1990’s Best Rock Albums

Feature Photo: Photo: Tilly antoine / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

We head into the first year of the 1990s with so many musical changes about to take hold. 1990’s Best Rock Albums list take a look at the first year of the decade of the 1990s that would define a period of music that would see huge battles between musical genres for radio airplay and record store shelf space. Hip Hop & Rap would continue to grow stronger battling it out against the rise of Metal we saw in the 1980s. Classic rock bands from the 1970s would begin to fade away with few exceptions, especially the refusal of Neil Young to lay down his guitar as he returned with his most powerful album in over 15 years.

1990 also saw the return of the Allman Brothers Band fueled by the additions of Warren Hayes and Allan Woody. A great new rock and roll band reminiscent of The Rolling Stones called The Black Crowes made their debut in an attempt to keep the classic rock sound alive. In 1990, Jeff Lynne released his first solo album while the Traveling Wilburys released their follow up to their great debut album.

In 1990, Grunge music was looming on the horizon. It had not arrived yet, but we saw its most earliest glimpse of its future success with the great album released by Mother Love Bone. There are many great records released on this list. We hope you enjoy our series on the 1990s.

# 100 – Flood – They Might Be Giants

# 99 – Dark at the End of the Tunnel – Oingo Boing

# 98 – Extricate – The Fall

# 97 – Songs For Drella – Lou Reed and John Cale

# 96 – Still Got The Blues – Gary Moore

# 95 – Days of Open Hand – Suzanne Vega

# 94 – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic – The Sundays

# 93 – Un-Led-Ed – Dread Zeppelin

# 92 – Lights…Camera…Revolution! – Suicidal Tendencies

# 91 – Holy Water – Bad Company

# 90 – Midnight Stroll – Robert Cray

# 89 – Kool-Aid – Big Audio Dynamite II

# 88 – Reverberation – Echo & the Bunnymen

# 87 – Heartbreak Station – Cinderella

# 86 – In the Heart of the Young – Winger

# 85 – Spirits Dancing in the Flesh – Santana

# 84 – The Wild Places – Dan Fogelberg

# 83 – Plus Signs – Burton Cummings

# 82 – Against The Grain – Bad Religion

# 81 – Behaviour – Pet Shop Boys

# 80 – Hold Me Up – Goo Goo Dolls

# 79 – Edge of the Century – Styx

# 78 – The La’s – The La’s

# 77 – Wilson Phillips – Wilson Phillips

# 76 – The Hit List – Joan Jett

# 75 – Brother’s Keeper – The Neville Brothers

# 74 – Busted – Cheap Trick

# 73 – Young Lions – Adrian Belew

# 72 – Bellybutton – Jellyfish

# 71 – Home – Hothouse Flowers

# 70 – Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors – Fish

# 69 – The Hard Way – Steve Earle

# 68 – Change Of Season – Hall & Oates

# 67 – Under The Red Sky – Bob Dylan

# 66 – Repeater – Fugazi

# 65 – Turned On – Rollins Band

# 64 – Stiletto – Lita Ford

# 63 – Party of One – Nick Lowe

# 62 – Faith Hope Love – King’s X

# 61 – Tattooed Millionaire – Bruce Dickinson

# 60 – Charmed Life – Billy Idol

# 59 – Goodbye Jumbo – World Party

# 58 – The Caution Horses – The Cowboy Junkies

# 57 – Armchair Theatre – Jeff Lynne

# 56 – Eclipse – Yngwie Malmsteen

# 55 – Closer to the Flame – Dave Edmunds

# 54 – The Good Son – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

# 53 – 39/Smooth – Green Day

# 52 – All Shook Down – The Replacements

# 51 – Flesh and Blood – Poison

# 50 – Blue Sky Mining – Midnight Oil

# 49 – Firehouse  – Firehouse

# 48 – Blaze Of Glory – Jon Bon Jovi

# 47 – Social Distortion – Social Distortion

# 46 – Seasons In The Abyss – Slayer

# 45 – Rust In Death – Megadeth

# 44 – Crazy World – Scorpions

# 43 – Lawn Boy – Phish

# 42 – Persistence of Time – Anthrax

# 41 – Cherry Pie – Warrant

# 40 – Lock Up the Wolves – Dio

# 39 – Behind The Mask – Fleetwood Mac

# 38 – 10 – The Stranglers

# 37 – Porngraffiti – Extreme

# 36 – Representing The Mambo – Little Feat

# 35 – Violator – Depeche Mode

# 34 – Brick By Brick – Iggy Pop

# 33 – Blues Traveler – Blues Traveler

# 32 – Stick It To Ya – Slaughter

# 31 – Brigade – Heart

# 30 – Graffiti Bridge – Prince

# 29 – Apple – Mother Love Bone

# 28 – Recycler – ZZ Top

# 27 – Bossanova – Pixies

# 26 – Cowboys From Hell – Pantera

# 25 – Slaves and Masters – Deep Purple

# 24 – A Night on the Town – Bruce Hornsby and the Range

# 23 – Live It Up – Crosby, Stills & Nash

# 22 – Tyr – Black Sabbath

# 21 – Refugees of the Heart – Steve Winwood

# 20 – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got – Sinead O’Connor

# 19 – Enlightment – Van Morrison

# 18 – Damm Yankees – Damm Yankees

# 17 – Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 – Traveling Wilburys

# 16 – Goo – Sonic Youth

# 15 – Packed! – The Pretenders

# 14 – Passion and Warfare – Steve Vai

# 13 – The Razors Edge – AC/DC

# 12 – X – INXS

# 11 – Family Style – The Vaughan Brothers Stevie & Jimmy

# 10 – Times Up – Living Colour

#  9 – Facelift – Alice In Chains

#  8 – Ritual De Lo Habitual – Janes Addiction

#  7 -The Rhythm Of The Saints – Paul Simon

#  6 – Empire – Queensryche

#  5 – Maniac Nirvana – Robert Plant

#  4 – Seven Turns – The Allman Brothers Band

#  3 – Painkiller – Judas Priest

#  2 – Shake Your Money Maker – The Black Crowes

#  1 – Ragged Glory – Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Other Influential Non-rock 1990 Albums

There were some very influential albums released in 1990 in the hip hop and R&B worlds that we did nit put in this list recuse they pretty much fell out of the rock genre. 1990 saw the debut album from Mariah Carey, an artist that would become one of the most successful female singers of all time and an extremely influential vocalist. Her debut album went straight to number one. Five singles were released from the album.  Run D.M.C continued to be a dominant force and groundbreaking in so many ways in the evolving rap world. And of course, one cannot mention the year 1990 without mentioning the impact of Public Enemy on society. While some classic rock fans may not show much interest in these groups, as a historical sight it is important to look at the music that surrounds the rock genres as musical influences are a two-way street.

Mariah Carey’s Debut Album

RUN D.M.C. Back From Hell

Public Enemy – Fear Of A Black Planet

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Best Albums of The Year Series

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1970’s Best Classic Rock Albums List

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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

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1980’s Best Rock Albums List

1981’s Best Rock Albums List

1982’s Best Rock Albums List

1983’s Best Rock Albums List

1984’s Best Rock Albums List

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