stone Roses Second Coming | |
Suede Dog Man Star | |
Morrissey Vauxhall and I | |
Soundgarden Superunknown |
1995
Neil Young Mirror Ball | |
PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love | |
Pulp Different Class | |
Moby Everything Is Wrong | |
Radiohead The Bends | |
Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? | |
The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness |
1996
Electronic Raise the Pressure | |
Lou Reed Set the Twilight Reeling | |
Kula Shaker K |
1997
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds The Boatman’s Call | |
Radiohead OK Computer | |
Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen… We Are Floating in Space | |
The Verve Urban Hymns | |
Björk Homogenic |
1998
Air Moon Safari | |
Massive Attack Mezzanine | |
Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea | |
The Afghan Whigs 1965 | |
Manic Street Preachers This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours |
1999
Moby Play | |
Tom Waits Mule Variations |
5 Honorable Mentions
The House of Love The House of Love (Butterfly) 1990 | |
Tom Petty Wildflowers 1994 | |
Jeff Buckley Grace 1994 | |
Garbage Garbage 1995 | |
The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin 1999 |
Notables
(Or Albums That Didn’t Make the List)
Aerosmith – Get a Grip (1993) |
Alice in Chains – Dirt (1992) |
Alice in Chains – Jar of Flies (1994) |
Aphex Twin – Richard D. James Album (1996) |
Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty (1998) |
Beck – Odelay (1996) |
Bernard Butler – People Move On (1998) |
Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue (1998) |
Blur – Parklife (1994) |
Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind (1997) |
Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992) |
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Take It from the Man! (1996) |
Bruce Springsteen – The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) |
Bush – Sixteen Stone (1994) |
Calexico – The Black Light (1998) |
Catherine Wheel – Adam and Eve (1997) |
Chapterhouse – Whirlpool (1991) |
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas (1991) |
Counting Crows – August and Everything After (1993) |
Curve – Doppelgänger (1992) |
David Bowie – Earthling (1997) |
Depeche Mode – Ultra (1997) |
Dinosaur Jr. – Green Mind (1991) |
Duran Duran – The Wedding Album (1994) |
Enya – The Memory of Trees (1995) |
Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters (1995) |
Galaxie 500 – This Is Our Music (1990) |
Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience (1992) |
Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion II (1991) |
Iggy Pop – American Caesar (1993) |
James – Wah Wah (1994) |
The Jayhawks – Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995) |
John Mellencamp – Human Wheels (1993) |
Lush – Split (1994) |
Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999) |
Mark Lanegan – Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1994) |
Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend (1991) |
Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I Might See (1993) |
Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction (1992) |
Metallica – Metallica (1991) |
Midnight Oil – Blue Sky Mining (1990) |
Neil Young – Harvest Moon (1992) |
Oasis – Definitely Maybe (1994) |
Pearl Jam – Vitalogy (1994) |
Pet Shop Boys – Bilingual (1996) |
Phish – A Live One (1995) |
Pink Floyd – The Division Bell (1994) |
Pixies – Bossanova (1990) |
R.E.M. – Out of Time (1991) |
Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993) |
Slowdive – Just for a Day (1991) |
Sonic Youth – Goo (1990) |
Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) |
Sting – The Soul Cages (1991) |
Stone Temple Pilots – Purple (1994) |
Toad the Wet Sprocket – Dulcinea (1994) |
Underworld – Second Toughest in the Infants (1996) |
Van Halen – For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) |
Velvet Crush – Teenage Symphonies to God (1994) |
The Verve – A Northern Soul (1995) |
Wilco – Summerteeth (1999) |
Yes – Talk (1994) |
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997) |
Most fascinating!
Great article and list, Superunknown and Wildflowers all day long. Let me add some more MUSCLE to this roster-
Tool – Aenima
Metallica – Metallica
Beastie Boys – Check Your Head
Guns ‘n’ Roses – Use Your Illusion I & II
Rage Against the Machine – Self titled album
Honorable Mentions- The Cure/Show – Best Live Album
Jane’s Addiction/Kettle Whistle – Best Compilation Album
Secret Mention – Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I Might See – Hope Sandoval was a dream.
I know you’re into metal, Dennis! Thanks for posting this. I had the Metallica black album on my list for the longest time, then I dropped them to the 5 honorable mentions, but then I had to replace them eventually. Same went with Guns N’ Roses (Use Your Illusion 2 is definitely my pick). I think I grew up with the Beastie Boys’ “Hello Nasty” over “Check Your Head”, but that’s a good one too. RATM: Totally essential band that emerged out of the 90s. Mazzy Star was also dreamy (although I went more for Shirley Manson from Garbage – I had a crush on her, plus on Saffron from Republica)! 😛
And finally, Foo Fighters first album. Marked the transition from the less talented and less musical Nirvana days. Nirvana listeners were such a bore. Foo Fighters had soul, beh beh.
I listened to that Foo Fighters album forever! Damn, I might add them in a future iteration/update of this list! “This Is a Call”, “Big Me”, and “I’ll Stick Around” were classics.
Alice in Chains – Nutshell – Best song in 90’s MTV Unplugged Album History.
Faith No More – Angel Dust was legendary and underrated.
I almost included AIC’s “Dirt”, but “Jar of Flies” is another album (albeit EP) that was pretty influential to me as well.
Oof, I remember Garbage… But yeah, you pretty much covered all the great grunge bands!
What a decade, eh?!! So many new sounds developing & a continuation of the divergence of straight rock & electronica – but still bands with a foot in each genre…
There’s a lot you hit on, but honestly I have a couple of gripes… while I (still)!understand you made this list based on YOUR most influential albums, I have to question the inclusion of not necessarily the artists, but rather the albums of theirs you added to a decade rife w/ classic material.
More specifically, while I agree that both Leonard Cohen & Lou Reed are legends, these 2 albums of theirs in the 90’s didn’t even blip on my radar back then.. & who the HELL is Bernard Butler?! Lmao. I tried listening to that album… it kinda blows. Lol
As always, 85-90% agree & where we diverge is prob very similar stuff too.. (this may be blasphemy, but never got into the husky-voiced Nick Cave and/or Tom Waits terribly much beyond a song or two – although I recognize their place amongst the great bards).
I would agree that the album from Bernard Butler, the guitarist from the London Suede, is a real curiosity, but there is one song on there I liked a lot called “Not Alone”. That single song I guess compelled me to initially add that album to my list, however, due to some pondering on my own, I decided to replace it with Björk’s “Homogenic”! Also, the Lou Reed album is sort of special to me, because I’ll never forget discovering this deep blue tinted plastic jewel case cover that enclosed the yellow artwork which made it appear purple. It was so mysterious to me, and then when I started spinning the CD, the very first Lou Reed album I ever heard (believe it or not!), I totally fell in love with the songs, especially the funny tunes: “Egg Cream” and “NYC Man”. It’s actually a fantastic album and worth checking out! As for Leonard Cohen, that was my first album from him too (when I was a teenager I was all about buying “the latest” albums from legendary artists as opposed to seeking out their prime work when they were younger). It’s still one of my fave. albums of his and to me Leonard Cohen is prob. my #1 singer-songwriter of all time (and I’ve included his albums in all 5 decades of my lists too). I also appreciate Nick Cave’s latter work (not the 80s material because that was a bit too heavy for me), and Tom Waits just ages like a fine wine! Like you said, the 1990s were definitely all about electronica though and I made a point to include some artists such as Moby, Orbital, NIN, Air, and Stereolab in my list.
& Rush should’ve been on your 70’s or 80’s list, NOT the 90’s?!! Lol
But that was my VERY FIRST Rush album! Remember, I grew up in the 90s and didn’t care for 70s or 80s music back then. I only bought NEW material from classic artists, and Rush was one of them. Plus “Animate” is still one of my favorite Rush songs of all time. 🙂
You’ve done something good here, no one can deny that, but I would be remiss if I did not point out a few things. The 90s, at the time we all thought music was over. It seemed as if our culture had reached an impasse, that nothing original or good could ever be done again. Music, art and film, virtually the entirety of western civilization seemed to be descending into a postmodern cultural dystopia. But then Nirvana appeared, and a whole host of grungy bands seemed to come out of nowhere, giving hope to the hopeless (i.e. the slacker Gen X-ers who had the free unstructured time to sit around listening to music hehe…However, I must inquire into your state of mind when you decided to exclude Blind Melon’s debut album. What is the 90s without that cute little girl in the bee outfit dancing around to the almost mystical tones of “No Rain”? You’ve done pretty well tho, as I see Bush, Bjork, Beck and Oasis, as well as a respectable shoe gaze line-up, and the Flaming Lips (as an honorable mention – angry emoji)… But what were you thinking when you omitted Jane’s Addiction’s “Ritual de lo habitual”? or Rage Against the Machine? Also Belle and Sebastian’s “Boy with the Arab Strap” has to be on any self-respecting 90s list, just has to be! Eminem? Well, I cannot fault you for following your bliss, but my bliss must surely include Weezer’s “Blue Album”…