This was R.E.M.'s darkest and the most melancholy album at the time of it's release. There is a great amount of orchestral arrangements that give their songs much more depth than ever before. Also, it's the R.E.M. album that has aged the best.Favorite Songs: Sweetness Follows, Nightswimming, Try Not to Breathe
22. Bjork - Post (1995)
Although Debut is a great album as well, I think Bjork really found more of her own sound on her second solo effort, Post. The production and songs are much more complex and ambitious than almost anything else she's done.Favorite Songs: Army of Me, Hyper-Ballad, Isobel
23. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
Even considering the fact that I absolutely hate everything they have done in the past ten years, I still had to include Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Even considering all the shitty rap-rock bands they spawned (Linkin Park, Kottonmouth Kings, etc), this album still kicks a lot of ass.Favorite Songs: Breaking the Girl, Suck My Kiss, Blood Sugar Sex Magik
24. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes (1992)
Tori's debut album is a piece of greatness that she never quite topped or equalled. Her most intensely personal and emotional lyrics are what really make this record so good.Favorite Songs: Silent All These Years, Winter, Tear in Your Hand
25. Beck - Odelay (1996)
After Mellow Gold came out and the song 'Loser' was all over the radio I was 99% positive that Beck would be a one-hit wonder. I was very wrong, and, in my opinion, he ended up being more like the David Bowie of our generation. The Dust Brothers and Beck created a wholly original sound during a period when it was hard to find anything original on the radio.Favorite Songs: Lord Only Knows, Novacane, Devil's Haircut
26. The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (1993)
Gentlemen is a masterpiece of raw emotion. Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks might be the only other album that deals with the bitterness and beauty of heartbreak as well as Gentlemen. One warning, it might not be a good idea to give your girlfriend this album as a gift. Just a suggestion.
Favorite Songs: Gentlemen, Debonair, When We Two Parted
27. Sonic Youth - Dirty (1992)
Listening to this album now, it may seem like Dirty was Sonic Youth's attempt to cash in on the grunge trend at the time. But the album can stand up with Sonic Youth's best records.
Favorite Songs: 100%, Sugar Kane, Wish Fulfillment
28. Hum - You'd Prefer An Astronaut (1995)
I always thought that if Weezer had any balls whatsoever, they might sound like Hum. This record contains a lot of heavy, distorted guitars but still manages to be melodic.
Favorite Songs: Suicide Machine, The Pod, Stars
29. Pearl Jam - No Code (1996)
Although No Code didn't receive much critical acclaim, it still ranks very high with die hard Pearl Jam fans. No Code is definitely a departure from the sound they perfected on their first three albums. It seems that Eddie Vedder's work with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the soundtrack for Dead Man Walking influenced quite a bit of this album.Favorite Songs: Hail, Hail, Who You Are, Off He Goes
30. Nirvana - In Utero (1993)
When this album came out it alienated a lot of the fans that Nirvana had gained when 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' became the biggest song of the decade. With Steve Albini producing the record, that might have been the point. This album aged so much better than Nevermind that it's not even close.Favorite Songs: Scentless Apprentice, Dump, All Apologies
31. Frank Black - Teenager of the Year (1994)
This is one of those rare double albums where you don't want to skip any tracks when listening to it. Frank Black continues to break away from the Pixies sound towards more of a pop route, yet still weird enough to please Pixies fans.Favorite Songs: Headache, Thalassocracy, Freedom Rock
32. Air - Moon Safari (1998)
Air's debut album is a electro-lounge pop masterpiece. Although it is only #32, Moon Safari would probably be one of a handful of albums on this list that I still listen to on a regular basis.Favorite Songs: La Femme d'Argent, All I Need, Ce Matin La
33. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1992)
Rage is another band I sort of resent for creating a brand of rap-rock that inspired the lowest common denominator of bands to follow. I don't think any of their following albums hit the high note that their self-titled debut did. It's also odd that, no matter how big of a fan I was of them in High School, I still have no desire at all to see them on their current reunion stint.Favorite Songs: Killing In The Name, Know Your Enemy, Freedom
34. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (1992)
Just like Nirvana's Nevermind (but on a much smaller scale), Pavement's debut album created a whole new sound in rock music. Sort of a lo-fi masterpiece, this album really defined the terms College and Indie Rock. If you're a fan make sure you pick up the 2002 reissue of Slanted & Enchanted because it has a whole crap-load of demo's, other recording sessions, and a live show for you to geek out on.Favorite Songs: Summer Babe (Winter Version), In the Mouth A Desert, Zurich is Stained
35. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de la Habitual (1990)
Jane's Addiction's second album is also the one that really broke them into the mainstream with the success of 'Been Caught Stealing'. Even the worst songs on this album are better than most of the stuff Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro have done since.Favorite Songs: Stop, Ain't No Right, Of Course
36. Gomez - Bring It On (1998)
It is pretty hard to believe that this won Britain's coveted Mercury Music Prize in 1998 over Radiohead's OK Computer. Bring It On isn't as good but it definitely isn't over-hyped. Gomez does bluesy rock better than most American bands but they never quite improved upon this debut.Favorite Songs: Get Miles, Here Comes the Breeze, Get Myself Arrested
37. Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (1994)
Stone Temple Pilots debut album was criticized for being a rip-off of the grunge bands of that time. Those criticisms were perfectly valid until they released this follow-up. As much as STP are dogged by critics and music fans, I still love this album and think it deserves its place on this list.Favorite Songs: Interstate Love Songs, Pretty Penny, Still Remains
38. Pulp - Different Class (1995)
This record is Pulp's enthralling masterpiece. 'Common People' is one of the top 5 songs of the entire decade. Not nearly as appreciated in the States, Pulp became superstars in Europe with this album and deservedly so.Favorite Songs: Common People, Mis-Shapes, Disco 2000
39. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders (1993)
A Tribe Called Quest abandoned the jazz influences from The Low End Theory to create a more mainstream sound on Midnight Marauders. Along with De La Soul, Tribe is responsible for creating a conscious style of rap that flourished throughout the rest of the decade.Favorite Songs: Award Tour, Sucka Nigga, Electric Relaxation
40. The Breeders - Last Splash (1993)
Just like Frank Black, The Breeders never did anything as good as the Pixies, but they came close. The only problem: 90% of this album is absolutely brilliant, but that other 10% can be pretty mediocre.Favorite Songs: Cannonball, Invisible Man, Divine Hammer
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