The weblogs of Beth, Christian, and the cat: updated daily, weekly, or occasionally.
Saturday, 24 February 2007
Christian: Top 10 Rock Albums of the 90s
During one of our frequent discussion about music, Pete Tabberer and I decided to try and compile a list of the top 10 most influential and/or popular rock albums of the 90s. Subsequently, I've mentioned this list to a number of people, and everybody has a slightly different opinion of what should be on the list. Here's what we came up with (not in order):
- Nirvana — Nevermind
- Pearl Jam — Ten
- Green Day — Dookie
- Weezer — Weezer
- Live — Throwing Copper
- Alice in Chains — Dirt
- Smashing Pumpkins — Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
- Metallica — Metallica
- Collective Soul — Collective Soul
- Beck — Odelay
Some nominations on this list are pretty obvious. I haven't talked to anybody yet who hasn't nominated Nevermind, Ten, Dookie, and Weezer. Most people seem to agree on Metallica and Throwing Copper. A few people have suggested Alice in Chain's Jar of Flies over Dirt, or have suggested Collective Soul's Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid in place of the self-titled album.
The most contentious entry thus far has been Mellon Collie; many Pumpkins fans have argued that Siamese Dream was a better album; however, the majority of people have agreed that in terms of overall influence, Mellon Collie was what really propelled the Smashing Pumpkins to so much success.
Finally, Odelay occupies the most argued-over spot. I nominated Odelay because its influence in many other genres of music in addition to rock is very substantial. Pete nominated the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which I can maybe agree should be #10 instead. Pete also nominated R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People, and I have to agree with him again that a top-of-the-90s list without R.E.M. seems incomplete. It's also interesting to note the absence of U2; while I'm definitely a fan of U2, their only possible 90s nomination is Achtung Baby, but it really isn't at the same level as the other albums, we decided (sorry Jules).
As many people have noted, there are many other worthy nominations that didn't make the cut. Some nominations: Radiohead (OK Computer), The Offspring (Smash), Nine Inch Nails (The Downward Spiral), Counting Crows (August and Everything After), etc. There are many other potential nominees too: Stone Temple Pilots, Alanis Morissette, Oasis, Sublime, Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden, No Doubt, Rage Against the Machine, Dave Matthews Band, Hootie and the Blowfish, etc. And obviously, this list doesn't include very worthy nominations from other genres; we restricted it to rock/alt-rock only.
What are your thoughts?
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