Roughly contemporaneous albums that I bought during my last two years of high school

Nirvana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMBFts2aoAM

It should also be noted that most of my contemporaries were jamming out to 'Boot Scootin' Boogie' and 'Way Down Yonder On The Chatahoochee', so they didn't have much of a hand in helping me broaden my musical palate.

As noted elsewhere on the board at some point (prrrrrobably in the Deadeye Dick thread), the top two songs as voted by my graduating class were 'New Age Girl' and 'Mary Moon'.

hey now, that was a little golden age for country, as well.

def breeders or pj.

going to throw Elastica some love.

Breeders, PJ and Elastica all stuff I like, yet somehow never owned. Although it's not the best record on the list by a long shot I have a soft spot for that Luscious Jackson.

The Bjork, Breeders, Elastica, Lush and Bad Seeds albums all very good, but the PJ Harvey ones win this.

Rid Of Me > In Utero > Zooropa

The Björk album is one of the best records of the 90s, everything else on the list awful 90s "alternative rock" stuff.

This is a cool poll idea though, I decided to do an alternate poll from my point of view as a dance music 90s kid. Hope you don't mind?

(An alternate) List of roughly contemporaneous albums I bought during last two years of high school (96 to 98)

crooked rain

Voting "Live Through This" over the PJs.

aka the "CD Warehouse 5.99 Buys Thread"

I think this is Superunknown for me, mostly cos that's an all-time album, but i f/w more than 50% of this list.

Ill Communication a close second for "Root Down", "Sure Shot", and "Get It Together".

The Björk album is one of the best records of the 90s, everything else on the list awful 90s "alternative rock" stuff.

― Tuomas, Sunday, April 3, 2016 5:17 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I mean, yeah, but part of my point was that this was my attempt to stretch out musically when I had no idea how far-reaching music was. This was pre-internet, and I'd spent a number of years living in a succession of rural nowheresvilles. I wasn't aware of music media beyond, like, Rolling Stone, and even that wasn't available in my small town. Aside from my best friend who was way into Kyuss, no one I knew listened to anything beyond what was on the radio or MTV. Neither of my parents had much interest in or use for music. I would occasionally go to a neighboring town to see a show but they were pretty much exclusively local hard rock bands. I knew I wanted something more, but who even knew what lay beyond the boundaries of what I'd experienced?

In quick succession post-high school, my gateways to the lands beyond were: picking up Further Down the Spiral and wondering who this Aphex Twin guy was, picking up Luscious Jackson's 'Here' 12" and wondering who this Tricky guy was, going to college and meeting the riot grrrl I had a huge crush on and who made me awesome mix tapes, discovering Spin and then checking out the Spin Alternative Record Guide from the library and then discovering that a lot of the albums in that book that I'd never heard of were available at that same library and then it was all over from there.

And of course I don't mind you or anyone else picking up this torch. The arc of people's development, musically or otherwise, is fascinating to me.

But also, no, while there's unquestionable garbage in this list, a surprising number of these albums have held up amazingly well.

It occurs to me that some of the more solid rock albums here (like Vitalogy and American Thighs and Siamese Dream and Purple) are sort of analogous to '70s AOR. Nothing earth-shattering, maybe a little on the dumb side, but they do the job and rock like a solid Doobie Brothers album. The soundtrack to cruising around in a Dodge Plymouth.

The first Foo Fighters album (which I accidentally omitted) fits this bill, too. I don't really have time for much they did afterwards, but I'll rep for that first album all day long.

Also realizing I omitted the Gin Blossoms' New Miserable Experience (which I was embarrassed about shortly after buying it but have kinda come around on in recent years) and the first Hootie and the Blowfish album (which is just full-on indefensible except that I bought it sight unseen based on their track on the Led Zeppelin tribute album, which is maybe the only time they were good).

Good list but bjork forever

Pablo Honey is a really good album. I forget whether this board hates radiohead though

I mean, yeah, but part of my point was that this was my attempt to stretch out musically when I had no idea how far-reaching music was.

No need to apologize for not being Tuomas.

Transmissions from the Satellite Heart

rid of me

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Wowee Zowee

Could I request a month's extension for the voting? Can't figure this one out.

I can't figure it out, either. This is why I need your help.

last splash

OK fair enough, my vote's in.

It was down to Beastie Boys, Breeders, and Sonic Youth's Dirty. I saw Lush on their '92 tour but don't really remember that album (due to senility)

Did people outside of Australia really buy Frenté albums? On behalf of our nation I'm truly sorry.

bjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkvbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkvbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjorkbjork bjork bjork bjork bjork

Albums I can't even decide between because I love them so much:
Beck-Mellow Gold
Juliana Hatfield-Only Everything
Liz Phair-Whip Smart
Lush-Spooky
Pavement-Wowee Zowee
Sonic Youth-Dirty
Sonic Youth-Experimental Jet Set Trash And No Star

Albums I have such a deep situational attachment to that my attendant opinion is basically completely untrustworthy:
Frente!-Marvin the Album
Jeff Buckley-Grace
REM-Automatic For The People

Really good albums that I like a lot:
Beck-One Foot In The Grave
Belly-Star
Breeders-Last Splash
PJ Harvey-Rid Of Me

Cool albums that rock:
Elastica-s/t
Flaming Lips-Transmissions From The Satellite Heart
Foo Fighters - S/T (forgot to poll)
Hum-You'd Prefer An Astronaut
Pearl Jam-Vitalogy
Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dream
Stone Temple Pilots-Purple
Sugar-File Under Easy Listening
Veruca Salt-American Thighs

Good but I prefer the previous album:
Beastie Boys-Ill Communication
Belly-King
Faith No More-King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime
PJ Harvey-To Bring You My Love
REM-Monster
Soundgarden-Superunknown
Sundays-Blind
Ween-Chocolate & Cheese

Good but I prefer the subsequent album:
Bjork-Debut
Blind Melon-s/t
Luscious Jackson-Natural Ingredients
Pavement-Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Pearl Jam-Vs.
Radiohead-Pablo Honey

Good but I prefer the previous and subsequent albums:
Juliana Hatfield Three-Become What You Are
Tori Amos-Under The Pink

Good but not as into it these days:
Hole-Live Through This
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds-Let Love In
Nirvana-In Utero

Pretty okay but mostly eh:
Frank Black-s/t
Grant Lee Buffalo-Mighty Joe Moon
Meat Puppets-Too High To Die
Soul Asylum-Grave Dancers Union

Haven't listened to in forever but probably not my thing anymore:
Nine Inch Nails-The Downward Spiral
Tool-Undertow
U2-Zooropa

I don't even know what:
Ruby-Salt Peter
Tracy Bonham-The Burdens Of Being Upright

Albums I might still choose to hear:

Breeders-Last Splash
Liz Phair-Whip Smart
Nirvana-In Utero
Pavement-Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
PJ Harvey-Rid Of Me
Sonic Youth-Dirty

Went w/ Liz Phair only 'cuz Whip Smart isn't indelibly tattooed into my brain.

Did people outside of Australia really buy Frenté albums? On behalf of our nation I'm truly sorry.

― MatthewK, Tuesday, May 31, 2016 12:15 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Bizarre Love Triangle got a ton of MTV play, but I don't think it went beyond that.

BLT is the only Frente song I even know and I really like it. I heard it roughly two years before I ever heard the original.

'Labour of Love' also got some MTV rotation. The album might be objectively dumb and bad but I find it so mellow and comforting and I still listen to it semi-regularly. But I really do think the production is great. It's a very warm and intimate sounding album.

i bought pretty much all of these records in the mid-90s too - starting to wonder if old lunch is my tyler-durden-esque schizophrenic alter ego or if i'm his

For me this really is the two Pavement albums lmao

Then Belly 'Star'

voted bjork

i bought pretty much all of these records in the mid-90s too

you're not alone in that. welcome to the demographic.

i bought pretty much all of these records in the mid-90s too - starting to wonder if old lunch is my tyler-durden-esque schizophrenic alter ego or if i'm his

― benzarro ghazarri (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, May 31, 2016 5:36 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't know, either, but we seriously need to stop beating the shit out of ourselves.

Okay, I closed my eyes and picked one. My other beloved children will surely hate me forever now.

still the 2 best Becks imo

I have to go with Wowee Zowee, though I'm tempted by American Thighs, and the only thing I can say in my defense is that I hated both albums on release and didn't come around for over a decade. Tracy Bonham taught music classes at my son's school a few years ago, though I don't think that was her only gig. Veruca Salt and Radiohead seem to be in the best musical shape in 2015/2016 unless I've missed someone.

Undertow still rules

rid of me. but yeah as someone who was in hs between '93 and '96 i bought a hell of a lot of these. many via columbia house scamming.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I actually have both Frente albums and the Labour of Love EP. The EP is still my favorite of the three, but I listened to Shape about a month or two ago and enjoyed it more than I remembered.

lol, apparently, my whip-smart vote didn't count