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We continue our look back at the 1990s with our 1993’s Best Rock Album’s List. 1993 defined a year that saw a record number of new releases and debut albums. The success of Nirvana and the popularity of grunge and alternative music fueled record companies to search for the next big thing. The term alternative music would cover more of a wider range of musical styles than ever before. Nirvana released their third album of the band’s career. The album In Utero would be hailed by many as their strongest work to date. Sadly, it would be the band’s final studio album they ever released. Pearl Jam who many feel were Nirvana’s main rivals for airplay and chart success would also release a fabulous album entitled VS.
Many people forget that as much as the 1990s, especially the early 1990s were dominated by grunge and alternative music, there were many great albums released by classic rockers from the 1960s and 70s. Many of these albums were not accepted that well when they were originally released, but have grown in stature over time. Some of these legends like Paul McCartney Elton John, The Ramones, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Page, Lynyrd Skynyrd and so many others were competing with their own legacies when they released new material in the 1990s.
1993 saw some great debut albums from a couple of artists who would have long careers. Sheryl Crow’s debut album Tuesday Night Music Club was released in 1993. The album did not initially do well but eventually became one of the biggest albums of the 1990s. As we all know, Sheryl Crow has had a long and very successful career. Another artist with the word Crow in their name also released their debut album. The Counting Crow’s first album entitled August and Everything After was a huge success in 1993.
Aerosmith continued their great comeback with a fabulous album entitled Get a Grip. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan released his second solo album called Kamakiriad. 1993 also saw the return of the band Steely Dan as they began to tour once again. Meat Loaf shocked the world in 1993 when the sequel to Bat Out Of Hell was released and became one of the biggest albums of the year. Finally, 1993 saw the release of the final Billy Joel album entitled River of Dreams. I never believed when he sang the lyrics “these are the last words that I will ever write,” that he actually meant it.
# 100 – Objection Overruled – Accept
# 99 – Spilt Milk – JellyFish
# 98 – Songs from the Rain – Hothouse Flowers
# 97 – Tribal Thunder – Dick Dale
# 96 – Dusk – The The
# 95 – Frosting on the Beater – The Posies
# 94 – Rise – Bad Brains
# 93 – Cure for Pain – Morphine
# 92 – Become What You Are – The Juliana Hatfield Three
# 91 – Pussy Whipped – Bikini Kill
# 90 – Rift – Phish
# 89 – Spinning Around the Sun – Jimmie Dale Gilmore
# 88 – Perverse – Jesus Jones
# 87 – Believe in Me – Duff McKagan
# 86 – Last Splash – The Breeders
# 85 – Native Tongue – Poison
# 84 – Every Day – Widespread Panic
# 83 – Superstar Car Wash – Goo Goo Dolls
# 82 – Dream Harder – The Waterboys
# 81 – Elemental – Tears for Fears
# 80 – Pull – Winger
# 79 – The Wedding Album – Duran Duran
# 78 – Music – 311
# 77 – Full Moon, Dirty Hearts – INXS
# 76 -Debut – Bjork
# 75 – Real – Belinda Carlisle
# 74 – Cyberpunk – Billy Idol
# 73 – Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid – Collective Soul
# 72 – Whatever – Aimee Mann
# 71 – Rid of Me – P J Harvey
# 70 – World Gone Wrong – Bob Dylan
# 69 – Pork Soda – Primus
# 68 – Beaster – Sugar
# 67 – For the Beauty of Wynona – Daniel Lanois
# 66 – Some Fantastic Place – Squeeze
# 65 – Duets – Elton John
# 64 – Winter Light – Linda Ronstadt
# 63 – Both Sides – Phil Collins
# 62 – San Francisco Days – Chris Isaak
# 61 –Try Anything Once – Alan Parsons
# 60 – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy – Sarah McLachlan
# 59 – Face the Heat – The Scorpions
# 58 – Altered Beast – Matthew Sweet
# 57 – Porno for Pyros – Porno for Pyros
# 56 – Taxi – Bryan Ferry
# 55 – Colour of Your Dreams – Carole King
# 54 – Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? – The Cranberries
# 53 – Hey Zeus! – X
# 52 – The Black Rider – Tom Waits
# 51 – Edge of Excess – Triumph
# 50 – Traffic from Paradise – Rickie Lee Jones
# 49 – Yes I Am – Melissa Etheridge
# 48 – Liberator – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
# 47 – Together Alone – Crowded House
# 46 – Human Wheels – John Mellencamp
# 45 – The Spaghetti Incident? – Guns N’ Roses
# 44 – Acid Eaters – The Ramones
# 43 – Remember Two Things – The Dave Matthews Band
# 42 – The Last Rebel – Lynyrd Skynyrd
# 41 – Desire Walks On – Heart
# 40 – Haircut – George Thorogood
# 39 – 14 Songs – Paul Westerberg
# 38 – Bastards – Motörhead
# 37 – The Red Shoes – Kate Bush
# 36 – American Caesar – Iggy Pop
# 35 – No World Order – Todd Rundgren
# 34 – Crazy Legs – Jeff Beck
# 33 – Too Long in Exile – Van Morrison
# 32 – Harbor Lights – Bruce Hornsby
# 31 – Sex & Religion – Steve Vai
# 30 – Sound of White Noise – Anthrax
# 29 – Psychoderelict – Pete Townshend
# 28 – I’m Alive – Jackson Browne
# 27 – Gravity’s Rainbow – Pat Benatar
# 26 – Stain – Living Colour
# 25 – Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz
# 24 – Songs of Faith and Devotion – Depeche Mode
# 23 – August and Everything After – Counting Crows
# 22 – Wandering Spirit – Mick Jagger
# 21 – Wide River – Steve Miller Band
# 20 – The Battle Rages On… – Deep Purple
# 19 – Coverdale-Page – Coverdale-Page
# 18 – Undertow – Tool
# 17 – Off the Ground – Paul McCartney
# 16 – Exile in Guyville – Liz Phair
# 15 – Counterparts – Rush
# 14 – Black Tie White Noise – David Bowie
# 13 – Ten Summoners Tales – Sting
# 12 – The Yellow Shark – Frank Zappa
# 11 – Zooropa – U2
# 10 – Kamakiriad – Donald Fagen
# 9 – Pablo Honey – Radiohead
# 8 – River Of Dreams – Billy Joel
# 7 – Siamese Dreams – Smashing Pumpkins
# 6 – Tuesday Night Club – Sheryl Crow
# 5 – Phobia – The Kinks
# 4 – Bat Out of Hell II – Meat Loaf
# 3 – Get A Grip – Aerosmith
# 2 – Vs – Pearl Jam
# 1 – In Utero – Nirvana
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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
Updated May 1, 2023
1993’s Best Rock Albums article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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