Over what will likely be the next few years I’m going to be ranking and reviewing the top 5 albums - plus a fair few extras - according to users on rateyourmusic.com (think IMDB for music) from every year from 1960 to the present. If you want to know more, I wrote an introduction to the ‘challenge’ here. You can also read all the other entries I’ve written so far by heading to the lovely index page here.

Well hello there 1994, we have reached the half way point of the 90s. 1994 was the year that Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa, thousands tragically died as part of the brutal Rwanda massacre, OJ Simpson was arrested, and the Sega Saturn was released.

On the music front, here’s what rateyourmusic.com’s users rate as the year’s top 5 albums:

#1 Nas - Illmatic
#2 Portishead - Dummy
#3 Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral
#4 Jeff Buckley - Grace
#5 Notorious BIG - Born to Die

I’ll also grab this lot from further down the list:

#6 Pavement - Crooked Rain, Croked Rain
#7 Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
#8 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
#9 Kyuss - Kyuss (Welcome to Sky Valley)
#10 Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works - Volume II
#17 Low - I Could Live In Hope
#18 Digable Planets - Blowout Comb
#27 Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand

And finally, I’ll grab Live Through This by Hole too, as the only album from the year on NPR’s best albums of all time by women list that I haven’t already got in the mix.

I’m going to say it because I’m pretty sure it’s true: 1994 has been the strongest year on this challenge so far. Let’s go.

“I Could Live in Hope is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Low. A reaction to the abrasiveness of alternative rock in the early 1990s, when grunge had reigning popularity, Low "eschewed conventional songwriting in favour of mood and movement." Influenced by Brian Eno and Joy Division, the band, working with long-time producer and New York underground mainstay Mark Kramer, favored slow-paced compositions, a minimum of instrumentation and an economy of language.” - Wikipedia

Low? Slow more like!! Geddit?? Melodic, atmospheric, melancholy, but a little sluggish and unengaging for my tastes. It's like a good band took far too much ketamine. They continued to play beautifully, but you have a persistent urge to give them a kick up the arse.

6.7/10

13. Let Love In

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

“Let Love In is the eighth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As of May 2015 it was certified silver by British Phonographic Industry for 60,000 sold units in UK. As of January 1996 the album has sold 50,000 copies in United States.” - Wikipedia

Let Love In is as heavy as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Get, but not in the distorted guitar kind of a way that more exemplified the decade and more in Cave’s heavily reverbed vocals howling over the top of crashing drum cymbals which fizz like a 20 foot bottle of coke that’s been opened after falling off a cliff kind of a way. But the album’s not all about making a din, Red Right Hand, which most people now know as the theme song to Peaky Blinders, rumbles along softly, Cave’s growl hypnotising with his delivery and lyrical poetics.

Song Picks: Loverman, Do You Love Me, Nobody’s Baby Now

8.5/10

12. Selected Ambient Works Volume II

Aphex Twin

“Selected Ambient Works Volume II is the second studio album by Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of British electronic musician Richard D. James. Billed as a follow-up to James' debut Selected Ambient Works 85–92, the album differs in sound by being largely beatless ambient music. James claimed that it was inspired by lucid dreaming, and likened the music to "standing in a power station on acid.” - Wikipedia

I’m not sure I can do a better job of describing it than James does above to be honest. Maybe add the fact the aforementioned powerstation is also flying through space. It’s ambient in a much less relaxing way than Aphex Twin’s debut, and focuses more on tension and unease than any kind of relaxation. Very much a ‘headphone’ album, or one that needs to be on so loud it envelops you. This is not background music like the word ‘ambient’ might have you believe. It’s transportative, haunting and fascinating. An anxious meditation through the black between the stars.

8.5/10

“Blowout Comb is the second studio album by American hip hop group Digable Planets. On Blowout Comb, Digable Planets abandoned the radio friendly style of their debut album and worked with a more ambitious, stripped-down sound. The album features a diverse range of samples and live instruments, and contains lyrical themes of the inner city and black nationalism. Shortly after the release of Blowout Comb, Digable Planets broke up due to creative differences and displeasure with the music industry. Blowout Comb is often regarded as Digable Planets' best album, and has gained an underground following in later years.” - Wikipedia

Blowout Comb is the kind of album that you can stick on in the background and people will immediately ask ‘what’s this, sounds dope man’ or whatever the kids say nowadays. It’s a bit like a soul-injected, warmer and more wholesome version of those lo-fi hip-hop playlists you get advertised all the time to help you study. Its chillness makes it about as accessible as any hip-hop album from the early 90s, and its vocals are embedded in the mix in a way where they feel part of the music, and certainly don’t demand your attention. Pay attention to them though, and you’ll unlock the album’s greater depth, which is very much a worthwhile effort.

Song Picks: Highing Fly, Jettin’

8.5/10

“Live Through This is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole. Recorded in late 1993, it departed from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodies and song structure. Frontwoman Courtney Love said that she wanted the record to be "shocking to the people who think that we don't have a soft edge", but maintain a harsh sensibility. In critical circles, Live Through This is considered a contemporary classic, and was included in Rolling Stone's 2020 updated list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at number 106.” - WIkipedia

Famously released four days after her husband, Kurt Cobain, was found dead in a greenhouse, Live Through This is full of masterly songs. A load of sexist men of course immediately claimed that Cobain must have written these songs, seemingly incapable of comprehending that she might have done it herself, which she clearly did, as this Pitchfork review explains, should you really need an explanation. Love’s vocals go from gritty screams to breathier notes, but one thing is consistent; everything has a powerful melody. The band hits hard, and provides a great backdrop, but it’s Love’s powerful vocals that propel this record to greatness. You can practically hear the influence propelling out of Love’s mouth into the 2000s. Only the sexism which it makes frequent reference to could hold back such a cracking album from being as well known in the mainstream as some of the decade’s other rock classics.

Song Picks: Violet, Doll Parts, I Think That I Would Die

9/10

“The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. It is a concept album detailing the self-destruction of a man from the beginning of his misanthropic "downward spiral" to his suicidal breaking point. The album was a commercial success and established Nine Inch Nails as a reputable force in the 1990s music scene, with its sound being widely imitated, and the band receiving media attention and multiple honors.” - Wikipedia

It’s hard to imagine a downward spiral starting at Mr. Self Destruct, which would be the chaotic end point of any other album attempting this concept. Not here though, NIN decide they want to start with completely manic, and spiral even further into uncharted territory. Downward Spiral pushes the boundaries of how carnal something so heavily electronic can sound, everything is pushed so hard it distorts into static fuzz, a relentless anger run through a bitcrusher pedal. Most of nu-metal has Downward Spiral to thank for its existence, and its remarkable industrial brutality sticks with you long after those last dying fizzy heartbeats.

Song Picks: Heresy, Ruiner, A Warm Place, Reptile, Hurt

9/10

“Dummy is the debut studio album by English electronic music band Portishead. The album received critical acclaim and won the 1995 Mercury Music Prize. It is often credited with popularising the trip hop genre, and is frequently cited in lists of the best albums of the 1990s. Dummy was certified triple platinum in the UK in February 2019, and had sold 920,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of September 2020. Worldwide, the album had sold 3.6 million copies by 2008.” - Wikipedia

Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley’s sparse arrangements sound like blues tracks that have been slowed and warped into something sounding more like the inside of a space-station. On their own they’d be transportive, beguiling and dark enough, but couple this with Beth Gibbons’ haunting vocals and you’ve got yourself an album that’s not only dark but melancholy, though not in woe is this rather than a woe is me way. Dummy has so many timless productions on it it’s almost unfair, and its influence alongside fellow Bristolians Massive Attack is obvious. Listening in context like this, it’s also obvious how unique this was when it first appeared. Mystical, cold, and yet intimate. Some of these tracks will continue to roam around the zeitgeist like gorgeous ghosts.

Song Picks: Numb, Glory Box, Roads, Biscuit,

9/10

“Welcome to Sky Valley (also known as Sky Valley and Kyuss) is the third studio album by American rock band Kyuss. The album has been described as stoner rock and stoner metal. This is the first Kyuss album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who replaced Nick Oliveri in 1992. Welcome to Sky Valley was the last to feature founding member Brant Bjork.” - Wikipedia

The opener Gardenia is absolute guitar and bass riff heaven, they weave in and out of each other like some unruly helix, flinging you around in a majestic tornado of distortion. Absolutely one of my favourite tracks of the year. The rest ain’t half bad either, with Josh Homme’s guitar work igniting synapses in my brain I never knew existed. It’s so damn earthy and heavy I feel like I’ve been aurally cleansed. I know I’m prone to hyperbole, but this is honestly one of my favourite guitar albums so far on this challenge.

Song Picks: Gardenia, Demon Cleaner, Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop

9.5/10

“Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pavement. The album saw the band move on towards a more accessible rock sound than that of their more lo-fi debut Slanted and Enchanted and achieve moderate success with the single "Cut Your Hair". The album also saw original drummer Gary Young replaced by Steve West. It was a UK Top 20 hit upon release, although it was not so successful in the US charts.” - Wikipedia

Stephen Malkmus’s vocals created a whole genre. The band cleaned up the noisy lo-fi sound of their debut into a slightly less noisy, mid-fi instrumental sound sung over in a spontaneous, melodic and dynamic fashion. There’s a humility to Malkmanus’ vocals that makes them sound like anyone, even if they are very much his own, and I could reel off at least 10 bands off the top of my head who are clearly heavily influenced by his style. I’m not sure if any of them have topped this masterpiece though, which is packed wall to wall with infectious indie-rock, before that really existed.

Song Picks: Gold Soundz. Silence Kid, Filmore Jive

9.5/10

“Ready to Die is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, and Lord Finesse, among others. The partly autobiographical album tells the story of the rapper's experiences as a young criminal, and was the only studio album released during his lifetime, as he was murdered sixteen days before the release of his second album Life After Death in 1997. It has been ranked by many critics as one of the greatest hip hop albums, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2020, the album was ranked 22nd on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and was ranked 1st on their list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.” - Wikipedia

With slick beats, a well executed concept (starting with his birth, ending in his suicide) - and lyrics grounded in the reality of Notorious BIG’s drug-dealer life, Ready to Die just might be my favourite pure gangsta-rap album. Biggie’s rapping absolutely takes centre stage. He has a style that is both relaxed, and completely engaging, never letting his rhymes get in the way of his storytelling, and yet peppering his songs with them. Like everyone who’s a master of their craft, he makes it all sound so effortless; even the gunfights are laid back. This is so much more than your average gangsta-rap boast album and while Biggie is quite happy to brag, at one point about his penis, he’s generally more interested in telling crazy stories of what, to him, was normality.

Song Picks: Gimmer the Loot, Machine Gun Funk, Warning, Juicy

9.5/10

“Grace is the only studio album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley,. The album had poor sales and received mixed reviews at the time of its release. However, in recent years it has dramatically risen in critical reputation. It is currently certified 8× platinum in Australia. The album has been cited by critics and listeners as one of the greatest albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

An appropriate title, Grace sounds like it was dropped from the heavens. Buckley has probably the most perfect male falsetto in popular music, and the production on this thing is just gorgeous. The drums pitter-patter, caressing your ears, the acoustic guitar also gently strokes your ears (but not in a weird way) and the bass gives your ears a wholesome warmth. Hell, I’m writing utter nonsense now. It’s just beautiful ok??! Dynamic, beautifully melodic, and as clear as spring water, Grace is a singer-songwriter masterpiece.

Song Picks: Grace, last Goodbye, Mojo Pin, Lover, You Should’ve Come Over

9.5/10

“Weezer (commonly known as the Blue Album) is the debut studio album by the American rock band Weezer. It was produced by Ric Ocasek, former lead singer and songwriter of the Cars.” - Wikipedia

Weezer’s songs are simple and made up pretty much entirely of eigth-note downstrokes, with the bass playing exactly the same as the guitar. The result is a thick, pulverising guitar sound, but instead of screaming over the top like the decade’s grunge bands, Rivers Cuomo sings simple, effective melodies and performs them with a simultaenous passion and apathy that I’m not sure anyone else has ever managed to pull off. His melodies are poppy, and his voice matches the band’s famously nerdy look. Weezer wears its heart very much on its sleeve and will win you over on the first listen, somehow however, it manages to still win you over on the thousandth.

Song Picks: The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, Buddy Holly, Undone, In the Garage

9.5/10

“Bee Thousand is the seventh album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on June 21, 1994, on Scat Records. After its release the band became one of the more prominent groups associated with the "lo-fi" genre, a movement defined by the relatively low fidelity of audio releases. Musically, the album draws inspiration from British Invasion-era rock music and punk rock.” - Wikipedia

Here’s the review I wrote on rateyourmusic.com when I first fell in love with this album back in 2017, which I think still sums up my feelings on this today.

“A 10 for me doesn't mean it's perfect. It just means it's got something magical about it. I mean the recording quality is bad and there's definitely some songs that don't live up to the genius of others but overall I've just completely fallen in love with this album. As someone else has said, it's like if your mate handed you a tape he'd recorded in his basement and it somehow turned out to be one of your favourite albums. There's something magical about the fact that something so badly recorded, with fragments of songs plonked on the start of others among other seemingly chaotic decisions, can be this amazing. And yet if anyone says this would have been better if recorded 'properly' I'll hit them in the face. Those great chords after “parallel lines on a slow decline, tractor rape chain” would sound nowhere near as good if polished. It's those strange overtones and untamed frequencies that make it sound so amazing. I think the recording gives it a really intimate and relatable feel that is a big part of its magic. That and the fact Pollard just writes great songs, or fragments of songs.”

I think I’d add to this simply by saying, Bee Thousand to me represents that feeling of when you first come up with a great song idea, but before it’s necessarily a fully developed one. There’s something magic to that lighning in a bottle that somehow the later, more developed song, often doesn’t recreate. Bee Thousand is packed with fantastic ideas, seemingly caught in their inception, and there’s something really unforgettable about that.

Song Picks: Hardcore UFO's, Buzzards and Dreadful Crows, Tractor Rape Chain, Awful Bliss, I am A Scientist

10/10

“Illmatic is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. The album's production was handled by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and Nas himself. Styled as a hardcore hip hop album, Illmatic features multi-syllabic internal rhymes and inner-city narratives based on Nas' experiences growing up in the Queensbridge Houses in Queens, New York City.

Since its initial reception, Illmatic has been recognized by writers and music critics as a landmark album in East Coast hip hop. Its influence on subsequent hip hop artists has been attributed to the album's production and Nas' lyricism. It also contributed to the revival of the New York City rap scene, introducing a number of stylistic trends to the region. The album is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop albums of all time, appearing on numerous best album lists by critics and publications.” - Wikipedia

1994 has been a stupednously strong year on this challenge, probably the strongest, but I always knew that Illmatic would come out as the winner. It’s the album that got me into hip-hop, and 100s of hip-hop albums later remains my favourite in the genre. Nas’ lyricism flows so effortlessly, every line a rat-a-tat-tat of internal rhymes to the tune of a Queensbridge night.

The best line though, belogs to AZ, though the delivery has to be heard for it to be fully appreciated:

“Keepin' this Schweppervescent street ghetto essence inside us
'Cause it provides us with the proper insight to guide us”

Where Illmatic is just unfair, is that not only does it have some of the best rapping ever recorded, but its beats are also consistently mindblowing. I find it impossible to walk to Illmatic without a pep in my step, the bass lines filling my blood with groove and the treble like the clinking glasses on a café lit Parisian street. The beats smooth rapping juxtopose the chaotic lyrical content pefectly.

Every time I put on Illmatic I think, ‘there’s no way it can possibly be as good as I remember’. I’m always wrong, it’s one of music’s greatest masterpieces.

Song Picks: Life’s a Bitch, Halftime, Memory Lane, It Ain’t Hard to Tell

10/10