The 400 Best Albums of the 1990s

The Nineties were a glorious decade for music. I will never again consume as much music as I did in the 90s and the 00s (and I still listen to a LOT of music). It's pretty clear now how much better the 90s were than the decade that followed - not only did I get another 100 albums into my 90s list, but I would rate the quality of the Top 10/20/50/100 MUCH higher in the 90s than either the 80s or the 00s - I gave 16 90s albums a perfect 10 rating, but only 3 in the aughts. Indeed, for my tastes that only decade that I think will come close will be the 70s (the 70s will probably win, but it will be a good fight - stay tuned). It will be interesting to see if I can find 500 equally worthy records from the Seventies - I doubt the difference will be that great.

I'm a rock fan and not very interested in pop, hip-hop, or contemporary country or R&B, though there are always exceptions. I listen to a lot of jazz, but didn't find much that came out in the Nineties that transcended. Also, for those who might complain that I give too-high ratings, please keep in mind that I listened to at least 5,000 albums during the decade (I worked in the music industry for the whole decade and also co-owned a record store for half of it, so I was exposed to just about everything that came out). So less than 10% got a score of 7 or higher.