With sell out tours from bands like Hanson and S Club, not to mention the forthcoming tours of bands like Wheatus and Eiffel 65 thanks to Fat as Butter festival, plus the forthcoming reunion album from Soundgarden, reminiscing about the 90s seems to be all the rage at the moment. So, in the spirit of keeping that celebration alive, over the next few weeks we are going to be going back to the 90s by looking at our favourite albums, singles and films from that period. So get your Kool Aid out, it’s time for a trip down memory lane…
First up we asked our contributors to tell us their favourite albums released between 1990 and 1994. Some albums have a reason, some don’t – but honestly these albums are all so iconic that there is little more we can say about any of them. We start off with an album that just missed out on the top 10 and then take the rest from there… let us know what you think on our Facebook page!
Honourable Mention: Nas – Illmatic (1994)
10. Metallica – The Black Album (1991)
9. The Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (1994)
This album blew my mind when I first listened to it – my cousin had introduced me to it. I distinctly remember being quite confused by the sort of music The Beasties were producing as they bucked so many trends of the time. White guys rapping over decidedly hardcore and punk beats? What was that about? Bear in mind that I was four years old when this was released and didn’t wind up hearing it until about 1996; my musical education up until that point had been reggae tunes from my Dad and 80s American rock from my Mum. The blending on genres really didn’t happen in the music I had been listening to. What The Beasties did and continued to do provided so much for the industry today and it was this album that I remember thrashing as a kid (much to my parents confusion). – Sosefina Fuamoli
8. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
Like Pod by The Breeders, this album is a state of mind. A one album genre, Loveless is amazing, and only got better the more my cassette copy got warped by the sun – one guitar playing through two amps pointed at a single microphone, walls and walls and waves of sound that are lullaby-gentle despite feeling like a brainwashing. – Michael Aiken
7. Portishead – Dummy (1994)
Dummy is a truly inspirational album. Beth Gibbons sang what many of us disaffected youth felt about relationships and love. Geoff Barrow’s trip- hop treatment of soul infused rhythms, layered with Gibbons breathy, heartfelt vocals, inciting chicks and men (Mike Patton for one) to sing into their hair brushes when feeling melancholy. A soundtrack for Generation X ers everywhere. – Anna-Maria M
6. Pearl Jam – Ten (1991)
5. Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)
4. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (1993)
3. Nirvana – In Utero (1993)
2. Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)
The balance of songs on this album was brilliant, slower more emotive songs like Under The Bridge and I Could Have Lied against things like Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Suck My Kiss, with the funk of Flea’s brilliant bass lines and Frusciante’s amazing guitar work, such a great album. – Sabina Rysnik
1. Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
Why? Everything. It’s hard for me to be objective about Nirvana – the day my brother said ‘listen to this’ and put Nevermind on the stereo was the moment a switch in my brain got flipped from ‘not interested in music’ to ‘live and breathe music.’ Beyond that all I can say has been said by plenty before me: it’s got everything – the music combines heavy guitars and drums with a brilliant pop feel for melodies and brevity; the lyrics are opaque but meaningful, often heartfelt and cynical in the same line. It’s got teen anthems, it’s got loneliness and alienation, it’s got raucous punk and a two-chord cello dirge. And the album cover is brilliant. Everything. – Michael Aiken
