Here’s another of those great sophomore albums that improves on already impressive debuts.
I was a casual Garbage fan based on their self-titled first album, a sultry blend of hard-edged alternative techno that introduced the criminally charismatic Shirley Manson to the world. But I wasn’t prepared for the adrenaline rush of their follow-up record, Version 2.0.
Another 1992 release, Michael Penn’s Free-For-All is more evocative of that year than any other on this list.
This album is the soundtrack of the summer of Hurricane Andrew, and listening to it today in my car, I half expect to turn the corner and see a downed ficus tree or a procession of National Guard trucks, as I did for several weeks in my Coconut Grove neighborhood.
Three albums in my top 13 were released in 1992. As I’ve written more than a few times on this blog, that year was a musical touchstone for me in large part because it was a year of major life changes.
Two of the albums from ’92 that appear here are excellent in their own right but wouldn’t necessarily have earned a spot in the top 20 if they didn’t have such powerful personal associations. The third scores very high on both the personal and artistic scale, but I’ll get to that one in due time.
Either/Or was not my first exposure to Elliott Smith and challenges my “first love” theory by being my favorite by far.
I discovered Smith through his follow-up record, 1998’s XO, then sought out his back catalog. All of his albums have a similar mood and sound, with varying levels of production values, but Either/Or hits the sweet spot.
The more obvious choice of a Radiohead record on a list of the best 90s albums would probably be 1997’s OK Computer. That album is certainly the more culturally significant and critically praised, showing up high on many lists of the best albums ever, regardless of decade.
Indeed, I considered placing both OK Computer and The Bends on my list, but Radiohead has so annoyed me since those two releases that I couldn’t stomach the idea of giving them two slots out of twenty.
