# The Very Best Rock Album Of The 1990's **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478 "2017-10-21T21:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/81 "2017-10-22T16:36:54Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I pick “The Real Thing” by Faith No More, although it was released in 1989. It didn’t really pick up steam until MTV started showing “Epic” and “Falling to Pieces” in heavy rotation. I can see this (said as the guy that also suggested a 1989 album for inclusion). But I would take everything you said and apply that to _Angel Dust_ as the ultimate expression of that stylistic approach. _The Real Thing_ sounds kind of old and stiff to me in comparison and I can’t remember the last time I listed to it. But _Angel Dust_ still shows up in the rotation from time to time. If you want to take the musical ideas put together in both albums, the add a hefty dose of PCP, then you get Mr. Bungle’s _Mr. Bungle_. that album is like free drugs. And is an album I still listen to **a lot** , and that I fully expect to be alone here in admiring. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/82 "2017-10-22T16:45:05Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Courtney Love is more TALENTED than Liz Phair. If I had had enough coffee this morning, that statement could be enough to get me worked up into a spluttering rage. As things stand, I can only managed a frowny addition to the thread. :mad: That said, maybe you’re basing the assessment on an additive assessment of Phair’s library, something like… 100 + 85 + 50 + (-1,000,000) + who cares = some huge negative number ---
**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:** [October 22, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/83 "2017-10-22T16:46:28Z")
> [@John DiFool;20554160\[It didn't.](#): > > ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOw\_SedsK0k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOw_SedsK0k)) > > Fields of the Nephilim’s Elizium gets my vote I love the Neff as much as the next Child of the Night, but \*Elizium \*is nowhere near as good as _The Nephilim_. Me, I’m torn between the OP’s very good [pick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XcN12uVHeQ), _[Loveless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft56il9bGMk)_,_[Last Splash](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxvkI9MTQw4)_, _[Rage Against the Machine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWXazVhlyxQ)_,[_Little Earthquakes_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ipCKIxdHTs), [_Spooky_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F4aHdMxM0k) (yeah, [Spooky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uU5DU7P83E)), or [_The Great Escape_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrbxWOMpwfs) But I’m thinking, actually, it’s _[Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOG3eus4ZSo)_. Although I feel the decade [peaked](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-fX0UbpZls)[early](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcn4UG6Jd0s). Madchester was [the](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D2qcbu26gs) [best](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-fX0UbpZls) [part](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPRGa6tYxM)of the decade. I like grunge, but it’s no comparison. It’s just a pity that the actual album those last 3 90’s singles are from was an '89 release. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/84 "2017-10-22T16:49:41Z")
It has to be Undertow, Aenima has some insane tracks but face it, you’re skipping cuts when you listen. Dirt Badmotorfinger Rage Against The Machine La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 Arise Vulgar Display Of Power Ten Angel Dust Rock is still stunned from the first 3 years of the 90’s. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/85 "2017-10-22T16:53:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Madchester was [the](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D2qcbu26gs) [best](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-fX0UbpZls) [part](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPRGa6tYxM)of the decade. Damn, “best” was supposed to be[this Stone Roses track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbU7oVz0Uq0), not a repeat of the Inspiral Carpets. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/86 "2017-10-22T16:55:23Z")
Independent Worm Saloon ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ Spiderland Crazy time. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/87 "2017-10-22T17:01:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So listen to [“Trouble Me”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zfYFJVdL6U) as an antidote. “Songwriting, arrangements, and sound” as JKellyMap said. Then we can both kick him out the door. \*[Unplugged](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKbP0L9qcE)\*is without a doubt my favourite Maniacs album, not sure what that says about me or them (and I \*love \*all the Natalie-era Maniacs albums. I deeply regret them not doing an unplugged _Katrinas Fair_) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/88 "2017-10-22T17:16:44Z")
Rage Against the Machine Ten Nevermind Sublime Ok Computer ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/89 "2017-10-22T17:22:13Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Yeah, but you’re one of the cool kids. 🆒 And I stopped caring about what the cool kids thought decades ago. 😛 First of all: of course you should listen to what you like. If I ended up actually being cool-kid enough to put someone off listening to music that they enjoy, that stinks. Secondly: **Xap** …I’m a cool kid?! How cool is that! ;). I’m happy to get off your lawn, sir! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/90 "2017-10-22T17:25:05Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Rage Against the Machine > Ten > Nevermind > Sublime > Ok Computer I think these are all super worthy candidates, along with the aforementioned _Dirt_ and _Superunknown_. Oh, also Stone Temple Pilots _Core_. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/91 "2017-10-22T17:46:35Z")
> [@eunoia](#): > > Spiderland Spiderland! This thread is telling me is although I normally don’t listen to a lot of the music from my past (I can’t keep up with all the new stuff I’m adding to my playlists daily!), it’s time to dig out my early 90s record collection and go to town. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/92 "2017-10-22T18:03:17Z")
Enough with the obscurities like Liz Phair! Don’t you remember how the 90s was actually “the slint decade”? The swing in mood from underground activism, to mainstream assertions of dominance, and then to assertions of hard rock dominance, and back again, on these threads, is totally tripolar. I guess there are a few convos at once happening though. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/93 "2017-10-22T18:12:32Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Enough with the obscurities like Liz Phair! > > Don’t you remember how the 90s was actually “the slint decade”? > > The swing in mood from underground activism, to mainstream assertions of dominance, and then to assertions of hard rock dominance, and back again, on these threads, is totally tripolar. I guess there are a few convos at once happening though. Pretty much this. I’d even campaing for personal fave Cleansing. Like **Pork Rind** I’m still adding stuff to my playlists, but the one uniting stance might just be that the 90’s was the beginning of the end of thinking about music in terms of albums. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/94 "2017-10-22T18:20:53Z")
I’m not a huge fan of nineties music, although I generally like it way better than most of what came out in the previous decade. My favorite is the Black Crowes’ Southern Harmony And Musical Companion. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/95 "2017-10-22T19:36:42Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Secondly: **Xap** …I’m a cool kid?! How cool is that! ;). I’m happy to get off your lawn, sir! Sure, you’re a cool kid. I always read you in music threads. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/96 "2017-10-22T19:59:32Z")
One more: _Thunderhead_ by **Clouds** (from Down Under) Not a bad note on the whole album. Obscure? Maybe. Fucking Awesome? Without question. Go look it up if you’ve never heard it. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/97 "2017-10-22T21:12:26Z")
> [@eunoia](#): > > Independent Worm Saloon Not my favorite Surfers record, but damn that’s a good rock record. And yeah, Loveless is a probably the right answer. It just cascades forever, and is gorgeous. Probably the nexus of my taste, innovation and popularity. But my personal favorite is probably The Melvins’ [Lysol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtO_Awk4pqU). People have tuned lower, but I’ve never heard anything quite that heavy. In the age of CDs, the whole album is one track, and they provided no song titles. I found out about it because a friend of mine borrowed it from a girl he used to date. I’m not going to say I married that woman because of it, but it was one of many reasons. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/98 "2017-10-22T21:20:42Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Sure, you’re a cool kid. I always read you in music threads. I feel like Keneckie from Grease. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/99 "2017-10-25T22:21:42Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I would like your opinions. Generally speaking, a great album is usually listenable from beginning to end without much, if any skipping of songs. You can put it on at a party and just let it go and people will love it. > > Pink Floyd used to be this way with their albums where they were “set and forget”. That said, my nominee that not only encompasses the 1990’s, but was also great music and an awesome CD that holds up to this day is The Red Hot Chili Peppers “Blood Sugar Sex Magick”. > > I think it’s their best release, produced by Rubin, funk for days, Flea bass like a boss, but hooks and great melodies throughout. Any challengers to this recording? Best of the nineties? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t even the best album released that day. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/100 "2017-10-25T22:26:24Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Damn, “best” was supposed to be[this Stone Roses track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbU7oVz0Uq0), not a repeat of the Inspiral Carpets. The Stone Roses was released in May 1989. I second (third, fourth?) this talk of Loveless, but I’d also like to throw Screamadelica into the mix. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478.md?page=6)