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.
19902,941133,130
19912,997251,455
19923,144166,513
19933,339187,629
19943,592279,106
19953,858212,440
19964,025181,552
19974,206251,753
19984,243190,677
19994,423178,342
Total36,7682,032,597

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:
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:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
220
Rank in 1999:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
219
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:
219
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:
1996
Appears in:
Rank Score:
218
Rank in 1996:
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:
218
Rank in 1997:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
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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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1992:
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 111 11%
1996 110 11%
1997 99 10%
1998 95 10%
1999 86 9%
Artist Albums %


Blur 6 1%
The Flaming Lips 6 1%
Tori Amos 5 0%
Pavement 5 0%
Radiohead 5 0%
Sonic Youth 5 0%
Manic Street Preachers 5 0%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 547 55%
United Kingdom 260 26%
Canada 40 4%
Mixed Nationality 26 3%
Australia 22 2%
Sweden 16 2%
Japan 15 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 987 99%
Yes 15 1%
Live? Albums %
No 983 98%
Yes 19 2%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 991 99%
Yes 11 1%
Popular  Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
3. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
4. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
5. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
6. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
7. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
8. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
9. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
10. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
11. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
12. Los 48 mejores discos de la historia by Esquire España (2022)
13. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
14. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
15. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
16. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
17. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
18. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
19. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
20. The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time (1-100) by Paste (2024)
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