Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s

[Jeb Banner]

I have to say I agree with much of their list. I haven't had time to pick it apart but thought it would be fun to post on this site to see what people thought, what they would have changed or find ridiculous.

I enjoyed the little side observation on the death of the album on the Radiohead review.
"The end of the 90s will be seen as the end of the album."
I'm not sure I agree but there is no doubt that digital music has transformed how bands think of releases.


Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s

First 10

001: Radiohead
OK Computer
[Capitol; 1997]

002: My Bloody Valentine
Loveless
[Creation; 1991]

003: The Flaming Lips
The Soft Bulletin
[Warner Bros; 1999]

004: Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
[Merge; 1998]

005: Pavement
Slanted & Enchanted
[Matador; 1992]

006: Nirvana
Nevermind
[DGC; 1991]

007: DJ Shadow
...Endtroducing
[Mo'Wax; 1996]

008: Pavement
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
[Matador; 1994]

009: Bonnie "Prince" Billy
I See a Darkness
[Palace; 1999]

010: Guided by Voices
Bee Thousand
[Scat; 1994]

[John P. Strohm]

A lot of my favorites are on this list - most of them. This is from five years ago - I'd be curious how it would be different if Pitchfork were to do it now. I'll bet some albums not on the list would have been re-appraised favorably, and some on the list would be dropped.

[John Scot Sheets]

John brings up a interesting point. Our perception changes with time, I don't think Being There has aged that well. My two favorite 90s albums The Impossible Bird by Nick Lowe and New Riverhead by The Bevis Frond are no where to be seen, on this list anyway. John, my memory is knda bad, but didn't you cover a Frond song? That's a great album.

[John P. Strohm]

I love The Bevis Frond! Yes, I've covered - and recorded - He'd Be a Diamond from New Riverhead. That's a damn near perfect song. The Velo Deluxe recording of that song came out on a U.K. 7" single on Dedicated. Nick Solomon invited us to a show of his at the Garage in London, so Kenny, Mitch and I went. I really wanted to meet him, but they played for three hours! Finally eveyone became tired and bored and we had to leave without saying hello. I still feel guilty about that. Anyway, his records can get a bit self-indulgent now and again, but they are always full of amazing songs. Lights Are Changing is another classic - Mary Lou Lord did a nice cover - she's the one who turned me on to the band.

The one I find interesting on the list is Neutral Milk Hotel. I remember people liking that record when it came out - and I listened to it quite a bit, but I don't recall it being considered an instant classic at the time. It's sorta like Slint - one of those things that didn't seem ahead of its time but has turned out to be hugely influential. Also there's a lot of hip hop on that list that I'm not familiar with. I sort of lost the thread of hip hop in the 90s (probably after The Chronic) - having been hugely into it in the 80s. But my own list would have at least a 50% overlap with the Pitchfork list.

One album that I think should be there is Lazer Guided Melodies by Spiritualized. Also this list is sorely lacking in country (save for the bit of Wilco and Will Oldham), and the 90s were happening as far as I'm concerned - I'd consider Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Revival by Gillian Welsh and David Rawlings, and I'm thinking Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams was late 90s but maybe that wasn't 'til 2000. Maybe Tomorrow the Green Grass by the Jayhawks. But now I'm getting into my own peculiar corner of things.

[John Scot Sheets]

Cool I thought so. Stan Denski, who is here on MFT sometimes, got Nick Solomon to play on his last Many Bright Things LP. He has a pretty funny story about it. I love New Riverhead from start to finish. Diamond is a fantastic song.

[Jeb Banner]

I totally agree on the Jayhawks addition, that is definitely a 90s classic.
I need to check out Bevis Frond, I only know John's cover which I love.
Also, need to revisit Neutral Milk Hotel, I thought it was kinda corny when it came out, sounds like it deserves a second listen.
Also, I love "Monster" by REM. I was surprised to not see any REM on there. They did some good work in the 90s.
Also, no "Transmissions From The Satellite Heart"? I find that album has more staying power for me than "Soft Bulletin" (their #3) which seems to sound thinner each year.
Maybe these were too mainstream for Pitchfork?
Also Deserter's Songs" over "See You On The Other Side"? Only half of "Deserter's Songs" is as good as "See you..".
minor gripes really

[Jeb Banner]

oops, Automatic For The People is on there, an inferior album in my book

[John Scot Sheets]

My CD player refused to play my copy of Automatic for the People, I took it as a sign. So I have never heard that album. Seriously, it was brand new, right when it came out. I just kinda forgot about it.

[Jeb Banner]

Yeah It's kinda their "Soft Parade". Interesting but not really something I come back to very often. Monster seems to grow on me every year. I like how loud it is.

[Bill Zink]

I actually am somehow more familiar with the hip hop on the list than the other albums. I never understood the adulation of Biggie or Nas (though I like Nas, he's a god to the heads), and I think the Wu-Tang family is over rated, but I like all the albums listed. Special favorites are Dr. Octagon (Kool Keith), Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, and De La Soul. The only other one that I can think of off the top of my head that should have been there is J Beez Wit Da Remedy by the Jungle Brothers, which reportedly started its life as a psychedelic hip-hop collaboration between the JBs and Bill Laswell.

[Marvin P. Goldstein]

Yea, a bunch of indie crap bullshit that I would never listen to. Although, probably one of the best records ever released made it to #6. Oh well! What happened with "New Music"? It got old and stale. What is Pitchfork anyway? Probably just another corporate entity masking itself as an independent source!