Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians вЂ“ Perspex Island (1991) ItвЂ™s not Daydream Nation, but Goo is still classic Sonic Youth and an auspicious start to the вЂ90s. Goo is the Sonic Youth album thatвЂ™s easiest to penetrate and a good starting point for new fans, but it still has that noise-rock aspect that is capable of making your ears bleed at the right decibel. The final track, вЂњTitanium Expose,вЂќ is a galloping rocker that in a way summarizes what Goo is all about - the ferocious riffs, the unexpected tempo changes, the feedback, the alternating buried-in-the-mix vocals by Moore and Gordon, and the enigmatic lyrics. The album opens with Thurston MooreвЂ™s guitar freak-out вЂњDirty BootsвЂќ before melding right into the eerie ode to Karen Carpenter, Kim GordonвЂ™s вЂњTunic (Song for Karen).вЂќ GordonвЂ™s sardonic вЂњKool Thing,вЂќ featuring a vocal cameo by Public EnemyвЂ™s Chuck D, became the closest thing the band ever had to a hit single. The long haywire instrumental passages, the feedback-drenched guitar, and the discordant effects are all there, but the songs are a bit more focused than in the past. Sonic Youth started the вЂ90s with their first album for a major label (Geffen subsidiary DGC Records), and while Goo might be their most polished album up to that point, it retains the defiantly non-commercial rebelliousness that has always been Sonic YouthвЂ™s trademark. That all said, here is a look back at the 50 best alternative albums of the вЂ90s: 50. Of course, this is a mostly subjective exercise and readers are encouraged to list your own favorites in the comments section below. Others were left off because their classification as вЂњalternative rockвЂќ is tenuous: for example, Talk TalkвЂ™s extraordinary Laughing Stock, which is probably more progressive jazz-rock than alternative, and ToolвЂ™s Г†nima, which is closer to hard-rock/metal. All of these albums are essential recordings that cover a wide landscape of styles that all fit under the amorphous and subjective umbrella known as вЂњalternative.вЂќ In order to have more artists represented, only one album per artist is included (thus the exclusion of The Bends, In Utero, Ten, Rid of Me, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, From the Choirgirl Hotel and others). There were no fewer than 35 serious contenders for the last 5 or 6 slots, and it was heartbreaking to omit them, but at some point ya just gotta have a cut-off. ItвЂ™s the minimum that could be done to retain sanity. Below is an attempt to rank the 50 best, which represent just the very tip of the iceberg. Now with the benefit of years of hindsight, itвЂ™s a good time to look back and appreciate just how many amazing вЂњalternativeвЂќ albums came out in the вЂ90s. Leftfield artists like Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Green Day, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Fiona Apple, The Cranberries, Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson and others sold millions.Д¬obainвЂ™s death 20 years ago came right at the epicenter of an amazing time in music, a surge that he helped create and amplify. Individuals who grew up watching MTV were now in college, and exploring beyond their childhood favorites or what vapid inanities Top 40 radio was spinning. The state of pop music in the вЂ90s could not have been more dire - Top 40 radio was so dreadful that many from the MTV generation migrated to alternative radio, so it wasnвЂ™t just young suburban teens buying these records. As a result some of these artists were able to reach high levels of success, while others popped up and disappeared almost overnight. The вЂ90s were the Golden Age of alternative rock, with MTV and powerful radio stations like Washington D.C.вЂ™s WHFS delivering to large audiences music that didnвЂ™t fit into mainstream formats. Also key was the emergence of cult bands like R.E.M, U2, Depeche Mode and The Cure to much wider audiences by the latter part of the decade. Bands that were considered Top 40 in the early вЂ80s would have been considered вЂњalternativeвЂќ by the end of the decade. Radio was changing, and as the вЂ80s wound into the вЂ90s pop stations were becoming increasingly banal. It wasnвЂ™t just broadcast on college radio stations with limited reach anymore. Nirvana changed the direction of rock music in a way that very few bands did but even before Nirvana made it big, вЂњalternativeвЂќ or вЂњmodernвЂќ rock was becoming increasingly important. ItвЂ™s astonishing to believe that two decades have passed since CobainвЂ™s apparent suicide. April 5th marked the 20th anniversary of former Nirvana vocalist Kurt CobainвЂ™s death, and coincidentally last week Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility - a rare honor, but one they deserve without question.

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