The #1 album of the '90s isn't Pearl Jam or Nirvana, according to data. See the top 10.
Best albums of the '90s
The decade of the 1990s was a really unique and exciting time in music. It's a period that gave us (and our ears) a little bit of everything from all around the globe, with hundreds of artists in various genres peaking in their careers and experiencing both critical and commercial success with their records.
We saw alternative rock gain huge amounts of mainstream traction with bands like Oasis, U2, and Green Day. The U.K. also had a Britpop boom, with Pulp, Blur, and Suede leading the way in this cultural and musical movement.
Additionally, grunge music really came into its own, with Nirvana and Pearl Jam sailing to the top of the charts with their bold guitar riffs and gritty sounds. Heavy metal, which first came to popularity in the 1970s, continued its aggressive momentum with "thrasher" bands like Metallica and "industrial" acts including Nine Inch Nails. Hip-hop and rap music also experienced a major renaissance, with Notorious B.I.G. and Dr. Dre closing the gap between West Coast and East Coast hip-hop.
Electronic music also had a major moment, with downtempo, ambient, shoegazing, and synth-pop being subgenres; musicians like Bjork, Moby, and Fishmans showed us all we could enjoy electronica whether you were at a dance club or chilling out in your living room.
And we can't forget about the decade's solo artists—many of whom are female, like Lauryn Hill and Alanis Morrissette—giving us the emotional ballads and empowering hits we still belt out to this day.
Stacker compiled data on the top albums of the '90s according to Best Ever Albums, which ranks albums according to their appearance and performance on 40,000 editorial and data-based charts (e.g., Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard, etc.). The Best Ever Albums score is derived from a formula that weighs how many charts an album has appeared on and how high it was on each of those charts, and awards points accordingly. For a more in-depth methodology, click here.
#10. 'Automatic for the People' by R.E.M.
- Best Ever Albums score: 23,793
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 84
- Rank in year: #1
- Rank all-time: #58
- Year: 1992
- Country: US
R.E.M's eighth studio album was a stylistic departure from their previous work. While they initially planned on creating a rock and roll record, "Automatic for the People" ended up more ballad-like, focusing on more-melancholy themes of loss. The album was certified six times platinum in the U.K. and four times platinum in the U.S..
#9. 'In Utero' by Nirvana
- Best Ever Albums score: 24,224
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 84
- Rank in year: #2
- Rank all-time: #55
- Year: 1993
- Country: US
After Nirvana came to great fame with their album "Nevermind," their third (and final) studio album "In Utero" was far more abrasive and chaotic in its sounds. That said, it was still a great success for the trio, selling over 15 million copies worldwide.
#8. 'Siamese Dream' by The Smashing Pumpkins
- Best Ever Albums score: 24,605
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 85
- Rank in year: #1
- Rank all-time: #54
- Year: 1993
- Country: US
In the midst of working on their second studio album, the lead singer and songwriter of Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, suffered a nervous breakdown and started going to therapy—the result being more-emotionally-charged lyrics and blunt references to his troubles. "Siamese Dream" was a critical success as soon as it was released, and is often called one of the best albums of all time.
#7. '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' by Oasis
- Best Ever Albums score: 24,759
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 81
- Rank in year: #2
- Rank all-time: #53
- Year: 1995
- Country: UK
Oasis' second studio album, boasting a little more of a pop vibe than their debut, put this Britpop group on the map forever (even after their eventual breakup). With iconic songs like "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," the record has sold over 20 million copies copies to date.
#6. 'Ten' by Pearl Jam
- Best Ever Albums score: 25,731
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 82
- Rank in year: #3
- Rank all-time: #50
- Year: 1991
- Country: US
Pearl Jam came in hot on the grunge scene and left their mark with their wildly-successful debut album (and most commercially-successful album to date). The record was certified 13 times platinum and produced three hit tracks including "Jeremy," which received two Grammy nominations.
#5. 'Loveless' by My Bloody Valentine
- Best Ever Albums score: 42,366
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 86
- Rank in year: #2
- Rank all-time: #22
- Year: 1991
- Country: Ireland
"Loveless" was a labor of love—it took over two-and-a-half years to record, as the band changed recording studios 19 times. The juice was definitely worth the squeeze: With its experimental guitar techniques, critics like Rolling Stone still dub it to be one of the greatest albums of all time.
#4. 'The Bends' by Radiohead
- Best Ever Albums score: 46,526
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 87
- Rank in year: #1
- Rank all-time: #20
- Year: 1995
- Country: UK
Radiohead topped the U.K. album charts with their second studio album, which was a bit more abstract and less grunge than their first. With "The Bend," which went triple platinum in the U.K. and Canada, the band influenced and paved the way for a new wave of Britpop musicians, including James Blunt and Coldplay.
#3. 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea' by Neutral Milk Hotel
- Best Ever Albums score: 55,664
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 88
- Rank in year: #1
- Rank all-time: #16
- Year: 1998
- Country: US
Neutral Milk Hotel's sophomore album was so unconventional, it was hard to pigeonhole it into a musical genre. Some say it was indie rock, others say psychedelic folk, but what made it so unique was the way they included sounds from instruments like the singing saw, zanzithophone, and uilleann pipes. The record was a success and garnered a cult following with listeners.
#2. 'Nevermind' by Nirvana
- Best Ever Albums score: 55,793
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 87
- Rank in year: #1
- Rank all-time: #15
- Year: 1991
- Country: US
"Nevermind" has sold over 30 million copies to date and is certified diamond by the RIAA, but Nirvana's sophomore album is so much more than a commercial success—it can take credit for making grunge and alternative rock music more "mainstream." The album art, which shows a naked baby submerged in a pool with a dollar bill on a fishhook, is one of the most highly-recognized album covers out there.
#1. 'OK Computer' by Radiohead
- Best Ever Albums score: 107,829
- Best Ever Albums user rating: 92
- Rank in year: #1
- Rank all-time: #1
- Year: 1997
- Country: UK
With its moody sounds, abstract lyrics, and unexpected instrumentals, Radiohead's third album is widely considered a masterpiece by critics, listeners, and other musicians. The band drew inspiration from Miles Davis's jazz-fusion album "B***hes Brew" and recorded most of "OK Computer" in a historic stone mansion in Bath, England. Alex Ross from The New Yorker applauded the experimentation on "OK Computer," saying, "Throughout the album, contrasts of mood and style are extreme... This band has pulled off one of the great art-pop balancing acts in the history of rock."
