What album best depicts the 90's for me? A question I asked myself from the outset. Some of it aged well...okay, only a few of them aged well. Some of it aged poorly...okay, a lot of it aged poorly. But it was all part of my childhood. and nostalgia matters. The hard part, narrowing it down to one.
With Pearl Jam, Tool, Green Day, Incubus, Jane's Addiction, and The Offspring are already accounted for they're not under consideration.
So first let's rule out those that I listened to excessively at the time and quite simply don't (or at least shouldn't) anymore - Bush (
), Fuel (
), Our Lady Peace (much better than the others, but also not it), Weezer (unlike OLP they have the album to cite but this ain't it either), Oleander (I still like them more than I should), Smashing Pumpkins (#### Billy Corgan), Creed (WTF!!!), Soul Asylum (seriously, you're a moron)...
...so what's left? Soundgarden (didn't listen to them enough + Cornell solo is better anyway), STP (songs, yes - album - notsomuch), NIN (you're an idiot and listened to Filter and Stabbing Westward instead), Rancid ...and out come the wolves (ooh, that's a good one), Live throwing copper (I may have picked this had Binky not beaten me to it), Alice In Chains jar of flies (feel like I should pick this) Rage self titled (I probably should pick this), Nirvana unplugged (I definitely should pick this)... but it's really between these two:
DMB - and ultimately I ruled them out for a reason out of their control. I listened to Under The Table and Crash (awful title track withstanding) so much I had to replace each CD. In any other catalog Before These Crowded Streets would be a top tier option, but the bar was simply set too high. And those weren't their best albums either - the peak wasn't actually released. I don't know if the unreleased but leaked Lilywhite Sessions really were DMB at their best or if it's just nostalgia because they are now gone forever. But that's how I'll remember it. And not for the remastered garbage that was Busted Stuff. But I'm rambling about my not pick. Why did I rule them out? Because I was into grunge. I was into alternative. Punk. Metal. DMB? They were a unicorn. My pick needed to be under the grunge/alternative/punk/metal umbrellas. So, my actual pick:
Bonus Pick #5, that 90's album: Toadies - Rubberneck
Member when I mentioned probably picking Throwing Copper had Binky not beaten me to it? Well, the reason why was because while they were a flash in the pan they didn't just create a couple of songs that fit at that specific time. They created a piece of work beginning-to-end that's just as listenable today as it was then. And a part of me is happy Binky did what he did because looking at these two albums I needed his snipering to break the tie.
Everyone knows and remembers Possum Kingdom - and while that's why I sought them out in the first place it was never why I kept coming back to that album - and isn't why I still come back to it today...or anytime in between. I usually plug in for the whole 40 minutes, but when I go hunting and pecking it's never for any one particular song. Sometimes it's for
Backslider's groove. Sometimes it's to sing along to
I Come From The Water. Other times
I Burn just brings out my inner smart ###. And other times it's because
Mr. Love makes me want to scream. Or because
Quitter channels my inner (faux) angst. Or because
Velvet just makes me want to lose by damn mind. The point is, it's all of them.
There's probably good reason why they couldn't ever get their second album released. Why they fell off the map as quickly as they were added to it. If you really listen to this album there really isn't much actual talent. They aren't good. But this album. They nailed it. They utilized the few resources they had and put them all together to create one great collection of music. It was 90's alternative rock. Beginning-to-end. And ultimately that's why I find myself seeking it out on a weekly basis. Speaking of which...
