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.

Here we are in 1998, the the penultimate year of the 90s. Besides containing France 98, the first World Cup I can remember, it’s also the year that: the Kosovo War broke out, the Good Friday Accord was reached in Northern Ireland, members of the EU agreed on a single currency, and President Clinton got himself into bother with that whole affair scandal. Also, the Game Boy Color was released (it pains me to write colour like that).

But onto the music. Here’s a list of what rateyourmusic.com users think were the top five albums of the year:

#1 Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
#2 OutKast - Aquemini
#3 Massive Attack - Mezzanine
#4 Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
#5 Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

And I’ll grab this lot from further down:
#6 Duster - Stratosphere
#7 Elliott Smith - XO
#8 Gang Starr - Moment of Truth
#16 Refused - The Shape of punk to Come
#18 Silver Jews - American Water
#21 PJ Harvey - Is This Desire?

And from NPR’s best female albums of all time list, a couple are already represented above, but I’ll also grab Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel, and Cat Power - Moon Pix.

Let’s go

“From the Choirgirl Hotel is the fourth studio album by American musician Tori Amos. In contrast with the sparse, minimalist sound of Amos's previous albums, From the Choirgirl Hotel features a greater emphasis on full band arrangements. Additionally, the album sees Amos integrate elements of electronica, trip hop, and dance music.

From the Choirgirl Hotel was commercially and critically successful. It peaked at number 5 in the US, becoming Amos's second straight top ten album in her home country, and reached number 6 in the UK. "Spark", the album's lead single, reached number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest position on the chart.” - Wikipedia

From the Choirgirl Hotel’s productions are packed to the rafters, but the song writing at its core isn’t as consistent or interesting as her previous records we’ve had on this challenge. There are undoubted bright spots like the masterful Jackie’s Strength, which brilliantly conveys an empathy with Jackie Kennedy following her husband’s brutal assassination. It’s haunting, perfectly performed, and sticks with you more than any of the other tracks. The opener Spark is another highlight, with Amos’ ghostly vocal, conveying another fantastic chorus as Amos’ sings of her denial of a recent miscarriage ‘you say you don’t want it, again and again, but you don’t really mean it’ as the piano cries along. There are other strong moments, Cruel and liee for example, and the high moments really are high, but there’s a few too many tracks that don’t do much for me, blending into the background and meaning I can’t quite call the album great - only good.

Song Picks Spark, Jackie’s Strength, Cruel

6.5/10

“XO is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith and Smith's first solo album on a major record label. XO was well received by critics upon its release. Mark Richardson of Pitchfork wrote, "Smith's songwriting continues to improve, as each of [the album's] fourteen tracks displays his inarguable mastery of the pop song structure more clearly than ever." - Wikipedia

Another great indie-pop album from Smith, who continues to up the production around his efficient songwriting. Smith knows how to craft effective pop-songs, and the productions tastefully add to his knack for evocative melodies. There’s also enough variation in the instrumentation to take it well above the average ‘singer songwriter with a band’ album, and though it loses some its intimacy when compared to earlier, less busy recordings, there’s still plenty of space, and the instrumental melodies play well with Smith’s. It’s one of those albums that pretty much anyone can enjoy; doing what it does with a seasoned maturity, while never being particularly challenging.

Song Picks: Bled White; Waltz, No. 2; Baby Britain

8/10

“Stratosphere is the debut studio album by American slowcore band Duster. In the years following its release, Stratosphere developed a cult following among online message boards.The album has since been cited as an influence on artists and bands such as Ricky Eat Acid, Peaer, Girlpool, Hovvdy, Ovlov, and Alex G.” - Wikipedia

It all unfolds at a tempo reminiscent of someone who woke up 5 minutes ago, and grabbed the guitar by their bedside. The fuzzy strums, the barely audible mumbles, the lazy melodies. It’s impossible not to be lulled into its relaxing and gently evocative mood within the first few songs, and I always find myself doing everything just that little more slowly and presently for many hours after its final notes.

Song Picks: Topical Solution, Heading for the Door, Gold Dust, Stratosphere

8/10

“Moon Pix is the fourth album by Cat Power, the stage name and eponymous band of American singer-songwriter, Chan Marshall. Much of the album was written in a single night, following a hallucinatory nightmare Marshall experienced while staying at a farmhouse in South Carolina. Prior to that, Marshall had intended to retire from music. Released to modest acclaim, the album has since been described as Cat Power's "magnum opus" and "one of the Nineties great singer/songwriter triumphs." In 2022, it was ranked at number 66 in Pitchfork's "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s" list.

Marshall woke from her nightmare, and daren’t fall back to sleep, so she went into another room of the barn she was staying in, and played her guitar to a tape-recorder for 60 minutes. Or so the story goes. Though the recordings here aren’t the ones from that tape recorder but more professionally produced ones, the integrity of the originals seems to have been kept. These arrangements are incredibly sparse - often involving a slowly picked guitar changing between two chords for the duration. When Mick Turner and Jim White join in on bass and drums on tracks like Moonshiner - it’s done in a way that gently seasons Marshall’s central guitar and vocals, rather than overdoing it. Moon Pix sounds like we’ve stumbled into that barn, and Marshall is singing to herself - oblivious to our presence. It’s an album that sounds like dark nights I’ve spent unburdening my own soul to the sound of my guitar, just a whole lot better.

Song Picks: Moonshiner, American Flag, Colour and the Kids

8.5/10

“Mezzanine is the third studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack. For the album, the group began to explore a darker aesthetic, and focused on a more atmospheric style influenced by British post-punk, industrial music, hip hop and dub music. Mezzanine topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, becoming the group's most commercially successful album to date. It has appeared on multiple "best albums" lists, and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s.” - Wikipedia

I’m not sure there’s a more low-key iconic start to an album than the bass rumble and taps that open Angel. Mezzanine is a walk down a corridor in the future, from the known to the unknown. You’ve been sent by the world, to save the world. You’re probably carrying an array of futuristic laser weaponry, and you’ve no idea what awaits, at some point - around when the sublime vocal on Teardrop comes in, everything disintegrates and you’re just floating through nothingness. And it’s glorious.

Seriously though, Mezzanine is a dark, brooding, unforgettable album; a perfect example of how an album can be a mood piece, while still containing tracks that are iconic in their own right.

Song Picks: Angel, Teardrop, Mezzanine

8.5/10

“Is This Desire? is the fourth studio album by English musician PJ Harvey. It marked a move away from Harvey's earlier guitar-driven rock style into subtler, quieter, atmospheric soundscapes and mood pieces based around keyboards, bass and electronics.” - Wikipedia

I’ve read some criticism of Flood’s production on this, but I disagree. It’s heavily compressed and electronic sounding, but I think that blends really well with Harvey’s vocals on this one, creating a stark and somewhat industrial atmosphere underneath her very un-industrial vocals. It’s all wonderfully bleak, and there’s a slight Radiohead feel to it - if less complex. It’s the tracks where Flood’s production choices are perhaps the most extreme that I like the best. For example, on My Beautiful Leah, where Flood distorts the bass to within an inch of its life, so its left struggling to splutter out the death march it plays. On A Perfect Day Elise, where the heavier-than-lead riff both manages to sound like its coming out of a tin can and stratospheric at the same time. When Harvey sings the song’s perfect chorus the whole thing sounds utterly humongous, setting us up wonderfully for her going full Nick Cave on the comparatively gentle, Catherine and Electric Light. On perhaps the album’s most maligned track, Joy, the lead instrument is so crushed it’s hard to tell what it is. Distorted bass? Guitar? Piano? Who cares? Whatever it is I think it sounds glorious - marching along as Harvey howls above it creating a tapestry that sounds like liquid catharsis. I think Is this Desire? is yet another glorious album from one of the most consistent artists of the decade.

Song Picks: A Perfect Day Elise, Joy, My Beautiful Leah

9/10

“The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts, often shortened to The Shape of Punk to Come, is the third album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused. Although Refused broke up only months after the album's release, The Shape of Punk to Come has since found an audience for the band and largely contributed to their posthumous fame, as well as inspiring many later artists in a wide range of genres. Kerrang! magazine listed The Shape of Punk to Come at #13 on their 50 Most Influential Albums of All Time list in 2003.

This album marked a sharp and conscious departure from Refused's earlier work. The philosophy of the album was that punk and hardcore music could not be anti-establishment by continuing to package revolutionary lyrics in sounds which had been increasingly co-opted into the mainstream. The sound of the record challenged existing punk sensibilities.” - Wikipedia

The Shape of Punk to Come was as prophetic as its title suggested, influencing many of the hardcore punk bands we still see today, so much so that it still sounds fresh in 2024. Swirling from riff to riff as Lyxzén sounds like he’s ripping his throat out, TSoPtC is notable for its abandoning of the ‘3 chords and the truth’ approach that many earlier punk bands took, instead crafting songs with great rhythmic complexity, aided by Sandström’s great, off-beat but clockwork, drumming which makes those riffs hit harder when he sets into a standard 4/4 groove (see the brilliant Refused are Fucking Dead). The Shape of Punk to Come keeps you on your toes, focusing as much on innovative musical parts as anti-establishment lyrics. in an album that contains a whole heap of the decade’s most bouncy and crushing riffs.

Song Picks: Refused are Fucking Dead, New Noise, Summerholidays vs Punkroutine

9/10

“Moment of Truth is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It is widely regarded as Gang Starr's magnum opus, and one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

In a year where we have two hip-hop albums teetering close to the 80 minute mark they both somehow don’t overstay their welcome. Moment of Truth is relentlessly smooth, and the beats remind me of Nas’ Illmatic (the highest compliment that can be paid to a hip-hop album) in the way they put a pep in my step whenever I put the album on. DJ Premier’s productions are not as varied, or indeed as interesting as Outkast’s in the other lengthy hip-hop release this year, but they are so infectious it barely matters. Blend this with Guru’s (and his guests’) gliding vocals, and the album provides one of the chillest, most enjoyable hip-hop albums I’ve ever experienced. The title track deserves a particular shoutout for being absolutely heavenly.

Song Picks: Work, Above the Clouds, Moment of Truth, B.I. vs Friendship

9/10

“Aquemini is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini (André 3000), which is indicative of the album's recurring theme of the differing personalities of the two members. Aquemini expands on the previous record's outer space-inspired compositions by incorporating live instrumentation and drawing on 1970s funk, southern soul, gospel, country, psychedelic rock, and other influences.

Aquemini has gone on to be considered one of the greatest hip hop albums ever made, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 500 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In a 2020 updated list, it was moved up to number 49.” - Wikipedia

An endless rotation of session musicians helps to create one of the most musically interesting hip-hop albums ever created. That spacey sound on Da Art of Storytelling’ (Pt.1), the funky strummed guitar on the infectious Rosa Parks, I could list all the interesting instrumental touches here that add to the album’s rich tapestry, but we’d be here all day. Safe to say pretty much every song sucks you in with a fresh sound. The rapping ain’t bad either - bouncy flows, energy, diverse topics - but it’s the superlative beats that elevate the album to greatness.

Song Picks: Return of the “G”, Rosa Parks, Skew it on the Bar-B, Synthesizer, Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1), Liberation

9/10

4. Music Has the Right to Children

Boards of Canada

“Music Has the Right to Children is the debut studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. The album continued their distinctive style of electronica, featuring vintage synthesisers, degraded analogue production, found sounds and samples, and hip hop-inspired rhythms that had been featured on their first two EPs. The album received critical acclaim upon its release, and has since been acknowledged as a landmark work in electronic music, going on to inspire a variety of subsequent artists. It has been included on various best-ever lists by publications such as Pitchfork and Mojo.” - Wikipedia

As this Pitchfork review so eloquently says, nothing on Music Has the Right to Children is completely new, but the way it’s all combined is. The sound palette is cohesive, they’re not introducing 33 new sounds every track like many electronic albums, and yet the creativity within this palette is immense. The delicate layers of Sixtyten and An Eagle in Your Mind are great examples of the way Boards of Canada know exactly how to fill the gaps, and which gaps to leave, whether that be in time or in the frequency spectrum. The way that bouncy bass, sandy snare, and conga like rat-a-tat-tat play off each other on Sixtyten is nothing short of majestic, and magical moments like that are spread throughout the album, and interspersed with textures so lush the whole thing feels like the musical equivalent of rolling around in the finest silk bedding. Music Has the Right... is one of those albums that it’s very difficult to find any fault with, it’s the most intricately woven journey, and yet one that has a seductive simplicity.

Song Picks: Bocuma, An Eagle In Your Mind, Rue the Whirl, Aquarius, Pete Standing Alone

9.5/10

3. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill. Recorded after the Fugees embarked on a hiatus, the album was almost entirely written and produced by Hill. It is a concept album about learning love, with lyrical themes encompassing relationship complexities, interpersonal conflicts, motherhood, and faith. Predominantly a neo soul and R&B record, it incorporates genres such as hip hop, reggae, and soul.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was met with unanimous critical acclaim and became one of the most acclaimed albums of 1998, with most praise directed towards Hill's presentation of a woman's view on life and love, and her artistic range. A substantial commercial success, the album debuted atop the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 422,000 copies, largest for a female artist at the time. At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards (1999), it won Album of the Year and Best R&B Album, while Hill broke records for most nominations and wins in a single ceremony for a woman. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is among the best-selling albums of all time. Despite its immense success and achievements, it remains Hill's sole studio album.” - Wikipedia

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the perfect example of that late 90s pop-sound. Hill’s vocals are consistently superb, and show a range both melodically and stylistically that many of her contemporaries could only wish for. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has the soul and personality that many other 90s pop seemed to lack, as a kind of clean sound was seemingly prioritised above all else, and the genre became increasingly formulaic (I’m looking at you Steps, All-Saints and S-Club 7). It’s not that the production isn’t clean here, it is, but it’s also interesting, layered and rich. You’re continuously kept on your toes, both because things slide effortlessly between influences (see unexpected reggae number Forgive them Father), but also because the infectious energy demands you get off your heels and bop-around. I’ve not heard many people drop the Stevie Wonder comparison, but I think it feels apt here, with the added dimension that Hill can rap with attitude. Basically, she’s very, very good.

Song Picks: Lost Ones, Forgive them Father, Every Ghetto, Every City; Everything is Everything

9.5/10

“American Water is the third studio album by indie rock group Silver Jews. Berman was struggling with drug addiction during the recording of the album. Lyrically, this is expressed in a sense of solidarity with the downtrodden. He described the album's sessions saying "I was taking a lot of drugs at that time. And there were a lot of drugs in the studio. And all these things that would have horrified indie rock people, that I would never want them to know. I wanted to make a record that wasn't some terrible, big, painful experience. I wanted to make records like other people make records, where you're having fun when you're doing it." - Wikipedia

Berman was apparently somewhat of an obsessive when it came to his lyrics, rewriting and crafting them endlessly until he was happy with them. In some ways it shows, this album is lyrically superb, but in other ways they seem more spontaneous than that makes them seem. There are endless lines on this album that I adore, and the almost spoken, and yet still melodic way that Berman delivers aids in their poetry.

Here’s a few:

“In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection/Slowing screwing my way across Europe, they had to make a correction.”

“I see you gracefully swimming with the country club women
In the Greenwood South Side Society Pool.
I love your amethyst eyes and your Protestant thighs.
You’re a shimmering socialite jewel.”

“Broken and smoking where the infrared deer plunge in the digital snake.
I tell you, they make it so you can’t shake hands
When they make your hands shake.”

“Is the problem that we can’t see, or is it that the problem is beautiful to me?”

“My ski vest has buttons like convenience store mirrors
and they help me see, that everything in this room right now is a part of me.”

“We’ve been raised on replicas. Fake and winding roads. and day after day upon this beautiful stage. We’ve been playing tambourine for minimum wage. But we are real.”

Ok that’s enough. But it’s not just Berman’s lyrics and his delivery, it’s the instrumentation too, which rather perfectly matches their tone while simultaneously making some songs catchy when they really have no right to be. American Water is so laid back, it literally demands no attention, and yet you can’t help but give it your full attention because it’s that good. It’s that kid in the corner who says nothing, and yet you just know they’re the most interesting person in the room.

Song Picks: Random Rules, Smith and Jones Forever, Night Society, Federal Dust

9.5

1. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Neutral Milk Hotel

“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the second and final studio album by the American band Neutral Milk Hotel. The album is predominantly indie rock and psychedelic folk and is characterized by an intentionally low-quality sound. Traditional indie rock instruments like the guitar and drums are paired with less conventional instruments like the singing saw and uilleann pipes. The lyrics are surrealistic and opaque, exploring themes that range from nostalgia to love. An important influence for the album was The Diary of a Young Girl, a book of writings from the diary of Anne Frank.

Contemporary reviews were moderately positive; over time, however, the album developed a cult following. This negatively affected Mangum, whose mental health began to deteriorate; as a result, he withdrew from touring, and Neutral Milk Hotel went on hiatus shortly after. In the years since its release, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea has been described by music journalists as both a landmark album for indie rock and as one of the best albums of the 1990s and its critical standing has risen considerably.” - Wikipedia

Absolutely one of the best albums of the decade, Mangum’s vocals are consistently sublime, carrying emotional melodies while seemingly showing very little restraint - every song is sung as if it’s his last. The production is deliberately rough and over-compressed - leading to an iconic acoustic guitar sound in particular - but I wouldn’t call it lo-fi necessarily. What it does really well is keep the emphasis on Mangum’s vocals, almost sounding like a (very good and raucous) AI band following him as he expresses himself spontaneously. I’ve already gone on about Mangum’s vocals, but I need to go on about them some more; his lyrics are ‘opaque’ as Wikipedia notes, but they’re also friggin’ beautiful. Every listen I notice another line and go ‘now that’s a line and a half’. I don’t use this word often, but I think this album is vocally, both lyrically and performance-wise, perfect. I find both the expression and words riveting on every listen. Mangum makes tracks like Two-Headed-Boy sound bigger than the most intense Hans Zimmer score, using only a very harshly played acoustic guitar and his voice. He’s a magician, and this is his prestige. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is sprawling and fuzzy enough for anyone to relate to, and I think it’s one of those masterpieces that will mean so many different things to so many people. To me it’s just a gorgeous and confident expression of being, and what can be more beautiful than that?

Song Picks: King of Carrot Flowers Pt1 & 2, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Two-Headed Boy

10/10

Welcome to 1996 y’all, the year Britain was alarmed by an outbreak of mad cow disease, the world’s first sheep was cloned and named Dolly, Tupac Shakur was shot, and Clinton appointed the first female US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

Here’s rateyourmusic.com users’ top 5 albums of the year:

#1 Fishmans - Long Season
#2 DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
#3 Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind
#4 Outkast - ALiens
#5 Belle and Sebastian - If You’re Feeling Sinister

Obviously 5 isn’t enough now is it? So I’ve grabbed this lot from further down the list:

#6 Cryptopsy - None So Vile
#7 Burzum - Filosofem
#8 Unwound - Repetition
#9 Tool - Aenima
#10 Weezer - Pinkerton
#11 Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album
#16 Ruyichi Sakamoto - 1996
#26 Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About
#17 Tori Amos - Boys for Pele

And finally, One in a Million by Aaliyah, 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.

Right, let’s go.

As smooth as those secret agent sunglasses she’s wearing on the cover, One in a Million is a remarkably mature effort considering Aaliyah was only 15 at the time. At times this maturity is somewhat alarming, considering the topics she is singing about. Linked to that, I’ll not mention the producer of this album, who is thankfully now in prison, but I will mention Timbaland who’s simple and effective beats work a treat with Aaliyah’s great vocals. Looked at purely from a musical perspective, One in a Million is a real treat.

Song Picks: Choosey Lover

8/10

“Filosofem (Norwegian for "Philosopheme") is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal solo project Burzum. It was recorded in March 1993 and was the last recording before Varg Vikernes was sentenced to prison in 1994; the album was not released until January 1996, however. It was released through Misanthropy Records and Vikernes's own record label, Cymophane Productions. The album is noted for its experimental sound when compared to most other second wave black metal. Vikernes considers Filosofem an "anti-trend album." - Wikipedia

Imprisoned for stabbing another leading guitarist in the Norwegian black metal scene and burning down three churches, and notorious for his controversial views and a period of neo-Nazism, Varg Vikernes is hardly someone you want to model yourself on. All that aside though, and knowing close to nothing about the Norwegian black metal movement (other than it seems a bit mad), this is an album of pulverising riffs and screams, all seemingly routed through a distortion pedal with the drive knob on max. It’s a fuzzy sandstorm, where Vikernes’ screams are indecipherable above the din, which is probably for the best. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this, it’s fuzziness seemingly the equivalent of drinking a pint through a straw, it goes to your head that much quicker.

It will also now forever remind me of a time at Rock Im Park festival when a Norwegian bloke was brought back to our campsite after a Rage Against the Machine gig. He spent the next morning charging around the campsite naked screaming ‘let’s burn churches!!’ while throwing peoples’ tents around before being arrested.

Song Picks: Jesus’ Tod, Erblicket die Tochter des Firmaments

8/10

13. This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About

Modest Mouse

“This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About is the debut studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse. Many of the album's tracks focus on traveling by automobile and the loneliness associated with rural life.” - Wikipedia

Modest Mouse’s debut is long, simple and repetitive musically. But it’s also full of Isaac Brock’s unique vocals, and lyrics of loneliness and long journeys. It rumbles along like a rusty car along a long, empty American highway. Reflections of the past and visions of the future like alternating magnets to the mind.

Song Picks: Dramamine, Tundra/Desert

8/10

“Ænima is the second studio album by the American rock band Tool. It is the first album by Tool to feature bassist Justin Chancellor, who replaced original bassist Paul D'Amour the year prior. In 2003, Ænima was ranked the sixth most influential album of all time by Kerrang!, Rolling Stone listed the album at No. 18 on its list of The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.” - Wikipedia

Weird time signatures, pulverising riffs and drum beats that pound like a blue whale’s heart. This is a powerful album from a band on the way up. The album is clearly hugely influential, so much so that listening now it all sounds a bit generic. Effective, head bangingly enjoyable, and with a satisfying ‘mathiness’ to it, Ænima is a little too repetitive to blow my socks off completely, but they have been slightly dislodged.

Song Picks: Stinkfist, Forty Six & 2

8/10

“None So Vile is the second studio album by Canadian death metal band Cryptopsy, None So Vile is the first album to feature bassist Eric Langlois, and the last to feature vocalist Lord Worm, until his return on 2005's Once Was Not. The art featured on the cover of the album is a painting by Italian Baroque painter Elisabetta Sirani titled Herodias with the Head of John the Baptist, reversed. None So Vile is critically acclaimed as one of the most influential death metal albums of the 1990s, influencing many later acts and musicians in both technical death and brutal death metal subgenres.” - Wikipedia

I think I’ve called albums a barrage of noise before, but forget I ever said that, this album makes those feel like your ear being tickled. The bass drum barely stops bashing out 16th notes, there’s roaring, guitars churning hyperactive riffs and general ordered chaos. A slice of relentless brutality.

Song Picks: Crown of Horns, Slit Your Guts, Orgiastic Disembolwment

8.5/10

“1996 is a 1996 album by Japanese composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto. It contains a selection of Sakamoto's most popular compositions plus two new compositions, all arranged for a standard piano trio. The arrangement of "Bibo no Aozora" that appears on this album has appeared in several film and television projects; one notable example is the film Babel, whose soundtrack features both the 1996 version and the /04 version of the song.” - Wikipedia

Where this could have been in danger of sounding like a greatest hits collection, the re-arrangement of songs for a standard piano trio means there is a real cohesiveness in the sound throughout the album, which helps to reign in some of the thematic inconsistencies. This is a wonderful collection of evocative and yet understated soundtrack pieces.

Song Picks: Bibo No Aozora, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence

8.5/10

“ATLiens is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast. The record features outer space-inspired production sounds, with Outkast and producers Organized Noize incorporating elements of dub and gospel into the compositions. Several songs feature the duo's first attempts at producing music by themselves. Lyrically, the group discusses a wide range of topics including urban life as hustlers, existential introspection, and extraterrestrial life. The album's title is a portmanteau of "ATL" (an abbreviation of Atlanta, Georgia, the duo’s hometown) and "aliens", which has been interpreted by critics as a commentary about the feeling of being isolated from American culture. Since its release, ATLiens has been listed by several magazines and critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

I bloody love 90s hip-hop, and this album encapsulates why. Smooth beats, slick rhymes, not taking itself to seriously - and space noises. Okay the last one is specific to this album. It’s a bit long, and front loaded - though more in a first half is magical, second half just great kind of a way. I didn’t think I’d ever rate an album with the lines ‘put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care’ this highly, but it’s delivered with a knowing wink and the larger-than-life personality that’s spread thick throughout this odyssey.

Song Picks: "Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac)", “ATLiens“

8.5/10

“Repetition is the fifth studio album by the American post-hardcore band Unwound, the album has been hailed as a masterpiece among those in the punk rock scene.” - Wikipedia

Taking a more studio-orientated approach than is perhaps common in punk, Repetition goes far beyond the usual ‘three chords and the truth’, live oriented sound of the genre, with sleek production and intricately thought out arrangements. The title is apt, as songs often feature repetitive, rumbling bass which create a foundation for the album’s more experimental guitar screeches, synth drones, gongs and bells. Repetition can be as emotional (Lady Elect) as it is energetic (Corpse Pose), and it’s easily one of the most interesting and varied punk albums I’ve heard.

Song Picks: Corpse Pose, Lady Elect, For Your Entertainment

8.5/10

“Pinkerton is the second studio album by the American rock band Weezer. The guitarist and vocalist Rivers Cuomo wrote most of Pinkerton while studying at Harvard University, after abandoning plans for a rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. It was the last Weezer album to feature bassist Matt Sharp, who left the group in 1998.

To better capture their live sound, Weezer self-produced Pinkerton, creating a darker, more abrasive album than their self-titled 1994 debut. Cuomo's lyrics express loneliness and disillusionment with the rock lifestyle; the album is named after the character BF Pinkerton from Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly, whom Cuomo described as an ‘asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star’”. - Wikipedia

Voted the third worst album of the year by Rolling Stone readers at the time, it has since become known as a masterpiece, and a huge influence on the emo scene. Pinkerton’s lyrics are simple, at times cringeworthy in content (sniffing an 18 year old fan’s knickers anyone?), but I feel like that’s the point. It’s written from the perspective of the asshole touring rockstar Cuomo is referring to, which is of course him. Matt Sharp’s bass rumbles throughout, determined to make his last album with the band count. The guitars saw, and the drums sound massive. It’s an album that sounds raw, but that hits hard, a perfect backdrop to Cuomo’s self-pitying, immature musings, which are sung to an endless selection of catchy melodies.

I have no desire to be friends with the Cuomo who wrote Pinkerton, he sounds insufferable. But I do appreciate how honest he is about it, and how his and the band’s energy practically explodes off the disc, or cloud streaming service - whatever the case may be.

Song Picks: Why Bother?, Butterfly, El Scorcho

8.9/10

“Richard D. James Album is the eponymous fourth studio album by Irish-British electronic musician Richard D. James, under his pseudonym Aphex Twin. Richard D. James Album was composed by James on his Macintosh computer, and took longer to complete than his previous efforts. The album features faster breakbeats and intricate drum programming which draw influence from jungle and drum and bass, combined with lush string arrangements, unstable time signatures, and slow ambient melodies reminiscent of James' earlier work, as well as modulated vocals by James.” - Wikipedia

32 minutes of electronic madness. The beats sound like a drum machine becoming sentient and expressing a complex bewilderment with the world. The instrumentation goes from ambient (though with notes not quite starting or finishing when you’d expect) to completely off the wall (Carn Marth). The cover would have you believe this is somehow sinister. It isn’t, it’s just completely unpredictable and glorious fun, and the final salvo of tracks are some of the most life-affirming I’ve heard for a while.

Song Picks: To Cure a Weakling Child, ‘4’, Goon Gumpas, Girl/Boy Song

9/10

“Boys for Pele is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Tori Amos. P Despite the album being Amos's least radio friendly material to date, Boys for Pele debuted at number two on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, making it her biggest simultaneous transatlantic debut, her first Billboard top 10 debut, and the highest-charting US debut of her career to date.

Boys for Pele was recorded in rural Ireland and Louisiana and features 18 songs that incorporate harpsichord, clavichord, harmonium, gospel choirs, brass bands and full orchestras. Amos wrote all of the tracks, and for the first time, she served as sole producer for her own album. For Amos, the album was a step into a different direction, in terms of singing, songwriting, and recording, and is experimental in comparison to her previous work.” - Wikipedia

70 minutes of varied instrumentation, wonderful songwriting, and vocals that are constantly engaging, with melodies seemingly falling to Tori like raindrops in a British drizzle. Boys for Pele captivates for its full, significant running length.

Song Picks: Beauty Queen/Horses, Father Lucifer

9/10

4. If You’re Feeling Sinister

Belle and Sebastian

“If You're Feeling Sinister is the second album by the Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian. It is often ranked among the best albums of the 1990s, including being ranked #14 in Pitchfork's list of Top 100 Albums of the 1990s. Band leader Stuart Murdoch said If You're Feeling Sinister is probably his best collection of songs in 2005.” - Wikipedia

Murdoch’s vocals are understated, sung shyly, and atop gorgeous arrangements that bounce along like a more relaxed Blonde on Blonde. All that considered. it’s pretty remarkable that his vocals demand your attention, and that is a testament to his great lyricism, story telling, and subtle expression. I hadn’t realised how far ahead they were (in terms of timeline) of obvious bands they’ve influenced like the Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, and pretty much any indie-pop band that followed them. They set a template here, but they also made an album that more than stands the test of time almost 30 years on.

Song Picks: Get Me Away from Here I’m Dying, The Stars of Track and Field, Seeing Other People. Me and the Major, If You’re Feeling Sinister

9.5/10

“Endtroducing..... is the debut studio album by American music producer DJ Shadow. It is an instrumental hip hop work composed almost entirely of samples from vinyl records. DJ Shadow produced Endtroducing over two years, using an Akai MPC60 sampler and little other equipment. He edited and layered samples to create new tracks of varying moods and tempos.

Endtroducing was ranked highly on various lists of the best albums of 1996, and has been acclaimed by critics as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. It is considered a landmark recording in instrumental hip hop, with DJ Shadow's sampling techniques and arrangements leaving a lasting influence. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Endtroducing 329th on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

There’s not much left to say about DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing that hasn’t already been said. A masterpiece of sampling, clearly ahead of its time, and put together with a level of research akin to a PhD thesis. It continues to influence music across the spectrum today, while maintaining an alluring individuality that hums under its atmospheric beats and instrumental lines.

Song Picks: Building Steam With a Grain of Salt, The Number Song, Mutual Slump, Midnight in a Perfect World

9.5/10

“Long Season is the sixth studio album by Japanese musical group Fishmans. It consists of a single 35-minute composition based on the band's earlier song "Season". The album was released to modest success in the Japanese alternative scene, but was scarcely known outside Japan until the 2010s, and has since garnered critical acclaim and online media attention. Fishmans performed the entire Long Season album as one piece during their final live shows in December 1998, a recording of which was included on the album 98.12.28 男達の別れ.” - Wikipedia

Long Season feels like a 3 part symphony to me (though it is split into 5 sections on certain issues). It starts as a meditative walk through the park with your favourite album playing; reliably comforting. The middle section feels like a frantic distraction - you check your phone and the state of the world shatters your peace; Motegi’s drums are quiet but chaotic like the background hum of everything happening out of sight and earshot. Finally, you catch yourself, put the phone away, and look at the path winding off into the distance. There’s a feeling of elation as your favourite song comes on, but now you let the birds in as well as the shuffling stream. It’s all too much, you start running for no reason other than you feel too elated to stand still. There’s no one else around, you laugh, you collapse on a patch of grass, you feel about as happy as you ever have, maybe as happy as you ever will. You thank your fellow humans for the music, for without it you’re not sure you’d feel very much at all.

9.5/10

“Soundtracks for the Blind is the tenth studio album by Swans. It was intended, as suggested by the title, to function as a "soundtrack for a non-existent film." Upon its release, it received critical acclaim, but was the last studio album released by the band until 2010's My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky.” - Wikipedia

Regularly listed among the 90s’ best albums, Soundtracks for the Blind’s Brian Eno influence is obvious. This is more in the ambient category than previous crushing efforts of theirs. In its over two hour running length it builds a whole new world around you through its numerous samples, grainy conversations and the occasional cathartic release. It sounds huge, but without stacking instrument upon instrument to create a wall of sound. Rather it creates these grinding, industrial soundscapes that are surprisingly tuneful. If the film this thing soundtracked did exist, I’d be very keen to see it. I imagine it as a tale of isolation, a factory worker taking the floor day by day with thousands of others, trying to restrain his soul from bursting through his enforced mechanical exterior. The machines rattle around him, he turns their noise pollution into melodies, and imagines talking over the top, or the odd scream.

Soundtracks for the Blind is completely unique, and completely unforgettable. Its not the kind of album you’ll be recommending to everyone necessarily, but for those among us seeking inventive, atmospheric music that goes beyond an idea of songs to focus more on creating an atmosphere than a set of hits, then you’ll be hard pressed to find another album that does that better than this.

1998 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

1996 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge