50 Best Rock Albums of the ’90s
20. Soundgarden – Superunknown (1994)
Soundgarden was the most “classic rock” sounding of the ‘90s Seattle titans, so while Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were all featured prominently in the Alternative List, we’re putting Soundgarden in rock. Sure, it’s a little arbitrary, but ya just gotta make the best decisions you can and go with it. The deciding factor is that all 5 of the singles taken from Superunknown charter higher on the Mainstream Rock Chart than the Modern Rock Chart. The centerpiece is the slow, forbidding, psychedelic-rock masterpiece “Black Hole Sun,” a song that earned the band the most significant airplay of their career thanks in part to a wonderfully twisted video that MTV played in heavy rotation. Although occasional Chris Cornell can let loose a shriek capable of melting the hair off of anybody unfortunate enough to be listening on headphones, when he reigns it is Cornell is a remarkable effective vocalist. Superunknown has sold nearly 4 million copies in the U.S. along, on the strength of the classic “Black Hole Sun,” as well as its 4 other major hits: “Spoonman,” “The Day I Tried to Live, “My Wave” and the melancholy but beautiful “Fell on Black Days.” It’s an ambitious record that takes some time to absorb, but Superunknown is indisputably Soundgarden’s finest moment as a band.
19. Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
Ok, so yeah, on “You Oughtta Know,” she comes off a little cray-cray stalkerish (hate ta bug you in the middle of dinner??), but it’s hard to pick a move pivotal 90s’ rock album. She could arguably in alternative or even pop, but her Grammy nominations were all in the rock category, so we’ll use that as a guide. Jagged Little Pill has aged rather well. Glen Ballard’s production (and mixing and engineering) sound as crisp as if it was released today. Morissette collaborated with Ballard on group of songs that became a whole that was infinitely more powerful than its individual parts, and that whole touched their audience deeply. It was an album that folks of all types of music could listen to start to finish. As of now Jagged Little Pill has sold in excess of 33 million copies globally – that’s an insane number… There are some really strong singles here, “Hand in My Pocket,” “Right Through You,” “You Learn,” and “Head Over Feet” among them, and the Grammy’s loved her as well. They handed her 3 in the rock category, and she also took home Album of the Year. Jagged Little Pill is an album that captures a time and place so vividly for so many people that it’s place in popular culture is never likely to wane.
18. Bruce Dickinson – Accident of Birth (1997)
Although both of the Iron Maiden releases with Bruce Dickinson on vocals during the ‘90s (No Prayer for the Dying, 1990 and Fear of the Dark, 1992) have strong points and moments of greatness, it’s his own solo album Accident of Birth that sounds like the most proper “Maiden” album to come out of the decade (so perhaps it’s not surprising that Dickinson was back in the Maiden fold with their 2000 comeback Brave New World.) Working with producer and guitarist Roy Z, Dickinson is not afraid to embrace his trademark sound, and he puts out a number of tracks that would have made great Maiden songs (especially the chilling title song). “Darkside of Acquarius” and “The Ghose of Cain” in particular sound like they’d fit perfectly on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. If you’re a Maiden fan and you haven’t picked them up yet, do yourself a favor and check out Accident of Birth and its near-equal follow-up, The Chemical Wedding. Dickinson doesn’t disappoint.
17. The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge (1994)
The Stones’ 1994 album Voodoo Lounge showed they could survive without Billy Wyman – it was their first album after the departure of the long-time bassist. The album has that wicked, unmistakable groove that has fed so many imitators. “Love is Strong” and “You Got Me Rockin’” were a powerful one-two punch as the lead singles. “Out of Tears” and “Blinded by Rainbows” are classic Stones ballads. There are a number of killer rockers, including “I Go Wild,” the memorably-named “Suck on the Jugular,” and the manic rocker “Sparks Will Fly” (which opens with the romantic line “you better grease up” and on which Jagger helpfully informs his prospective partner that “I wanna get there really fast, I wanna fuck your sweet ass. ” Sounds like a fun evening. The Stones are STILL the bad boys of rock and roll, and will always be untouchable. There’s even a couple great Keith moments on vocal, “The Worst” and “Thru and Thru.” What more do ya want? It’s the Stones, and 20 years after this late-era album they are still going. Going strong, I dunno… but definitely going. And they surely were with Voodoo Lounge.
16. Queen – Innuendo (1991)
For all intents and purposes, the final Queen album with Freddie Mercury (they would scrap together an album called Made in Heaven in 1995 that relied on demos and snippets of studio work by Mercury left unfinished at the time of his death on November 24, 1991). Innuendo is as grand a goodbye as you could hope for. The title track has that epic melodrama at which Mercury always excelled, and he plays it up for all he’s worth. Singles “I’m Going Slightly Mad” and the hard-charging “Headlong” are among the standouts, and the insistent and slightly “The Show Must Go On” ends the album with a fervent wish that we all continue. But the heartbreaking “These Are the Days of Our Lives” (along with its stunning video showing Freddie almost ghostly in his emaciated state) is the album’s moment of final reckoning, it’s most potent moment; it’s Freddie’s poignant, gorgeous goodbye. He died with his legendary musical very much intact, and his legacy is enormous. Innuendo doesn’t get the attention it deserves as the final Queen album on which Freddie Mercury was fully active (as much as he could). Give it another listen, and marvel at the dedication of Freddie Mercury, recording an album this strong while secretly in grave, grave health.
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