These are not the ten most influential albums of the 1990s, nor are they the ten most popular. In these ten albums exists a unique combination of influence, emotional power, pure artistic merit and enduring appeal that make them our picks for the ten best albums of the decade.
- Nirvana-Nevermind (DGC, 1991)
The catchy predecessor to the jaw-dropping acid shower of In Utero, Nevermind is not Nirvana's best album, but it is their most important and coherent. Nevermind combined big rock hooks and punk philosophy better than anything before or since, while re-engaging a generation with the possibilities of rock.
- Pavement-Slanted and Enchanted (Matador, 1991)
While Nirvana rose to platinum success, Pavement was the 90's Velvet Underground, arty, smarmy pranksters that rallied the underground and raised noisy witticism to an art form. Few records can be as flawed and contrapuntally perfect as Slanted and Enchanted, and a good half of them were made by Pavement this decade.
- Beck-Odelay (DGC, 1996)
What Beck did with Odelay was break down nearly every conceivable genre barrier and create an artistic mélange that borrowed from sounds running the gamut from hip-hop to country, often in the same song. He carried a notepad full of ridiculous lyrics, he sampled a donkey hee-hawing-and it all somehow made sense.
- Radiohead-OK Computer (Capitol, 1997)
OK Computer perfected the prog-rock sound honed on 1995's The Bends, with its harrowing look at Y2K anxiety writ small. Thom Yorke's pitched whine has never sounded more personal and grand, and the violent guitars, disaffected voices and bizarre melodies that surround it are inimitable.
- Dr. Dre-The Chronic (Death Row, 1993)
The Chronic brought the G-funk movement to the rap world; it introduced a snarling, skinny rapper named Snoop Doggy Dogg, and it resolidified the now unavoidable importance of the producer to the genre. Dre melded hardcore lyrics with humorous elements, ambitious beats with funky guitar riffs, and most importantly, it elevated Dre's status as hip-hop's greatest talent scout.
- Liz Phair-Exile In Guyville (Matador, 1993)
Before Jewel and the Lilith feel-gooders spoiled the party, Liz Phair told us what women really think. In 55 minutes, Liz evinces unprecedented sexual discomfort and disaffection that rivets and depresses. Phair's no riot-grrrl, but Exile in Guyville is a monument to post-feminist anxiety that has finesse and songwriting to spare.
- Public Enemy-Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam, 1990)
Public Enemy brought political rap to the forefront of the music world with this bombshell. Building their songs almost entirely out of James Brown samples, Chuck D, Flava Flav, Terminator X and the S1W's didn't just rap-they said something. Controversial. Bombastic. At times a bit one-sided, but in the end, overwhelming and amazing.
- R.E.M.-Automatic for the People (Warner Bros., 1992)
The greatest band of the 80s made one of its strongest albums of the 1990s and established Michael Stipe as one of America's pre-eminent songwriters.
- DJ Shadow-Endtroducing... (Mo' Wax, 1996)
The magnanimity of what Shadow did on this album is difficult to gauge with an untrained ear-he constructed a soundscape by layering sample upon sample upon sample, combined with his own tight, masterful record scratching, eventually transforming bits and pieces of the works of others to produce his very own original product. Critics and fans alike were amazed, and DJ Shadow was heralded as the "Jimi Hendrix of the sampler."
- Lauryn Hill-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Sony, 1998)
Just two years ago, Lauryn Hill made necessary strides for women in the rap/hip-hop world by writing, producing and performing her entire album, and then winning enough Grammy's to build a small house with. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill showcased Hill's insightful, informed songwriting ability, and she kept the message positive-something that the hip-hop too often and sadly seems to be lacking.
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