# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/101 "2017-10-25T22:28:06Z")
MCMLXXXIV, (or “1984” for you non Roman-numeral types). This album _still_ gets anthem status at stadiums, and is laid out perfectly. Tripler I’m still hot for teacher. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/102 "2017-10-25T22:38:09Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > MCMLXXXIV, (or “1984” for you non Roman-numeral types). This album _still_ gets anthem status at stadiums, and is laid out perfectly. > > Tripler > I’m still hot for teacher. So I guess you’re just not a fan of 90s rock, eh? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/103 "2017-10-25T23:23:40Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/104 "2017-10-25T23:28:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So I guess you’re just not a fan of 90s rock, eh? 🙂 Oh I am! I just feel that all '90s and '00s rock was built off the riffs and rhythm of the best of the 80s. Granted, I’m of the ‘MTV Generation’ where music videos were widespread, and I think at lot of the early rock influenced later generations and years. I still think I can hear a distinct difference between '70s post-disco, early '80s glam rock, and the solid radio-play rock like Van Halen. Fan of the 90s? Yep. But it was definitely influenced by Seattle. Tripler Not a critic–just a connoisseur. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/105 "2017-10-25T23:43:55Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > Oh I am! I just feel that all '90s and '00s rock was built off the riffs and rhythm of the best of the 80s. Granted, I’m of the ‘MTV Generation’ where music videos were widespread, and I think at lot of the early rock influenced later generations and years. I’d actually go back to the 70s for a lot of 90s rock influence, especially in the grunge genre. I hear a lot of Sabbath-type influences in that music, as well as Zeppelin, depending on the band. I was just joking that you picked an album from 1984 for a thread about the “very best rock album of the 1990s.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/106 "2017-10-26T01:08:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was just joking that you picked an album from 1984 for a thread about the “very best rock album of the 1990s.” 🙂 I can totally dig it. When I was listening to classic rock in the 90’s, it was all '80s stuff. But it was _all still played_. Some albums are timeless. 🆒 Tripler Pick away, **puly** , pick away. . . ---
**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:** [October 26, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/107 "2017-10-26T01:14:27Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I can totally dig it. When I was listening to classic rock in the 90’s, it was all '80s stuff. But it was _all still played_. Some albums are timeless. 🆒 > > Tripler > Pick away, **puly** , pick away. . . Sure. For me, it was 70s stuff. I didn’t really get up to speed on modern rock until 1992-1993-ish. For some reason 70s classic rock was just huge in high school, at least among my peers. 80s rock was oddly ignored–maybe it was too close to us, since we lived through it? Or “hair metal” wasn’t cool, but Zeppelin and the Stones were always cool? I don’t know. If we’re going by that metric, I might say Led Zeppelin IV was my favorite album that I discovered and listened to the most in the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/108 "2017-10-26T01:17:26Z")
My tastes may be a bit punkier than others, looks like, but I’m surprised no one has mentioned: Jane’s Addiction, with _Ritual de lo habitual_ Offspring’s _Smash_ And for some symphonic metal… Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony, _S&M_ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/109 "2017-10-26T01:28:21Z")
I have to submit Songs About Jane. It was inspired and written in the 1999-00. Published in 2002. Every song is very good. Imho I’d hate to see such a masterpiece ignored because it took a little time for Adam to line up a label. If you’re pedantic about dates… I nominate Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?  and win the Thread. Six singles released from that album. The entire album is very good. > [@](#): > > The record propelled Oasis from being a crossoverindie act to a worldwide rock phenomenon, and according to various critics, was a significant record in the timeline of British indie music.[2] The band’s most commercially successful release, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? sold a record-breaking 347,000 copies in its first week on sale, spent 10 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, Songs About Jane > [@](#): > > All the songs on the album were either written or co-written by Levine while he was living in New York. Much of the lyrics for the album are inspired by Levine’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Jane Herman. Levine notes, “I saw this girl at a gas station, and I fell in love with her,” he says. "I wrote a song about her and played it in the store where she worked. It was an awful song. But she found out about this relatively psychotic boy. She was my muse for years. ---
**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 26, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/110 "2017-10-26T01:51:38Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Best of the nineties? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t even the best album released that day. I’d say you’re right. **Nevermind** and _Low End Theory_ both came out that day, although clearly the latter is a stretch to include in a list of rock albums. I think _Screamadelica_ also came out that day, but I see another site that says it was the 23rd.😕 [Was September 1991 the best month ever for albums?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/b33c43da-5fe9-4595-9172-b4083c74e891) [What’s The Greatest Date For Album Releases Ever? Incredible LPs Dropped On The Same Day](http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/whats-the-greatest-date-for-album-releases-ever-incredible-lps-dropped-on-the-same-day-760709) ---
**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 26, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/111 "2017-10-26T01:57:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’d actually go back to the 70s for a lot of 90s rock influence, especially in the grunge genre. I hear a lot of Sabbath-type influences in that music, as well as Zeppelin, depending on the band. If you believe the statements made by the musicians that were in Seattle when ‘grunge’ first arose, the precipitating event was the entire community going to one specific Black Flag show, when they were touring on _My War_. That album is Black Flag played at Sabbath tempos. Supposedly everyone tuned down and slowed way down immediately after that show. I think it’s too pat of an explanation, but I think there’s some truth in there too. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/112 "2017-10-26T02:03:49Z")
Wow, a lot of shit was doled out for picking albums too ‘obscure’ in the early posts. The first album I thought of I figured I’d get shit for being too popular and obvious if I mentioned it, but 3 pages in I don’t see Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten mentioned yet. Per the OP’s criteria, that album got played from beginning to end many many times. Another debut album that has almost no bad song from start to finish is The Black Crowes’ Shake Your Money Maker. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/113 "2017-10-26T02:08:01Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Bonnie Raitt’s Nick of Time or Luck of the Draw albums. Ok, they’re more blues than Rock. But they’re outstanding albums. Nick of Time is on Rolling Stones list of the top 500 greatest albums of all time. It’s number 230. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/114 "2017-10-26T06:49:11Z")
Nevermind and OK Computer /thread ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/115 "2017-10-26T12:38:30Z")
Since the OP didn’t require the album to be influential, seminal, original, or even groundbreaking, I have the answer: _ **Silver** _ - Cheap Trick Recorded live in 1999, but not released until 2001, so that might be a dealbreaker. It’s hard to buy more music for your money. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/116 "2017-10-26T14:57:02Z")
My vote (based on OP’s statement of all killer, no filler) Soundgarden - Superunknown Honorable mentions: Rage Against The Machine - RATM Beastie Boys - Ill Communication Primus - Pork Soda ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/117 "2017-10-26T15:11:11Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > By sheer volume of record sales, she was. Van Gough sold exactly one painting in his lifetime. Would you consider him influential? ---
**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 26, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/118 "2017-10-26T16:33:03Z")
> **[It's Heavy in Here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Heavy_in_Here)** > > It's Heavy in Here is the first solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Eric Matthews. It was released by Sub Pop Records on September 26, 1995. A track from the album, "Fanfare", was released as a single in the UK only, charting at No.112.\[citation needed\] > All tracks are written by Eric Matthews. This is on my list. Eric Matthews - It’s Heavy in Here ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478/119 "2017-10-26T18:52:52Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Wow, a lot of shit was doled out for picking albums too ‘obscure’ in the early posts. The first album I thought of I figured I’d get shit for being too popular and obvious if I mentioned it, but 3 pages in I don’t see Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten mentioned yet. Per the OP’s criteria, that album got played from beginning to end many many times. It was post #4. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-best-rock-album-of-the-1990s/799478.md?page=5)