#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #PublicEnemy - #FearOfABlackPlanet (1990). Bottomless sonic complexity, grooves that rock as hard as James Brown, and lyrics that manage to be both outrageous and hilarious made FOABP a furious delight that hasn’t dated a minute in the last 33 1/3 years. “911 is a Joke” and “Fight the Power” get the most air due their continuing social relevance, but the whole disc gave popular music a much-needed kick in the ass. A generational milestone.

#GreatRapAlbums, #HipHop

#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #SmashingPumpkins - #SiameseDream (1993). Billy Corgan understood that if you took the raw angst of grunge and polished it up in the studio (to the level of, say, Boston’s debut), you could satisfy multiple generations at once. And let’s face it, nobody had updated Pink Floyd’s ethereal space boogie in a couple of decades. So, opportunity knocks, Corgan answers, and six million kids pretend they’d rather listen to Mudhoney or Fugazi.

#GreatRockAlbums, #RockMusic

#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #Soundgarden - #Superunknown (1993). With its dark afflictions of angst and depression on tracks like “Black Hole Sun” and “Fell on Black Days,” Superunknown was an exorcism of emotion for the masses. Developing their metal-meets-rock lexicon, Soundgarden piledrives through tricky tunings and time signatures (“My Wave” manages to be heavy plus funky in 5/4 time) to prove themselves one of the finest rock bands of the 90s or any other era.

#GreatRockAlbums, #Grunge

#GreatAlbums1990s – TOP 20 - #Bjork - #Post (1995). As eclectic as they come, Bjork deepens the mix of 93’s Debut with the deep strut of “Army of Me” and ethereal electro of “Hyper-Ballad.” Just when you think you’re caught the groove, she launches a big band on the Lang-Reisfeld chestnut “It’s Oh So Quiet.” All bets are off from that point. The loveliness of “Possibly Maybe” and Tricky’s production turn on “Headphones” make Post a landmark dissertation of out-there pop.

#GreatPopAlbums, #Pop

#GreatAlbums1990s - #ShaniaTwain – #ComeOnOver (1997). The guitars twang and the odd fiddle invades the mix, but this is pop music by any sane definition. Mutt Lange’s glistening production is sweet enough to rot teeth, but there’s no arguing with the craft of songs like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “You’re Still the One.” Plus, as Klosterman notes, for every person who bought Live Through This, 14 bought a copy of Shania – and guess who Taylor Swift prefers.

#PopMusic, #GreatCountryAlbums