247 Album Verdict
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35th Anniversary · 1991

35th Anniversary Albums (1991)

Mid-90s touchstones turning 35 this year — records that launched careers, genres and arguments that still haven't been resolved.

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Blood Sugar Sex MagikRed Hot Chili Peppers
1991 · Rock

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The funk-rock breakthrough produced by Rick Rubin, balancing party energy with the tender 'Under the Bridge'. Loose and huge. Their defining record.

Vinyl → CD →
Laughing StockTalk Talk
1991 · Punk & New Wave

Laughing Stock

Talk Talk

A hushed, improvisational landmark that helped invent post-rock. Spacious and beautiful. A quiet masterpiece.

Vinyl → CD →
TenPearl Jam
1991 · Rock

Ten

Pearl Jam

A passionate, anthemic debut that helped define grunge's mainstream, from 'Alive' to 'Jeremy'. Earnest and huge. A 90s cornerstone.

Vinyl → CD →
We Can't Be StoppedGeto Boys
1991 · Hip-Hop

We Can't Be Stopped

Geto Boys

A raw, influential Southern-rap landmark, home to 'Mind Playing Tricks on Me'. Dark and beloved. A genre cornerstone.

Vinyl → CD →
Death CertificateIce Cube
1991 · Hip-Hop

Death Certificate

Ice Cube

A furious, divisive peak of political West Coast rap. Bold and acclaimed. A landmark.

Vinyl → CD →
Breaking AtomsMain Source
1991 · Hip-Hop

Breaking Atoms

Main Source

A jazzy, influential landmark of sample-based production. Smooth and beloved. A genre cornerstone.

Vinyl → CD →
The Orb's Adventures Beyond the UltraworldThe Orb
1991 · Electronic

The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld

The Orb

A sprawling, ambient-house landmark of cosmic drift. Immersive and beloved. A genre cornerstone.

Vinyl → CD →
Effigy of the ForgottenSuffocation
1991 · Metal

Effigy of the Forgotten

Suffocation

A foundational brutal-death-metal landmark. Crushing and influential. A genre cornerstone.

Vinyl → CD →
Like an Ever Flowing StreamDismember
1991 · Metal

Like an Ever Flowing Stream

Dismember

A foundational Swedish death-metal landmark. Heavy and beloved. A genre cornerstone.

Vinyl → CD →
NevermindNirvana
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Nevermind

Nirvana

The record that dragged underground rock into the mainstream overnight, marrying punk energy to pop hooks and Butch Vig's clean production. 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is the calling card, but the album runs deep. Its impact on the 1990s is impossible to overstate.

Vinyl → CD →
LovelessMy Bloody Valentine
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Loveless

My Bloody Valentine

The defining shoegaze album, a wall of bent, gliding guitars and buried melody that took years and a fortune to make. Immersive and singular, it has never really been matched. Best played loud on headphones.

Vinyl → CD →
The Low End TheoryA Tribe Called Quest
1991 · Hip-Hop

The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest

Jazz-rap perfected, marrying upright bass and crisp drums to relaxed, conscious rhymes. Hugely influential on alternative hip-hop. One of the genre's most beloved albums.

Vinyl → CD →
MetallicaMetallica
1991 · Metal

Metallica

Metallica

The 'Black Album' that took metal mainstream, trading thrash complexity for tight, heavy anthems like 'Enter Sandman'. Massive and inescapable. Their commercial peak.

Vinyl → CD →
Achtung BabyU2
1991 · Rock

Achtung Baby

U2

A bold reinvention into irony, distortion and dance textures, recorded in Berlin. 'One' is its heart. A brave, brilliant pivot.

Vinyl → CD →
ScreamadelicaPrimal Scream
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Screamadelica

Primal Scream

The album where indie rock dissolved into acid house and gospel euphoria, capturing the rave era. Joyful and pioneering. A genre-blurring classic.

Vinyl → CD →
Blue LinesMassive Attack
1991 · Electronic

Blue Lines

Massive Attack

Often credited with inventing trip-hop, a slow, soulful blend of hip-hop, dub and soul that set a template for the decade. Smooth and innovative. A genuine pioneer.

Vinyl → CD →
AriseSepultura
1991 · Metal

Arise

Sepultura

A ferocious thrash-death peak of precision. Brutal and acclaimed. A high point.

Vinyl → CD →
HumanDeath
1991 · Metal

Human

Death

A technical, progressive death-metal peak of complexity and feel. Ambitious and acclaimed. A genre high point.

Vinyl → CD →
BadmotorfingerSoundgarden
1991 · Rock

Badmotorfinger

Soundgarden

A heavy, riff-driven grunge peak before Superunknown. Powerful and acclaimed. A high point.

Vinyl → CD →
Out of TimeR.E.M.
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Out of Time

R.E.M.

A lush, eclectic blockbuster, home to 'Losing My Religion'. Tuneful and enormous. Their commercial peak.

Vinyl → CD →
Trompe le MondePixies
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Trompe le Monde

Pixies

A heavier, denser final album of the original run. Sharp and beloved. A strong close.

Vinyl → CD →
DangerousMichael Jackson
1991 · Pop

Dangerous

Michael Jackson

A new-jack-swing reinvention of slick, hard-edged pop. Polished and huge. A commercial peak.

Vinyl → CD →
Necroticism - Descanting the InsalubriousCarcass
1991 · Metal

Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious

Carcass

A technical, gory death-metal peak. Brutal and acclaimed. A genre high point.

Vinyl → CD →
BandwagonesqueTeenage Fanclub
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Bandwagonesque

Teenage Fanclub

A power-pop landmark of jangly Big Star worship. Tuneful and beloved. A 90s favourite.

Vinyl → CD →
Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes BlackPublic Enemy
1991 · Hip-Hop

Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black

Public Enemy

A sharp, politically charged peak of dense production. Bold and acclaimed. A high point.

Vinyl → CD →
Blessed Are the SickMorbid Angel
1991 · Metal

Blessed Are the Sick

Morbid Angel

A dark, ambitious death-metal peak. Brutal and acclaimed. A genre high point.

Vinyl → CD →
Ropin' the WindGarth Brooks
1991 · Country & Americana

Ropin' the Wind

Garth Brooks

A blockbuster that cemented Brooks as country's biggest star. Tuneful and enormous. A commercial peak.

Vinyl → CD →
Damn Right, I've Got the BluesBuddy Guy
1991 · Blues

Damn Right, I've Got the Blues

Buddy Guy

A fiery comeback that reasserted Guy as a guitar great, with high-profile guests. Electric and acclaimed. A modern blues high point.

Vinyl → CD →
SpiderlandSlint
1991 · Alternative & Indie

Spiderland

Slint

A quiet, eerie, hugely influential record that effectively invented post-rock. Tense and singular. A cult landmark.

Vinyl → CD →
De La Soul Is DeadDe La Soul
1991 · Hip-Hop

De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul

A darker, denser follow-up that rejected the hippie label. Sharp and ambitious. A grower among fans.

Vinyl → CD →