Top Ten Alternative Albums of the 1990s

(Originally published on Yahoo! Voices on February 23, 2011)

Alternative was a more fluid genre in the 1990s than it is now. Back then, the genres were big and encompassing. There was Rock, Country, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop was getting started and Rap matured. Everything that didn't fit comfortably into one of those was called Alternative and divided within that category into sub-genres. Also, artists were experimenting with their sounds so that they were taken out of their former genres and were selling out of the Alternative racks in the shops (internet was not yet the force to be reckoned with that it is today). At the end of the decade, many of those artists were returned to their former catagories and the numerous sub-genres became full-blown genres in their own right, making Alternative a much more specific and competitive catagory of music. Since this article is meant to numerate the top 10 Alternative albums of the 1990s, I have taken the view of the genre that existed then in my considerations. The albums are listed from least to best and reflect merely my opinion. Please, feel free to open a discussion regarding your favorites and why in the comments. I'd love to know!

10. Barenaked Ladies- "Gordon":

This Canadian group remains unique in its blatent good humour. They were masters at tackling serious and not-so-serious subjects by making them hilarious and giving them a peppy beat. They were also famous for the fact that their live shows were almost entirely impromtu events. Released on July 28, 1992, "Gordon" has the most songs that eventually landed on their greatest hits compilation. Here you will find "Enid", "Brian Wilson", "Be My Yoko Ono", "What A Good Boy", "New Kid (On The Block)", and the perennial favorite of many "If I Had A $1000000". That still has to be one of the funnest songs ever: "Haven't you always wanted a monkey?"

9. The Cranberries- "Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We?":

With a lead vocalist siren with a voice somewhere between Sinead O'Connor and Enya, this group became the biggest Irish musical export since U2 about a decade earlier. And their timing was impeccable. In the 90s, there was a modern Irish revival with Broadway sensations "Lord of the Dance" and "Riverdance" selling out packed houses and going on the road and traditional Irish aires showing up in movie soundtracks of all kinds. Hybernophiles spang up everywhere wearing Celtic harps and claddaghs and drinking Guinness (myself among them). The Cranberries rode that wave and swelled it. With O'Riordan's otherworldly voice and the music that backed her, they created dreamscapes overflowing with feeling and nuance. The lyrics about O'Riordan's bad romance spoke to a generation who felt that society itself was one long, abusively bad relationship.

8. Smashing Pumpkins- "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness":

The Smashing Pumpkins are probably the most underrated band of 1990s Alternative music. This album in particular is epic in ambition and execution. Released October 24, 1995, it was described by the band as being "'The Wall' for Generation X". It was released in three formats: cassette, CD, and vinyl. The cassette and CD versions consisted of two cassettes and two CDs respectively. The first was called "Dawn To Dusk" and the second was "Twilight To Starlight". The vinyl version had six sides that were titled thus: side 1 "Dawn", side 2 "Tea Time", side 3 "Dusk", side 4 "Twilight", side 5 "Midnight", and side 6 "Starlight". It includes the songs "Tonight, Tonight", "Take Me Down", and "1979". "1979" remains the Smashing Pumpkins most recognised song. That being said, I also like their album "Siamese Dream" because on it is the song "Disarm".

7. Nirvana- "MTV Unplugged in New York":

"MTV Unplugged" was probably one of the last good shows on a network that originally had the best idea, but it had already begun to go wonky and turn into smut. Interestingly, Nirvana's performance on this show gorged with great acoustic performances is almost the only one remembered now. It aired on December 14, 1993. Nirvana did the unusual thing, choosing for their setlist lesser known tracks and covers. This supergroup from Seatlle (mother-city of the Grunge sub-genre which they catapolted to national fame with the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit") was never comfortable with the limelight and perhaps they were tired of hearing their own hits. At any rate, it proved to be a good call. It became the first Nirvana album to be released following Kurt Cobain's famous suicide in April 1994 and debuted at number 1. The episode was released on DVD in 2007. My favorite song here is their cover of David Bowie's "Man Who Sold The World".

6. No Doubt- "Tragic Kingdom":

Does anyone else think that Gwen Stefani was more palatable in her No Doubt days? Released October 10, 1995, this album played across several sub-genres. It became the go-to album for every oppressed and marginalised girl in Gen X with songs like "Just A Girl", "Excuse Me Mr.", "Sunday Morning", and its most famous song "Spiderwebs". But it wasn't just feminine angst. It described the battle of a generation against hopelessness with songs like "The Climb" and "Tragic Kingdom". After the failure of the experiments of the 60s and 70s and the resignation of the 80s, this was the sound of a generation taking notice of pain and suffering and bearing the full weight of it on their shoulders unapologetically.

5. Alanis Morissette- "Jagged Little Pill":

Speaking of unapologetic, this album certainly was that. It defined a new role for women in music and new expectations. Released June 13, 1995, it just barely beat No Doubt to this definition. Morissette stepped out as a force to be reckoned with as uncontrollable as the weather. No woman artist before her had been so free with profanity (my copy was self-edited). She stretched her voice mercilessly, cooing, screaming, and warbling as no one had done before. She proved herself a poet as well as musician. Who knew you could pack so many multi-syllable words into one song? And she was one of the first to add a secret song (a track hidden away at the end of a CD which can only be heard by playing the last listed track and waiting, sometimes as much as 20 minutes).

4. Oasis- "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?":

No list of 1990s Alternative would be complete without Oasis. This band relied on two legendary Irish brothers and was a volatile one. It was not uncommon for them to break up on stage in the middle of a gig in full view of their audience only to get back together a few weeks later (I think they are currently broke up). But their following was fanatical. Often, opening bands for their shows were booed and abused until they left the stage because Oasis was the only thing their fans wanted to see, so the band's instability could never hurt them. "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" may be their best album. There is no denying the greatness and staying power of its songs. "Some Might Say" can be found on the video game "Guitar Hero World Tour". Yes, there is plenty of Gen X melancholy here, but my nephew was a fan before his death last year at almost 12 years of age. So there.

3. Radiohead- "The Bends":

Actually, you could probably insert any of Radiohead's albums from the 90s here. "The Bends" is my personal favorite. The title refers to what happens when you come up out of the water too fast when scuba diving and that's pretty much what you'll find on it. Thom Yorke's uniquely falsetto voice and Radiohead's boundary pushing music is kind of like- pardon the expression- tripping without acid on most of their albums. This one is the most tame, but don't let that description fool you. Released March 13, 1995, this album is home to some of their best songs: "The Bends", "High and Dry", my favorite "Fake Plastic Trees", "My Iron Lung", "Black Star", "Sulk", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)". Yes, I left some unlisted.

2. Pearl Jam-"Ten":

Do I really have to say anything about this one? Pearl Jam was, next to Nirvana, the iconic band of the Grunge sub-genre and it seems to me that they are proving themselves the greater over time. The fact that they recently released a strong album probably doesn't hurt in that regard ("Backspacer"). Originally released August 27, 1991, "Ten" was re-released in 2009 in 4 formats: Legacy, Deluxe, Vinyl, and Super Deluxe. It generated 3 hits: "Alive", "Even Flow" (which can also be found on a version of "Guitar Hero"), and "Jeremy" (based on the true story of a tormented boy who shot himself in the face at school). Other strong tracks include "Once" and my favorite Pearl Jam song "Black". To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of "Ten", Pearl Jam are reportedly planning a music festival somewhere in the middle of the U.S. sometime this summer. Details have not yet been released.

1. U2- "Achtung Baby":

So here I am at number 1 and I'm tongue-tied. There is so much to say about this album that there is nothing to say. And you might think it ridiculous or cliche to find it listed here since it can be found on almost every list that has been composed of the greatest and most influential albums of all time. You might be right. But I'm going to give this a shot anyway:

..."It's time to go away and dream it all up again." Bono famously remarked in 1989 after the mind-blowing success of "The Joshua Tree" and the exhaustion of years of touring. U2 wanted to make an album that would sound like anything except U2. They recorded in Hansa Studios in Berlin and in Dublin. This album nearly ended the band who fought violently over artistic differences. The Edge went through a nasty divorce. Bono welcomed the arrival of his second child. The Berlin wall had come down and Communism collapsed. The world was finally beginning to come to some kind of grips with that new terrifying disease AIDS. All of this and more found its way onto an album that not only succeeded at not sounding like U2, but that in fact sounded like nothing ever heard before. Released November 19, 1991, this Attention, Baby! has been vital in creating the definition of Alternative as we know it today. Music critic Neil McCormick, commenting in a review of U2's 2009 release "No Line On The Horizon" in his column, wrote: "Who doesn't sound like U2 these days?" Every song is breathtaking. This album is exuberant, decadent, ironic, playful, dark, sexy, mad, and joyous. It is joie de vivre in audio form. And did I mention daring? With songs written from the viewpoint of various fictional characters, we eavesdrop on a mad philosopher's phone call from hell, a song about love of the divine, and a woman, and bellydance all at once, a song about a father/son relationship that is cracked by AIDS, a song about divorce, a song about loving someone even when it's not perfect, or gone completely bad, or even when the significant other is gone, a song about the numbing effects of pop culture and celebrity, Judas Iscariot singing to Jesus after his suicide, and a song about terrorism. And that's just the meanings that U2 have openly discussed. Add to that the numerous nuances that the songs take once they become part of the listener's psyche and you have endless possibilities. This is a real contender for best album of all time.

Resources:
Gordon (Album), Wikipedia.
Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We?, Wikipedia.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Wikipedia.
MTV Unplugged In New York, Wikipedia.
Tragic Kingdom, Wikipedia.
Jagged Little Pill", Wikipedia.
(What's The Story) Morning Glory?, Wikipedia.
The Bends, Wikipedia.
Ten (Pearl Jam Album), Wikipedia.
Achtung Baby, Wikipedia.