With sell out tours from bands like Hanson and S Club, not to mention the 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…
For part two of this series, we asked our contributors to tell us their favourite albums released between 1995 and 1999. 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!
10. Sigur Ros – Agaetis Byrjun (1999)
“I feel this album is worthy of a notable mention. Sigur Ros exploded onto the worldwide music scene with this adventurous, and frankly, pretentious release. Considering the apparent disregard for structure or comprehensible lyrics, some may call this album overly ambitious and self indulgent. While it took me a few years after this release to find out about Sigur Ros, I was immediately enthralled. How could any sane, self-respecting music fan not find themselves lost in the soundscapes and aural beauty? The lush strings and powerful climaxes, coupled with Jonsi’s ethereal vocals were truly moving. Never had I heard anything like this band, and I can’t see a guitar band garnering as much critical praise for something so adventurous for quite some time.” – Nicholas Langley
9. Mr Bungle – California (1999)
“The album we had to have – the chaos of Mr Bungle made slick with ‘normal’ songs, California is better for it and in my view has more depth and longevity than their debut. If you haven’t heard it, most of this album sounds like one of Gatsby’s all-night parties, held inside a SNES.” – Michael Aiken
8. Mobb Deep – The Infamous
“This album actually scares me sometimes. Every song, no matter the topic matter is dark and dreary; Havoc gave us the most atmospheric production heard on a hip-hop album, and Prodigy was at his peak. This is my top pick for an album from any genre, nothing will even come close for me.” – Chris Singh
7. Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
6. The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (1999)
5. Massive Attack – Mezzanine (1998)
“What can I say? Albums that are their own universe are something I love, and this one truly is.” – Michael Aiken
4. Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters (1995)
“Back when they didn’t take themselves so seriously, and their songs sounded different from each other. I clearly remember one reviewer in a national publication here predicting that this album was all ‘grunge by numbers’ and the band would ‘sink without a trace within a year’.” – Michael Aiken
3. Faith No More – King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime (1995)
“A lot of people seem to hate this album – I tried to pawn a vinyl copy recently and the guy at Egg laughed and said ‘does this even have a single good song?’. The answer of course is ‘Evidence’, not to mention ‘Ricochet’, ‘Digging the Grave’ and ‘Gentle art of making enemies’. There is some weird filler on this album, but a whole lot of masterful songwriting too, and Mike Patton’s most successful experiment in rhythmic lyrics that are both catchy and maintain correct grammar: Doooon’t look at me, I’m ugly in the morning…” – Michael Aiken
2. Beck – Odelay (1996)
1. Radiohead – OK Computer (97)
“The predictable chart-topper for any 90’s Best Of, and with a myriad good reasons. OKC redefined what it meant to be an alternative rock band in the space of 54 minutes. With one fell swoop, they had created sounds, evoked emotions, and established foundations the world hadn’t experienced before. Any time I put this album on, I find myself on a seamless journey through memories I’m not entirely sure I experienced first hand. So it’s settled, aside from every other word of praise OKC has and will receive, it is the closest thing to Total Recall possible with current technology.” – Nicholas Langley
Stay tuned for our favourite Australian albums, singles, films and more from the 90s!
