What is your favorite alternative rock album from 1991?

M

Mr Mangoes

New member
I don't think every thread has to be master-planned. An idea came about from another thread, a new thread was started and it's a worthy discussion. Done.
 
I was 16 in 1991 and I was into the usual alternative rock banRAB at the time. I won't choose a favorite but I can make a list of favorites from a year of so many good albums. And I'll even limit this to favorite albums that I was actually listening to in 1991:

Loveless by rabV
Sebadoh III
The Pod by Ween
Gish by Smashing Pumpkins
Trompe le Monde by Pixies
and, yes, Nevermind by Nirvana
 
Even though Gish was my favorite by and large, I think that the single most underrated album of that year was this little gem:

The_Violent_Femmes-Why_Do_BirRAB_Sing.jpg


Indeed, Why Do BirRAB Sing? by the Violent Femmes is one of the most underrated albums of all time. With brilliant production and stellar songwriting competed by Gordon Gano's weird humor and annoying, er, distinctive voice, I rate it as high as anything else they've done. Shame this one always gets overlooked, because songs like American Music, Out the Window, and Used to Be are up there with the best of the Femmes.

[youtube]LgCpkCczvMQ[/youtube]
 
One of the great albums of 1991 for me, was certainly the debut album by the Galactic Cowboys. I know its not recognized as alternative rock as such and often gets listed under heavy metal (probably due to its Anthrax influences) but again also has enough similiarities to the grunge explosion of the time.

If memory serves me correctly, it came out around the same time as "Nevermind" and whereas Nevermind went off like a nuclear borab the Galactic Cowboys debut passed quite unnoticed. It many ways it has the manic energy of "Nevermind" and a great listen to anybody that likes that type of sound.
 
Heavenly- Heavenly vs. Satan, The Field Mice- For Keeps. I don't have any of the well respected, well liked alternative rock albums of 1991.
 
The "An album a year for each year you are alive" thread sparked some entertaining banter about the year 1991. I thought it might be better to give this topic its own thread since it is a very deserving and interesting discussion.

1991 is famously known as "The Year Punk Broke". The rock lanRABcape was dramatically turned on its side, bringing grunge to the forefront, replacing glam metal and the like. Many marquee alternative rock banRAB made their debut or released their breakthrough album that year. Others were just getting their beginning. In addition, while many of the indie/college rock banRAB of the previous decade were making their mainstream splash, a new wave of underground banRAB had strong efforts released.

So what say you? What is your favorite alternative rock album from 1991?



MoRAB: if popular opinion determines that certain albums should be added/removed please do so for me. Thanks.
 
I can see how it would sound that way to someone hearing them for the first time now, but back in the early 90s they were pretty good relative to the pop music of the time.
 
Awesome albums from '91 (my version):

American Music Club - Everclear
Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
Dinosaur Jr - Green Mind
The Field Mice - For Keeps
Guns n Roses - Use Your Illusion
Jesus Lizard - Goat
Massive Attack - Blue Lines
Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
Metallica - Metallica
Michael Jackson - Dangerous
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Nirvana - Nevermind
The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pooh Sticks - The Great White Wonder
Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese
REM - Out of Time
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Sebadoh - III
Slint - Spiderland
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
Superchunk - No Pocky for Kitty
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque
Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona
U2 - Achtung Baby [the only U2 album I really like as a whole]
 
My top 4 from 1991

my-bloody-valentine-loveless-album-cover-25646.jpeg

1. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

massive-attack-blue-lines.jpg

2. Massive Attack - Blue Lines

smashing20pumpkins-gish.jpg

3. The Smashing Pumpkins - Gish

1977.jpg

4. Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque

Honourable mentions:
Spacemen 3 - Recurring, Slowdive - Just For A Day, Nirvana - Nevermind, Chapterhouse - Whirlpool, Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind, Pearl Jam - Ten.

1991 wasn't a bad year.
 
Meh. American Music is a pretty good song but I always considered this an incredibly bland album overall. I bought as soon as it came out and it became one of those albums that I didn't like but every few months or so I would put it on assuming I must have missed something. Nope - my reaction never changed.
 
Another great album was also Kings X "Faith Hope Love" an album not often liked by King`s X fans but for me one of their best. Again, we are talking hard rock here but given that the boundaries of alt.rock traverse so many styles at times it can be included.
 
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