Top 5 Albums of the ’90sNirvana, “Nevermind”
This album was the early ’90s. For better or for worse, Cobain and Nirvana changed rock music.
Wu-Tang Clan, “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”
Wu-Tang stripped hip-hop of all the jazzy production of Tribe and the politics of PE, and helped shape the future of hip-hop, along with the solo careers of all of Wu-Tang’s members.
Radiohead, “OK Computer”
Drawing on influences as broad as Ennico Morricone and DJ Shadow, “OK Computer” was Radiohead’s crowning achievement in the ’90s. Radiohead made their educated, complex sound mainstream.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Californication”
In the last year of the ’90s they finally perfected what they worked on the entire decade. With catchy hooks, funky baselines, poetic lyrics, it all fits.
Dr. Dre, “The Chronic”
There were better rap albums in the ’90s, but Dr. Dre’s solo debut defined the sound of rap music for at least the next five years. Snoop Dogg, Warren G, and Nate Dogg all got their start on this album. Perhaps the most important thing about the album, however, was the image of hip-hop it tried to sell; it is an image still trying to be sold to this day. Most pop rappers are trying to sell the gangster image Dr. Dre invented in “The Chronic.