Best Albums of the 1990s (90-81)

90. Live - Throwing Copper (1994). In high school the lyric "her placenta falls to the floor" was more than enough to make teenage boys snicker. Great song though. Essential track: Lightning Crashes




89. Enya - Shepherd Moons (1991). New age queen Enya's third album, followed the massive success of her second album, sounding pretty much the same. Essential track: Book of Days







88. Pearl Jam - Ten (1991). This, along with Nirvana's Nevermind, launched the '90s most important musical movement: grunge. Coming as it did from Seattle (and the northwest generally), it was everywhere, particularly by senior year in high school, where at the end of the year we actually had a "prep to grunge" award for those who had made the best transition. Essential track: Jeremy

87. Radiohead - The Bends (1995). This ranks low mostly because I didn't start listening to Radiohead until this decade, so I can't really justify ranking this very high. This was the band's conventional high point. Essential track: Bend and Break.

86. Paula Abdul - Spellbound (1991). Paula's second album, not as good as the first. In an unusual twist, despite building her career as a dance-pop artist, it's the ballads that shine here, notably "Rush Rush," which was her biggest hit. Essential track: Rush Rush

85. Mariah Carey - Butterfly (1997). Mariah Carey's fifth album was born during the troubled time near the end of her marriage to Sony records exec Tommy Mottola. It furthers the transition of her sound from being mostly pop/adult to being more rhythmic. A drop from her last two albums, but still decent, especially when she's not singing through her nose. Essential track: Honey

84. Prince - (The Love Symbol Album)(1992). Diamonds and Pearls was Prince's last big commercial album, but this one that followed was actually better, despite not scoring as many hits. And it's credited as being the source of the coolest symbol of the decade. Essential track: 7

83. Pet Shop Boys - Nightlife (1999). Lots of great stuff on this album, in fact, all of the Pet Shop Boys' albums of the '90s were fantastic (two more forthcoming). Several of these songs were part of a Pet Shop Boys musical, there's a duet with Kylie ("In Denial") and some great dance tracks. Great opening track too "For Your Own Good." Essential track: New York City Boy

82. R.E.M. - Out of Time (1991). Uneven compared to their next album, but a worthy effort, if only because it gave the band their biggest hit ever. Essential track: Losing My Religion

81. U2 - Zooropa (1993). Achtung Baby was U2's second career highpoint, so the follow-up was inevitably less impressive, but there's still some great songs here. Essential track: Numb

Best Albums of the 1990s (100-91)

100. Westlife - Westlife (1999). Eight years later this Irish boyband is still going strong, hitting #1 in the UK most recently with "The Rose" last year. This was where they got their start. Essential track: "Swear It Again"

99. Eric Clapton - Unplugged (1992). 1993's Grammy Winner for Album of the Year. Essential track: "Tears in Heaven"

98. Boyz II Men - II (1994). Boyz II Men's second album gave them three major hits, including "I'll Make Love to You," which spent 14 weeks at #1. Essential track: "On Bended Knee"

97. Babyface - For the Cool in You (1993). Babyface was one of the decade's hottest producers, although he never managed to turn his own songs into as big of hits. This was his best solo effort. Essential track: "When Can I See You"

96. Savage Garden (1997). The Australian duo caught fire in '97 with "I Want You," but had their bigest hit a year later in "Truly Madly Deeply," which stayed on the charts forever and became the definitive wedding song of the late '90s (under the band's next big hit, "I Knew I Loved You"). Cool at one point, but now strictly adult contemporary.

95. Wilson Phillips (1990). Wilson Phillips was the big breakout group of 1990. They scored three #1 hits with this album, including the biggest hit of the year, "Hold On." Success was fleeting though, and their follow-up album wasn't nearly as popular. Essential track: "Hold On"

94. Amber (1999). Amber's second album was one of the best of the decade's dance-pop efforts that leaned more toward the club than the radio. Essential track: "Sexual (Li Da Di) (Thunderpuss 2000 Remix)"

93. Michael Jackson - HIStory (1995). His star was fading pretty quickly by this point, but the album portion of HIStory--a 2-disc set with a greatest hits disc and a new album--is still pretty good, despite its excesses (there's a whole song where all Michael does is rail against Don Sheldon, who I believe was a prosecutor in one of Jackson's molestation cases). Essential track: Stranger in Moscow

92. Sheryl Crow (1996). Sheryl Crow's grittier second album (you can tell it's gritter just by the cover!) was another big success for her. Essential track: If It Makes You Happy

91. *N Sync (1998). Backstreet Boys were the reigning boyband until N Sync came along to challenge them for the crown. To this day, raging arguments ensue as to which band was the bigger. This album gave the world the first taste of Justin Timberlake. Essential track: God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You.

Best Albums of the Nineties

My friend Robin is doing a series on the best albums of the '90s, posting chunks on her blog. She's counting down, having done 100 through 71 so far. Her rule of thumb: select only 1 album from an artist from the decade. So, for example, if she includes Radiohead's "OK Computer," then she wouldn't also include "The Bends" (which will she choose?!).

Here's my "for your consideration" appeal:

Sinead O' Connor - I Do Not Want What You Haven't Got. Famous for "Nothing Compares 2U," but the whole album is really strong. A personal favorite.

Jai - Heaven. Not many people heard this, but it was really good--soulful, sexy, retro. I'm disappointed he never made another album.

Robbie Williams - Life Thru a Lens. His career's been on a downward trajectory of late, but his first album was a true breakthrough. Following a much-publicized post-Take That binge, he managed to pull himself together and deliver a great first album, including classic "Angels" but also "Lazy Days" and "Let Me Entertain You."

Annie Lennox - Diva. Gorgeous, classy pop music. Love "Why" and "Little Bird."

George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice. He really went out on a limb changing his sound from the poppy Faith to this more soulful, reflective set.

Pet Shop Boys - Very. Their best album, pure dance pop, and very gay, despite the fact that Neil Tennant wasn't officially "out" yet.

Everything But the Girl - Walking Wounded. They changed their sound following "Missing," and this was a great blend of electronic and adult pop styles.

Sade - Love Deluxe. Sultry and sublime, perfect on a lazy hot summer afternoon.

Janet Jackson - Janet. Back in the '90s, Janet Jackson was still making good pop music. And while it's a close call between this energetic dance pop set and the more experimental Velvet Rope, I have to go with this, simply because "If" is the best song she ever did.

Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love. After 7 years of doing soundtrack ballads, Whitney returned for what was sadly her last good album, a funky modern R&B mix.

Maybe I should make my own list.