# Best Pazz & Jop Critics Poll Album 1990 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924 "2014-12-11T06:16:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/1 "2014-12-11T06:16:29Z")
A major letdown after the great stuff on the '89 list, with two pretty terrible albums from once-great artists (Prince and The Replacements) somehow making the list, while much better albums (Ride’s _Nowhere_, Midnight Oil’s _Blue Sky Mining_, Robyn Hitchcock’s _Eye_, The Pixies’s _Bossanova_) either not getting into the top 15 or not on the list at all. This one, for me, goes to Sonic Youth, with The Chills and Public Enemy next in the lineup. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/2 "2014-12-11T07:30:09Z")
Groove is in the heart! I want to vote for Deee-Lite, and their sexy singer Lady Miss Kier. Eskers “Groove is in the Heart”, there were other good tracks on that album. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/3 "2014-12-11T07:31:42Z")
1990 had many good albums, from pop to rock, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/4 "2014-12-11T07:50:30Z")
It was going to be Sonic Youth or Public Enemy, my rockist roots won out. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/5 "2014-12-11T08:34:22Z")
I went with Sonic Youth again, with Public Enemy and Dee-Lite are behind them in a photo finish. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/6 "2014-12-11T08:45:49Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > A major letdown after the great stuff on the '89 list, You can say that again. I’d have happily voted for _Bossanova_ if it had made it up the list ( despite being maybe the Pixies third or fourth best studio album IMHO, depending if you count _Come on Pilgrim_ as an EP or not ). As it is I’ll add another vote for Sonic Youth - it’s a very solid album overall, with a couple of great tracks. But again definitely not their best. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/7 "2014-12-11T15:21:25Z")
I voted for Living Colour, but as usual, I’m SURE I could find loads of albums from 1990 that I liked better than any of these. Yep… Black Crowes - _ **Shake Your Money Maker** _ _ **Damn Yankees** _ Eric Johnson -\*\*\* Ah! Via Musicom\*\*\* INXS -\*\*\* X\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/8 "2014-12-11T15:23:14Z")
I’ll give it to Sinead here. Public Enemy’s close behind, but they already have got my 1988 vote. Definitely a weaker field than 1989. I don’t think any of the also-rans/omissions mentioned would get my vote, though, so it’s just a weak year overall, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/9 "2014-12-11T15:50:47Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Yep… > > Black Crowes - _ **Shake Your Money Maker** _ I am stunned at just how straight-up _listenable_ this album is to this day. Bless their songs, playing and Rick Rubin’s ears for tone - love how the guitars sound on this. They bring nothing new to the table from their influences, but, like Jet, seem to blend all the ingredients into a really great derivative. Rich Robinson’s Keef-tastic work in Open G tuning on songs like Jealous Again and Twice as Hard are especially fun. I’ve always respected Eric Johnson’s playing more than I have liked it. Cliffs of Dover is technically hard and cool, but not my cuppa tea. I went with Public Enemy off the list. ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/10 "2014-12-11T19:15:11Z")
Sinead, easily. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/11 "2014-12-11T19:49:39Z")
Decisions, decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/12 "2014-12-12T00:01:59Z")
> [@AllShookDown](#): > > Decisions, decisions. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/13 "2014-12-12T00:16:28Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It was going to be Sonic Youth or Public Enemy, my rockist roots won out. Same dilemma, but I expect more chances with Sonic Youth later. ---
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/14 "2014-12-12T01:44:18Z")
I had a girlfriend whose favorite album was _Submarine Bells_. I half wanted to vote for that. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1990/706924/15 "2014-12-12T10:30:19Z")
Public Enemy, I guess? A surprisingly spotty list, IMHO.