Ahhh, the 90`s. The last decade of music, before it all went to shite and albums didn’t really exist anymore and rock n roll died and everything was commercial and instantly forgettable.

See my previous comment, because this

Yeah, heard a theory (probably on here) that the music you like when you’re about 25 or so will always sound fresh and modern, in a way that music from other decades never will.

Lots of great suggestions so far

But this is the correct answer

If you disagree then you got a Bullet in your **** head

The correct answer is Radiohead – The Bends.

Notable mentions to:

Nirvana – Unplugged
Prodigy – Music for a Jilted Generation

I would chuck in Suede the album or even Dog Man Star , never took to Oasis much preferred Blur

Jings, that radio 2 list is pisspoor. No:

Wu Tang – 36 Chambers
Nas – Illmatic
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication
Pearl Jam – 10
Dre – The Chronic
RATM – RATM
Leftfield – Leftism
Metallica – Metallica

etc etc

I’m just amazed they never put The Corrs on their list

Difficult to pick just one. My favourites incude:

Different Class by Pulp

To Bring You My Love by P J Harvey

Copper Blue by Sugar

The Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

I mark the 90s as a great decade for pop music and electronic music. Also discovered a lot of other good 90s stuff many years later (thanks to broadband). To be even-handed there was also of a LOT of overblown vapid pap/pop that was essentially recycled snippets of sixties music, except now with a repetitive backbeat and hook 🕺

But then again – there were some absolute pearlers

Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide
Underworld – dubnobasswithmyheadman
Pulp – His n Hers
Cardiacs – Sing To God
Leftfield – Leftism
Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
Beck – Odelay
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
Stereolab – Dots and Loops
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads
Björk – Debut
Roni Size/Reprazent – New Forms
Underworld – Second Toughest In The Infants
Campag Velocet – Bon Chic Bon Genre
Killing Joke – Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions

And some relatively obscure classics wot still live in me ears:

Old Lady Drivers – Formula
Boredoms – Super Ae
Monsoon Bassoon – I Dig Your Voodoo
FFWD – FFWD
Coil – Musick to Play In The Dark
Gas – Königsforst
Gas – Zauberberg

Forgot about my bloody valentine.love it.

Yep, it may have been my formative years for musical taste (cusp of the 80s/90s rather), but it was clearly a period of huge creativity, lowering barriers to entry and merging of genres (e.g. Screamadelica again).

It was also the decade that music seemed to become much more niche-y, with an explosion of sub-genres within which bands or producers would become well known and successful without ever troubling Top of the Pops.

Pros and cons there, especially in the club scene, but it was a great time to be music fan anyway. I’m not sure Ticketmaster even existed and you could generally get tickets fairly easily for most of the acts mentioned in this thread.

Even though it came out in 89; Doolittle.
And we can’t forget Homework.

Yep, it may have been my formative years for musical taste (cusp of the 80s/90s rather), but it was clearly a period of huge creativity, lowering barriers to entry and merging of genres (e.g. Screamadelica again).

Again, you could say that of pretty much any decade – even the latest ones.

Just looked at that list and it’s a rather piss poor representation of 10 years worth of music. A lot of great hip-hop and rock from that decade. Can’t believe there’s not even a Beck album on there.

I just picked up a random CD from the shelf directly in front of me and it was Endtroducing, so that’ll do.

Y’all forgotten about..
Stone Roses – Second Coming

Again, you could say that of pretty much any decade – even the latest ones.

Putting aside the arbitrary calendar decades, I’d actually pick out the decade from 1986 to 1995 as more significant.

Electronic music and rock music both changing rapidly and both moving away from the traditional music industry model a bit.

By the later ’90s “indie” was being watered down and repackaged as “Britpop” and dance music was falling into genericism a bit (D&B aside perhaps).

Does everyone reckon that their 20s was the best time for music?!

No way, the best time is ALWAYS now. There’s all the good stuff from the old days you can listen to, and there’s still tons of good music. Don’t you still get that thrill when you hear something new?

A great era for music. So many absolute classics. I can’t believe this one hasn’t come up yet. Dark, brooding genius which really reflected the times towards the end of the decade when a lot of us were on a bit of a come-down from the ecstacy-fuelled euphoria with which it began

This has a similar post-ecstacy feel, though falls just outside the (arbritary) remit as it was released in March 2000

The list looks like a collection of albums on sale in Tesco’s, or an average Radio 2 playlist. Surprised David Gray wasn’t included. From the list I’d probably pick Dummy. My favourite is Southern Harmony by The Black Crowes.

And this is why Best Of lists are utterly pointless. And yet again, gets us posting, so maybe that’s actually the point…

1997 was a pretty special year, 3 albums that are all probably in my all time top 5, and Spiritualized probably being my all time no. 1;

Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentle Men we are Floating in Space
Radiohead – OK Computer
The Verve – Urban Hymns

Makes for an entertaining Friday morning discussion, and inspires today’s Spotify options. Good enough 🙂

Dezzy Baby…. you know that these things exist so that we can all sniffily demonstrate our superior musical tastes and denounce everybody elses as Coldplay-esque Radio 2 nonsense.

Give it another page and people will be insisting that the best album of the decade was by a band that nobody has heard of, existed for a few months between April – July 1995, played 2 gigs and the album sold 84 copies 😉

sniffily demonstrate our superior musical tastes

Amusing that the only person to outwardly express this is a Black Crowes fan 😆

1997 was a pretty special year

1991 was very formative for me

U2 – Achtung Baby
Nirvana – Nevermind
REM – Out of Time
GnR – Use Your Illusion
Metallica – Metallica
Pearl Jam – 10
RHCP – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Primal Scream – Screamadelica
Tribe Called Quest – Low End Theory
Blur – Leisure
Massive Attack – Blue Lines

I’m not being sniffy about anyone elses tastes. I do wonder how many people are still listening to Travis, Shania Twain, Moby, Alanis Morisette etc all multi million shifting radio friendly units now gathering dust in charity shops. If you still love one of those albums, that’s great, now more than ever we need the comfort of the music we love.

Give it another page and people will be insisting that the best album of the decade was by a band that nobody has heard of, existed for a few months between April – July 1995, played 2 gigs and the album sold 84 copies

Bet the bass-player of that band agrees 🤣😂

Seriously tho tbf – personal ‘best’ lists are best kept subjective? For instance my current ‘best’ lunch is Prince’s full-fat salmon-spread, some low-fat mayonnaise with small-diced raw onion and some cheap hot-sauce on some soft bread. I very much doubt that anyone else’s favourite lunch is the same, yet that doesn’t mean I like my lunch for some ‘snobby/edgy/obscurante’ elitist‘ reasons! If I instead lied and listed ‘Bombay Bad Boy Pot Noodle* or ‘Egg-mayo and bacon on malted bread’ would that make me a better person? What if my best lunch was something with a foreign name, wrapped in a type of seaweed? Watch out, out come the populist’s pitchforks! 🤣😂

* Chicken and Mush PN is better, yet still craptastic pap. I ‘like‘ it approx twice a year and even then I know I’m lying to my taste-buds! (Same goes for miso soup)

*Edit (Disclaimer) I can only speak for myself. Dez’s or Binner’s etc reasons for liking/disliking whatever music are your business and I have no idea!

I went with REM as it was a constant presence in the car cd changer (get me) when the kids arrived and they grew up. Find the River reduces me to mush as a result.

Imagine trying to do a best of the 2010s … I buy something like 2 albums a week, so it just would be impossible! Some of them I only listen to a couple of times…. and most people stream, so wouldn’t know an album if it flew across the room and smacked them in the eye (I did that to a girlfriend once) 😀

I’m not being sniffy about anyone elses tastes

Reverse-sniffing sucks. It’s the reverse-racism of the nowties. Right up there with pre-emptive femsplaining 👍🏼

Rage against the muh-meme!

That Petrol Emotion – Chemicrazy.

Here’s some more, most of which I don’t think have been mentioned.

Supergrass
R.L. Burnside: A Ass Pocket of Whisky
PJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love
The Charlatans
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Boatman’s Call
Black Grape: It’s Great When You’re Straight
Come on Feel The Lemonheads
Whiskeytown: Strangers Almanac
Teenage Fanclub: Grand Prix
Mercury Rev: Deserters Songs
Lightening Seeds: Jollification

how many people are still listening to Travis, Shania Twain, Moby, Alanis Morisette etc

You put some effort into finding the crappy list then? Looks like a different 90s to the one I experienced! 😂

Definitely Maybe – anyone that hasn’t mentioned that album needs to give their heads a swivel…

Siamese Dreams. Every song good in its own right and the whole album plays well together rather than some which are just a collection of good songs. Part of my musical (and possibly hormonal) awakening as I grew up so has a fair bit of meaning to me.

Got to be either

Angel dust by Faith no more
Or
Urban hymns
Or
Copper blue
Or
Leftism

I as just think nobody had mentioned RHCP – Blood Sugar Sex Magik, then right towards to bottom stevenmenmuir does!

Only things I can think of that have not been mentioned are.
Kyuss-WTSV or ATCLT
Fu Manchu-Action is Go
Chemical brothers
Beck, Loser or Odelay

DezB I’m just picking out some of the ones on the original link, even somebody that was wasted throughout the 90’s should be able to manage that. Shame you’re being such a tool as I quite like your suggestion.
Siamese Dream is a good shout.

It’s difficult to pick a favourite, but feels like cheating to name several.
So I would vote for best album of the 90’s to be:

Tricky, Maxinquaye

*Refuses to add albums, in the mistaken belief that I’m not old enough or dull enough for Radio 2*

90’s Album that had the most effect on me at the time:

Blood Sugar Sex Magic

90’s Album that still gets played the most:

Second Coming

90’s Album that was the most overated:

OK Computer

90’s album(s) that was(were) absolute shite and never deserved to see the light of day:

All the Oasis output

My guilty secret best album of the 90’s

Ray of Light