Because I was a teenager through the 1990s, my relationship with the decade’s music differs from other decades. I’d probably appreciate bands like Oasis and Nirvana more if I wasn’t saturated with them. I also think that mainstream rock largely ran out of steam, and the most interesting music is on the fringes or in other genres.
The advent of the compact disc was also problematic. CDs allowed longer running times, but often 40 minutes is the optimum running time for an album. Many albums in the early 1990s dragged on for over an hour.
Major acts that I enjoy and plan to review include Beck, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, and The Flaming Lips.
Tori Amos Album Reviews
Born Myra Ellen Amos, in North Carolina, Tori Amos took her stage name when a friend's boyfriend told her that she resembled a Torrey pine. Her family moved to Maryland...
Jeff Buckley Album Reviews
It's not an overstatement that Jeff Buckley was one of the most singularly talented musicians of his generation; blessed with a beautiful and athletic voice, a more than adequate guitar technique...
Counting Crows Album Reviews
Counting Crows formed in the Bay Area. Vocalist Adam Duritz was formerly in The Himalayans, who recorded an album with producer David Bryson in 1990. The album was unreleased until...
Sheryl Crow Album Reviews
Sheryl Crow was already on the wrong side of 30 when she released her debut album. After attending the University of Missouri with Brad Pitt, Crow spent her twenties working...
Faith No More Album Reviews
Faith No More's origins go right back to 1979 when the rhythm section of Mike Bordin and Billy Gould formed a band. By 1982 keyboard player Roddy Bottum joined and...
Ben Folds (Five) Album Reviews
Ben Folds was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, also the birthplace of The dB's and Let's Active. He started playing piano when he was nine after his father received a...
Fountains of Wayne Album Reviews
Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood met at Williams College in Massachusetts. They formed Fountains of Wayne, christening themselves after a garden furniture and statuary store in Wayne, New Jersey. Although...
Richard X. Heyman
Richard X. Heyman started his career as a backing musician, drumming for Brian Wilson, Link Wray, and Jonathan Richman, and playing keyboards for Ben E King. A one-man band, his...
Lauryn Hill Album Reviews
Lauryn Hill was born and raised in New Jersey. She hit the big time, as a member of The Fugees and as a star of Sister Act 2, while still...
Jellyfish Album Reviews
San Francisco's Jellyfish were underappreciated during their existence in the early 1990s, but have since gained a devoted following. Their power-pop is fun and sometimes bombastic but is often sincere....
Freedy Johnston Album Reviews
Freedy Johnston seems destined to be remembered as a one-hit wonder for 1994's 'Bad Reputation', a critically acclaimed but commercially marginal figure. This semi-obscurity isn't necessarily surprising - popular music is...
Mark Kozelek Album Reviews
San Francisco quartet the Red House Painters (named after the Tennesseean painting crew, The International League Of Revolutionary House Painters) made their debut with 1992's Down Colorful Hill on the 4AD...
Manic Street Preachers
This page was largely written by a guest reviewer - I wrote the introduction and the review of The Holy Bible. Manic Street Preachers formed as a high school band...
Grant McLennan Album Reviews
Grant McLennan was taught to play and drafted into The Go-Betweens by Robert Forster. Because of this, he’d never played with another band when they split in 1990. After releasing...
Natalie Merchant Album Reviews
Tired of making art by committee, Natalie Merchant left the 10,000 Maniacs in 1993. She wasn't yet 30, but had served as lead singer for the alternative band for more...
Pavement Album Reviews
Pavement's debut album Slanted and Enchanted was recorded in 1991 and swansong Terror Twilight was released in 1999. Because their recording career so neatly covers the 1990s, Pavement are a very...
Pearl Jam Album Reviews
Pearl Jam grew from the remnants of Mother Love Bone, whose singer Andrew Wood overdosed. Rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament started a new band with Mike McCready on...
Sam Phillips Album Reviews
Not to be confused with the Sun Records boss of the same name, Sam Phillips started her career in 1980s Christian pop. She used her birth name, Leslie Phillips, in...
Portishead Album Reviews
Portishead formed in the city of Bristol, where a vibrant, multi-cultural music scene spawned trip-hop in the early 1990s. Trip-hop took the beats from hip-hop and slowed them down, adding...
Radiohead Album Reviews
Named after a Talking Heads song, Radiohead are the most critically acclaimed band to emerge in the 1990s. They convened informally in 1986 as teenagers while attending Abingdon School in Oxford,...
Rage Against the Machine Album Reviews
IntroductionRage Against The Machine Album ReviewsRage Against The MachineEvil EmpireThe Battle of Los AngelesRenegades10 Best Rage Against the Machine songs Introduction Rage Against the Machine were surprisingly successful in the...
Slint
Britt Walford and Brian McMahan met in their pre-teens, and joined the punk band Squirrel Bait while still in their teens. Walford, a drummer, left Squirrel Bait after the band's...
Sugar Album Reviews
After leaving Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould released a pair of solo albums, before forming another power trio. Unlike Hüsker Dü, where Grant Hart was an important songwriter and Greg Norton...
Matthew Sweet Album Reviews
1990s power-pop star Matthew Sweet was born in Nebraska - also the home of Josh Rouse, Conor Oberst, Randy Meisner, and JoJo Siwa. After finishing school he moved south to...
Ween Album Reviews
It's tempting to write Ween off as a novelty band - their biggest hit single, 'Push th' Little Daisies', is gimmicky and stoned. But lurking beneath all the silliness is...
Weezer Album Reviews
Rivers Cuomo moved to Los Angeles from Connecticut with his heavy metal band in 1989. When they split, he formed a power-pop band with bassist Matt Sharp and drummer Patrick...
Gillian Welch Album Reviews
Americana artist Gillian Welch was born in New York and adopted by a pair of comedy music entertainers. Welch later learned that her mother may have grown up in the...
Paul Westerberg Album Reviews
His work in the 1980s with the beloved Replacements left leader Paul Westerberg with colossal expectations to meet with his solo career. Despite some valiant attempts, Westerberg's never met the...
Wilco Album Reviews
Jeff Tweedy was always the junior partner in the pioneering alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. When the group split into two factions, all indications were that Jay Farrar's Son Volt would...
1990s Miscellany
This page collects miscellaneous reviews for 1990s artists who I've just covered a handful of albums by: Eric ClaptonUnpluggedDream TheaterImages And WordsAwakeMetropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a MemoryBen HarperWelcome To...
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:
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