best of the 1990's: 1990-1995

Alright, so here is my witty rejoinder to Destroy-the-Scene's massive 90's list. Yet unlike DtS, I am not a sadist, so I have divided my list into two more digestible chunks. ALSO unlike certain other writers here, I know the RULES for making these lists, so only one release per artist, and no releases that were already listed by Sean. Let's do this!

death - spiritual healing (1990)
a classic death metal album

read the rest!

london posse - gangster chronicle (1990)
UK hip hop

nocturnus - the key (1990)
definitely the best death metal about time travel

obituary - cause of death (1990)
death metal. I saw a dude wearing a shirt with this on it, wandering up and down the same block of Mission street, like five times over the course of an hour

atheist - unquestionable presence (1991)
my favorite progressive death metal album!

confessor - condemned (1991)
progressive metal with exceptionally over-the-top vocals

hijack - the horns of jericho (1991)
political UK rap

my bloody valentine - loveless (1991)
one of my favorite albums ever! how did this not make your list, Sean?

pestilence - testimony of the ancients (1991)
dutch progressive death metal

von - satanic blood (1991)
the first american black metal, insanely lo-fi and primitive, from SF

big black - pigpile (1992)
I wouldn't normally count live albums in lists like these, but this was my introduction to big black so it gets a spot

dr. dre - the chronic (1992)
honestly I was kind of torn between this and chronic 2001, but I had to go with the original

ice cube - the predator (1992)
ice cube has a number of classic albums, but only one has "it was a good day" on it

ministry - psalm 69 (1992)
NEVER TRUST A JUNKIE

neurosis - souls at zero (1992)
oakland's heaviest

pungent stench - been caught buttering (1992)
disgusting austrian death metal

r.b.l. posse - a lesson to be learned (1992)
maybe the best SF rap album of all time, even just for "bammer weed"

cynic - focus (1993)
jazzy progressive death metal with bizarro vocoder vocals!!

sleep - sleep's holy mountain (1993)
the best sabbath-worship stoner metal album ever

snoop doggy dogg - doggystyle (1993)
if you don't love this, you have no soul

beastie boys - ill communication (1994)
what can I say, I got fond memories

darkthrone - transilvanian hunger (1994)
the best black metal album ever?!?

method man - tical (1994)
kind of uneven, but you can't really go wrong with any of the first-wave of wu-tang releases

slowdive - souvlaki (1994)
second only to MBV in the world of shoegaze, & one of my favorite albums ever

at the gates - slaughter of the soul (1995)
classic melodic death metal, launched the entire Gothenburg scene

dissection - storm of the light's bane (1995)
one of the best melodic death albums ever

dre dog - i hate you with a passion (1995)
classic bay area rap, incredibly dark and violent

E-40 - in a major way (1995)
more classic bay area rap


meshuggah - destroy erase improve (1995)
one of the best technical death metal bands' excellent debut

ol' dirty bastard - return to the 36 chambers (1995)
RIP

today is the day - willpower (1995)
unhinged trashy rock, before today is the day got way metal