Best Albums of the 1990s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1990s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1990s decade summary
YearAlbums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts. Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year) Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
19902,942133,191
19912,995251,868
19923,143166,598
19933,338187,869
19943,591279,139
19953,858212,704
19964,022181,868
19974,201252,155
19984,243190,513
19994,420178,734
Total36,7532,034,639

The best artists of the 1990s were Radiohead, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Neutral Milk Hotel, Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Weezer and Nick Cave.
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
220
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
220
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1990
Appears in:
Rank Score:
220
Rank in 1990:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
219
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
219
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
218
Rank in 1999:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1996:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1990s composition

Year Albums %


1990 85 9%
1991 80 8%
1992 102 10%
1993 108 11%
1994 126 13%
1995 112 11%
1996 110 11%
1997 98 10%
1998 94 9%
1999 85 9%
Artist Albums %


The Flaming Lips 6 1%
Blur 6 1%
Stereolab 5 1%
R.E.M. 5 1%
Pearl Jam 5 1%
The Smashing Pumpkins 5 1%
Aphex Twin 5 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 546 55%
United Kingdom 261 26%
Canada 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 24 2%
Australia 22 2%
Sweden 16 2%
Japan 14 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 985 99%
Yes 15 2%
Live? Albums %
No 981 98%
Yes 19 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 990 99%
Yes 10 1%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
3. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
4. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
5. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
6. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
7. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
8. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
9. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
10. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
11. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
12. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
13. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
14. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
15. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
16. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
17. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
18. Los 30 mejores discos de la década de 2010 by Esquire España (2023)
19. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
20. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)
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