Mixes By Year: 1991- Most Recommended Albums

1991 was a game changing year mostly known to music-geeks as the “year punk-rock broke” – i.e.- the year Nirvana kicked Michael Jackson out of the number one album chart and saved the world from increasingly awful hair metal bands. In addition to the classic “Nevermind” by Nirvana, “Badmotorfinger” (Soundgarden’s mainstream breakthrough), “Ten” (the debut album by soon to be world-dominating Pearl Jam), and “Gish” (the still underground but great debut by The Smashing Pumpkins) all happened in ’91. Grunge music, primarily from Seattle, completely dominated the U.S. alternative scene.

British music was in its pre-Brit-pop era- dominated by the baggy, post-rave music lead by the excellent Primal Scream and Blur (with their debut album) along with lesser bands like The Farm & The Soup Dragons and the even dancier music of The Pet Shop Boys, Future Sound of London, Orbital, The Orb & Saint Etienne- much of which could be classified as full-on House music. “My Bloody Valentine” released their epic masterpiece “Loveless” which set the bar for the entire shoegaze movement.

Rap music experienced one of the best year’s in its history to date with great pop-rap tracks like “O.P.P.” and “Summertime” placing high on the pop charts and conscious-rap Native tongues groups like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul & Black Sheep all releasing brilliant, inventive albums alongside harder-edged rappers Public Enemy, Gang Starr and Ice Cube.

’91 would set off a 4 year period of great music where some extremely left of center music would be able to compete in the mainstream.

Nirvana- Nevermind

Buy Buy Nevermind