The Board Dot's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s - RESULTS

[chvrchbarrel]

1. Radiohead - OK Computer

2. Nirvana - In Utero

3. Radiohead - The Bends

4. Weezer - Blue Album

5. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

6. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

7. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over The Sea

8. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People

9. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

10. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill


11. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

12. Nirvana - Nevermind

13. Wilco - Summerteeth

14. Fiona Apple - When the Pawn...

15. Weezer - Pinkerton

16. (tie) Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory

16. (tie) Portishead - Dummy

18. Outkast - Aquemini

19. Green Day - Dookie

20. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West


21. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

22. Pavement- Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

23. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville

24. Built to Spill - Keep it Like a Secret

25. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

26. Massive Attack - Mezzanine

27. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

28. Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas

29. Notorious BIG - Ready To Die

30. Elliot Smith - Either/Or


31. R.E.M. - New Adventures In Hi-Fi

32. Wu Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

33. Fugees - The Score

34. Nas - Illmatic

35. Beck - Odelay

36. Pearl Jam - Ten

37. GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords

38. Belle & Sebastian- If You’re Feeling Sinister

39. Hole - Live Through This

40. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill


41. U2 - Achtung Baby

42. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

43. Silver Jews- American Water

44. Yo La Tengo - Electr-o-pura

45. Pearl Jam - Vs.

46. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

47. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

48. MF DOOM: Operation Doomsday

49. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle

50. Depeche Mode - Violator


51. Wilco - Being There

52. Sigur Ros – Ágætis byrjun

53. Bjork - Post

54. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

54. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

56. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

57. Soundgarden - Superunknown

58. Dr. Dre - The Chronic

59. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin


60. Pulp - Different Class

61. Alice in Chains - Dirt

62. Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album

63. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...

64. Tool - Aenima

65. Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Black Star

66. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile

67. Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt

68. Ride - Nowhere

69. Talk Talk - Laughing Stock


70. Bjork - Homogenic

71. Rancid - ..And Out Come the Wolves

72. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads

73. The Roots - Things Fall Apart

74. Primal Scream - Screamadelica

75. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# Infinity

76. Yo La Tengo - Painful

77. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy

78. PJ Harvey - Rid of Me

79. Jesus Lizard - Goat

80. blink-182 - Enema of the State


81. Outkast - ATLiens

82. American Football- s/t

83. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape

84. Local H - Pack Up the Cats

85. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted

86. Elliot Smith - XO

87. Ice Cube – Death Certificate

88. The Prodigy - Fat of the Land

89. The Mountain Goats - Full Force Galesburg

90. (tie) Fiona Apple - Tidal

90. (tie) Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness


92. Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy

93. Tom Petty - Wildflowers

94. Smog - Knock Knock

95. Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I

96. Superchunk - Foolish

97. Alkaline Trio - Godamnit

98. Eminem - The Slim Shady LP

99. Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind

100. No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom












Welp here we go. 

We're going to dive right into this. I'll be posting updates throughout the day, with a goal of getting through 100 - 51 today, and 51 - 1 on Monday (I'll be out of town this weekend). I'll post the entire list with each album ranked at the end of the results.

We had 17 lists, and a grand total of 567 albums listed. Your #1 album was worth 100 points, and points descended down your list. Albums were ranked by total points received, and tiebreakers were broken with the album's mean score across all lists.

Wherever possible, the ranked albums are supplemented with commentary from all across The Board Dot, with varying relevancy. When I couldn't find any, I pulled a line from elsewhere.

Thanks a lot for playing, everyone.


100. The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (1993)


Mean: 65.67

“It was a bad year for me and some of my friends, in terms of relationships and dealing with some of my own little ghosts,” Dulli wrote in the promotional materials for the original 1993 release of the album. “A year of just some kinds of remembrances and stuff that I guess I will never be able to forget, especially since I wrote it all down and made a record out of it.”

99. No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom (1995)


Mean: 49.75

Dec 19, 2018 20:37:04 GMT -6 alady said:

Imagine liking Gwen Stefani enough to see her twice but not enough to spell her name right once

98. Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind (1997)




Mean: 50.00

While San Francisco was filled with bands playing largely punk and post-punk, with some grunge offshoots, Jenkins wanted to create something to counter it.

“It was years later that I went, ‘I am the scene. I am that culture.'”

-Rolling Stone, 2017

97. Eminem - The Slim Shady LP (1999)


Mean: 66.67

May 25, 2018 11:36:15 GMT -6 facts said:

For some reason I still read NME and one of the headlines today was "Nicki Minaj confirms she's dating Eminem"

WATTBA

96. Alkaline Trio - Goddamnit (1998)


Mean: 67.00

Aug 15, 2019 22:19:29 GMT -6 andrewvb said:

alkaline trio are good

95. Superchunk - Foolish (1994)


Mean: 67.67

Foolish is an expansive, almost cinematic look at suburban mixed emotions. On more deliberate songs, like "Driveway to Driveway," Superchunk's guitars sound like ghostly orchestras arguing across dark dewy lawns.

-Spin, 1994

94. The Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I (1999)


Mean: 68.33

Jun 7, 2019 9:39:25 GMT -6 @tima said:

There's a handful of albums that understand your 20s, and E&I does it so well that - forgive the silliness - it legitimately feels like he wrote this album for you. Thing is, he did. He wrote for anyone who has ever felt directionless ("A Life of Possibilities"), heartbroken ("Gyroscope"), out of place ("You Are Invited") and just overall fed up with the way things were going

93. Smog - Knock Knock (1999)


Mean: 69.00

In “Teenage Spaceship,” Callahan is a kid walking through his sleepy hometown at night, imagining himself enormous, soaring over all the quiet houses. On a previous album, Callahan might have related more to the folks inside, asleep or oblivious to the imagined invasion happening just outside their windows. Now, he “loomed so large on the horizon,” glowing “beautiful with all my lights.”

-Stereogum, 2019

92. Tom Petty - Wildflowers (1994)


Mean: 69.33

On [Wildflowers] the fortysomething rocker offers 15 songs that focus on the conflicting emotions of adulthood, from rueful nostalgia to cynical self-doubt to hope and yearning...its resolute passion and maturity grow more evident with each listen until the album acquires a haunting, enduring resonance.

-Rolling Stone, 1994

91. Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994)


Mean: 41.80

Nov 4, 2018 23:54:10 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Jawbreaker fuckin ripped and it is absolutely baffling to me (and avb) that more of you people on here don’t like them

[Tweet]

Stunned Afghan Whigs made it

[Tweet]

(yes I am gonna chirp between each list posting brace yourself)

[krentist]

Why? People love that album. Afghan Whigs is also one of the great board IRL moments. Not surprising

[mookie]

Aug 22, 2019 9:52:38 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Stunned Afghan Whigs made it

I'm more stunned that it was so low actually.

[andrewvb]

jawbreaker barely making the list smh

how does the mean and ranking work?

[sthubbins]

glad smog eked in

[sthubbins]

tried to get into afghan whigs when they reunited, didn't stick

[chvrchbarrel]

(tie) 89. Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)


Mean: 52.25

Feb 13, 2018 10:19:21 GMT -6 neader said:

Man what a dick.

(tie) 89. Fiona Apple - Tidal (1996)



Mean: 52.25

Using the poetry and jazz that formed her, Fiona Apple grapples eloquently with isolation, retribution, and the oceanic ups and downs of being young and being a woman. Rare is a debut so fully formed.

-Pitchfork, 2017

88. The Mountain Goats - Full Force Galesburg (1997)


Mean: 72.00

Jun 19, 2019 11:09:41 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

fuck you guys, am i gonna cry at work?

87. The Prodigy - Fat of the Land (1997)


Mean: 72.33
Pitchfork: 5.9

Aug 19, 2018 12:53:47 GMT -6 irvred said:

I don't care about The Prodigy but I wonder why p4k bothers using the 'Classic' reviews to highlight something they don't like.

86. Ice Cube - Death Certificate (1991)


Mean: 72.67

Even if you disagree with Ice Cube, the rage and anger he channels is very real. We may try to ignore it, but Ice Cube won’t let us forget.

-Entertainment Weekly, 1991

85. Elliott Smith - XO (1998)


Mean: 44.80

Feb 12, 2018 10:51:46 GMT -6 zircona1 said:

Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith are boring.

84. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted (1992)


Mean: 56.50

Slanted and Enchanted was so damn good, nobody even cared if Pavement would ever make another album, let alone go on to a decade-long run as the great American rock band of the Nineties. But they did.

-Rolling Stone, 2002

83. Local H - Pack Up the Cats (1998)


Mean: 57.00

Jul 10, 2018 9:23:21 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

I know this doesn't make sense beyond sentimental value, but Pack Up the Cats is more or less the entire reason I committed myself to pursuing my career.

82. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (1997)


Mean: 57.00

Aug 10, 2017 7:28:41 GMT -6 Kamera said:

It's nice to know that my Foo Fighters Secret Show shirt from last week is worth $300 on Ebay.

81. American Football - American Football (1999)


Mean: 78.67

May 26, 2018 16:37:36 GMT -6 llamaoftime said:

I love the sport, played it for years when I was younger and even refereed for a little bit, but I've never really followed a pro league for it. I kind of want to watch Champions League but I don't know if I have time to keep up with another sport. Then again I'm considering dropping American football

[teekoh]

I should’ve listed Jawbreaker. My bad.

[chvrchbarrel]

Aug 22, 2019 10:12:22 GMT -6 andrewvb said:

jawbreaker barely making the list smh

how does the mean and ranking work?

The initial ranked list is sorted by total points earned by each album.

If there is a tie, I look to the mean score the album achieved across all lists. If one is higher than the other, that breaks the tie. If the mean score is the same (there are several instances), it is a legitimate tie.

This way, ties are broken by albums that consistently ranked higher in peoples lists, vs albums that were consistently ranked lower.

[dij22]

Is it too late to make a list

[mookie]

Fuck yeah Pack Up the Cats

[sthubbins]

slanted and enchanted lower than i expected

[Deleted]

Aug 22, 2019 10:23:57 GMT -6 teekoh said:

I should’ve listed Jawbreaker. My bad.

Same. I admittedly missed a bunch. 

[neader]

Dying at that LoT quote

[chvrchbarrel]

80. blink-182 - Enema of the State (1998)


Mean: 79.00

Oct 9, 2018 9:03:47 GMT -6 rango420 said:

In fairness to the populace of Cleveland circa-summer the Blink 182 discography is about 3000x more memorable than the stevie nicks solo catalogue.

79. Outkast - ATLiens (1996)


Mean: 59.25

Mar 20, 2019 19:53:36 GMT -6 rango420 said:

I saw Gary Clark Jr. open for Outkast and nobody cared except this cargo shorts dad who was losing his fucking mind which ruled despite being otherwise boring.

78. The Jesus Lizard: Goat (1991)


Mean: 47.80

As some critics have pointed out (i.e., Austin L. Ray in his review for Paste), this album is a strong contender for the following anachronistic honorific: Noise Rock G.O.A.T. album.

All the Lou Reed/Velvet Underground fans out there, including myself, just gasped. Yes, I too am frequently shocked at the crazy shit that comes out of my head, but in this case, I don’t think I’m out in left field picking daisies.

-some guy named Paul, via Soundblab, 2019

77. PJ Harvey - Rid of Me (1993)


Mean: 49.20

Singer-guitarist Harvey and her two-man rhythm section — the British trio is known collectively as PJ Harvey — have been captured with you-were-there immediacy by noise bombardier Steve Albini. Robert Ellis’s drums play call and response with Harvey’s churning guitar, and his falsetto background vocals add yet another genderbending twist to the atmosphere of sexual vertigo.

-Greg Kot for Rolling Stone, 1993

76. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy (1994)


Mean: 61.50

Aug 20, 2018 13:35:40 GMT -6 llamaoftime said:

Aug 17, 2018 7:24:54 GMT -6 thebosma said:

If you were gonna play someone 1, maybe 2 Beach House albums to get them into their music, what would you play them? This person has heard the new record and enjoys it, and mostly listens to pop music.

Ten followed by Vitalogy

75. Yo La Tengo - Painful (1993)


Mean: 49.60

Perhaps most importantly, Painful affirmed the template of Yo La Tengo album as record-nerd mosaic. There are so many peaks and valleys to be traversed, though you’d never call an album this cool and assured a “thrill ride.” On Painful, Yo La Tengo established that it would be defined by familiar voices and a consistent point of view, not any one style or structure.

-Stereogum, 2013

74. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# F# Infinity (1997)


Mean: 49.80

THE CAR IS ON FIRE AND THERE'S NO DRIVER AT THE WHEEL

73. Primal Scream - Screamadelica (1991)


Mean: 62.50







72. The Roots - Things Fall Apart (1999)


Mean: 42.00

Boasting one of the most intricate and accomplished production jobs ever given to rap music, the record's mix of live instrumentation, minimal programming, and cool vocal effects is ear candy that cries for multiple headphone listens. But beyond the sound is the astounding quality of the songs.

-AV Club, 1999

71. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads (1996)


Mean: 63.75

What differentiates the record from it predecessors is the higher violence quotient and the lack of moral judgements on the songs' characters. Here, you'd have thought, was a prime opportunity for Cave to unleash his Calvinistic views on sin and redemption, but no. The murderers' motives are also generally unexplained.

-The Guardian, 1996

[Timbo]

That's Paul Guyet from Soundblab and he's a massive tool fyi.

[chvrchbarrel]

Aug 22, 2019 10:52:35 GMT -6 Timbo said:

That's Paul Guyet from Soundblab and he's a massive tool fyi.

no this was like a user-submitted review from a guy who just joined the site this year

[neader]

Aug 22, 2019 10:56:57 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

Aug 22, 2019 10:52:35 GMT -6 Timbo said:

That's Paul Guyet from Soundblab and he's a massive tool fyi.

no this was like a user-submitted review from a guy who just joined the site this year

who is most likely also a massive tool fyi

[chvrchbarrel]

[Timbo]

Weird. Thought I knew most of the hacks there. Oh well!

[andrewvb]

69. Tim Robinson - Friday Night (1999)


Mean: 420.69

Pressed jeans, buttoned up
Jeans ironed, slippin' up
Red shoes, walkin' slow
Headphones blarin' three stacks
Sunglasses flarin' out
Thick watch hangin' low
Studded belt pulled taut
Three stacks on the radio

[thebosma]

About to have an upsettingly large sig

[chvrchbarrel]

70. Rancid - ...And Out Come the Wolves (1995)


Mean: 66.75

I love how the Rancid logo is properly rough-around-the-edges and has additional ‘paint’ splattering outside of the letters themselves. It’s particularly noticeable on …And Out Come The Wolves as the red logo is so dominant on top of a (mostly) white background. And, of course, this imperfect and rough typography is the perfect match for Rancid’s music.

-Colin, for Colin's Punk Rock World on Blogspot

69. Bjork - Homogenic (1997)


Mean: 88.00

Nov 5, 2018 14:32:18 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Bjork

When I first joined up on here someone, I don't remember who, was hyping Bjork nonstop and I, of course, thought this person was cool and should emulate them. So I took their advice and tried Homogenic and, due to a combination of being 16 and thinking I know everything as well as wanting to be edgy, absolutely panned it.

68. Talk Talk - Laughing Stock (1991)


Mean: 66.25

Speaking in his thick and melodious Cockney accent, Hollis’ commentary is full of unforced poeticism and incidental humor. Hollis once described himself as a “difficult geezer,” and his clear annoyance with the promotional obligations of the album cycle simmers beneath the conversation without undermining it. His description of his process is self-effacing, colloquial rather than high-theoretical. I can think of few more rewarding artist commentaries on a piece of their own music.

-The Guardian, 2008

67. Ride - Nowhere (1990)


Mean: 53.80

Ride was never afraid to flaunt its many influences, but besides nods to classic rock, hints of everything from The Stone Roses to Sonic Youth bleed through Nowhere's jangling, glacial pop.

-AV Club, 2007

66. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (1996)


Mean: 67.25

The wide-brimmed hat concealing his eyes, the white suit and fancy cigar of the album’s cover—they were expensive gauze pads, covering a ravaged body.

-Pitchfork, 2017

65. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (1999)


Mean: 90.67

Sept 19, 2018 8:43:59 GMT -6 jazzpolice said:

I got my hopes up a bit that they would play The Fragile in full (or at least the first half). So it was a bit of a disappointment when they started "1,000,000".

64. Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Black Star (1998)


Mean: 68.25

Their 13 rhyme-fests on this superior, self-titled debut as Black Star show that old-school rap still sounds surprisingly fresh in the sea of overblown vanity productions.

-AllMusic

63. Tool - Aenima (1996)


Mean: 70.75

May 15, 2019 10:24:47 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

Sorry guys but Tool is just so weird i do not get it at all

62. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (1996)


Mean: 47.50

Aug 22, 2017 11:47:12 GMT -6 Xamnam said:

Well this is good.

61. Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album (1996)


Mean: 58.60

Warning: dancing to this album can cause headaches, temporary loss of appetite, blurred vision or swollen bladder; if symptoms persist, please put on a Jewel CD.

-Rolling Stone, 2012

[Xamnam]

It is good!

[chvrchbarrel]

60. Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)


Mean: 49.33

The guitar and bass together sound like they're being dragged through the La Brea Tar Pits, and Staley slogs his vocals through the murk in tandem.

-PopMatters, 2003

59. Pulp - Different Class (1995)


Mean: 49.50

Jul 5, 2019 9:43:12 GMT -6 venom said:

so while the chess continues in near silence, i dive into this newfound seedy world of angst and lust. i drop myself into the stories. i can picture every situation. and then the album ends. what the fuck am i going to do now?! luckily, the roommate is too involved in the chess to switch CDs so he just presses play again. i am back in!

58. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (1999)


Mean: 60.00

Jun 4, 2018 10:00:08 GMT -6 @wretched said:

"You can’t really up the ante too much from human blood," Coyne told NME. "The beer was made especially for the Flaming Lips and has our influence in its taste and color.

57. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1993)


Mean: 43.00

Cops and other folks get wasted (“Dem punk mutha-fuckas in black and white ain’t the only muthafuckas I gots ta fight”) in a sometimes frightening amalgam of inner-city street games that includes misogynist sexual politics and violent revenge scenarios.

-Rolling Stone, 1993

56. Soundgarden - Superunknown (1994)


Mean: 75.75

Just look at how easily “My Wave” moves from the libertarian sentiments of the verse to the aggressive territoriality of the song’s “keep it off my wave” chorus, presenting the view that doing your own thing is fine so long as you do it elsewhere.

Yet rather than point up the fallacy in the protagonist’s thinking, the music backs him up, shifting from a stuttering, jackhammer syncopation on the verse to an almost blissful psychedelic groove on the chorus. This, in other words, is the world as seen by the surfer; any attempt to impose a moral upon it is left entirely to the listener.

-Rolling Stone, 1997

(tie) 54. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995)


Mean: 61.00

Cuban Linx remains relevant not because of its violence or the way it changed rap history, but for what it really is: an anthology of brotherly love stories, framed by the deep connection between its two stars.

-Pitchfork, 2018

(tie) 54. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)


Mean: 61.00

How do you know how heavy a Red Hot Chili Pepper is?

You give it a weigh, give it a weigh, give it a weigh now

53. Bjork - Post (1995)


Mean: 79.00

Nov 7, 2018 11:59:57 GMT -6 Tweet said:

I wanted to like this more than I did. I really did. But the only song I added to my big ol playlist was "Hyperballid". Maybe I'll buy this on wax for my girlfriend this Christmas and I'll grow into it more.

52. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun (1999)


Mean: 65.00

Bjartar vonir rætast

Er við göngum bæinn

Brosum og hlæjum glaðir

-sigur ros

51. Wilco - Being There (1996)


Mean: 48.43

Apr 16, 2018 13:53:58 GMT -6 mookie said:

He was a really good dog, but we learned after a day or two that he just wasn't fitting in with us. We could have kept him permanently, but he and Wilco were just not getting along.

[Xamnam]

Agaetis Byrjun outside of the goddamn top fifty that's I'm shutting this place down

[andrewvb]

Aug 22, 2019 13:59:36 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

69. Bjork - Homogenic (1997)

bruh

[sthubbins]

decidedly not nice