Photo: Vincent Escudero / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
1992’s Best Rock albums list follows up a year in which the music business was turned upside down with the arrival of grunge and the success of the Seattle bands. While many bands followed the path of Nirvana, the rock and roll world continued to see a mixed bag of bands and artists crossing many musical genres.1992 saw a host of great debut albums from artists that enjoyed great success in the 1990s and some beyond. In 1992, Tori Amos shook up the world with her debut album Little Earthquakes. She would quickly become a cult favorite and develop a huge loyal following. The band No Doubt debuted their first album with a fun mix of ska and funk that sounded nothing like the hit pop sound they would soon develop a few years down the road. Other bands released their debut albums including Stone Temple Pilots, Blind Melon, 4 Non Blondes, Barenaked Ladies, The Wallflowers, Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, Ugly Kid Joe. Juliana Hatfield, Jackyl, Manic Street Preachers and the solo debut of Annie Lennox.
A couple of Rolling Stones guitarists released solos album as Ronnie Wood released his solo album Slide On This while Keith Richards released his second solo album entitled Main Offender. 1992 also saw the first new Bruce Springsteen albums in five years. Yes, we said albums. In a very unprecedented move, Bruce Springsteen actually released two new studio albums entitled Human Touch and Lucky Town. Both albums contained all new materiel but were defined by distinctive vibes that kept them released as separate pieces of work. Tom Waits returned with a great album called Bone Machine that presented fans with the new Tom Waits sound that was given birth on his Swordfish Trombones album back in the early 1980s. The Black Crowes showed that they were not going to be a band that released a great debut album and disappeared. They returned with a great sophomore record entitled Southern Cross & Musical Companion.
Its getting tougher to choose 100 albums a year in the 1990s. Not because there are so many great records, but because there are so few. The 1960s and 1970s decades were filled with classic albums. There were many great years in the 1980s. However, we have a feeling it’s just going to get tougher with every year we encounter in the 1990s.
# 100 – The Wild Life – Slaughter
# 99 – Dog Eat Dog – Warrant
# 98 – Ignition – The Offspring
# 97 – Good as I Been to You – Bob Dylan
# 96 – Nerve Net – Brian Eno
# 95 – Nonsuch – XTC
# 94 – High Stakes & Dangerous Men – UFO
# 93 – Revenge – Kiss
# 92 – Meantime – Helmet
# 91 –Tongues and Tails – Sophie B. Hawkins
# 90 – Bricks Are Heavy – L7
# 89 – Fire and Ice – Yngwie Malmsteen
# 88 – La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 – White Zombie
# 87 – That What Is Not – Public Image Ltd
# 86 – Are You Normal? – Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
# 85 – Piece of Cake – Mudhoney
# 84 – The Wallflowers – The Wallflowers
# 83 – Don’t Tread – Damm Yankees
# 82 – Dirty – Sonic Youth
# 81 – Your Arsenal – Morrissey
# 80 – Change Everything – Del Amitri
# 79 – Milagro – Santana
# 78 – More Noise and Other Disturbances – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
# 77 – Black Eyed Man – Cowboy Junkies
# 76 – Mack Daddy – Sir Mix-a-Lot
# 75 – Poetic Justice – Lillian Axe
# 74 – America’s Least Wanted – Ugly Kid Joe
# 73 – Angel Heart – Bonnie Tyler
# 72 – Generator – Bad Religion
# 71 – Mondo Bizarro – Ramones
# 70 – Kingdom of Desire – Toto
# 69 –The American in Me – Steve Forbert
# 68 – Forever Free – Saxon
# 67 – Shadows and Light – Wilson Philips
# 66 – Arc Angels – Arc Angels
# 65 – Magic and Loss – Lou Reed
# 64 – Rush (Soundtrack) – Eric Clapton
# 63 – Nurse – Therapy?
# 62 – Our Time In Eden – 10,000 Maniacs
# 61 – Here Comes Trouble – Bad Company
# 60 – Grave Dancers Union – Soul Asylum
# 59 – Jackyl – Jackyl
# 58 – Generation Terrorists – Manic Street Preachers
# 57 – 99.9F° – Suzanne Vega
# 56 – Copper Blue – Sugar
# 55 – Slide on This – Ronnie Wood
# 54 – Diva – Annie Lennox
# 53 – Hey Babe –Juliana Hatfield
# 52 – The End of Silence – Rollins Band
# 51 – Countdown To Extinction – Megadeth
# 50 – Gordon – Barenaked Ladies
# 49 – Sweet Oblivion – Screaming Trees
# 48 – Blind Melon – Blind Melon
# 47 – New Miserable Experience – Gin Blossoms
# 46 – Bigger Better Faster More – 4 Non Blondes
# 45 – Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds
# 44 – A Picture of Nectar – Phish
# 43 – Henry’s Dream – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
# 42 – Good Stuff – The B-52’s
# 41 – The Art of Rebellion – Suicidal Tendencies
# 40 – Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell – Social Distortion
# 39 – Check Your Head – Beastie Boys
# 38 – Angel Dust – Faith No More
# 37 – Strength in Numbers – 24-7 Spyz
# 36 – Blood and Bullets – Widowmaker
# 35 – Sweet Old World – Lucinda Williams
# 34 – The One – Elton John
# 33 – Time Takes Time – Ringo Starr
# 32 – Slanted & Enchanted – Pavement
# 31 – Out of the Cradle – Lindsey Buckingham
# 30 – Keep The Faith – Bon Jovi
# 29 – No Doubt – No Doubt
# 28 – Welcome to Wherever You Are – INXS
# 27 – Black Moon – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
# 26 – Lucky Town – Bruce Springsteen
# 25 – Psalm 69 – Ministry
# 24 – Fully Completely – Tragically Hip
# 23 – Never Enough – Melissa Etheridge
# 22 – Dehumanizer – Black Sabbath
# 21 – Anything Can Happen – Leon Russell
# 20 – Main Offender – Keith Richards
# 19 – Human Touch – Bruce Springsteen
# 18 – Images and Words – Dream Theater
# 17 – Love Symbol – Prince
# 16 – Harvest Moon – Neil Young
# 15 – Wish – The Cure
# 14 – Southern Cross & Musical Companion – Black Crowes
# 13 – Incesticide – Nirvana
# 12 – Adrenalize – Def Leppard
# 11 – Fear of the Dark – Iron Maiden
# 10 – Dirt – Alice In Chains
# 9 – Bone Machine – Tom Waits
# 8 – Little Earthquakes – Tori Amos
# 7 – Automatic For The People – R.E.M.
# 7 – Automatic For The People – 
# 6 – Amused To Death – Roger Waters
# 5 – Vulgar Display of Power – Pantera
# 4 – Unplugged – Eric Clapton
# 3 – Us – Peter Gabriel
# 2 – Rage Against The Machine –Rage Against The Machine
# 1 – Core – Stone Temple Pilots
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Best Albums of The Year Series
1960’s Best Rock Albums
1970’s Best Rock Albums
1970’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1971’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1972’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1973’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1974’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1975’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1976’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1977’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1978’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1979’s Best Classic Rock Albums List
1980’s Best Rock Albums
1990s Best Rock Album Series
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