1994 - my sophomore-junior year in college and probably one of my favorite years ever. Loved many of the albums when they came out, and several of the omissions. No rap albums as choices this year, as I don't feel enough people will honestly vote for Doggystyle and many of the other choices aren't strong enough to warrant inclusion.
I'll shut up now because this poll is a little late
Omissions:
# Disco Inferno * DI Go Pop (Rough Trade)
# Laika * Silver Apples Of The Moon (Too Pure)
# Tortoise (Thrill Jockey)
# Portishead * Dummy (Go! Discs)
# Sebadoh * Bakesale (Sub Pop)
# Massive Attack * Protection (Circa)
# God * The Anatomy of Addiction (Big Cat)
# `O'rang * Herd of Instinct (Echo)
# Dog Faced Hermans * Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles)
# Mano Negra * Casa Babylon (Virgin)
# Cafe Tacuba * Re (WEA)
# Bark Psychosis * Hex (Caroline)
# Disco Inferno * Second Language/It's A Kid's World EPs (Rough Trade)
# The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Orange (Matador)
# Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds * Let Love In (Elektra)
# Stereolab * Mars Audiac Quintet (Elektra)
# Jeff Buckley * Grace (Columbia)
# Baaba Maal * Firin' In Fouta (Mango)
# Built To Spill * There's Nothing Wrong With Love (Up)
# The Grifters * Crappin' You Negative (Shangri-La)
# Beck * Mellow Gold (Geffen)
# Orbital * Snivilisation (ffrr)
# Pram * Helium (Too Pure)
# Rodan * Rusty (Quarterstick)
# The Beastie Boys * Ill Communication (Grand Royal/Capitol)
# Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan * The Last Prophet (Real World)
# Jessamine (Kranky)
# Entombed * Wolverine Blues (Sony)
# Tiamat * Wildhoney (Century Media)
# Eleventh Dream Day * Ursa Major (Atavistic)
# Prong * Cleansing (Epic)
# Versus * The Stars Are Insane (Teen Beat)
# Bedhead * What Fun Life Was (Trance Syndicate)
# Latin Playboys (Slash)
# Cornershop * Hold On It Hurts (Merge)
# Flying Saucer Attack (VHF)
# Polvo * Celebrate The New Dark Age EP (Merge)
# Unwound * New Plastic Ideas (Kill Rock Stars)
# Sierra Maestra * Dundunbanza! (World Circuit)
# Drive Like Jehu * Yank Crime (Interscope)
# Sabalon Glitz * Ufronic (Trixie)
# Sloan * Twice Removed (DGC)
# Main * Motion Pool (Beggars Banquet)
# Godflesh * Selfless (Earache)
# Scorn * Evanescense (Earache)
# Pavement * Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador)
# Magic Hour * No Excess Is Absurd (Twisted Village)
# The Wedding Present * Watusi (Island)
# The Sea And Cake (Thrill Jockey)
# Cardinal (Flydaddy)
# Public Enemy * Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age (Def Jam)
# Ween * Chocolate And Cheese (Geffen)
# Soundgarden * Superunknown (A&M)
# Emperor * In The Nightside Eclipse (Century Black)
# Kyuss * Welcome To Sky Valley (Elektra)
# Outkast * Southernplalistincadillacmuzik (LaFace)
# Slowdive * Souvlaki (4AD)
# DJ Krush * Strictly Turntablized (Mo Wax)
# Pulp * His 'n' Hers (Island)
# Sunny Day Real Estate * Diary (Sub Pop)
# Nas * Illmatic (Columbia)
# Crunt (Trance Syndicate)
# Paul Schutze * The Surgery Of Touch (Tone Casualties)
# Rancid * Let's Go (Epitaph)
# Digable Planets * Blowout Comb (Pendulum)
# Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 * Strangers From The Universe (Matador)
# Sheila Chandra * The Zen Kiss (Real World)
# Revolutionary Dub Warriors * Deliverance: Reaction Dub Part 1 (On-U Sound)
# Dead Can Dance * Toward the Within (4AD)
# Today Is The Day * Supernova (Amphetamine Reptile)
# Velvet Crush * Teenage Symphonies To God (Sony/Creation)
# Table (Humble)
# Red Red Meat * Jimmie Wine Majestic (Sub Pop)
# Ani Difranco * Out Of Range (Righteous Babe)
# Audio Active * Tokyo Space Cowboys (On-U Sound)
# Autechre * Amber (Wax Trax!)
# Oval * Systemich (Mille Plateaux)
# Neurosis * Enemy Of The Sun (Alternative Tentacles)
# The Walkabouts * Setting The Woods On Fire (Creativeman)
# Magnetic Fields * Holiday (Merge)
# Gang Starr * Hard To Earn (Chrysalis)
# Jeru the Damaja * The Sun Rises In The East (Payday/ffrr)
# The Moles * Instinct (Flydaddy)
# Lungfish * Pass And Stow (Dischord)
# Arcwelder * Xerxes (Touch & Go)
# Silkworm * Libertine (ElRecordo)
# Low * I Could Live In Hope (Vernon Yard)
# Big Chief * Platinum Jive: Greatest Hits 1969-1999 (Capitol)
# Mouse on Mars * Vulvaland (Too Pure)
# Brise-Glace * When In Vanitas . . . (Skin Graft)
# Th' Faith Healers * Imaginary Friend (Too Pure/Elektra)
# Songhai * Songhai 2: Ketama, Toumani Diabate, Jose Soto (Hannibal)
# Napalm Death * Fear Emptiness Despair (Sony)
# Medicine * The Buried Life (WB)
# Meat Puppets * Too High To Die (London)
# Silkworm * In The West (C/Z)
# Crain * Heater (Automatic Wrecklords)
# The Spiny Anteaters * All Is Well (Kranky)
# aMINIATURE * Depth 5 Route 6 (Restless)
# Girls Against Boys * Cruise Yourself (Touch & Go)
# Helium * Pirate Prude EP (Matador)
# Praxis * Metatron (Subharmonic)
# Palace Brothers (Drag City)
# Jawbox * For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Atlantic)
# Pitchblende * Au Jus (Matador)
# Method Man * Tical (Ral/Def Jam)
# Warren G * Regulate . . . G Funk Era (Violator)
# Praxis * Sacrifist (Subharmonic)
# Gneissmaker * 40 Acre Fuege (Skene!)
# The Melvins * Stoner Witch (Atlantic)
# Dinosaur Jr. * Without A Sound (Sire/WB)
# Hole * Live Through This (Geffen)
# Flies Inside The Sun * An Audience Of Others (Including Herself) (Kranky)
# US3 * Hand On The Torch (Blue Note)
# Come * Don't Ask Don't Tell (Matador)
# The Cramps * Flamejob (The Medicine Label)
# Metalheads * Inner City Life (ffrr)
# The Cows * Orphans Tragedy (Ampetamine Reptile)
# Luscious Jackson * Natural Ingrediants (Grand Royale)
# Gastr Del Sol * Crookt, Crackt, Fly (Drag City)
# The Gravediggaz * 6 Feet Deep (Gee Street)
# Engine Kid * Bear Catching Fish (C/Z)
# DJ Krush * Strictly Turntablized (Mo Wax)
# Luna * Bewitched (Elektra)
# Fugees * Blunted On Reality (Ruffhouse)
# Cannibal Corpse * The Bleeding (Metal Blade)
# Clutch * Passive Restraints (Ruthless)
# Small * Chin Music (Alias)
# Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth * The Main Ingrediant (Elektra)
# Mayhem * De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (Century Media)
# Today Is The Day (Amphetamine Reptile)
# Saint Etienne * Tiger Bay (Sire)
# Elastica * Stutter EP (Geffen)
# Spongehead * Curb Your Dogma (XXX)
# Giant Sand * Glum (Imago)
# Pegboy * Earwig (Quarterstick)
# The Jesus Lizard * Down (Touch & Go)
# Deee-Lite * Dewdrops in the Garden (Elektra)
# Dr. Didg * Out of the Woods (Hannibal)
# Faith No More * King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (Slash/Reprise)
# Heavens To Betsy * Calculated (Kill Rock Stars)
# Johnboy * Claim Dedications (Trance Syndicate)
# Kepone * The Ugly Dance (Quarterstick)
# Helmet * Betty (Interscope)
# Paul K. & The Weathermen * Achilles Heel (Thirsty Ear)
# The Iguanas * Nuevo Boogaloo (MCA)
# Lambchop * I Hope You're Sitting Down (Merge)
# The Cult (Sire)
# The Church * Sometime Anywhere (Arista)
# Palace Songs * Hope EP (Drag City)
# Raincoats * Extended Play EP (Smells Like)
# The Red Crayola (Drag City)
# The Silver Jews * Starlite Walker (Drag City)
# Slant 6 * Soda Pop-Rip Off (Dischord)
# The Goats * No Goats, No Glory (Ruffhouse)
# Steel Pole Bath Tub * Some Cocktail Suggestions from SPBT EP (Boner)
# Bad Livers * Horses In the Mines (Quarterstick)
# Gastr Del Sol * Mirror Repair EP (Drag City)
# Sonic Youth * Experimental Jet Set Trash, No Star (Geffen)
# Suede * Stay Together EP (Columbia)
# Grant Lee Buffalo * Mighty Joe Moon (Slash/Reprise)
# Trumans Water * Godspeed The Punchline (Homestead)
# Lull * Cold Summer (Subharmonic)
# Ecstasy of St. Theresa * Free D (Free)
# Bad Religion * Stranger Than Fiction (Atlantic)
# Craig Mack * Flava In Ya Ear (Bad Boy)
# '68 Comeback * Mr. Downchild (Sympathy)
# Mad Flava * From tha Ground Unda (Priority)
# The Solsonics * Jazz In The Present Tense (Chrysalis)
# Paris * Guerilla Funk (Priority)
# Orphaned Land * Sahara (Holy Land)
# Aphex Twin * Selected Ambient Works II (Warp)
# Black Sheep * Non-Fiction (Mercury)
# Brand Nubian * Everything Is Everything (Elektra)
# Dadamah * This Is Not A Dream (Kranky)
# Dead Moon * Crack In the System
# DFC (Da Funk Clan) * Things in tha Hood (Big Beat)
# Da Lench Mob * Planet of Da Apes (Priority)
# Dissolve * That That Is . . . Is (Not) (Kranky)
# The Divine Comedy * Promenade (V2)
# Dolomite * The Gift Horse Acetate EP (Thrill Jockey)
# Gate * The Dew Line (Table of Elements)
# God And Texas * Double Shot (Restless)
# Godheadsilo * The Scientific Supercake LP (Kill Rock Stars)
# House of Pain * Same As It Ever Was (Tommy Boy)
# Ice-T * Lethal Injection (4th & Broadway)
# Knucklehedz * Strictly Savage (East-West)
# KRS-One * Return of the Boom Bap (Jive)
# Lords Of The Underground * Keepers Of The Funk (Pendulum/EMI)
# The Notorious B.I.G. * Ready to Die (Bad Boy)
# SF Seals * Nowhere (Matador)
# Smif 'n' Wesson * Da Shinin' (Wreck)
# Snoop Doggy Dogg * Doggystyle (Death Row)
# Suede * Dog Man Star (Columbia)
# Wagon Christ * Phat Lab Nightmare (Rising High)
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Quote:
The full band gives the music a richer, warmer vibe that's as apparent on the rampaging, noise-ravaged "Unfair" as it is on the breezy, sun-kissed country-rock of "Range Life" or its weary, late-night counterpart, "Heaven Is a Truck." Pavement may still be messy, but it's a meaningful, musical messiness from the performance to the production: listen to how "Silence Kit" begins by falling into place with its layers of fuzz guitars, wah wahs, cowbells, thumping bass, and drum fills, how what initially seems random gives way into a lush Californian pop song. That's Crooked Rain a nutshell -- what initially seems chaotic has purpose, leading listeners into the bittersweet heart and impish humor at the core of the album. Many bands attempted to replicate the sound or the vibe of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, but they never came close to the quicksilver shifts in music and emotion that give this album such lasting appeal. Here, Pavement follow the heartbroken ballad "Stop Breathin'" with the wry, hooky alt-rock hit "Cut Your Hair" without missing a beat. They throw out a jazzy Dave Brubeck tribute in "5-4=Unity" as easily as they mimic the Fall and mock the Happy Mondays on "Hit the Plane Down." By drawing on so many different influences, Pavement discovered its own distinctive voice as a band on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, creating a vibrant, dynamic, emotionally resonant album that stands as a touchstone of underground rock in the '90s and one of the great albums of its decade.
Portishead - DummyQuote:
Portishead's album debut is a brilliant, surprisingly natural synthesis of claustrophobic spy soundtracks, dark breakbeats inspired by frontman Geoff Barrow's love of hip-hop, and a vocalist (Beth Gibbons) in the classic confessional singer/songwriter mold. Beginning with the otherworldly theremin and martial beats of "Mysterons," Dummy hits an early high with "Sour Times," a post-modern torch song driven by a Lalo Schifrin sample. The chilling atmospheres conjured by Adrian Utley's excellent guitar work and Barrow's turntables and keyboards prove the perfect foil for Gibbons, who balances sultriness and melancholia in equal measure. Occasionally reminiscent of a torchier version of Sade, Gibbons provides a clear focus for these songs, with Barrow and company behind her laying down one of the best full-length productions ever heard in the dance world. Where previous acts like Massive Attack had attracted dance heads in the main, Portishead crossed over to an American, alternative audience, connecting with the legion of angst-ridden indie fans as well. Better than any album before it, Dummy merged the pinpoint-precise productions of the dance world with pop hallmarks like great songwriting and excellent vocal performances.
Shellac - At Action ParkQuote:
But At Action Park does reveal a band more musically intelligent and imaginative than Big Black, and while it hits a good bit harder than the 7"ers that preceded it, Shellac is still significantly more concerned with the space between the notes than any of Albini's earlier projects. Just as importantly, in drummer Todd Trainer and bassist Bob Weston, Albini had found a human rhythm section that lived up to his exacting specifications, with Weston adding both melody and force with his thick, meaty tone and Trainer displaying both precision and an expressive abstraction behind the kit. And while Shellac's idea of a good time would still make most folks uncomfortable, there's a dark but genuine humor to a few of the cuts (especially "Il Porno Star"), and "Song of the Minerals" suggests Albini may actually feel compassion for one of his protagonists. At Action Park made it clear that Steve Albini was slowly but surely maturing, while stubbornly refusing to compromise in the process.
Frank Black - Teenager of the YearQuote:
lever, carefully crafted pop he forged on his solo debut and moves even farther away from the Pixies' sound. It feels like the album Black wanted to make since Bossanova: "Whatever Happened to Pong?" and "Thalassocracy" are a one-two blast of energetic fun, but the tight songwriting and detailed arrangements on the strummy "Headache" and gentle, piano-driven "Sir Rockaby" are more interesting. Despite its 22-song length, most of Teenager of the Year's tracks are keepers; the first nine rank among Black's catchiest songs with or without the Pixies.
Blur - ParklifeQuote:
For all of its celebration of tradition, Parklife is a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential (the mod anthem of the title track is voiced by none other than Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia). And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record.
Oasis - Definitely MaybeQuote:
Definitely Maybe manages to encapsulate much of the best of British rock & roll -- from the Beatles to the Stone Roses -- in the space of 11 songs. Oasis' sound is louder and more guitar-oriented than any British band since the Sex Pistols, and the band is blessed with the excellent songwriting of Noel Gallagher. Gallagher writes perfect pop songs, offering a platform for his brother Liam's brash, snarling vocals. Not only does the band have melodies, but they have the capability to work a groove with more dexterity than most post-punk groups. But what makes Definitely Maybe so intoxicating is that it already resembles a greatest-hits album. From the swirling rush of "Rock 'n' Roll Star," through the sinewy "Shakermaker," to the heartbreaking "Live Forever," each song sounds like an instant classic.
Guided By Voices - Bee ThousandQuote:
On Bee Thousand, Guided by Voices sounds like a passionate and gloriously quirky garage band fronted by a thrillingly and maddeningly idiosyncratic songwriter; its many pearly moments make it a fascinating discovery for rock enthusiasts, but a few years would pass before this band was fully earning the new accolades showered upon it.
The Wedding Present - WatusiQuote:
A year and a half after Hit Parade, the band released their Island debut. On Watusi, the noisy rhythms of Seamonsters are gone. Steve Fisk's production gives the LP a more varied musical feel; he lends his piano and organ skills over the crackling and popping of a turntable on the beautiful "Spangle." The first track, "So Long, Baby," begins as a normal, uptempo number, but then completely changes rhythm and melody for the chorus, a surprising and enjoyable move. "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" is a high-powered, infectious sing-along. Although Seamonsters has more beautiful songs, Watusi's diversity gives it an added edge.
Jeff Buckley - GraceQuote:
Jeff Buckley was many things, but humble wasn't one of them. Grace is an audacious debut album, filled with sweeping choruses, bombastic arrangements, searching lyrics, and above all, the richly textured voice of Buckley himself, which resembled a cross between Robert Plant, Van Morrison, and his father Tim. And that's a fair starting point for his music: Grace sounds like a Led Zeppelin album written by an ambitious folkie with a fondness for lounge jazz. At his best -- the soaring title track, "Last Goodbye," and the mournful "Lover, You Should've Come Over" -- Buckley's grasp met his reach with startling results; at its worst, Grace is merely promising.
