Here are the ones I consider the best that that decade produced:

(1991) Hormonally Yours - Shakespear's Sisters

Shakespear's Sisters started after Siobhan Fahey left Bananarama, after the trio became commercial shit under the nefarius influence of SAW. Siobhan, the only one with talent and responsible for penning some of their best songs like Rough Justice and Cruel Summer decides to leave the other 2 bimbos to become a forgatable reject piece of shit that is current bananarama.


The Second SS album and their last as a duo. Probably the best pop album of the 90's. Glam, electronic flirts and dark lyrics. Siobhan and Marcie did an excelent...shame that their egos clashed. But hey, SS was Siobhan's baby and not Marcella's!


Also this a album where all the songs are better than the most sucessful single "Stay"

Isn't "Hello (Turn Your Radio On)" the saddest song ever penned?
Aren't the Sophie Muller videos pure magic?



(1992) Erotica - Madonna


The pop music equivalent of a good f*ck. Madonna's best and most acomplished album. Surprisingly dark and intimate. Once again Madonna digged up the best of the underground and made it pop pizza in a kinky zest.


The toll: Whatever happened to Shep?




(1995) TTD's Vibrator - Terence Trent D'Arby

The last TTD album (then came Sananda...).
The most underrated gem TTD gem he ever did. TTD became a Rock god...and what a divine piece of perfection is the title track. TTD sure had an ego...but this is the proof a great ego produces grand albums.

Doesn't "Surrender" use the best AAA batteries ever?



(1997) Sisters of Avalon - Cyndi Lauper


The most essential Cyndi Lauper output of the 90's. She tackles everything...Once again essencial.

"You don't Know" and "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" are the best songs she ever wrote.



(1995) Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette

My teenage album. I've listened to it so many times. I adored her. I even had a big ass poster of her on my room.

(1998) Adore - The Smashing Pumpkins

My favorite SP album and their most deviant one. No Jimmy...just Billy pouring is sadness over some darkscapes...Pure Beauty. If "Eye" had been included in the album...?



(1996) Boys For Pele - Tori Amos

The most special Tori Album. I connected to this one. Like one of those puppies that seduces you and will follow u home.

"Hey Jupiter" is my favorite depression anthem!



(1993) Very - Pet Shop Boys

Pop music with lyrics that are pure poetry. PSB tapped into the gay conscience of the 90's.

No one never wrote such a great song like "Can You Forgive her?"



(1994) Come - Prince

Contractual Obligation my ass! Prince's darkest and more concise offering of the 90's. It even has a industrial stinking tune, "Loose".

I miss this Prince...



(1997) Impossible Princess - Kylie Minogue

Miles better than Madonna's Ray of Light. Kylie penned all the lyrics on this baby. It's not indy Kylie like the press dubbed it, but electronica and sexual deviant Kylie. If flopped everywhere except in Australia and Israel...

mm dont think i can make up 10 that quickyly

dangerous michael jackson
its not his most original album to my opinion but its the most consistant one
Remember the time is an absolute classic and the most energetic song he ever did

history michael jackson
i grew up on that album songs like stranger in moscow earthsong stil blow my mind

nevermind nirvana
nevermind is a great album i love curts voice its the "hardrock" album everybody loved

supernatural santana
santana's guitar play with contamorary artist a concept that worked in 99

jamiroquai traveling without moving
jamiroquai is a very consistant artist he has a great jazzy funk disco style

meatloaf bat out of hell II
he and steinman used the same formula as for bat out of hell I great operah rock

red hot chilli peppers blood sugar seks magic
if it where only for the song under the bridge

just to name a few i can come up with
[Edited 2/10/07 6:52am]

Here are a few of mine,not necesarily THE bestof the 90's, but a few of MY favest albums

Radiohead OK Computer
Nirvana Nevermind
Portishead Dummy
Björk Debut
PJ Harvey Dry
Massive Attack Blue Lines
Beck Odelay
Public Enemy Fear Of A Black Planet
Jeff Buckley Grace
Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie And TheInfinite Sadness

HamsterHuey said:

And Madonna's Ray Of Light, of course.

And I remember thinking Use Your Illusion by Guns 'n' Roses was pretty impressive; releasing two albums simultaneously.

I will edit and edit this post, I suppose...
[Edited 2/10/07 6:56am]

Achtung baby-U2 1991
Mezzanine-Massive Attack 1998
Odelay Beck 1996
Ray of light-Madonna 1998
Violator-Depeche Mode 1990
Play-Moby 1999
Ten-Pearl Jam 1991
MTV Unplugged-Eric Clapton 1992
Ready to Die-Notorious Big 1994
Crazysexycool- TLC 1994
[Edited 2/10/07 6:58am]
[Edited 2/10/07 6:59am]

JoeTyler said:

That should be on my list also. Classic. Their best ever.

HamsterHuey said:

As should Tori Amos' Little Earthquakes. And Under The Pink. And Boys For Pele. And From The Choirgirl Hotel.

And Björk's every album, Homogenic, Post and Vespertine should not be excluded, damnit.

.

Elton John Made In England

Mariah Carey self-titled Debut

Robbie Williams - Life Through A Lens

Tori Amos Choirgirl Hotel

George Michael Older

Annie Lennox - Diva

MJ - Dangerous

Celine Dion - Falling Into You

Prince - Diamonds & Pearls

Alanis - Jagged Little Pill

1) Scott Walker - Tilt
2) Grant McLennan - Horsebreaker Star
3) High Llamas - Hawaii
4) Prince - Come
5) The Fall - Extricate
6) Plastikman - Musik
7) Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
8) Handsome Family - Through the Trees
9) Bonnie Prince Billy - I See A Darkness
10) Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide
[Edited 2/10/07 16:25pm]

HamsterHuey said:

Pretty sure that's 1989 anyway.

Boys for Pele - Tori Amos
OK Computer - Radiohead
Achtung Baby - U2
Violator - Depeche Mode
Blue Sky Mining - Midnight Oil
Outside - David Bowie
Very - Pet Shop Boys
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
The World Inside - Human Drama
Vs. - Pearl Jam

CinisterCee said:

I believe the single Personal Jesus came out in 89, and Violator itself was early 1990.

NorthernLad said:

Those two are bubbling under for me - love them...

NorthernLad said:

That could be true. I just know that any best of 1989 includes "Personal Jesus".

NorthernLad said:

Janet Jackson The Velvet Rope


Erykah Badu Baduizm


D'Angelo Brown Sugar


Outkast Aquemini


Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill


Prince The Gold Experience


Michael Jackson Dangerous


Mary J Blige My Life


Mary J Blige Mary


Maxwell Urban Hang Suite
[Edited 2/10/07 12:32pm]

Harlepolis said:

damosuzuki said:

woo-hoo! Love to see "Come" getting props. If I had to pick one Prince album of the 90's it would probably be TGS, but "Come" would be right behind it.

Although... honestly "Come" seems to have aged better than TGS, which now sounds a bit over-the-top and cheesy and dated at times.

A bunch of Pulp albums.

minneapolisgenius said:

"This is Hardcore"....

NorthernLad said:

Ah this...is the eye of the storm
It's what men in stained raincoats pay for
but in here it is pure
yeah

This...is the end of the line
I've seen the storyline played out so many times before...
Oh that goes in there.
Then that goes in there.
Then that goes in there.
Then that goes in there & then its over
oh, what a hell of a show...

OK Computer - Radiohead (Karma Police remains one of the strongest tracks ever)

Dangerous - Michael Jackson (Yeah, New Jack Swing, cold beats, MJ's great voice)

Midnite Vultures - Beck (A true party)

Come - Prince (I love dark Prince, underrated this one)

Aquemini - Outkast (still best Outkast album)

Homogenic - Bjork

Listen Without Prejudice Vol I - George Michael (stylish, funky, beautiful voice. Ideal combination of lush ballads and uptempo jams)

Vibrator - Terence Trent D'Arby

Brown Sugar - D'Angelo (best of the mid 90's neo soul-invation)

Urban Hang Suite - Maxwell (2nd best)

10. Prince - The Gold Experience (1995)
Prince's best album of the decade. Yes, it may be a little over the top, but it's fun, it's loud, and there's plenty of guitar.

9. Black Star - Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1999)
Hip-hop has been in a decline since the glory days of the late '80s and early '90s, but this album showed me it can still be spectacular.

8. Neil Finn - Try Whistling This (1998)
The world's most underrated songwriter experimented with new sounds on his solo debut, but the results were predictably great.

7. Michael Jackson - Dangerous (1992)
In the tradition of Beatles songs "We Can Work It Out" and "A Day in the Life," Dangerous is basically two separate albums who were pasted together to great effect.

6. Mary J. Blige - My Life (1994)
The crown jewel for both Mary and Puffy, My Life blends hip-hop soul with old-school soul.

5. Playa - Cheers 2 U (1997)
Criminally underrated, this trio put together an R&B album more consistently good than any from higher-profile groups Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Shai, and Silk (to name a few).

4. Aaliyah - One in a Million (1996)
The other songs are good, but this is where it all came together for Aaliyah, Timbaland, and Missy Elliott. "Baby Girl" cemented her independence from R. Kelly while Tim and Missy announced their arrival as hitmakers.

3. D'Angelo - Brown Sugar (1995)
A classic... 'nuff said.

2. Crowded House - Woodface (1991)
Their debut was a big hit in America, but this was the album that broke them in the U.K. This is hands down their most accessible record. The addition of Tim Finn brings some sublime brotherly harmonies.

1. Crowded House - Together Alone (1993)
Intense. Moody. Dark. Who would have expected this after the sunny pop bliss of Woodface? Sonically, the two are as different as night and day; however, the common thread is the songwriting genius of Neil Finn. If their recently announced new album is half as good as this one, it will be a masterpiece.

Honorable Mention: Guy - The Future, Brandy - Never Say Never, Blackstreet - Blackstreet, Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Terence Trent D'Arby - Symphony or Damn, George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1, and Madonna - Ray of Light

Oops, Black Star came out in 1998.

I the 90's!

Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
Nirvana: Nevermind
Pixies: Bossanova
Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville
Pavement: Crooked Rain
De La Soul: Buhloone Mindstate
Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet
Sleater Kinney: Dig Me Out
PJ Harvey: Rid of Me
Mos Def: Black on Both Sides
[Edited 2/10/07 15:04pm]

1. Madonna- Ray of Light
2. Prince- The Gold Experience
3. Prince- Crystal Ball
4. Prince-
5. Annie Lennox- Diva
6. Björk- Homogenic
7. Depeche Mode- Violator
8. Björk- Post
9. Eurythmics- Peace
10. Janet Jackson- The Velvet Rope

Very lopsided toward my favorite artists. The 90s were quite sparse for me.

NorthernLad said:

To be perfectly honest, I thought TGE seemed a bit dated even at the time of its release, with that glossy, synth-heavy production and all that. I know lots of people love it, but I've never rated it too highly.

Come, on the other hand, is possibly the only Prince album that I've loved without any major reservations since SOTT. Take away that orgasm and solo business and you've got a perfect album in my world.

I know, I know, I'm weird.

Edit - oh crackers, I completely forgot to include Julian Cope's Peggy Suicide on my list.
[Edited 2/10/07 16:24pm]

HamsterHuey said: