CyanideFishbone's Favorite Albums of The 90's (By Year)

[CyanideFishbone]

Yes, this was my "project" I've been thinking about for a while, unveiled to everyone! I think this is very self-explanatory. I go over my favorite albums of the 90's, by each year. Well, these may not be my favorite records of the decades, it's my favorite of that specific year. Some ground rules:

- I am strictly basing this off what I have heard. Opinions may change in the future, but during the duration of the countdown.

-I am strictly going by history. These albums usually will be fresh in my mind due to loving them.

-And with that, let's delve back into the decade where alt rock and grunge reigned supreme in the mainstream!

 

1990

Social Distortion- Social Distortion

Genre: Punk rock, cowpunk

Release date: March 27th, 1990

Track listing:

1. So Far Away

2. Let It Be Me

3. Story Of My Life

4. Sick Boys

5. Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)

6. Ball And Chain

7. It Coulda Been Me

8. She's A Knockout

9. A Place In My Heart

10. Drug Train

Favorite track: Story Of My Life

 

I'll admit it, I don't like country music. I go with the popular opinion this time, I know. And to be honest, cowpunk just sounds even worse. But I love this record. This record is great. It manages to make it's own with country and blues-inspired punk, and it does great with it. With Mike Ness's slightly whiny vocals (they definitely whined him up in the GH3 version of Story Of My Life that's for sure) and this great songwriting that seems very influenced from old country, this record definitely has it's own charm. Story Of My Life is hands down my favorite track. The song just makes me so happy (Along with Sick Boys for some reason, something about Mike Ness saying "Sick boy, na na na, sick boy, oh wa oo" gets me in a good mood) and then Ball And Chain is another favorite of mine. It's just a great tune, a song about someone down on their luck with this real country influence. I love this album, through and through. It's a great listen for someone who just wants some good, to the heart, old punk. Love this record. And this is the only Social D record I've heard.... Take away, take away this ball and chain, well, I'm sick, and I'm tired, and I can't take anymore pain...

Honorable Mentions-

Green Day- 39/Smooth

Alice In Chains- Facelift (this one was very close)

Edited January 11, 2016 by CyanideFishbone

[Sweat]

Seems like a pretty interesting album assuming that these guys have some kind of Meat Puppets-esque thing going on. Also, I need to listen to Alice in Chains in general

Also, do you mind if I make a topic of my own regarding 90s albums? Reading this has kicked up some motivation in me for once.

[CyanideFishbone]

9 hours ago, Halibut said:

Seems like a pretty interesting album assuming that these guys have some kind of Meat Puppets-esque thing going on. Also, I need to listen to Alice in Chains in general

Also, do you mind if I make a topic of my own regarding 90s albums? Reading this has kicked up some motivation in me for once.

Go ahead!

[Elastic Dawg]

21 hours ago, Halibut said:

Seems like a pretty interesting album assuming that these guys have some kind of Meat Puppets-esque thing going on. Also, I need to listen to Alice in Chains in general

Also, do you mind if I make a topic of my own regarding 90s albums? Reading this has kicked up some motivation in me for once.

Nah, Social D ain't nothin' like Meat Puppets. Think of it this way; Meat Puppets = Grateful Dead + punk, Social D = Johnny Cash/Elvis + punk. I'm not a huge Social D fan, but your writing is top notch. Can't wait to read more.

[CyanideFishbone]

Next entry will either be tonight or tomorrow night. 

[CyanideFishbone]

1991

Nirvana- Nevermind

Genre: Alternative rock, grunge

Release date: September 24th, 1991

Track listing: 

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit

2. In Bloom

3. Come As You Are

4. Breed

5. Lithium

6. Polly

7. Territorial Pissings

8. Drain You

9. Lounge Act

10. Stay Away

11. On A Plain

12. Something In The Way

Favorite track: Lounge Act

 

And here we have quite probably the most important album of the 90's. Well, almost definitely. I'll admit it, I tried to not make this my favorite for 1991, but this album left too big of an impact on my life to ignore it to be honest. I remember first hearing this album when I was about 8 when my mom put it in the car stereo and I even loved it then. All the hidden, dark meanings of songs (Polly for an example, about a girl being kidnapped then raped or something along those lines) flew right over my head (I didn't even know what rape was, as like all 3rd graders should) and I just enjoyed the music for what it is. This album resurfaced around the 7th grade (I still enjoyed it and listened to it prior to that) but it had a big resurfacing for me as I was older, could understand more about it, and was going through a tough time in my life. I was alone, and was just simply left as a wreck. This record (and Bleach along with it) described my inner anger and everything I was going through. Songs like Lithium I simply enjoyed as a kid became anthems for what my life became. And with this new found love, I finally built up the courage to branch out and listen to my own music and not giving a shit about what people thought of me for listening to it (I'm listening to MCR right now in fact actually and i know my dad would give me major shit if he found out I liked them but whatever) and then I had this big alternative explosion around the summer of '14 due to this record. That summer will always stick out in my mind. Hell, 8th grade will always be my favorite year. Now that I've become lonely again and angrier, I will remember in 8th grade, I was angry, but my life was a lot more interesting and fun then it is now. Anyways, enough about my personal life and the effect this record gave on my life.

I'll admit it, I'm more of a Bleach guy myself. But this record still deserves the praise it gets. It's fantastic. It was the voice of a generation. The anger and the angst was just perfect. Lounge Act is my favorite track, love Kurt's vocal delivery and the guitar in that song. Territorial Pissings is probably my second, as that song honestly reminds me of Butthole Surfers. It'd blend perfectly on records like Electriclarryland. I mean, Nirvana WAS influenced by them. I really can't say much else about this. It's a fantastic album that will always be close to my heart. 

Honorable mentions-

Pennywise- Pennywise

Pearl Jam- Ten

Edited January 17, 2016 by CyanideFishbone

[Sweat]

It is pretty sad how some people kinda write this album off because of how colossal it is, but this album and Nirvana in general is just incredible. For the record, my favorite album of theirs is Bleach too.

[Guest]

Yes! Someone else who fully appreciates lounge act. That song is criminally underrated.

[CyanideFishbone]

1992

Green Day- Kerplunk!

Release date: January 17th, 1992

Genre: Pop punk, alternative rock

Track listing:

1. 2000 Light Years Away

2. One For The Razorbacks

3. Welcome To Paradise

4. Christy Road

5. Private Ale

6. Dominated Love Slave

7. One Of My Lies

8. 80

9. Android

10. No One Knows

11. Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?

12. Words I Might Have Ate

Best track: Christy Road

 

Little spoiler: This isn't the only Green Day entry in my list. That entry is my favorite, and this is my second favorite by Green Day. I love everything about this record. Green Day is a band very dear to my heart and one of my favorite acts of all time. I just love them so much. Hell, I even love American Idiot (haven't gotten past it, but I plan to eventually) and this right here is just a great record full of great pop songs. Christy Road is my favorite, with the great guitar and the chorus. Love that song so much. I also love One Of My Lies, 80, Android, and Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? pretty much for the exact same reasons. That can be pretty much said for the whole album. One of the tracks that sticks out to me is No One Knows, which is kind of like the precursor to Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, a slower Green Day song that's kind of a little gloomy. No offense to Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, but Kerplunk! did this first and better. Can't say much else of this album. Love it, love it, love it, love Green Day.

Honorable mentions:

-Alice In Chains- Dirt

-Sublime- 40 Oz. To Freedom

[SG19]

Did you know Nirvana wanted to make Nevermind's album cover a woman giving birth underwater, but the record company said that would be too graphic, so they went with a baby instead?

http://diffuser.fm/spencer-elden-baby-on-nirvana-nevermind-cover/

[CyanideFishbone]

On 1/18/2016 at 0:36 AM, Kitty said:

Did you know Nirvana wanted to make Nevermind's album cover a woman giving birth underwater, but the record company said that would be too graphic, so they went with a baby instead?

http://diffuser.fm/spencer-elden-baby-on-nirvana-nevermind-cover/

Yeah, I knew that. If I remember correctly, Kurt Cobain got the idea from some sort of documentary. I have a giant book all about Nirvana (I think it's around 500 pages)

 

1993

Seaweed- Four

Release date: October 26th, 1993

Genre: Post-hardcore, emo

Track listing:

1. Losing Skin

2. Card Tricks

3. Chalk The Cracks

4. One Inch Punch

5. Kid Candy

6. Oversight

7. Turnout

8. In Fairness

9. Wait For The Fade

10. Metal Gazer

11. Your Priveledge

Favorite track: Chalk The Cracks

 

I bet you've probably never heard of this band. I'll put things in perspective: Seaweed is a post-hardcore/emo group from Tacoma, and an underrated one at that. And this is the only release i've heard from this band, and from this alone, I'm eager to listen to their other work. It was very close with Quicksand's Slip, both great 1993 post-hardcore records, but I think this one deserved it more (Seaweed actually did tour with Quicksand multiple times). Anyways, this record has a great sound. Aaron Stauffer's vocals are great, but the record's strong point are their lyrics, as the lyrics on this record are great. "Start in the middle, and I'll unfold them" "Trouble talking to ground, and the soil forms in mounds" are lines that are so strange that they can't help but to be remembered. I can't exactly tell why I like this record to be honest.... It's just... good. I can't say much more than that. Very solid 90's emo/post-hardcore record.

Honorable mentions:

Rancid- Rancid

Quicksand- Slip

Houdini- Melvins

Edited January 26, 2016 by CyanideFishbone

[CyanideFishbone]

1994

Green Day- Dookie

Release Date: February 1st, 1994

Genre: Pop punk, alternative rock

Track listing:

1. Burnout

2. Having A Blast

3. Chump

4. Longview

5. Welcome To Paradise

6. Pulling Teeth

7. Basket Case

8. She

9. Sassafras Roots

10. When I Come Around

11. Coming Clean

12. Eminius Sleepus

13. In The End

14. F.O.D./All By Myself

Favorite track: Longview

 

Here we have another record very dear and near to my heart. And yes, this is that favorite Green Day release. Everything about this record is great. Like Kerplunk, it's a very solid pop punk record. Longview is my favorite track, just this angsty vulgar song about being so damn bored that you feel you're going to die. Longview also has that great drum line and that great chord at the beginning. "Bite my lip and close my eyes, take me away to paradise, I'm so damn bored I'm going blind, and I smell like shit." Pretty much ironically describes my life right now. Anyways, it's just everything about this record that makes it great. Billie Joe's vocals, the pure angst on some tracks (Longview, Welcome To Paradise, Basket Case, Burnout, Having A Blast, etc) and then the love songs (She, Pulling Teeth, When I Come Around, etc) that makes this a seminal piece of pop punk history. It mixes angst and pop to make a great song. Hell, I remember hearing Longview and Welcome To Paradise for the first time in the summer of '14 and god, I just fell in love. I can remember hearing both on the way to the beach as I got into Green Day and then listening to this whole album and playing Welcome To Paradise on repeat. This takes my spot as my 2nd favorite record of all time, and it's probably the best one on this list (*wink wink* my favorite album came out in 2000 *wink wink*) It's pure pop angst, and just great. I can't say much more about this other than that it's great pop, and Green Day is one of my favorite groups ever.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Korn- Korn (very close)

Weezer- Weezer

Edited January 28, 2016 by CyanideFishbone

[Burgerpants]

I thought Houdini was released in 1993?

Good choice, though

[CyanideFishbone]

3 minutes ago, Rock said:

I thought Houdini was released in 1993?

Good choice, though

Oh fuck was it? Lemme check.... Oh damn it was. Lemme fix that, thanks

[CyanideFishbone]

And here we are, halfway through the 90's! Recap:

1990- Social Distortion- Social Distortion

1991-Nirvana- Nevermind

1992-Green Day- Kerplunk!

1993-Seaweed- Four

1994-Green Day- Dookie

And here we go...

1995

Quicksand- Manic Compression

Genre: Post-hardcore, Alternative metal

Release Date: February 28th, 1995

Track listing:

1. Backward

2. Delusional

3. Divorce

4. Simpleton

5. Skinny (It's Overflowing)

6. Thorn In My Side

7. Landmine Spring

8. Blister

9. Brown Gargantuan

10. East 3rd St.

11. Supergenius

12. It Would Be Cooler If You Did

Favorite track: East 3rd St.

 

I almost chose Mellon Collie, as the Pumpkins have a special place in my heart, but I feel like Quicksand needed more recognition. Because dang, this band is quite underrated. Of all the 90's post-hardcore bands, Quicksand was one of the more gritty, angsty, and aggressive bands. Fueled by Walter Schreifels, a guitarist in Gorilla Biscuits, a famous NYC hardcore band, he eventually formed this band, which mixed typical expressional post-hardcore lyrics with heavy riffs. Something about Schreifels's voice really goes great with the whole thing. Also, yes, I should've brought it up sooner, but yes, the artwork is slightly terrifying. But whatever, because the album is great! East 3rd St. is my favorite track, with this great riff, and the chorus. Lyrics detail something along the lines of a falling out. Can't say much else about this. It mixes heavy riffs with emotional lyrics, which made Quicksand as a band in general with their first album to make one of the most underrated post-hardcore groups of the 1990's. And yes, Sergio Vega, another member of Quicksand, would go on to play bass with Deftones.

 

Honorable Mentions:

-The Smashing Pumpkins- Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness

-The Offspring- Smash

-Deftones- Adrenaline

-Rancid- And Out Come The Wolves

-Oasis- What's The Story Morning Glory

Edited January 28, 2016 by CyanideFishbone

[CyanideFishbone]

1996

At The Drive-In- Acrobatic Tenement

Release Date: August 18th, 1996

Genre: Post-hardcore, emo, noise rock, noise pop, lo-fi

Track listing:

1. Starslight

2. Schaffino

3. Ebroglio

4. Initiation

5. Communication Drive-In

6. Skips On The Record

7. Paid Vacation Time

8. Ticklish

9. Blue Tag

10. Coating Of Arms

11. Porfirio Diaz

Favorite track: Ebroglio

 

And here we have my favorite 90's record of my favorite band of all time, and my second favorite release by them. If you don't know, At The Drive-In is a El Paso post-hardcore group who simply put, kicks so much fucking ass. This record's sound is very different from other ATDI albums, as the sheer aggression and adrenaline on Relationship Of Command and the noisy-Relationship Of Command in the making-sound of In/Casino/Out, Acrobatic Tenement has more of a lo-fi noise pop sound. But, this record is still so great, as ATDI is, and this is where it all started. I really love the lo-fi production on this record to be honest, it gives it it's own charm. And, Ebroglio, my favorite song on this record, may very well be my favorite ATDI song as a whole. The song is about the death of Julio Venegas, a friend of vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala (try saying that five times fast)'s who committed suicide by jumping off into oncoming traffic (There's blood on the median, like a boat without oars) and the song even starts off with an opening poem recited by Cedric about the death of his friends. Cedric's frantic screaming (It's all a facade, it's all a facade, it's all a facade, and nothing really matters now!) reflects anger so well, and hopelessness with the frantic screaming of how nothing matters anymore, and the memory factor is there ("Who got drunk one night in Louie P's car", "Duct tape over the brown colored box","I had a friend who loved to scare you, and was his affections, and tremble you did because you weren't worthy of his friendship") and on the topic of that, Bixler-Zavala is one hell of a vocalist. His frantic screaming, and just his voice in general is just.. perfect for the band. Can't describe it like that. Another song that stands out to me is "Initiation" which is this kind of softer, slower ATDI song. The post-hardcore the band is known is still seen there with Bixler-Zavala screaming "INITIATION!" and still these grim lyrics "Help me wrap the cords around your neck, you know you're beautiful when you're dead" and makes a very memorable song for me. Then there's tracks like Skips On The Record and Ticklish, where the noise pop is very prevalent, as both songs are very noise rock. Skips On The Record just has that one riff? I guess? It doesn't exactly sound like a riff, just Jim Ward strumming a few notes. It probably is a note, but eh.. whatever. Then Paid Vacation Time sticks out in my mind as it has this kind of.. creepy intro. It's all quiet, then the song starts. I'll admit it, listening to that opening during night with the lights off sends a chill down my spine, and the song details something about losing friends "And all those friends you thought you had". Then Ticklish is this noise pop song that just kind of builds until the end. And Porfirio Diaz, which is just another really great noise pop post-hardcore song. Fantastic record and my second favorite ATDI record. Doesn't sound much like the other two, but shades of this can be seen through both. I love this record so much. It's a little different from their other stuff, but man, it's great. Highly recommend this album and band.

 

Honorable mentions:

-Butthole Surfers- Electriclarryland

[CyanideFishbone]

1997

Ween- The Mollusk

Release Date: June 24th, 1997

Genre: Alternative rock, experimental rock, psychedelic pop

Track listing:

1. I'm Dancing In The Show Tonight

2. The Mollusk

3. Polka Dot Tail

4. I'll Be Your Jonny On The Spot

5. Mutilated Lips 

6. The Blarney Stone

7. It's Gonna Be (Alright)

8. The Golden Eel

9. Cold Blows The Wind

10. Pink Eye On My Leg

11. Waving My Dick In The Wind

12. Buckingham Green

13. Ocean Man

14. She Wanted To Leave/Reprise

Favorite track: Mutilated Lips

 

Ahh, the end of eighth grade. And here we have an album that was a very influence on the show this forum is based on. Ween is decently big in experimental rock circles; the boys from Pennsylvania are just fucking weird. And they don't care. And that's probably my favorite thing about this record. It's generally a pop and experimental record, but man, this thing varies from psychedelic folk, psuedo-country, to damn sea shanties. You have these really relaxing tracks (Mutilated Lips (although the concept is not very relaxing), It's Gonna Be (Alright), The Mollusk) and then you have these plain weird songs (I'm Dancing In The Show Tonight, The Blarney Stone, Waving My Dick In The Wind) where the band really does whatever they want and does something completely different from the rest of the songs on this record. Mutilated Lips is my favorite track, as it has this really great atmosphere and this great sound to it. It's weird and psychedelic, almost like you're tripping on acid (and the song is about getting high pretty much) The Blarney Stone is probably my second favorite track, this weird raunchy sea shanty that's so strange and different from the rest of the record, but still fits with the mostly nautical theme of the record. And then there's Buckingham Green, which is this weird like psychedelic-Beatles-esque track that's a really cool track that gives me a very White Album vibe. And then Ocean Man, the most famous track as it was in the credits of the Spongebob movie which a lot of people remember. Overall, this is a very fun album, with it's occasional.. not so fun moments (Mutilated Lips, Cold Blows The Wind, and probably a few other tracks).I love the nautical theme of this album, as I love nautical stuff a ton. Overall, Ween kicks ass. All hail the Boognish. 

 

Honorable Mentions:

-Deftones- Around The Fur

-Green Day- Nimrod

-Blink-182- Dude Ranch

[CyanideFishbone]

Taking a little break from this (like another week) as I'm having a bit of difficulty finding 1998. Be patient and review over the ones i've posted as no one has really replied to them.

[CyanideFishbone]

1998

Alkaline Trio- Goddamnit

Release Date: October 13th, 1998

Genre: Pop punk

Track listing:

1. Cringe

2. Cop

3. San Francisco 

4. Nose Over Tail

5. As You Were

6. Enjoy Your Day

7. Clavicle

8. My Little Needle

9. Southern Rock

10. Message From Kathlene

11. Trouble Breating

12. Sorry About That

Favorite track: Cringe

 

I really had nothing for this year, so I went with this. Alkaline Trio is a Chicago pop punk band that's pretty similar to Blink-182. In fact, Matt Skiba, Alkaline Trio's lead vocalist, replaced Tom DeLonge last year when DeLonge departed. As much as I do love Blink-182, I don't like Alkaline Trio as much, and this album really hasn't fully clicked with me, but it's really what I've got. It's a good pop record. Cringe is my favorite track, due to loving Skiba's voice through out the entire thing and the mood, and Enjoy Your Day is my second favorite, this kind of somber love song about what I assume is a former partner being happy on Valentine's Day while you're depressed due to the break up. Romance is a very big theme on this record, and it does the band quite well. It's a good record. That's really all I've got to say. Good band, pretty good record. Make sure to listen to their other stuff eventually.

 

Honorable mentions:

-couldn't think of any lol

[CyanideFishbone]

And here we arrive at our finale.

1999

AFI- Black Sails In The Sunset

Release Date: May 18th, 1999

Genre: Post-hardcore, horror punk

Track listing

1. Strength Through Wounding

2. Porphyria

3. Exsaguination

4. Malleus Maleficarium

5. Narrative Of Soul Against Soul

6. Clove Smoke Catharsis

7. The Prayer Position

8. No Poetic Device

9. The Last Kiss

10. Weathered Tome

11. At A Glance

12. God Called In Sick Today

Favorite track: The Last Kiss

 

Oh AFI. A fucking Fire Inside. You may know this band for their 2006 song "Miss Murder" (which is a guilty pleasure honestly) and way write this band off as Hot Topic-pop punk crap, but man, back in the nineties and early 2000's (especially the nineties, although The Art Of Drowning is my favorite), this band kicked so much fucking ass. This band kicked all sorts of ass. AFI was one of the most original hardcore bands of the 90's in my opinion, and also one of the most underrated. Albums like this, The Art Of Drowning, and Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes are some of the best post-hardcore out there in my opinion, or at least some of my favorite. AFI has a very interesting approach to lyrics, with very descriptive, emotional, almost poetic lyrics (ESPECIALLY look at The Art Of Drowning for this) The music is fast, Davey Havok's almost screamy vocals, and the song writing on these records are fantastic. Anyways, on this one. This was a great mix of post-hardcore and horror punk. The arrangements are fantastic, the lyrics are, it's just a very solid post-hardcore record. This band goes for softer and almost heavier on tracks like Clove Smoke Catharsis (which features Dexter Holland, and so does the next track, The Prayer Position!) and emotional tracks like The Last Kiss and Narrative Of Soul Against Soul, and epic on tracks like Porphyria, Exsanguination, Malleus Maleficarium, and man, this whole fucking thing is great. I do prefer 2000's The Art Of Drowning, but this is very similar to that record, but I think this one is a little faster, as in The Art Of Drowning the band drifted toward when they changed big time and cleaned up their sound a lot (Sing The Sorrow is actually probably a decent record, as with Burials. Everything between them? Not really.) Just a fucking awesome piece of 90's post-hardcore, with a little horror punk mixed in there. AFI is awesome, and so is this record. Or Early AFI, whatever. This band is awesome and I feel like their early library needs to be a little more known.

 

Honorable Mentions:

-Blink-182- Enema Of The State

-Red Hot Chili Peppers- Californication

 

And thus concludes my list. Maybe favorites of the 2000's per year? Comment if you want more, as I think I may be able to make that work.