The Best Albums of the 1990s Albums

The Best Albums of the 1990s

original ranker lotterman  39,425 views 546 items 41 followers
List of the best albums released in the 1990s, from the years 1990 to 1999. These albums span all music genres - though tend to focus largely on popular music genres like rock, hip-hop, R&B and pop - and cover both new '90s bands that exploded on the scene along with older acts from previous generations that continued making music at the time. The list order is based both on votes and on individual lists made by users - to have the most influence on the rankings, add your own list of favorite '90s albums.

popular trends in the '90s largely carried over from the previous decade, including a fascination with teen pop and dance pop music, along with the growing popularity of hip-hop and rap albums among a mainstream audience. The early 1990s were dominated by the West Coast gangsta rap sound, particularly following the release of Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" in 1992. The mid-'90s were notable for the shocking, violent deaths of two of the era's most popular rappers - Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Notorious BIG). Wallace's producer and collaborator, Sean "Puffy" Combs, went on to dominate the mainstream hip-hop charts in the ensuing years.

Contemporary R&B and soul - sometimes in the '90s grouped under the term "urban music" - also remained extremely popular with acts such as En Vogue, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Babyface and R. Kelly dominating the charts.

Rock in the '90s was notable for the explosion of the "grunge" sound in the early part of the decade, with bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam bringing the grimy, less polished style of the Pacific Northwest to mainstream radio. Later, the grunge trend melded with the popularity of what was termed "alternative rock," an umbrella term incorporating styles as varied as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins and Sublime. British acts making up the "Britpop" sub-genre of rock, which remained popular throughout teh decade, included Blur, Oasis, Pulp and Supergrass.
1,229 voters +
34 reranks

see all
rerank this list your way
< >
View:
More Options Add Item
Rank     Name
  1. 1
    Up 479
    Down 200
    Nirvana
  2. 2
    Up 372
    Down 177
    Pearl Jam
  3. 3
    Up 270
    Down 167
    The Smashing Pumpkins
  4. 4
    Up 290
    Down 202
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
  5. 5
    Up 316
    Down 136
    Rage Against the Machine
  6. 6
    Up 317
    Down 176
    Radiohead
  7. 7
    Up 302
    Down 162
    Metallica
  8. 8
    Up 281
    Down 166
    Nirvana
  9. 9
    Up 280
    Down 174
    Green Day
  10. 10
    Up 238
    Down 147
    Soundgarden
  11. 11
    Up 247
    Down 125
    Alice in Chains
  12. 12
    Up 204
    Down 135
    Nine Inch Nails
  13. 13
    Up 231
    Down 148

    Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

    The Smashing Pumpkins
  14. 14
    Up 234
    Down 113
    Weezer
  15. 15
    Up 192
    Down 145
    Radiohead
  16. 16
    Up 253
    Down 160
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
  17. 17
    Up 171
    Down 105
    Beastie Boys
  18. 18
    Up 189
    Down 117
    Guns N' Roses
  19. 19
    Up 214
    Down 117
    Nirvana
  20. 20
    Up 179
    Down 112
    Tool
  21. 21
    Up 142
    Down 89
    Beastie Boys
  22. 22
    Up 143
    Down 96
    Alice in Chains
  23. 23
    Up 117
    Down 85
    Rage Against the Machine
  24. 24
    Up 180
    Down 122
    Oasis
  25. 25
    Up 145
    Down 102
    Pearl Jam
  26. 26
    Up 184
    Down 165
    Dr. Dre
  27. 27
    Up 89
    Down 51
    Foo Fighters
  28. 28
    Up 155
    Down 133
    Beck Hansen
  29. 29
    Up 140
    Down 80
    Sublime
  30. 30
    Up 89
    Down 58

    Undertow

    Tool
  31. 31
    Up 146
    Down 96
    No Doubt
  32. 32
    Up 106
    Down 76

    Garbage

    Garbage
  33. 33
    Up 158
    Down 143
    U2
  34. 34
    Up 97
    Down 75

    Badmotorfinger

    Soundgarden
  35. 35
    Up 65
    Down 29
    Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl
  36. 36
    Up 121
    Down 118

    The Battle of Los Angeles

    Rage Against the Machine
  37. 37
    Up 150
    Down 101
    Alanis Morissette
  38. 38
    Up 137
    Down 91
    The Offspring
  39. 39
    Up 97
    Down 77
    Guns N' Roses
  40. 40
    Up 87
    Down 70
    Johnny Cash
  41. 41
    Up 152
    Down 116

    The Slim Shady LP

    Eminem
  42. 42
    Up 38
    Down 26

    Core

    Stone Temple Pilots
  43. 43
    Up 47
    Down 28
    Alice in Chains
  44. 44
    Up 38
    Down 28
    R.E.M.
  45. 45
    Up 59
    Down 37

    The White Stripes

    The White Stripes
  46. 46
    Up 37
    Down 20

    Down on the Upside

    Soundgarden
  47. 47
    Up 25
    Down 15

    Violator

    Depeche Mode
    added by: MantheoMacManus
  48. 48
    Up 86
    Down 111

    Gish

    The Smashing Pumpkins
  49. 49
    Up 23
    Down 18
    Live
  50. 50
    Up 53
    Down 53
    Portishead
  51. +Add New Item

items 1 - 50 of 546

rerank this list your way embed list
what's a rerank?
  • LOADING HISTORY

    leave a comment

    comments powered by Disqus
    1. Elephant Ball
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 2/16/2013 12:30 PM
      alright, so Best Nineties Albums ? that's cool.
    2. anythingatall
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 2/06/2013 11:30 PM
      awesome top albums of the 90s , brother.
    3. Ji Herrero
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 7/16/2012 12:30 PM
      Best Albums of the 90s. Gyargh.
    4. rd1979
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 3/22/2012 6:15 PM
      No Illmatic?!?!?!?
    5. MistyWilkins
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 3/06/2012 7:09 AM
      "Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid" by Collective Soul should be on there.
    6. IdigN1
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 2/28/2012 3:43 PM
      Backstreet Boys and N Sync but no "P**nograffitti" from Extreme? That album was so innovative for the time and includes some of the best guitar playing of the time. Nuno's still the best out there. That album was more than "More Than Words" you know.
    7. JesusAlonso
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 2/20/2012 4:21 AM
      Only 1 blur album? No "One Hot Minute" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers? No "Angel Dust" by Faith No More? And on a personal note, there's a spanish album called "Inercia" by a band called Lagartija Nick that can blow anyone's minds, as good as the better Seattle sound albums
    8. Matthew Wayne Selznick
      The Best Albums of the 1990s at 2/17/2012 1:33 PM
      Where is "Whatever and Ever Amen" by the Ben Folds Five?

    today on Ranker