Best year for music

[Guest godthedog]

what is everybody's favorite year of music & why?  i'll start:

 

i know most music critics point to 1967, but i don't think anything will ever top 1994.  i'd been listening to rock music on-and-off for a couple years, but that was the year i became a hardcore corporate-hating alternative fan.  probably a quarter of my entire cd collection is from 94.  other than personal reasons, just look at the sheer musical output.

 

three great, knock-you-on-your-ass classic albums were released: 'grace' by jeff buckley, 'superunknown' by soundgarden, and nirvana unplugged in new york.  it's a miracle year when one classic is released, & i don't think 3 had been released in one year since the sixties.

 

the amount of really good albums (some of which a lot of people consider great, and i won't dispute them) was pretty staggering.  you had:

tori amos, 'under the pink'

green day, 'dookie'

neil young, 'sleeps with angels'

pearl jam, 'vitalogy'

portishead, 'dummy'

beck, 'mellow gold'

tom petty, 'wildflowers'

hole, 'live through this'

nine inch nails, 'the downward spiral'

pulp fiction soundtrack

the crow soundtrack

 

by the time you get to the albums that were merely good:

sonic youth, 'experimental, jet set, trash & no star'

johnny cash, 'american recordings'

liz phair, 'whip-smart'

r.e.m., 'monster'

ween, 'chocolate & cheese'

beastie boys, 'ill communication'

bad religion, 'stranger than fiction'

stone temple pilots, 'purple'

you have a long-ass list.

 

and remember what was in rotation on the radio?  you had mazzy star, smashing pumpkins, freedy johnston, letters to cleo, they might be giants, the offspring, veruca salt, grant lee buffalo, blur, g love and special sauce, porno for pyros...

 

this was the pinnacle, in my opinion.

 

other opinions?

[Guest redbaron51]

1973

 

Best year of music

 

Who: Quadrophinia

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon

Genesis: Lambs Lie Down on Broadway (or is it Selling England by the pound)

Jethro Tull: Aqualung

 

and the list goes on and on

[Guest razazteca]

how about 1991: Lalapalooza music concert

[Guest ant_7000]

As far as hip hop is concern I think 1988 and 1994 was the best ever.

[Guest]

what is everybody's favorite year of music & why?  i'll start:

 

i know most music critics point to 1967, but i don't think anything will ever top 1994.  i'd been listening to rock music on-and-off for a couple years, but that was the year i became a hardcore corporate-hating alternative fan.  probably a quarter of my entire cd collection is from 94.  other than personal reasons, just look at the sheer musical output.

 

three great, knock-you-on-your-ass classic albums were released: 'grace' by jeff buckley, 'superunknown' by soundgarden, and nirvana unplugged in new york.  it's a miracle year when one classic is released, & i don't think 3 had been released in one year since the sixties.

 

the amount of really good albums (some of which a lot of people consider great, and i won't dispute them) was pretty staggering.  you had:

tori amos, 'under the pink'

green day, 'dookie'

neil young, 'sleeps with angels'

pearl jam, 'vitalogy'

portishead, 'dummy'

beck, 'mellow gold'

tom petty, 'wildflowers'

hole, 'live through this'

nine inch nails, 'the downward spiral'

pulp fiction soundtrack

the crow soundtrack

 

by the time you get to the albums that were merely good:

sonic youth, 'experimental, jet set, trash & no star'

johnny cash, 'american recordings'

liz phair, 'whip-smart'

r.e.m., 'monster'

ween, 'chocolate & cheese'

beastie boys, 'ill communication'

bad religion, 'stranger than fiction'

stone temple pilots, 'purple'

you have a long-ass list.

 

and remember what was in rotation on the radio?  you had mazzy star, smashing pumpkins, freedy johnston, letters to cleo, they might be giants, the offspring, veruca salt, grant lee buffalo, blur, g love and special sauce, porno for pyros...

 

this was the pinnacle, in my opinion.

 

other opinions?

You forgot about Weezer "The Blue Album" and I think  "Pinkerton" was around that time also.

[Guest dilk bathoon]

i'm gonna agree with 1994. nothing witty to say.

[Guest godthedog]

yup.  i remembered the day after posting this that i'd forgotten about the blue album.  but i don't believe 'pinkerton' came out till 1997.

[Guest bdolo]

!994

 

As far as rap music it is the best year ever.   A lot of these titles though were released in late 93 or early 95, so the best spand of rap albums is more like a two year period which is centered in 1994:

 

(late93-early95)

Nas:Illmatic

B.I.G.- ready to die

Mobb Deep- the infamous

Wu tang clan- enter the 36 chambers

Gangstarr:hard to earn

AZ-doe or die

Bone-eternal

dogg pound-dogg food

snoop dogg-doggystyle

genius/gza-liquid swords

raekwon-only built for cuban linx

outkast-southernplayalistcadillacmuzik

[Guest The Man in Blak]

1994 is probably the best year overall in music, but I think the best year in rock is 1969.

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

I'm going to go with '92 as my favourite year. It means alot to me as a fan/musician. Beyond the fact that some of my favourite music was famous because of this year, all the imlipactions in it are fascinating, also (death of hair metal...).

 

But mostly because of Nevermind. Not because it as such a great record (which it was), but because of everything that happened because of it. Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, STP, Mudhoney and Alice In Chains (maybe Jane's Addiction, too but I'm not to sure on their time period) weren't really able to get off their feet when it came to it because they were all sort of in-between genres, not really being solidly part of one. The genre's they were advertised udner just weren't taking off for them because people would be dissapointed that it wasn't more like that style.

 

Then Nevermind came out under the heading "Alternative". Of course, like the aformentioned bands Nirvana was a little in-between genres. Alice In Chains immidiatly felt the effects as they jumped aboard the bandwagon, labeled themselves as the now wildly popular alternative rock and started selling like crazy. When Pearl Jam released Ten they slapped the alternative label on it and it flew off the shelves. The Stone Temple Pilots were clumped with grunge rock, later sold as alternative and made good sales also.

 

Anyway; the basic reason is that a very good chunk of my favourite bands were brought out into the light at that time and I might not have heard of them if they hadn't been. The only downfall of this year was Nevermind killed the Guns 'N' Roses freight train of sucsess... But that just makes the year more important...

 

And I don't think any year has been as influential on music in the present, or for the future for reasons I have discussed in the past (death of the guitarist, rise of vocalist) but that's for another time!

[Guest godthedog]

i'll agree that 92 was the year that it really blew up.  but it is kind of depressing to think that it would be dead 4 years later, & that becoming so successful is what killed it.

 

oh well.  the true alternative stuff (velvet underground, pixies, sonic youth) is still untainted by the masses.

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

I wouldn't really say Nirvana killed GnR. Axl was probably more responsible for that than anyone else. They were biggest band of the time (1992), and it was really only up until the 92 VMAs (late in the year) that the climate Really changed. That was pretty much the moment when the new generation of the Rock bands took over.

 

GnR were fully capable of maintaining their status. It's just that self destruction ruined them and now nobody really cares to pay attention with it  being the Axl show. Well, now more than ever before.

 

And I'll concur that 1994 was a brilliant year. Probably the last great year for music in general.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

92 or 94.

[Guest gthureson]

1824.

 

The year Ludwig van Beethoven completed and debuted his 9th Symphony.  (You know...the one with Ode to Joy.)

 

Hey, in 178 years, ain't nobody gonna remember 'Live Through This' or humming 'Green Day' to themselves.

 

But they'll still be performing the 9th Symphony.  

 

It's that.  Damn.  Good.

[Guest gthureson]

That's right.  You can't argue about the choice of Ludwig.

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

The 9th Symphony really could never stand against the brilliance of "The Messiah"... Which was both more important musically and I feel the arrangement is more interesting.

 

That's my opinion and all... But I feel Handel's little ditty was much more moving to boot!

 

Though Ludwig's entire career probably was better than Handel's I disagree about the 9th Symphony being the best classical arrangement!

[Guest Kinetic]

I'd have to go with something in the late 60s.  '67, most likely, which is really cliched but ultimately true.  The last great year was 2000.  A lot of great records were released that year, whereas 2001 was a little on the paltry side.  2002 isn't shaping up to be any better, quite frankly.  I'm taking this momentary lull as an opportunity to discover more old music.  I'd suggest everyone do the same.

[Guest godthedog]

what came out in 2000?  i remember 2000 as a huge disappointment.

[Guest]

1978. It was at that moment when many great musicians discovered that their best work was still ahead of them. If it weren't for 1978, Pavement might've never recorded and released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain sixteen years later. Tom Waits may've never stopped doing his admirable, but not particularly outstanding, bohemian jazz act, thus depriving the world of great albums like Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Bone Machine. Outkast would have never released the best hip hop album--and one of the best albums of any genre in the '90s--ever, Aquemini. Were it not for 1978, I never would have been born, and those albums would have never been made. After all, what reason would these great records have to exist other than to thrill me and give me endless hours of pleasure?

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

What year did Cobain die..cause that gets my vote.

[Guest]

what came out in 2000?  i remember 2000 as a huge disappointment.

 

2000 was a pretty stellar year as far as I'm concerned, with no less than three masterpieces being released: Death Cab for Cutie's We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, PJ Harvey's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea and Outkast's Stankonia. Plus, as an honorable mention, there was Yo La Tengo's And then nothing turned itself inside-out.

[Guest Kinetic]

These are 2000 releases that I personally own.  I'd consider all to be good:

 

Badly Drawn Boy- The Hour of Bewilderbeast

Sleater-Kinney- All Hands on the Bad One

Smog- Dongs of Sevotion

Clinic- Internal Wrangler

Grandaddy- The Sophtware Slump

Yo La Tengo- And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out

Modest Mouse- The Moon and Antarctica

Sigur Ros- Agaetis Byrjun

Radiohead- Kid A

 

That's pretty much off the top of my head.  There are a lot more, too.

 

Edit---I forgot Outkast.  Count that, too.

[Guest]

Grandaddy- The Sophtware Slump

 

The Flaming Lips does the Flaming Lips much better than Grandaddy ever could, no matter how hard they try.

[Guest Kinetic]

Cobain died in 1994, by the way.

 

1994 releases that I own and like:

 

Beck- Mellow Gold

Beck- One Foot in the Grave

Blur- Parklife

Jeff Buckley- Grace

Built to Spill- There's Nothing Wrong With Love

Nirvana- Unplugged

Pavement- Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Liz Phair- Whip Smart

Portishead- Dummy

Weezer- Weezer (blue)

 

Not bad.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

then 1994 it is.

[Guest Kinetic]

The Flaming Lips does the Flaming Lips much better than Grandaddy ever could, no matter how hard they try.

Oh, I agree.  I just don't think Sophtware Slump is that bad and I own it, so it's on the list.