Best Album from the Alternative Nation 1992-1995

surely Belly's Star qualified? And it went gold.

Voted REM, just ahead of the Beastie Boys and Nirvana.

A lot of the albums on that list are rather dull, to be honest.

xpost It was bubbling just under the surface, for sure. I'd say it might've been an accidental omission, but I crunched a lot of data in putting this together, so I just have to trust the science whatever my gut might say to the contrary.

Just so we're clear, this isn't a list of the best albums from this era (although some of these albums would be on that list). This is a list of the best albums whose song titles at some point emerged from the mouth of Matt Pinfield or Kennedy or your local edge station DJ.

In utero, with Rid of Me a close second.

Guyville or Post, I'm thinking. I shall sleep on it!

i have to listen to that luscious jackson album again, i loved it at the time but had somehow totally forgotten about it. it was so groovy, energetic, powerful and vibrant. i voted for dirty just ahead of automatic for the people.

So many great records here. I'm going with Superunknown closely over Automatic and Exile in Guyville.

Toadies but no Nine Inch nails?

This list seems to have a lot of second best albums by some core bands and misses some other bands entirely.

Wound up voting Beasties.

(scans checklist) Let's see...Dirt, Washing Machine...ah, there it is, The Downward Spiral (ticks box)

My thing is, while it isn't a bad album and otherwise fits most of the poll criteria...I don't really find myself wanting to listen to The Downward Spiral these days. Like ever. Some of that stuff just feels like a bad depresso teenage hangover to me when I hear it now.

crooked rain doesn't really seem popular enough, but it's either that one or guyville (which is also maybe not popular enough? idk i was 3 when it came out)

'Cut Your Hair' was in heavy rotation on 120 Minutes/Alternative Nation, 'Range Life' and 'Never Said' slightly less so.

.I don't really find myself wanting to listen to The Downward Spiral these days. Like ever. Some of that stuff just feels like a bad depresso teenage hangover to me when I hear it now.
otm. i was quite crazy for that album when it came out but after the initial enthusiasm which lasted a couple of moths i don't think i ever listened to it again. it is definitely music which does not brighten my mood. these days i am not so crazy for that kind of music anymore...

(I think the video for 'Gold Soundz' got some play, too, but I don't think I personally remember seeing it on MTV.)

xpost Yeah, I mean, I could've included like Dirt and Psalm 69 because they're fine albums but they just kinda bum me the fuck out these days.

They bummed me the fuck out back in the day, too, but I'm slightly less masochistic these days.

Guyville, and maybe Crooked Rain, don't seem like they belong in this crowd

I can understand the qualms with Guyville (I frankly snuck it in on a technicality, as she didn't really get much traction on MTV until 'Supernova') but I know I saw the 'Cut Your Hair' video dozens of times.

FWIW, given my geographical isolation during much of the timeframe covered by this poll, MTV and radio play is the only way I discovered music, so I can confirm that nothing in the list is that obscure.

this might be the most difficult poll i've ever encountered on this site.

Was tempted to vote for Foos or Veruca bc I have a lot of affection for them and I doubt they’ll get much support.

Kind of tired of voting for Nirvana, REM, PJ for things so I ended up picking Hole

I was just glancing through to see what, specifically, I omitted by perversely starting with 1992 instead of 1991 and...holy cow, how did I never before realize that Nevermind and Badmotorfinger and (well...) Blood Sugar Sex Magik were all released on the exact same day (see also: The Low End Theory)?!?

If the Hole album was "Celebrity Skin" it would be an easy choice, but . . . Exile? Or Automatic? Dirty?

Also I know it won't be a top contender but that Luscious Jackson album remains an extremely pleasurable listen. "Citysong" is so great.

Blind Melon - Soup

plenty of records i love on this list but i might vote for this one bc no one else will

it is way better than the s/t

For sure. Also one of those albums where, y'know, good luck getting anyone who only knows them for 'No Rain' to even consider giving it a shot.

(That one was also kind of a cheat, I guess, since 'Galaxie' didn't exactly set the world on fire.)

feel like Ill Communication would be a better pick here than Check Your head though obviously CYH also owns.

I haven’t listened to any of these in ages. Looking back over the list the one I’d be most tempted to pull off the shelf for a listen is probably Pure Guava, strangely enough. I’m sure it’s not the best on this list though.

I like a lot of these albums a lot. I never expected to see a poll where I'd have to choose between Pure Guava and You'd Prefer An Astronaut, and that is a very difficult choice for me.

Pure Guava is one of these where chunks of its sequencing often plays in my head subconsciously. Don't you just love those?

Oasis looks completely out of place in this list.

Oasis looks completely out of place in this list.

Siamese Dream vs In Utero for me

the fact that Pure Guava was Ween's "Major Label" album will always be funny to me. its such a dopey little album - I never really parsed what a lot of the actual songs were until I heard the live versions. still, "Little Birdy" will always be one of the all-time great album openers, that guitar tone is wild

Blind Melon - Soup

plenty of records i love on this list but i might vote for this one bc no one else will

I uh actually almost voted for this for the same reason (but ended up going with Guyville)

If this included Gala instead of Spooky, my vote would be obvious

Leaning Bjork but To Bring You My Love is beckoning

Rid of Me, or In Utero, or Live through This.

spooky

the Guthrie production never bothered me, in fact, it rules imo

I feel like the production made a lot of the songs feel inconsequential and bland. (Not so much so that I dislike the album but definitely enough that I didn't like it as much as I wanted to.)

Turns out a 10-year break was all I needed to laugh my ass off at the stupid shit on Pure Guava again.

I might go for Soup, too. I love the interplay of the guitars and I think Shannon Hoon was an underrated (if sentimental) lyricist.

Another opportunity for me to point out the stunning similarity between Shannon Hoon's and Micky Dolenz's singing voices.

Hoon and Karen Dalton too!

Why Jar of Flies over Dirt? The former too heavy?

Anyway it's Faith No More vs Bjork.

xpost I mentioned it upthread. Dirt is bad vibes city. I can appreciate it for what it is but I can't really listen to it these days. Whereas Jar of Flies is improbably gorgeous and almost perfect and still in fairly regular rotation for me.

Post

Siamese Dream wins by a nose, Hole / FNM / Nirvana tie for 2nd place. 1992-1995 era me would have complained about the lack of RATM, RCHP and Weezer on this list tbh.

It is, perhaps, telling that 2019 era you isn't making too big a stink about their omission. I could never really get into any of those dudes.

Nowadays when I hear RATM I can't help but picture de la Rocha marching offstage after a heavy 'FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHATCHA TELL ME' sesh and walking up to an Epic exec and being all
https://media0.giphy.com/media/dpqQNluWFaSpq/giphy.gif

Nice to see a few fond memories of the Luscious Jackson album, that might actually be my pick. Or Bjork, but I'm feeling like neither of those quite fit in with the popularity level of Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Pumpkins et al.

Maybe not Luscious Jackson so much (or not the first album, anyway), but if nothing else I feel like the video for 'I Miss You' got a lot of MTV play even outside of the alterna-ghetto.

I remember going to a party in college before RATM had really blown up. I can’t remember if I had heard the album or a few songs before, but I was super high and someone put the debut on super loud and Bombtrack came on and sounded immense and everyone was losing their minds.

Voted Superunknown over Crooked Rain.

Voted Siamese Dream. Not my favorite album on this list, but when I close my eyes and conjure up Alternative Nation on MTV (and esp Buzz Bin commercials), that "Today" ice cream truck driving through the desert pops into my head more vividly than any other image.

it's Mellon Collie, the only Gen X magnum opus. 2 hours long, 28 songs, all of them great. would vote for it based on the lyrics alone. many great records here, but nothing is even in the same universe as Mellon Collie.

based on the lyrics alone

"Who wants honey / Long as there's some money"?

C'mon, flaps... ;P

that's on Siamese Dream

and yeah it is a shit lyric in an otherwise perfect song

I have watched this in full at least 20 times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U7QGPz4xmA

Haha, my bad

(I had my wires crossed w/the 1993 thread)

(flaps tho, I have to raise you -- "...I'm still just a rat in a cage"!)

that one is better than honey/money and I think works in the context of the song, which is as reflexive and self aware and it is big, loud, and silly.

as it is*

besides, "the world is a vampire" is one of the all time best opening lines to a song or anything ever

at the time, all I could think when watching the video was "despite all my rage / my head still looks like an egg"

at the time it would have been an extremely tough call between Check Your Head and Siamese Dream, but honestly can't listen to Corgan's bullshit any more even the "classic" stuff.

now it's basically 3-way tie for me between CYH/ CRCR/ Mellow Gold, and those just edging out Transmissions.

i guess since CYH makes it both times i should give it the vote,,,

'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' often reminds me of the Grand Royal interview with Weird Al where a pre-fame Spike Jonez (posing as a random fan) interrupts to present a baffled Al with the golden lyric 'despite my old age/I am still making minimum wage'.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

so what’cha want is all time and I want to live inside that video with the song on infinite loop.

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

That seems about right.

Yeah, v solid results.