The Songfactor's Choice Top Albums of the Decade: The '90's

Into The Great Wide Open ~ Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1991)

1."Learning to Fly"

2."Kings Highway" (Petty)

3."Into the Great Wide Open"

4."Two Gunslingers" (Petty)

5."The Dark of the Sun"

6."All or Nothin'" (Petty, Mike Campbell, Lynne)7."All the Wrong Reasons"

8."Too Good to Be True" (Petty)

9."Out in the Cold"

10."You and I Will Meet Again" (Petty)

11."Makin' Some Noise" (Petty, Campbell, Lynne)

12."Built to Last"

The Black Crowes ~ Shake Your Money Maker (1990)

1."Twice As Hard"

2."Jealous Again"

3."Sister Luck"

4."Could I've Been So Blind"

5."Seeing Things"

6."Hard to Handle" (Allen Jones, Alvertis Isbell, Otis Redding)

7."Thick n' Thin"

8."She Talks to Angels"

9."Struttin' Blues"

10."Stare It Cold"

11."Live Too Fast Blues/Mercy, Sweet Moan"

  Quote

The idea is to find out why you're nominating a particular album (hopefully it's not only because you feel that it could be a winner).

I nominated mine because I listened to them a lot during that particular decade and they are two of my favorites, (after one of Laurie's noms though)

You're right McKenne, Champagne Supernova by Oasis is great, just like all the songs on this wonderful album. Vote for (What's The Story?) Morning Glory !!

Good, me too. My two I mean.

OK, so here I go:

I nominated "Adios Amigo: A Tribute to Arthur Alexander"/various artists because I think it's an excelent way for younger people to listen to old music. Great covers that might introduce the young ones to an amazing world they might not be aware of right now.

I nominated "Out Of Time" - R.E.M." because I think it's a very good album with one of the best songs of the end of the century: "Losing My Religion"

  Quote

I nominated mine because I listened to them a lot during that particular decade and they are two of my favorites, (after one of Laurie's noms though)

Well I nominated Tom Petty and the boys because I feel it could be a winner ...J/K!....I've been listening to Tom Petty for years and years, and he still keeps on rockin' and putting out albums...so that's why I nominated that album....some great tunes on that one...

LIVE - Throwing Copper (1994)

Track listing

1. The Dam at Otter Creek 4:43

2. Selling the Drama 3:26

3. I Alone 3:50

4. Iris 3:59

5. Lightning Crashes 5:25

6. Top 2:42

7. All Over You 3:59

8. Sh*t Towne 3:48

9. T.B.D. 4:28

10. Stage 3:08

11. Waitress 2:49

12. Pillar of Davidson 6:46

13. White, Discussion 6:08

14. Horse 4:16

Personnel

Ed Kowalczyk: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

Chad Taylor: Lead Guitar, Backing Vocal

Patrick Dahlheimer: Bass

Chad Gracey: Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocal

==================================================

URGE OVERKILL - Saturation (1993)

Track listing

1. Sister Havana

2. Tequila Sundae

3. Positive Bleeding

4. Back on Me

5. Woman 2 Woman

6. Bottle of Fur

7. Crackbabies

8. The Stalker

9. Dropout

10. Erica Kane

11. Nite and Grey

12. Heaven 90210

Hidden track: Operation Kissinger

Personnel

National "Nash" Kato: Guitar/Vocals

Eddie "The King" Roeser: Bass Guitar/Guitar/Vocals

Blackie Onassis: Drums/Vocals

  Quote

Nirvana - Nevermind

Neil Young - Ragged Glory

(I'll get back with some details)

Track listing

All songs were written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.

1."Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl) – 5:01

2."In Bloom" – 4:14

3."Come as You Are" – 3:39

4."Breed" – 3:03

5."Lithium" – 4:17

6."Polly" – 2:57

7."Territorial Pissings" – 2:22

8."Drain You" – 3:43

9."Lounge Act" – 2:36

10."Stay Away" – 3:32

11."On a Plain" – 3:16

12."Something in the Way" – 3:55

"Endless, Nameless" (6:44) is a hidden track on some copies of the record.

Track listing

All songs written by Neil Young except as noted. [4]

1."Country Home" – 7:05

2."White Line" – 2:57

3."F*!#in' Up" [5] – 5:54

4."Over and Over" – 8:28

5."Love to Burn" – 10:00

6."Farmer John" (Don Harris, Dewey Terry) – 4:14

7."Mansion on the Hill" – 4:48

8."Days That Used to Be" – 3:42

9."Love and Only Love" – 10:18

10."Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" – 5:11

Here are two early 90's albums by the Godfather of grunge and the godsons of grunge.

Metallica - Metallica

1. "Enter Sandman"

2. "Sad but True"

3. "Holier Than Thou"

4. "The Unforgiven"

5. "Wherever I May Roam"

6. "Don't Tread on Me"

7. "Through the Never"

8. "Nothing Else Matters"

9. "Of Wolf and Man"

10. "The God That Failed"

11. "My Friend of Misery"

12. "The Struggle Within"

No Need to Argue - The Cranberries

1. "Ode to My Family"

2. "I Can't Be With You"

3. "Twenty One"

4. "Zombie"

5. "Empty"

6. "Everything I Said"

7. "The Icicle Melts"

8. "Disappointment"

9. "Ridiculous Thoughts"

10. "Dreaming My Dreams"

11. "Yeat's Grave"

12. "Daffodil Lament"

13. "No Need to Argue"

Counting Crows - August and Everything After (1993)

Track List:

Round Here

Omaha

Mr Jones

Perfect Blue Buildings

Anna Begins

Time and Time Again

Rain King

Sullivan Street

Ghost Train

Raining in Baltimore

A Murder of One

Stone Temple Pilots - Core (1992)

Track Listing:

Dead And Bloated

Sex Type Thing

Wicked Garden

No Memory

Sin

Naked Sunday

Creep

Piece of Pie

Plush

Wet My Bed

Crackerman

Where The River Goes

Both of these albums were essential playing on my CD player. In the early '90's, I had graduated college and moved away from home, so music was my biggest companion.

Garth Brooks--No Fences (1990)

1. The Thunder Rolls

2. New Way to Fly

3. Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House

4. Victim of the Game

5. Friends in Low Places

6. Wild Horses

7. Unanswered Prayers

8. Same Old Story

9. Mr. Blue

10. Wolves

Although his second album, this is the album that put Garth Brooks and country music on the map in the 1990's.

Hootie & the Blowfish--Cracked Rear View (1994)

1. Hannah Jane

2. Hold My Hand

3. Let Her Cry

4. Only Wanna Be With You

5. Running From An Angel

6. I'm Goin' Home

7. Drowning

8. Time

9. Look Away

10. Not Even The Trees

11. Goodbye

12. Motherless Child (hidden track)

Probably the biggest-selling debut album of the 1990's, it seems like everybody was buying this, including me. Their followups tended to disappoint, and Darius Rucker switched to country music.

(I'm just repeating what I nominated, with reasons.)

"Ok Computer"- Radiohead (1997)

1. Airbag

2. Paranoid Android

3. Subterranean Homesick Alien

4. Exit Music (For A Film)

5. Let Down

6. Karma Police

7. Fitter Happier

8. Electioneering

9. Climbing Up The Walls

10. No Surprises

11. Lucky

12. The Tourist

When I first listened to this album it absolutely blew me away. It's hard for me to pick an album that's Radiohead's best, but if I had to, this would definitely be it.

"Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain"- Pavement (1994)

1. Silence Kid

2. Elevate Me Later

3. Stop Breathin'

4. Cut Your Hair

5. Newark Wilder

6. Unfair

7. Gold Soundz

8. 5-4=Unity

9. Range Life

10. Heaven Is A Truck

11. Hit The Plane Down

12. Filmore Jive

Pavement is a band I absolutely love listening to. And I love their music. Seeing them live was definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen, and this album is my absolute favorite of theirs.

  Quote

"Ok Computer"- Radiohead (1997)

1. Airbag

2. Paranoid Android

3. Subterranean Homesick Alien

4. Exit Music (For A Film)

5. Let Down

6. Karma Police

7. Fitter Happier

8. Electioneering

9. Climbing Up The Walls

10. No Surprises

11. Lucky

12. The Tourist

When I first listened to this album it absolutely blew me away. It's hard for me to pick an album that's Radiohead's best, but if I had to, this would definitely be it.

I was waiting for that nomination - at the worst I'd had to do it myself (even if Radhi would have hated me for it )

I had to. I love that album far too much.

Sheesh. I'm going to have a harder time with this than I thought. There are tons of good albums here.

Damn, I just realized. There's another album I wanted to nominate.

Hint hint: someone should nominate "Pinkerton"

but we already have a Weezer album in the nominations and at least for me it's the case that I still have quite a few other albums on my list of possible nominations

I nominated a R.E.M. album after Shannon nominated another R.E.M. album...I hope it won't split the votes...

I found it interesting that two R.E.M. albums were nominated, but not the one that's usually the critic's favourite in lists like these (not that I necessarily agree with them)

but yes, since voting for this list is going to be pretty hard for me, I think I'm not going to vote for two albums by the same artist

-- I'm only speaking about me of course! --

One from the early 90s:

Blood Sugar Sex Magik - The Red Hot Chili Peppers

1. The Power of Equality

2. If You Have to Ask

3. Breaking the Girl

4. Funky Monks

5. Suck My Kiss

6. I Could Have Lied

7. Mellowship Slinky in B Major

8. The Righteous & the Wicked

9. Give It Away

10. Blood Sugar Sex Magik

11. Under the Bridge

12. Naked in the Rain

13. Apache Rose Peacock

14. The Greeting Song

15. My Lovely Man

16. Sir Psycho Sexy

17. They're Red Hot (Robert Johnson)

It's funk, it's punk, it's the Red Hot Chili Peppers at their peak.

And one from the late 90s:

The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips

1. Race for the Prize (Mokran Remix)

2. A Spoonful Weighs a Ton

3. The Spark That Bled ("The Softest Bullet Ever Shot)

4. The Spiderbite Song

5. Buggin' (Mokran Remix)

6. What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical [in Our Brains] by Which We Are Able to Experience the Sensation of Being in Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the "Big Bang" That Was the Birth of the Accelerating Universe)

7. The Observer

8. Waitin' for a Superman (Is It Gettin' Heavy?)

9. Suddenly Everything Has Changed (Death Anxiety Caused by Moments of Boredom)

10. The Gash (Battle Hymn for the Wounded Mathematician)

11. Feeling Yourself Disintegrate

12. Sleeping on the Roof (excerpt from "Should We Keep the Severed Head Awake??")

13. Race for the Prize (Sacrifice of the New Scientists)

14. Waitin' for a Superman (Mokran Remix)

How can something so weird be so pretty? I suggest you find out, this album is only 11 years old and already a classic.

  Quote

I found it interesting that two R.E.M. albums were nominated, but not the one that's usually the critic's favourite in lists like these (not that I necessarily agree with them)

but yes, since voting for this list is going to be pretty hard for me, I think I'm not going to vote for two albums by the same artist

-- I'm only speaking about me of course! --

There are still 3 R.E.M. albums eligible I will most often ALWAYS nominate them when appropriate. While Edna's choice was the critical darling, Monster is just big and loud. I love both albums and they are 2 and 3 on my list, but number one is saved for a yet to be nominated R.E.M. album. As for vote splitting, I think the true R.E.M. fan will be happy to see them on the final list, no matter which album makes it.

Actually 'Automatic for the People' is the critical darling I was referring to

I think A4P had more hits but OoT had the one bigger hit but the rest of the album doesn't really compare IMO.

  Quote

Actually 'Automatic for the People' is the critical darling I was referring to

That's the one I'm saving for my # 1.

I called OOT a critical darling because it won R.E.M. an a$$load of Grammy's and got them big time mainstream attention.

Life is much more interesting (thought unsustainable) when you're young and having fun and getting drunk with musician buddies and touring with Michael Jackson and thinking of amazing ways to express it on an album.

Sheryl Crow hit the sweet spot here, and she hasn't been back since. The most refreshing album of the decade, it sounds like a lifetime of inspiration.

Key Tracks:

All I Wanna Do

Leaving Las Vegas

More polished than Appetite For Destruction, I like this one better. A very ambitious album with a high degree of difficulty, it was perfectly executed.

Key Tracks:

November Rain

Don't Cry