Best Albums of the 1990s

« View best albums of the 1980sView best albums of the 2000s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1990s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 55,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1990s decade summary

Year	Albums 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.
1990	2,945	132,898	Violator (108th)by Depeche Mode
1991	3,021	250,407	Nevermind (13th)by Nirvana
1992	3,158	165,827	Automatic For The People (49th)by R.E.M.
1993	3,357	187,189	Siamese Dream (55th)by The Smashing Pumpkins
1994	3,620	277,700	Grace (61st)by Jeff Buckley
1995	3,877	211,307	The Bends (23rd)by Radiohead
1996	4,040	181,088	If You're Feeling Sinister (125th)by Belle And Sebastian
1997	4,229	250,113	OK Computer (1st)by Radiohead
1998	4,260	190,414	In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (17th)by Neutral Milk Hotel
1999	4,446	178,047	Ágætis Byrjun (77th)by Sigur Rós
Total	36,953	2,024,991

The best artists of the 1990s were Radiohead, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Neutral Milk Hotel, Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Nick Cave and Weezer.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

991.

P.H.U.Q.

The Wildhearts

Year of Release:

1995

Appears in:

15 charts

Rank Score:

219

Rank in 1995:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

992.

The Lion King (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack

Elton John / Tim Rice / Hans Zimmer

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

49 charts

Rank Score:

219

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

993.

Cherry Peel

of Montreal

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

44 charts

Rank Score:

219

Rank in 1997:

Rank in 1990s:

993

Overall Rank:

6,015

Average Rating:

74 (64 votes)

Comments:

994.

America's Least Wanted

Ugly Kid Joe

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

219

Rank in 1992:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

995.

Room To Roam

The Waterboys

Year of Release:

1990

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

219

Rank in 1990:

Rank in 1990s:

995

Overall Rank:

6,019

Average Rating:

71 (54 votes)

Comments:

996.

The Caution Horses

Cowboy Junkies

Year of Release:

1990

Appears in:

47 charts

Rank Score:

218

Rank in 1990:

Rank in 1990s:

996

Overall Rank:

6,039

Average Rating:

71 (66 votes)

Comments:

997.

Garage Inc.

Metallica

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

76 charts

Rank Score:

218

Rank in 1998:

Rank in 1990s:

997

Overall Rank:

6,046

Average Rating:

68 (218 votes)

Comments:

998.

Consume Red

Ground Zero

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

20 charts

Rank Score:

218

Rank in 1997:

Rank in 1990s:

998

Overall Rank:

6,048

Average Rating:

72 (25 votes)

Comments:

999.

Dulcinea

Toad The Wet Sprocket (US)

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

47 charts

Rank Score:

217

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

1000.

Symbols

KMFDM

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

18 charts

Rank Score:

217

Rank in 1997:

Rank in 1990s:

1,000

Overall Rank:

6,068

Average Rating:

70 (16 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
2
3
...
98
99
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1990s composition

Year	Albums	%

1990	86	9%
1991	81	8%
1992	101	10%
1993	108	11%
1994	128	13%
1995	111	11%
1996	108	11%
1997	97	10%
1998	96	10%
1999	85	9%

Artist	Albums	%

Blur	6	1%
The Flaming Lips	6	1%
Autechre	5	0%
Alice In Chains	5	0%
R.E.M.	5	0%
Sonic Youth	5	0%
Pearl Jam	5	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	542	54%
	262	26%
	42	4%
	26	3%
	22	2%
	16	2%
	15	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	985	98%
Yes	16	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	20	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	11	1%

« View best albums of the 1980sView best albums of the 2000s »

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Recent Member Charts
1. Best Of Rest 3 by Rivera (2025)
2. Jan 25 - Best Albums & Tracks \| Jan 2025 by ThuramThugood (2025)
3. Ranked - Ian Hawgood (UK) - Ranked by ThuramThugood (2025)
4. Top 79 Music Albums of 2025 by ThuramThugood (2025)
5. Top 92 Music Albums of the 1990s by NoAlarms (2025)
6. Top 14 Music Albums of 1994 by NoAlarms (2025)
7. Pt 3: 2020s Decade - Best Albums (Part 3): 201-300\| 2020s by ThuramThugood (2025)
8. Rewind24 by Rikuff (2025)
9. Ranked - Everyone Says Hi (UK) - Ranked by ThuramThugood (2025)
10. Top 21 Music Albums of 2024 by buzzdainer (2025)
11. Top 71 Music Albums of the 1980s by NoAlarms (2025)
12. Top 10 Music Albums of 1982 by NoAlarms (2025)
13. additions2 by pedro1976 (2025)
14. Ranked - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (USA) - Ranked by ThuramThugood (2025)
15. Ranked - Tunng (UK) - Ranked by ThuramThugood (2025)
16. Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s by buzzdainer (2025)
17. Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s by ThuramThugood (2025)
18. Top 6 Music Albums of 2025 by Tamthebam (2025)
19. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Mafedere (2025)
20. Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s by pinkfreud1981 (2025)