Todd Proa's list of Top 10 Albums of the 1990s.

1. 10 BEST ALBUMS OF
THE 1990S
• - Todd Proa -

2. A lot of people have nostalgia towards
the 1990s. Many consider it America’s
“golden age”, when the country
seemed invincible, our economy was
booming and everybody seemed happy

3. Not only that, but there was some
great music to come out of that era
as well. Here are, in my opinion the
10 best albums of the 1990s

4. 1. TEN (PEARL JAM, 1991)

5. While Pearl Jam’s debut album
wasn’t an immediate success, it
slowly earned its popularity,
reaching number two on the
Billboard 200 chart by late 1992

6. A wild success, Pearl Jam’s
debut album was a major force
in popularizing alternative rock
into the mainstream

7. To this day, it remains Pearl Jam’s
most commercially successful album

8. 2. SIAMESE DREAM (THE
SMASHING PUMPKINS, 1993)

9. If you believe that the best art is
something that you bleed into,
then look no further than this
album by the Smashing Pumpkins.

10. Despite delayed recording sessions
characterized by extreme tension,
“Siamese Dream” was a smash hit, selling
millions of copies and establishing the
Smashing Pumpkins as a major band.

11. 3. IN UTERO (NIRVANA, 1993)

12. While 1991’s “Nevermind” was what
shot Nirvana to stardom, most fans
consider their third (and final) album, “In
Utero”, to be their best work

13. Feeling that the sound of “Nevermind”
was too polished for their liking, Nirvana
decided to record their new album with
a more abrasive and natural sound

14. To accomplish this, they hired noise-rock
legend Steve Albini as the album’s producer

15. The result was a raw, honest and
hard-rocking masterpiece

16. 4. DOOKIE (GREEN DAY, 1994)

17. While punk rock was nothing
new in the 1990s, it had yet to
achieve mainstream popularity

18. However, the release of “Dookie”
help jump-start the pop-punk craze
that, in the later half of the decade,
became a major phenomenon

19. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré
Cool were able to create airtight, three-minute
masterpieces that just beg to be
listened to over and over again

20. 5. READY TO DIE (THE
NOTORIOUS B.I.G., 1994)

21. “Ready to Die” is considered by
many to be one of the most iconic
hip hop albums of all time, and the
very best of the Brooklyn-based
Notorious B.I.G.

22. In the years before the release of “Ready to
Die”, the media almost exclusively paid
attention to West Coast hip hop, yet this
album was a complete game-changer,
proving to music fans and the media alike
that the East Coast hip hop scene was a
force to be reckoned with

23. Sadly, this was the only one of Biggie’s
albums to be released during his
lifetime, as he was killed four years
later as part of the East Coast/West
Coast hip hop feud of the 1990s

24. 6. JAGGED LITTLE PILL
(ALANIS MORISSETTE, 1995)

25. After a three-year hiatus following her break
with her original record company, Alanis
released this album, filled to the brim with
instant classics such as “Ironic”, “You
Oughta Know” and “Hand in my Pocket”

26. 7. (WHAT’S THE STORY)
MORNING GLORY? (OASIS, 1995)

27. Even though critics weren’t big fans of
this British band’s second album, it was a
major success, capturing the attention of
listeners from the UK and beyond

28. The album’s tracks, characterized by
elaborate choruses, varied instrumentation
and string arrangements, were wildly popular
and made Oasis a worldwide phenomenon

29. 8. SUBLIME (SUBLIME, 1996)

30. Two months before the release of this
album, the band’s lead singer/guitarist
Bradley Nowell died of a drug overdose

31. Despite the fact that the album
had no live band to back it up, the
album became a major success

32. Even when talking about such topics
as drug addiction and riots, the
album retains a friendly, laid-back
California vibe to it that just begs to
be enjoyed over and over again

33. 9. TOO FAR TO CARE
(OLD 97’S, 1997)

34. Over the course of their 20+ year career,
the alt-country band Old 97’s have never
achieved mainstream success, yet they’ve
developed an extremely loyal cult
following, especially in their native Texas

35. Fans and critics both agree that their best album
is their third album, “Too Far to Care”, a tour-de-
force that never stops for a moment and
takes the best parts of rock music, alternative
and country to create something truly amazing

36. 10. IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE
SEA (NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, 1998)

37. Inspired by the story of Anne Frank, this
indie-rock instant classic is considered by
many to be a musical landmark

38. The songs are just as catchy as they are
dark, a dangerous combination indeed

39. Since the release of the album, the band
hasn’t released any new albums (with
the exception of an 8-track EP in 2011)

40. - Thank You -