Jamwise #37 · Years · 1991 (Part 1)
Best Albums of 1991 (Part 1)
The best albums of 1991, part one of two — Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, A Tribe Called Quest, Massive Attack, and more. Grunge's big bang year.
Continuing the series of listening through the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. This week’s focus is all albums from the list released in 1991, excluding compilations. And what a year it was!
Blue Lines — Massive Attack
Massive Attack has been one of the greatest discoveries of this project for me. Mezzanine was my introduction to the band, and I’m justifiably jacked up to listen to Blue Lines, their debut album that’s widely credited with kicking off the trip hop genre.
Nevermind — Nirvana
I used to have a weird mental block about Nirvana in my teenage years. I think it stemmed from the way I was introduced to them - through downloading “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on Limewire and playing it endlessly while I saved up the money to buy my first Nirvana album, which was MTV Unplugged.
The Low End Theory — A Tribe Called Quest
I think RateYourMusic’s classification of this album as jazz rap is fascinating. I don’t get the impression that the jazz rap genre is overall populated, and the fact that this album draws from jazz samples and jazzy bass lines seems like a somewhat thin connection to jazz if you’re going to assign it a whole new genre.
Achtung Baby — U2
Ahh, U2 before they forced their music onto every iPhone in the world (as far as I know) and made themselves a little bit of a joke in the eyes of my generation. I’m also receiving reports that this album was produced by friend of the newsletter Brian Eno.
Ten — Pearl Jam
I had this entire album memorized as a young teen; lyrics, guitar solos, and all. It’s hard to believe this is the band’s debut.
Metallica (The Black Album) — Metallica
I wrote about this album all the way back in the first issue of Jamwise, and it’s cool looking at how far I’ve come over 37 issues.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik — Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Chili Peppers could conceivably be blamed for a lot of pretty bad music that followed in their footsteps. I think that’s a large part of why they annoy a lot of people.
Screamadelica — Primal Scream
I’ve also reviewed this one before; the second time around, this album has a little more context in my head. It’s largely what I’m coming to know as the sound of 90’s early electronic music - a genre I either love or hate.