Ties for top spot in '90, '93, '95 and '96, so 14 options for this one. I’m going with R.E.M., though I don’t think they’ll win this one.
Why Oasis of course.
They damn well deserve to win. And if they don’t, well, I’ll certainly say they got a raw deal.
Anything but Nirvana, I suspect they will win but it is tiresome.
I can vote for almost any of these. My assumption is that Nevermind will win. While I think it’s perhaps the iconic rock album of the 90s, and I do like it a lot, I prefer In Utero. That said, I’m going to end up voting for a band I don’t really much listen to except for one single album: Radiohead with OK Computer. Smashing Pumpkins are my favorite band of the 90s, but that album isn’t cohesive enough for me. Pulp’s Different Class is probably my runner-up. But, really, there’s any of five or six albums here I could have picked.
I will go with Neutral Milk Hotel, by virtue of never having seen those words together in the same sentence.
Can I nominate some obscure music that maybe 2% of the listening public has heard mention of?
Half of this list is in my collection, and Odelay almost won, but I had to go with Goo. I’m more likely to pick it on Sunday morning for a full listen than the others. It’s a poppy record, but has plenty of SY noisy goodness to round it out.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d love you to.
**Radiohead **- *OK Computer * because it succeeded in being both musically ambitious and catchy.
Portishead’s Dummy is a very close second, for similar reasons. Nirvana’s Nevermind comes third. It’s a milestone in rock history but it’s a bit one-dimensional IMHO.
Very honourable mentions to Automatic for the People and Different Class - the latter being the only good thing to come out of the Britpop scene.
So many good choices. I voted for OKC, but In Utero and Different Class are really worthy as well. I’m a huge fan of REM through their first 4 albums, but I never felt the love for AFTP.
Edited to also say that I don’t understand why they would pick Goo above Dirty. Goo has some great songs, but Dirty’s much better overall IMO.
Well, to be honest, Dirty sounds like a classic rock record next to most SY records. It took me years to be comfortable with Dirty, I considered it to be their first “bad” record for years. Eventually I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, but I still like Goo’s pop and soundscapes better than Dirty’s rawk.
Dirty was the first Sonic Youth record I heard, and I was smitten by it. However, if I came to know Sonic Youth from EVOL onward, I could see Dirty throwing me for a curveball. It’s much more “pop” and accessible (IMHO) than their other albums, and it was perfect for me at the time, because I wasn’t ready for their more typical soundscape work at the time.
Neutral Milk Hotel, though OK Computer comes close.
I also prefer Dirty to Goo, but I think they’re both reasonable choices.
Yeah, that makes sense. When I think of Goo though, I think of Kool Thing, which I almost consider a novelty song contrasted against their broader catalog, and Dirty Boots, which is probably their best known song to those who don’t follow the band. But overall, Dirty is indeed more sonically pretty.
What a great list! I love all these albums except for Sinead’s and Oasis’ (though I appreciate the cultural relevance of even these two), and I’ve never heard of Pulp in my life until now (guess I should check them – him? her? it? – out).
I went with Radiohead’s OK Computer, after considering Nirvana and R.E.M. (and maybe Beck) as well.