I was going to add Mary Chapin Carpenter myself. I Am A Town in particular resonated with me and makes me wistful for days gone by. (After Duke and some time in the Army I worked in Mooresville, NC for 5 years and spent a lot of time traveling the backroads of Iredell, Rowan, and Davie counties.)
It’s there but looks like it’s formatted wrong. The last name and part of the title have been chopped off.
Check post #30.
I agree generally with the above. I took a little bit of flak for comparing Metallica vs. Dr. Dre album sales, but I do think broadness of impact should be part of the conversation.
And what's funny is I really love Metallica. I would probably go with Dre for overall impact, but I don't get to just be right. Those are my feelings. And I don't give a damn about feelings. I work in science and medicine. Feelings are for the weak.
I wouldn't put too much emphasis on commercially success. Just eye balling the list, I doubt we've hit half of the top 50 or top 100 in sales. No Micheal Jackson, Janet Jackson, Genesis, Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Ace of Base. Celine Dion has like three album in the top 25 and doesn't get a mention. There are good albums there but the best 90s? No for me. Hell technical New Kids on the Block has to be there in sales. Ten has been mentioned a ton but I'm not sure that is 50 in sales for the decade. The Foo Fighter are the biggest rock band in the world and a no show on the list.
But I didn't say Commercial Success was the main determinant. But I think it has to have some level of impact. And no one would argue that New Kids on the Block or Britney Spears was impactful so they lack that metric while still having a bunch of commercial success. But commercial success and popularity has to be got to be part of it doesn't it? I mean unless Cato says that isn't part of the metric because it is show. And then we can be as esoteric as we want I assume. My only fear is it would be just everyone voting for what they like rather than taking any other metrics into consideration.
But are we talking about best or most influential? Nevermind is a fantastic album. Maybe the best of the decade. Hugely impactful at the time but is it really influentially? It didn't spawn a generation. Same with NKOTHB or Britney. The impact was fleeting. I'd argue Sonic Youth had more influence on music and it's direction than Nirvana et al a decade later. Part of that is the slow death of cultural rock in the following two decade. Part of it is that music doesn't have the same power and influence now than in the past.
Power of marketing image over substance.
This is why I'm asking for the criteria for judgment.
The album cover should be monochromatic.
Some of the most memorable bands that had the biggest impact were fleeting in terms of tenure. Nirvana was an active recording band from 88 to early 94. The Doors formed in 1965 and Jim Morrison is dead in 1970. So similar timeframe, but the recording industry works entirely different in the 90s than it did in the 60s and 70s. I'd argue there are way more kids who got into Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Pixies or Jesus Lizard because Kurt Cobain liked them, than discovering those artists on their own. We also have to admit that we may not be the best gauge of cultural impact and how long term or wide spread it is.
I was trying to make the point that Sonic Youth beget Nirvana. Who did Nirvana beget? It wasn’t millennial bands. Olivia Rodrigo is one of the few that claim 90s bands as an influence and that’s probably from what her parents played. That’s thirty years later. It’s like 90s rock didn’t spawn a new wave of bands like every other generation.
Because Nickelback and Creed killed rock n roll. No more rock at the Super Bowl. Foo Fighters the last really big rock band. There’s talent out there, but sadly rock is no longer king.
I'd throw The Killers in there.