1994’s Best Rock Albums list continues the 1990s trend of so many genres of music selling well without any one specific genre completely dominating. The artists of the 60s and 70s began to fade even further away. Not many of the classic rock legendary artists of the 1960s and 1970s released new albums in 1994. The year 1994 saw the debut of many new bands. Perhaps the biggest debut album as far as bands that would have a lasting impact belonged to The Dave Matthews Band. The group would cultivate a massive cult following in the way The Grateful Dead did in the 1960s and 1970s. Another huge debut was the first album by the band Oasis. While they were big in the U.S. their stature in the U.K. made them the most popular band on the eastern side of the Atlantic since The Beatles. The arrival of Oasis was a shot in the arm to grunge music and helped revitalize the old Brit Pop genre that so many loved. One other very important debut album came from the band Weezer. A great new band loved by college students everywhere
1994 saw the debut albums of so many others. Some of the highlighted ones came from bands and artists such as Veruca Salt, Guster, Corrosion of Conformity, Jimmy Eat World, Zhané, Cake, Ben Harper, Portishead, Keb’ Mo’, and P.O.D. There were many more. 1994 saw the release of hundreds of new albums in various rock genres. The year also saw many hip hop and rap artists make their debut with albums that would out-sell most rock records.
# 100 – Churn – Seven Mary Three
# 99 – Second Coming – The Stone Roses
# 98 – Snuff the Punk – P.O.D.
# 97 – Ungod – Stabbing Westward
# 96 – Give Out But Don’t Give Up – Primal Scream
# 95 – Goodbye to the Age of Steam – Big Big Train
# 94 – Hot Trip to Heaven – Love & Rockets
# 93 – Divine Intervention – Slayer
# 92 – Parachute – Guster
# 91 – Robbin’ the Hood – Sublime
# 90 – Balls to Picasso – Bruce Dickinson
# 89 – A Date with The Smithereens – The Smithereens
# 88 – Vauxhall and I – Morrissey
# 87 – Stereopathetic Soulmanure – Beck
# 86 – Too High to Die – Meat Puppets
# 85 – Keb’ Mo’ – Keb’ Mo’
# 84 – Pandemonium – Killing Joke
# 83 – Four – Blues Traveler
# 82 – Oyster – Heather Nova
# 81 – Peter Frampton – Peter Frampton
# 80 – Sleeps With Angels – Neil Young
# 79 – Aria – Asia
# 78 – Deliverance – Corrosion of Conformity
# 77 – Brave – Marillion
# 76 – Inside Out – Fates Warning
# 75 – American Thighs – Veruca Salt
# 74 – The Cult – The Cult
# 73 – Question the Answers – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
# 72 – My Iron Lung EP – Radiohead
# 71 – Whip-Smart – Liz Phair
# 70 – File Under: Easy Listening – Sugar
# 69 – Thirsty Work – Status Quo
# 68 – When I Woke – Rusted Root
# 67 – Maybe You Should Drive – Barenaked Ladies
# 66 – After the Storm – Crosby, Stills & Nash
# 65 – Out of Range – Ani DiFranco
# 64 – No Need To Argue – The Cranberries
# 63 – Hungry for Stink – L7
# 62 – The Brian Setzer Orchestra – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
# 61 – Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt – John Frusciante
# 60 – The Seventh Sign – Yngwie Malmsteen
# 59 – Welcome to the Cruel World – Ben Harper
# 58 – Motorcade of Generosity – Cake
# 57 – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
# 56 – Pawnshop Guitars – Gilby Clarke
# 55 – Dogman – King’s X
# 54 – Rite of Passage – Mitch Ryder
# 53 – Last of the Independents – The Pretenders
# 52 – The Last Temptation – Alice Cooper
# 51 – Pure and Simple – Joan Jett
# 50 – Cross Purposes – Black Sabbath
# 49 – Dummy – Portishead
# 48 –Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star – Sonic Youth
# 47 – Throwing Cooper – Live
# 46 – Brutal Youth – Elvis Costello
# 45 – Woke up with a Monster – Cheap Trick
# 44 – Mötley Crüe – Mötley Crüe
# 43 – Your Filthy Little Mouth – David Lee Roth
# 42 – Antenna – ZZ Top
# 41 – Portrait of an American Family – Marilyn Manson
# 40 – Live Through This – Hole
# 39 – Hoist – Phish
# 38 – Talk – Yes
# 37 – Longing In Their Hearts – Bonnie Raitt
# 36 – Far Beyond Driven – Pantera
# 35 – Ill Communication – Beastie Boys
# 34 – Mellow Gold – Beck
# 33 – Weight – Rollins Band
# 32 – Hell Freezes Over – The Eagles
# 31 – Monster – R.E.M.
# 30 – Turbulent Indigo – Joni Mitchell
# 29 – Far From Home – Traffic
# 28 – Crooked Rain Crooked Rain – Pavement
# 27 – Korn – Korn
# 26 – Smash – Offspring
# 25 – The Division Bell – Pink Floyd
# 24 – Jar Of Flies – Alice In Chains
# 23 – From The Cradle – Eric Clapton
# 22 – Parklife – Blur
# 21 – Street Angel – Stevie Nicks
# 20 – 11 Tracks of Whack – Walter Becker
# 19 – Awake – Dream Theater
# 18 – Under The Pink – Tori Amos
# 17 – Grace – Jeff Buckley
# 16 – Amorica – The Black Crowes
# 15 – Voodoo Lounge – The Rolling Stones
# 14 – Promised Land – Queensrÿche
# 13 – Wildflowers – Tom Petty
# 12 – No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
# 11 – Weezer –Weezer
# 10 – Purple – Stone Temple Pilots
# 9 – Cracked Rear View – Hootie and the Blowfish’
# 8 – Where It All Begins – The Allman Brothers Band
# 7 – Under the Table and Dreaming – Dave Matthews Band
# 6 – The Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails
# 5 – Vitalogy – Pearl Jam
# 4 – MTV Unplugged In New York – Nirvana
# 3 – Dookie – Green Day
# 2 – Superunknown – Soundgarden
# 1 – Definitely Maybe – Oasis
Honorary mention to this great Beatles release that was issued in 1994.
Live At The BBC – The Beatles (live 1967-68 radio broadcasts)
Box of Fire – Aerosmith
Great Aerosmith box set that is long out of print
The Black Album – Prince
Originally released in 1986 and pulled at the last second, it was officially released in 1994 even though it was over eight years old. Was heavily bootlegged for years.
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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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