20 Years Later: The 15 Best Albums of 1991
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In last week's edition of our regular feature, The Conversation, Pete Freedman and Daniel Hopkins debated on whether 1991 or 1994 was the greatest music year of the '90s. It was an interesting read for sure.
And, since this week marks the 20th anniversary of the release of both Nevermind and The Low End Theory, we figured it fitting to put together a list of 1991's top 15 releases. Because whether you're on Team '91 or Team '94, it doesn't matter: '91 will still forever be considered one of the best years in music history.
After the jump, we prove once and for all just why it is and will forever be considered so damn great.
Innuendo - Queen
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The 14th full-length from the band was also the last released with singer Freddie Mercury, who died only ten months later. While not one of their biggest hits, the title track was the longest single Queen ever released (35 seconds longer than "Bohemian Rhapsody") and eventually helped the album move 11 million units.
Niggaz4life - N.W.A.
Though the album suffered due to the departure of Ice Cube, Niggaz4life still featured Dr. Dre's groundbreaking production. As the controversial group continued their battles with the PMRC (the parental advisory folks) the album still managed to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was instrumental in bringing gangsta rap into the mainstream.
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Use Your Illusion I & II - Guns N' Roses
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GNR's third and fourth studio efforts, released months apart, are often viewed as the double album that allowed the band to really show off their versatility; the album features tinges of country, blues, prog, and classical. Spastic frontman Axl Rose even manages to stop snake-dancing long enough to sit down at the piano for several tracks.
Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog
Though it didn't blow up until the 1992 reissue, the project featuring Soundgarden members Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron (who would also later drum for Pearl Jam) and future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready,and Eddie Vedder was first released in April 1991. Only after Pearl Jam's Ten and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger dropped later in the fall did folks truly grasp the magnitude of the collaboration.
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Naughty by Nature - Naughty by Nature
While the '80s were welcomed in with the question "Who shot JR?," the '90s officially began with us wondering not only just what was an O.P.P. was, but fearing we just might be one. Other people's pussy? Other people's property? We're still not 100 percent sure, but time has proven Naughty by Nature's self-titled second album to be one of the best rap albums of all time, fueled largely on the strength of one of the greatest rap singles of all time.
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