Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s by Tamthebam

This is my 2nd favourite decade after the 70's. Overall this was a great decade for all types of music great soul/RnB albums along with country/folk and indie music. I enjoy all types of music and for once in my life had the money to enable me to expand my collection.

• Chart updated: 06/02/2025 16:15
• (Created: 10/03/2013 18:27).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 9 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 25 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

Baduizm 

 Erykah Badu

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If Billie Holiday was to come back & make a record this would be it. Erykah Badu has that special voice that leaves you wanting more. This again is a debut album that is ranked in my Top10 albums of all time. I never tire listening to this amazing album, On & On is one of the best tracks but my favourite track is Next Lifetime along with 4 Leaf Clover. But the whole album is full of great tracks with a Jazzy neo-soul feel and her amazing voice adds to the atmosphere. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

236 charts

Rank Score:

1,726

Rank in 1997:

22

Rank in 1990s:

196

Overall Rank:

1,022

Average Rating:

 77 (246 votes)

Comments:

12

2. (=)

Ray Of Light 

 Madonna

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The most together/cohesive Madonna album. Full of atmosphere and great songs courtesy of William Orbit. Frozen, Skin the title track and To Have & Not To Hold being my faves. A wonderful album that deserves more recognition [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

423 charts

Rank Score:

2,763

Rank in 1998:

8

Rank in 1990s:

105

Overall Rank:

628

Average Rating:

 74 (623 votes)

Comments:

45

3. (=)

OK Computer 

 Radiohead

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A great album and still their best I listen to this every 3 or 4 months and it changes depending on how I feel I don't have a favourite track as it changes all the time. Haven't liked anything else they have done after this except In Rainbows & Moon Shaped Pool. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

4,398 charts

Rank Score:

67,593

Rank in 1997:

1

Rank in 1990s:

1

Overall Rank:

1

Average Rating:

 92 (5,605 votes)

Comments:

850

4. (=)

Older 

 George Michael

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George Michaels most moving & sad album beautifully written & sung with great emotion. The songs Jesus To A Child, You Have Been Loved & To Be Forgiven were influenced by the recent death of his lover. There are also some mid tempo songs such as Fastlove & Star People both hit singles and the title track, The Strangest Thing & Spin The Wheel are also 3 of the best songs he has written. Again Gone Too Soon. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1996

Appears in:

99 charts

Rank Score:

787

Rank in 1996:

37

Rank in 1990s:

370

Overall Rank:

2,086

Average Rating:

 72 (145 votes)

Comments:

8

5. (=)

1. Outside 

 David Bowie

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This to me sounds like the 4th chapter in the Low, heroes, Lodger era. That's not too surprising as Brian Eno is back on board as a writer and creator. The album should be listened to as a whole and to make it more cohesive I would skip the spoken tracks (5,10,15 & 18). There is an apocalyptic feel about the album similar to the Diamond Dogs project. It has an atmosphere and needs to be listened to 3 or 4 times for it all to sink in. A classic album from the 90's. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1995

Appears in:

181 charts

Rank Score:

734

Rank in 1995:

47

Rank in 1990s:

394

Overall Rank:

2,216

Average Rating:

 75 (367 votes)

Comments:

24

6. (=)

New Adventures In Hi-Fi 

 R.E.M.

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Follow up to Monster this is R.E.M. at their best minimum fuss just straight forward rock music with touches of Automatic/monster/Life's Rich Pageant scattered around. Recorded after the Monster tour and written on the road it has a loose live feeling and all the tracks add up to make the whole album an experimental sound. Standout tracks E-bow the Letter, New Test Leper, Leave, Binky the Doormat & Electrolite. The remainder of the album is also good. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1996

Appears in:

348 charts

Rank Score:

2,038

Rank in 1996:

15

Rank in 1990s:

156

Overall Rank:

854

Average Rating:

 77 (597 votes)

Comments:

38

7. (=)

Debut 

 Björk

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An amazing debut album her unusual voice and choice of instruments was a revelation in 1993, every track is unique this album deserves more recognition Venus as A Boy, Big Time Sensuality & Come To Me are so different yet so amazing. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1993

Appears in:

761 charts

Rank Score:

5,295

Rank in 1993:

6

Rank in 1990s:

63

Overall Rank:

330

Average Rating:

 80 (1,046 votes)

Comments:

48

8. (=)

Compositions 

 Anita Baker

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A great soul/jazz album from the amazing Anita Baker. She has a truly soulful voice that transcends genres this her 4th album is her 2nd best after Rapture. Soul's Inspiration, Fairy Tale, Lonely & No One To Blame are the best tracks but the whole album is great late night listening. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1990

Appears in:

14 charts

Rank Score:

139

Rank in 1990:

117

Rank in 1990s:

1,438

Overall Rank:

8,775

Average Rating:

 71 (20 votes)

Comments:

2

9. (=)

Grace 

 Jeff Buckley

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An almost perfect debut album Grace will go down in history as one of the greatest debut albums of all time. Who knows if he would have ever bettered this. But this is what we are left with a great album and a fantastic band backing a guy with an amazing and moving voice. Mojo Pin, Grace, So Real & Lover You Should Have Come Over are masterpieces. Not as keen on the covers - Lilac Wine, Hallelujah & Corpus Christi Carol good versions but would have liked more of his own stuff. Dream Brother is a great ending to a great album. Another great artist taken far too soon. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

1,712 charts

Rank Score:

18,118

Rank in 1994:

1

Rank in 1990s:

10

Overall Rank:

57

Average Rating:

 84 (1,953 votes)

Comments:

171

10. (=)

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie 

 Alanis Morissette

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A brilliant album almost like a book that you don't mind reading over & over again. This is not as immediate as J.L.P. you do have to listen to it numerous times as different tracks grow on you at different rates. The only criticism is that it could be a couple of tracks shorter maybe drop The Couch and the last track. Overall though it is an amazing journey of an album. [First added to this chart: 12/04/2013]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

153 charts

Rank Score:

776

Rank in 1998:

44

Rank in 1990s:

377

Overall Rank:

2,119

Average Rating:

 71 (224 votes)

Comments:

23

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s composition

Year	Albums	%
1990	6	6%
1991	10	10%
1992	10	10%
1993	8	8%
1994	11	11%
1995	11	11%
1996	9	9%
1997	17	17%
1998	9	9%
1999	9	9%

Artist	Albums	%
Mariah Carey	4	4%
R.E.M.	4	4%
Madonna	3	3%
David Bowie	3	3%
Björk	3	3%
Alanis Morissette	2	2%
Nirvana	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	55	55%
	31	31%
	6	6%
	3	3%
	3	3%
	2	2%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s chart changes

Biggest fallers
Down 1 from 88th to 89th Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos
Down 1 from 89th to 90th Hips And Makers by Kristin Hersh
Down 1 from 90th to 91st Ghostyhead by Rickie Lee Jones

New entries
Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins by Sparks

Leavers
Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 25 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100	03/14/2025 12:19	SomethingSpecial	1,087	85/100
90/100	12/29/2022 22:04	Johnnyo	2,449	80/100
100/100	02/25/2022 06:30	jnfbn	310	96/100
80/100	02/24/2022 13:14	Cytoma	171	90/100
90/100	09/07/2021 04:46	leniad	674	85/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.0/100, a mean average of 86.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 16.8.

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s comments

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Rating:  

90/100

From Johnnyo 12/29/2022 22:05

Love this chart.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From leniad 09/07/2021 04:46

good

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From vancevisuals 06/10/2019 21:11

13 in common
nice to see Flaming Pie on a list

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From ForegroundNoise 06/10/2019 12:23

Interesting mix of stuff of both rock and pop!! I like your notes too, makes the chart seem really personal.

That said would be nice to see some stuff outside of those spheres; no hip hop, no electronic and nothing outside of the anglophonic bubble that isn't Bjork, (who still mostly sings in English), which I find kinda surprising for someone who has rated so many albums?

Anyway, I guess each to their own, and you clearly know your stuff. Great chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

75/100

From bobbyb5 02/04/2017 23:10

You are from Scotland and yet there's not one mention by you of Altered Images. EVEN I HAVE ALTETED IMAGES ON MY CHART!!! And I'm fuckin American!!! Pinky Blue is in my chart!!! Shame on you!!! Lol

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From CharlieBarley 01/04/2017 20:20

REM, Blur, Radiohead, Bjork. These are all artists I too liked in the 90s. Also the 90s are my 2nd favourite decade for music after the 70s. I even remember there being a bit of a 70s revival during the 90s. Fashion-wise there definitely was at my college. 30 albums in common you got some good ones

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Musyahid 01/04/2017 14:09

Intresting Woman You Are

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From buzzdainer 07/22/2016 16:40

Outstanding chart! Like you, I didn't listen to that much shoegaze music in the nineties, instead focusing on albums such as OK Computer, Grace, The Bends, and Automatic for the People. I appreciate seeing Adore in your top ten, as that's a Smashing Pumpkins album that doesn't get nearly the attention and affection that it deserves. Great work on this chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

20/100

From Roal 09/21/2014 07:44

Mariah Carey has 3 but not even a single one from the whole shoegaze scene nice.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

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