1991, the best year for music...

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   ...IMO, in case you didn't know.

Choose your favorite of my favorites from that year.  No other option because it's not necessary.

Vote if you've heard at least 3 of them (buy 3 of them if you haven't).

A bit about how I feel about each album:

Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
This is one I've gotten into only recently, but it's already my pick.  Listen to it in the dark; it's absolutely sublime.  Sure, nothing ever happens, at least not in the purest sense, but in that nothing is the great expanse of everything.  This album is an experience like no other.  Spirit of Eden was amazing and a masterpiece in its own right, but this one is their magnum opus.

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
In a manner unlike most other albums, this is an album you either "get" or you don't.  There's little in between.  Kevin Shields' wall of sound guitar creates an amazing soundscape, and it dominates the gorgeous music.  The vocals are present, but they sink into the music, just another layer in perhaps the most perfectly layered album of all time.  It's an ebbing, flowing mass of ethereal beauty.  Unbelievable.

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Being a fan of Death and Cynic, it's only natural I should like Atheist.  While this doesn't quite stand up to Cynic's Focus, one of the best metal albums I've heard, Unquestionable Presence is quite the accomplishment.  At under 40 minutes, it is one of the shortest, purest metal bursts I know.  Concise, powerful, and unquestionably awesome, this album needs to be heard to be believed.  Jazz metal near its very best.

Pearl Jam - Ten
I'm sure this album won't get much credit from this site, but it's truly the peak of the entire grunge movement.  It seems like all the music inspired by this is terrible (here's looking at you, Nickelback), but Ten itself is incredible.  Built from powerful, poignant songs with stellar music backing them, Ten is one of the most heartfelt and well-constructed albums I know.

Massive Attack - Blue Lines
Massive Attack released their masterpiece with Mezzanine in 1998, but Blue Lines, their debut, is their most important album.  Pioneering what's now known as trip-hop, Blue Lines mixes soulful female vocals with almost monotone male raps, a perfect contrast only enhanced by the excellent beats and ambience.  This doesn't hit home with the power of Mezzanine, but few debuts are as well realized and enjoyable as this.  Exquisite.

Primal Scream - Screamadelica
The first song on this album, the gospel-esque "Movin' On Up", opens with a quote from that esteemed Krautrock band, Can.  "I was blind, now I can see, you made a believer, out of me" (from "Yoo Doo Right" from Can's debut album, Monster Movie).  That certainly applies to my reaction to Screamadelica.  I didn't like it at first, but now I am a fervent believer.  Perhaps the ultimate psychedelic electronic experience, Screamadelica is, despite its name, a perfect album for a warm summer night, lying in a hammock and letting yourself be absorbed by the power of this fabulous music.

Slint - Spiderland
Like with Laughing Stock, Spiderland is really only possible to describe as sublime.  Again like Laughing Stock, it is a key player in the development of post-rock, but it doesn't hold to the cliches so prevalent in modern post-rock bands.  Instead, this is skeletal rock, haunting and intense, with spoken word vocals that only enhance the effect.  Once again like Laughing Stock, this album requires a good pair of headphones and a dark room.  It takes a while, but once it hits, it bowls you over, and then there's no turning back.

A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Along with Nas' Illmatic and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back, this is in my top three rap albums.  With amazing bass grooves holding down the album, The Low End Theory utilizes choice jazz samples, sparse beats, and, most importantly, two of the best rappers ever to create a nearly perfect listening experience.  There are none of the skits that bring down so many rap albums.  There is just music that begs to be listened to again and again.  And again.

Poll Question: Best Album of 1991 (from my favorites)
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock	5	[18.52%]
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless	4	[14.81%]
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence	4	[14.81%]
Pearl Jam - Ten	5	[18.52%]
Massive Attack - Blue Lines	4	[14.81%]
Primal Scream - Screamadelica	1	[3.70%]
Slint - Spiderland	2	[7.41%]
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory	2	[7.41%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted

Post Reply	Page 12 3 5 >