Joe's Top 25 Albums of 1994 

One of my favorite things about this channel is that you guys are unapologetically you, as far as music taste goes. You could come on here and give the same 20 albums that most people have heard of from 94 and then 5 wild cards, but you don't. You give the 25 albums that you ACTUALLY enjoy most, which results in me having more music to check out that I'd never heard before. You guys are awesome

#1. PORTISHEAD - Dummy 2. OASIS - Definitely Maybe 3. JOHNNY CASH - American Recordings 4. MARK LANEGAN - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost 5. MORRISSEY - Vauxhall And I 6. PALACE BROTHERS - Days In The Wake 7. HIGH LLAMAS - Gideon Gaye 8. MIKE JOHNSON - Where Am I? 9. JUNE TABOR - Against The Streams 10. TOM PETTY - Wildflowers 11. THE ROLLING STONES - Voodoo Lounge 12. IRIS DEMENT - My Life 13. RICHARD THOMPSON - Mirror Blue 14. BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS - Jumping From Six To Six 15. PAUL QUINN & THE INDEPENDENT GROUP - Will I Ever Be Inside Of You 16. AL PERRY & DAN STUART - Retronuevo 17. DAN PENN - Do Right Man 18. GRANT LEE BUFFALO - Mighty Joe Moon 19. LIZ PHAIR - Whip-Smart 20. NICK LOWE - The Impossible Bird 21. MASSIVE ATTACK - Protection 22. BLUMFELD - L‘Etat Et Moi 23. BAD LIVERS - Horses In The Mines 24. NEIL YOUNG - Sleeps With Angels 25. R.E.M. - Monster

These best songs of/favorite albums of the year are hands down my favorite videos on this channel.

1. Let Love In. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds 2. Dummy. Portishead 3. Grace. Jeff Buckley 4. Crooked Rain Crooked Rain. Pavement 5. Dog Man Star. Suede 6. Under the Pink.Tori Amos 7. Vauxhall and I. Morrissey 8. Without a Sound. Dinosaur Jr 9. American Recordings. Johnny Cash 10. Geek the Girl. Lisa Germano 11. Parklife. Blur 12. Talking Timbuctu. Ali Farka Toure 13. Wildflowers. Tom Petty 14. Casa Babylon. Mano Negra 15. His 'n' Hers. Pulp 16. Monster. R. E. M. 17. Super 8. Los Planetas 18. The Snake. Shane MacGowan & The Popes. 19. Mirror Blue. Richard Thompson 20. Whiskey for the Holy Ghost. Mark Lanegan 21. Bewitched. Luna 22.Now I'm a Cowboy. The Auters 23. Holy Bible. Manic Street Preachers 24. Protection. Massive Attack 25. Vitalogy. Pearl Jam 26. Bakesale. Sebadoh 27. Hips and Makers. Kristin Hersh 28. There's Nothing Wrong with Love. Built to Spill 29. Promenade. The Divine Comedy 30. Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star. Sonic Youth

'94 Top 12- 1. Pulp- His 'n' Hers 2. Liz Phair- Whip-Smart 3. R.E.M- Monster 4. Weezer- Blue Album 5. Oasis- Definitely Maybe 6. Dumb and Dumber Soundtrack- Various 7. Howard Shore- Ed Wood Soundtrack 8. Veruca Salt- American Thighs 9. Tom Petty- Wildflowers 10. Pearl Jam- Vitalogy 11. Freedy Johnston- This Perfect World 12. Walter Becker- 11 Tracks of Whack

I got Nirvana Unplugged on cassette the day it was released and then got a CD player for Christmas. I bought it on CD a week later - so bought the album twice in 1994!

I did a top 20 a while back. Didn't do an official 94 deep dive like these guys did, but here's my old list anyway. 20) Portrait of an American Family - Marilyn Manson 19) Pandemonium - Killing Joke 18) Teenager of the Year - Frank Black 17) Vitalogy - Pearl Jam 16) The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails 15) Whisky for the Holy Ghost - Mark Lanegan 14) Grassroots - 311 13) There's Nothing Wrong with Love - Built to Spill 12) Stoned & Dethroned - Jesus and Mary Chain 11) Too High to Die - Meat Puppets 10) Monster - R.E.M. 09) Mellow Gold - Beck 08) Sixteen Stone - Bush 07) Purple - Stone Temple Pilots 06) Under the Pink - Tori Amos 05) Let Love In - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 04) Dummy - Portishead 03) Superunknown - Soundgarden 02) Live Through This - Hole 01) Ruby Vroom - Soul Coughing

My top 10 of 1994: 1. Selected Ambient Works Vol II - Aphex Twin 2. Bright Red - Laurie Anderson 3. Split - Lush 4. Dubnobasswithmyheadman - Underworld 5. Vauxhall & I - Morrissey 6. Turbulent Indigo - Joni Mitchell 7. Lifeforms - The Future Sound of London 8. Parklife - Blur 9. Amber - Autechre 10. And She Closed Her Eyes - Stina Nordenstam

Amazing year, probably my 2nd favorite of the 90s behind '99, here's my top 10: 1. Blur- Park life 2. B.I.G- Ready to die 3. Jeffe Buckley- Grace 4. Nine inch nails- The downward spiral 5. Emperor- In the nightside eclipse 6. Nas- Illmatic 7. Weezer- Blue album 8. Dream theater- Awake 9. Korn- self titled 10. Cannibal corpse- The bleeding

Great year! Glad to see that Nick Cave made Joe’s list. My faves: 1. Pavement - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain 2. The Magnetic Fields - Holiday 3. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Let Love In 4. Grace. Jeff Buckley 5. Portishead - Dummy 6. Massive Attack - Protection 7. Mark Lanegan - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost 8. Hole - Live Through This 9. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication 10. Liz Phair - Whip-Smart

Oasis - Definitely Maybe Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Silkworm - In the West Weezer - Blue Album Hole - Live Through This Nirvana - Unplugged in NY Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand Pulp - His ‘N’ Hers Nas - Illmatic Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies Honorary shoutout for its significance (for better and worse): Korn - Korn

'94 is one of my all time favorite years. My top 5 are some of my all time favorite albums. 1. Jeff Buckley- Grace 2. AIC - Jar of Flies 3. Oasis - Definitely Maybe 4. Tom Petty - Wildflowers 5. Soundgarden - Superunknown 6. Smashing Pumpkins- Pisces Iscariot 7. Weezer - Blue Album 8. Portishead - Dummy 9. Collective Soul - Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid 10. Black Crowes - Amorica 11. Stone Temple Pilots - Purple

MY TOP 25 STUDIO ALBUMS, 1994: 1. Superunknown -Soundgarden 2. Grace -Jeff Buckley 3. The Blue Album -Weezer 4. Purple -Stone Temple Pilots 5. Live Through This -Hole 6. Wildflowers -Tom Petty 7. Jar of Flies -Alice in Chains 8. Too High to Die -Meat Puppets 9. Dummy -Portishead 10. Parklife -Blur 11. Illmatic -Nas 12. The Downward Spiral -Nine Inch Nails 13. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain -Pavement 14. Bakesale -Sebadoh 15. Geek the Girl -Lisa Germano 16. Bee Thousand -Guided By Voices 17. Welcome to Sky Valley -Kyuss 18. Throwing Copper -Live 19. Setting the Woods on Fire -The Walkabouts 20. Mars Audiac Quintet -Stereolab 21. Let Love In -Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 22. Ill Communication -Beastie Boys 23. Roman Candle -Elliott Smith 24. Vauxhall and I -Morrissey 25. Mighty Joe Moon -Grant Lee Buffalo MY TOP 3 LIVE ALBUMS, 1994: 1. Live at the BBC -The Beatles 2. MTV Unplugged in New York -Nirvana 3. Secret World Live -Peter Gabriel MY BAND OF THE YEAR: Soundgarden MY ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Jeff Buckley Special mention for Jimi Hendrix and his 'Blues' compilation, which has become one of my "go to" Hendrix discs. 1994 is an extremely deep year for 4 star albums (they extend as far as the eye can see) but in terms of 5 star classics, I don't think it's as deep as years in the late-1960s and early-1970s. It's also a strong year for live albums- several were threatening to make my top 3, like Drums & Wireless (XTC), A Night in San Francisco (Van Morrison), Past Archives (Fairport Convention), The Peel Sessions (Thin Lizzy), No Quarter (JimmyPage & Robert Plant), and Hope (Hugh Masakela). Soundgarden is my "Band of the Year" for a relentlessly hooky LP that put an incredible capstone on their career. Normally, I would shy away from giving my "Artist of the Year" award to a rookie, but I make an exception for Jeff Buckley, considering that fate didn't give him a second chance.

Sadly my dog passed away last Saturday. As his days drew to a close I started driving an hour each way every Sunday so he could spend some time with Dog friends he had made and we would all go for a walk together. My favourite part of the week was planning the playlist for the 2 hours of driving. This channel helped me keep the music fresh and interesting. Thanks very much for making my last days with my best friend that much more enjoyable. My favourite was to listen to Jar of Flies followed by the 1st 7 songs of Album of the Year by FNM on the way home. Its a sad time but you guys no better than anyone how music can channel those memories and I will always remember that drive, my best friend and those songs. Thanks again.

I enjoyed the grunge period as my two children were teens during this period which elevated this year in my music listening enjoyment. my number one album was nirvana unplugged from 1994. thanks for your thoughtful review

🏆 Dulcinea, Toad the Wet Sprocket. Album of the Year While I know it’s not a popular pick, it saddens me that no one else on here agrees that it’s even worth listing. Runners Up: (Blue album), Weezer Parklife, blur Definitely Maybe, Oasis Vauxhall and I, Morrissey Next Tier down: Monster, REM Downward Spiral, NIN MTV Unplugged, Nirvana Grace, Jeff Buckley Vitology, Pearl Jam Under the Pink, Tori Amos Throwing Copper, Live Bubbling Under: Purple, STP Dookie, Green Day

My top 15: 1. Ween - Chocolate and cheese 2. Oasis - Definetely Maybe 3. Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary 4. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 5. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand 6. Blur - Parklife 7. Weezer - Blue Album 8. Palace Brothers - Palace Brothers 9. Green Day - Dookie 10. Iris DeMent - My Life 11. Low - I Could Live in Hope 12. Elliott Smith - Roman Candle 13. Silver Jews - Starlite Walker 14. Jeff Buckley - Grace 15. Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl Hopefully indie rock is better represented on Jason's list

I may have a few surprises. Here it goes: 25. Tom Petty - Wildflowers 24. Dinosaur Jr. - Without a Sound 23. BBM (Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Gary Moore) - Around the Next Dream 22. Grant Lee Buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon 21. Angelfish - Angelfish 20. Sebadoah - Bake Sale 19. Marillion - Brave 18. Stone Roses - Second Coming 17. Glenn Hughes - From Now On... 16. Neil Young - Sleeps With Angels 15. Dream Theater - Awake 14. Jimmie Vaughan - Strange Pleasure 13. The Smithereens - A Date With the Smithereens 12. Bruce Dickinson - Balls to Picasso 11. Sass Jordan - Rats 10. Stone Temple Pilots - Purple 9. The Allman Brothers Band - Where It All Begins 8. Soundgarden - Superunknown 7. Sugar - File Under: Easy Listening 6. Suede - Dog Man Star 5. Everything But the Girl - Amplified Heart 4. Hole - Live Through This 3. Live - Throwing Copper 2. Tori Amos - Under the Pink 1. Jeff Buckley - Grace

Iv'e been preparing for this! (lol); 25) Day For Night-Tragically Hip 24)Mighty Joe Moon-Grant Lee Buffalo 23)Whip Smart-Liz Phair 22)Voodoo Lounge-Rolling Stones 21)Stoner Witch-Melvins 20)Too High to Die-Meat Puppets 19)Orange-Jon Spencer Blues Explosion 18)Purple-Stone Temple Pilots 17)Teenager of the Year-Frank Black 16)Turbulent Indigo-Joni Mitchell 15)Bee Thousand-Guided by Voices 14)Kyuss(Welcome to Sky Valley)-Kyuss 13)Monster-REM 12)Mellow Gold-Beck 11)Wildflowers-Tom Petty 10)Sleeps With Angels-Neil Young 09)Grace-Jeff Buckley 08)Mirror Blue-Richard Thompson 07)Amorica-Black Crowes 06)Whiskey For the Holy Ghost-Mark Lanegan 05)Let Love In-Nick Cave & Bad Seeds 04)Vitalogy-Pearl Jam 03)Superunknown-Soundgarden 02)Crooked Rain,Crooked Rain-Pavement 01)Latin Playboys-Latin Playboys

great year, my list: 1. i could live in hope - low 2. the holy bible - manic street preachers 3. whiskey for the holy ghost - mark lanegan 4. worst case scenario - deus 5. mtv unplugged in new york - nirvana 6. dummy - portishead 7. universal mother - sinead o connor 8. live through this - hole 9. let love in - nick cave&the bad seeds 10. jar of flies - alice in chains 11. dubnobasswithmyheadman - underworld 12. purple - stone temple pilots 13. protection - massive attack 14. monster - rem 15. throwing copper - live 16. parklife - blur 17. brave - marillion 18. weezer - weezer 19. teenager of the year - frank black 20. his n hers - pulp 21. hips and makers - kristen hersh 22. trouble gum - therapy 23. without a sound - dinosaur jr 24. superunknown - soundgarden 25. full circle - dixie dregs

Love these deep dives!! I appreciate giving attention to overlooked albums like Freedy Johnston and Velvet Crush as well as confirming how great the Suede and Blur albums are. In '94 my girlfriend loved the Alice in Chains. I never did, but I think of her still whenever someone mentions the album.

Any chance of a manic street preachers listography someday? A very interesting band to look further into with great music and a lot of history!

A Top Six From Me! 6) The Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge 5) Mike Oldfield - The Songs Of Distant Earth 4) Soundgarden - Superunknown 3) Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 2) Elton John - The Lion King 1) Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation

Such a great series; I missed this! This is the channel at its best, and Joe is really on fire here…great choices, fabulous, succinct analyses, just top notch stuff. I agree with the Top Five down the line, and most of the Top Ten. And there were several new albums unknown to me, so will try to check them out. Great stuff, really enjoyed it, thank you. Connect soon. Cheers, JPE

10 in common! 25. Rodan - Rusty 24. Pantera - Far Beyond Driven 23. Beck - Mellow Gold 22. The Halo Benders - God Don't Make No Junk 21. Kristin Hersh - Hips & Makers 20. Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet 19. Low - I Could Live in Hope 18. R.E.M. - Monster 17. Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles 16. Silver Jews - Starlite Walker 15. Nas - Illmatic 14. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral 13. Beck - One Foot in the Grave 12. Weezer - Blue 11. Tori Amos - Under the Pink 10. Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies EP 9. Portishead - Dummy 8. Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand 7. Built to Spill - There's Nothing Wrong with Love 6. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy 5. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 4. Nirvana - Unplugged in New York 3. Blur - Parklife 2. Jeff Buckley - Grace 1. Soundgarden - Superunknown

My top 25 5 Stars: The Tragically Hip - Day For Night - 5 Stars Ween - Chocolate and Chesse - 5 Stars Tom Petty - Wildflowers - 5 Stars Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming - 5 Stars Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York - 5 Stars Nas - Illmatic - 5 Stars Beastie Boys - Ill Communication - 5 Stars Soundgarden - Superunknown - 5 Stars 4.5 Stars Black Crowes - America - 4.5 Stars R.E.M. - Monster - 4.5 Stars Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album) 4.5 Stars The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die - 4.5 Stars Pink Floyd - The Division Bell - 4.5 Stars 4 Stars Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In - 4 Stars Seal - Seal 2 - 4 Stars Jeff Buckley - Grace - 4 Stars Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies - 4 Stars Pearl Jam - Vitalogy - 4 stars Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - No Quarter: Unledded - 4 Stars 3.5 Stars Gang Star - Hard To Earn - 3.5 Stars Blues Traveler - Four - 3.5 Stars Stone Temple Pilots - Purple - 3.5 Stars Bush - Sixteen Stone - 3.5 Stars Live - Throwing Copper - 3.5 Stars

1994 is a great topic for discussion, being its one of the strongest years of that decade. It was entirely loaded with diversity and excellent releases, one after another. Definitely something for everyone’s taste. I really liked your list, Joe. So I had to insert my own 15 favs from that year : 1. Superunknown SG 2. Throwing Copper Live 3. Purple STP 4. Nirvana Unplugged 5. Downward Spiral NIN 6. Chocolate and Cheese Ween 7. File Under Easy Easy Listening Sugar 8. Up to our Hips The Charlatans ( UK ) 9. Grace JB 10. Jar of Flies AIC 11. Carnival of Light Ride 12. Vitaolgy PJ 13. Wildflowers Petty 14. Division Bell Floyd 15. Monster REM There are so many more from that year that others had mentioned, but they were too difficult to rank. For me, that’s how good of a year it was.

I was 16 when ILS came out. There truly was no song like it up til that point

love the mildly animated graphic

Oddly I was supposed to see Freedy Johnston at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis in 2002. He was going to open for Paul Kelly, who might be my favorite artist ever. It turned out Freedy was a no-show. So Paul Kelly played a longer set than expected. I was thrilled at that development. Paul, who is Australian, rarely ever makes it to the United States and I still am amazed I ever got a chance to see him. So thanks Freedy, wherever you are.

1994 is such a great year in my opinion. Great alt rock stuff and probably the best year in hip hop. I'll have a list ready for Jason's vid

Great list Joe. 1994 is stellar

My top 7 albums from 1994: 1. Jamiroquai - The Return of the Space Cowboy 2. Elton John/Hans Zimmer - The Lion King 3. Prince - Come 4. Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 5. David Byrne - David Byrne 6. Ozric Tentacles - Arborescence 7. Walter Becker - 11 Tracks of Whack

My Top 10 Albums Of 1994 # 10 - Definitely Maybe - Oasis # 9 Hips & Makers - Kristen Hersch # 8 Jar Of Flies - Alice In Chains # 7 Under The Pink - Tori Amos # 6 Live Through This - Hole # 5 Parklife - Blur # 4 I Could Live In Hope - Low # 3 Welcome To Sky Valley - Kyuss # 2 Dummy - Portishead & # 1 Grace - Jeff Buckley

The Mavericks' "What a Crying Shame" (1994), one of the best country albums of the early 1990s, deserves consideration for the top 25 albums of 1994. Raul Malo is an awesome singer, and there are great songs here.

One of the best years in music imo. 1 Soundgarden - Superunknown 2 NiN - The downward spiral 3 Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman 4 Suede - Dogmanstar 5 Orbital - Snivilization 6 Hole - Live through this 7 Jezus lizard - Down 8 STP - Purple 9 AIC - Jar of flies 10 Massive Attack - Protection 11 Shellac - At action park 12 Outkast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik 13 Jeff Buckley - Grace 14 Sebadoh - Bakesale 15 Little Axe - The wolf that house built 16 REM - Monster 17 Arrested Development - Zingalamaduni 18 Grant lee buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon 19 Primal Scream - Give out but don't give up 20 Apollo440 - Millennium fever 21 Pantera- Far beyond driven 22 'O'rang - Herd of instinct 23 Prong - Cleansing 24 Sonic youth - Exp jet set, trash & no star 25 Copshootcop - Release

1. Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album) 2. Oasis - Definitely Maybe 3. Nas - Illmatic 4. The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die 5. The Offspring - Smash 6. Built To Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love 7. Blur - Parklife 8. Green Day - Dookie 9. Dinosaur Jr. - Without A Sound 10. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Stoned & Dethroned

Jason: "So we're ten in to your list and we have ... two in common so far." Joe: "Interesting. Probably Notorious B.I.G. and Bad Religion." Never change, guys. Never change.

I got 9 in common with Joe. I was going to post my full 25 list, but debating recording my own video, so I might hold off. But really strong year for me, which also benefitted from nostalgia. I listened to 230 albums in total.

1994 is the ultimate year in music for the decade. Absolutely stellar music released (many recorded in ‘93😅) One hidden gem is “Generation Six Pack” by Pure.

1994 is arguably my favorite year. Incredible depth and stacked at the top. I have a full top 25 of 4.5+ and my 4 stars go all the way through number 74. 1. Pavement - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (all-time personal #1 album too) 2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In 3. Blur - Parklife 4. Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary 5. Ween - Chocolate and Cheese 6. NIN - The Downward Spiral 7. NOFX - Punk in Drublic 8. Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom 9. Built to Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love 10. Portishead - Dummy 11. Shudder to Think - Pony Express Record 12. GBV - Bee Thousand 13. Bark Psychosis - Hex 14. Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime 15. Toadies - Rubberneck 16. Sebadoh - Bakesale 17. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication 18. Archers of Loaf - Vs. the Greatest of All Time (personal top 5 EP ever) 19. Bad Religion - Stranger Than Fiction 20. Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops 21. Shellac - At Action Park 22. Unwound - New Plastic Ideas 23. Pulp - His N Hers 24. Vangelis - Blade Runner OST 25. Weezer - Blue Album 26. Thinking Fellers Unions Local 282 - Strangers From the Universe 27. Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl 28. Loreena McKennitt - The Mask and Mirror 29. Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy 30. Superchunk - Foolish 31. Tori Amos - Under the Pink 32. The Wrens - Silver 33. Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep 34. Frank Black - Teenager of the Year 35. The Offspring - Smash 36. Sparks - Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins 37. Samiam - Clumsy 38. Failure - Magnified 39. Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley 40. Mark Lanegan - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost 41. Rodan - Rusty 42. STP - Purple 43. Grifters - Crappin' You Negative 44. Soundgarden - Superunknown 45. Milla Jovovich - The Divine Comedy 46. Beck - Mellow Gold 47. Digable Planets - Blowout Comb 48. Everything But the Girl - Amplified Heart 49. Magnetic Fields - Holiday 50. Jawbox - For Your Own Special Sweetheart Hard to to stop myself with this year, but this is already way too long lol. Favorite dive, even if I didn't discover much new. Guess I'd already thoroughly been through '94 over the past thirty years.

Great list Joe, presented really well. Can I give you props for including The Manics and Suede who both released albums in 1994 that completely went against the zeitgeist of the laddish and beery culture of the rest of Britpop. They toured the darkest parts of Europe together in 1994 as a consequence and still share the same shows up to this very day. I was always attracted to that dark glamour as well as Blur's tremendous songwriting. Excellent list with many of my favourites from that year included.

Joe, “Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls Always should be someone you Really 💗Love”

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. All the albums up through this are in a class of their own , its a different thing moving forward though still mostly great , just not as dangerous;)

I posted a top 50 list a couple years ago for the original 1994 video, but I’ve got an expanded 65-album list with some selections reshuffled or removed. As you will see, I am very much Team Indie in 1994. No grunge picks to be found here… 1. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (but it’s basically tied with the other 2 under it) 1b. Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy 1c. Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand 4. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Let Love In 5. Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary 6. Ween - Chocolate and Cheese 7. Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet 8. Bedhead - WhatFunLifeWas 9. Built to Spill - There’s Nothing Wrong with Love 10. Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime 11. The Magnetic Fields - Holiday 12. Suede - Dog Man Star 13. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse 14. Brainiac - Bonsai Superstar 15. Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Strangers from the Universe 16. Cows - Orphan’s Tragedy 17. Frank Black - Teenager of the Year 18. Low - I Could Live in Hope 19. Today Is the Day - Willpower 20. Kristin Hersh - Hips and Makers 21. Lush - Split 22. The Loud Family - The Tape of Only Linda 23. Jawbox - For Your Own Special Sweetheart 24. Blur - Parklife 25. Into Another - Ignaurus 26. Starflyer 59 - Silver 27. Nas - Illmatic 28. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda 29. Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger 30. Codeine - The White Birch 31. Cherubs - Heroin Man 32. They Might Be Giants - John Henry 33. The Magnetic Fields - The Charm of the Highway Strip 34. Sugar - File Under Easy Listening 35. Failure - Magnified (30 more indie picks in the replies)

Great list. Only miss for me would be Tragically Hip's Day For Night not making it. The fourth of their big 5 albums👍👍 Portishead's Dummy maybe too.

One of my favorite years in music history, right up there with 1987.

Crazy good year. 1. Lisa Germano - Geek The Girl 2. Weezer - Weezer 3. Portishead - Dummy 4. Jeff Buckley - Grace 5. Definitely Maybe - Oasis 6. Nick Cave - Let Love In 7. Suede - Dog Man Star 8. Nas - Illmatic 9. Dinosaur Jr. - Without A Sound 10. Pulp - His 'n’ Hers

1994. I’m here for it. I was 15/16 years old. Pretty seminal year for me as a music fan. Just expanding my love for certain styles of music. Joe lists a lot of albums that I loved then, but got left behind in the ensuing years. I’ve worked up a Top 25. Could probably do a Top 50. When I do these year lists, I don’t include live albums. But can’t argue with Nirvana’s Unplugged. 1. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement 2. Grace - Jeff Buckley 3. Bee Thousand - Guided By Voices 4. Weezer - Weezer 5. Parklife - Blur 6. Whiskey for the Holy Ghost - Mark Lanegan 7. Illmatic - Nas 8. Vitalogy - Pearl Jam 9. Ruby Vroom - Soul Coughing 10. Dummy - Portishead 11. Superunknown - Soundgarden 12. Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails 13. Ill Communication - Beastie Boys 14. My Life - Iris Dement 15. Dog Man Star - Suede 16. Live Through This - Hole 17. Blowout Comb - Digable Planets 18. ¡Simpatico! - Velocity Girl 19. American Recordings - Johnny Cash 20. Mighty Joe Moon - Grant Lee Buffalo 21. Twice Removed - Sloan 22. Wildflowers - Tom Petty 23. American Thighs - Veruca Salt 24. There’s Nothing Wrong With Love - Built to Spill 25. Bakesale - Sebadoh HM: Monster, File Under Easy Listening, Jar of Flies, Bewitched, Geek the Girl Cheers ✌🏻

Joe, your evocative description of #22 was perfect .. just wish it was higher .. but happy to see it! A glimmer of hope for a future Listo of this artist 🩷💜🩵

I think 94 was a great year, with many great albums. Here's my top 10: #1 Grace - Jeff Buckley (beats #2 by a nose) #2 Whip Smart - Liz Phair #3 Mellow Gold - Beck #4 Promenade - Divine Comedy #5 Bee Thousand - Guided By Voices #6 Superunknown - Soundgarden #7 Worst Case Scenario - dEUS #8 Ruby Vroom - Soul Caughing #9 Dummy - Portishead #10 - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain - Pavement

Just listened to let love in not too long ago and thought it was really good I’m glad it was on your list

Excellent list.

Not a big fan of the 90's but '94 was one of the better years of the decade. Couldn't get to 25, so here is my top 11: 1. Definitely Maybe - Oasis (beat Blur this year but on the whole, Blur ended up with much the better back catalogue) 2. Monster - R.E.M 3. Dog Man Star - Suede 4. His n Hers - Pulp 5. Protection - Massive Attack 6. MTV Unplugged in New York - Nirvana 7. Parklife - Blur 8. Dummy - Portishead 9. The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers 10. File Under Easy Listening - Sugar 11. Sleeps with Angels - Neil Young Loving these deep dive shows!

This made me revisit Parklife, thank you.

I missed Jar of Flies, thought it was released earlier than '94 Not really sure it qualifies as an EP, it's longer than Nashville Skyline. The greatest EP has gotta be Chronic Town by REM Its about 15-20 min long, and it's tremendous!

Very good picks by Joe! I didn't do a '94 album deep dive, but I'm sure a few of his choices would've made my top 25 albums list, too. However, 5 songs from these 25 albums made my '94 top 25 songs list.

In no particular order. Grace and Superunknown would have made my list in the past but my list is based on albums I still listen too. Another Thought by Arthur Russell is my clear favorite despite it being a posthumous release. Another Thought - Arthur Russell At Action Park - Shellac Dummy - Portishead Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement Amber - Autechre WhatFunLifeWas - Bedhead Let Love In - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Mars Audiac Quintet - Stereolab Selected Ambient Works Volume II - Aphex Twin Whiskey for the Holy Ghost - Mark Lanegan Pandemonium - Killing Joke For Victory - Bolt Thrower His and Hers - Pulp Without a Sound - Dinosaur Jr. Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Come Hips and Makers - Kristin Hersh Bewitched - Luna 41 - Swell File Under Easy Listening - Sugar 50th Birthday Concert - Evan Parker Middle Class Revolt - The Fall Mirror Blue - Richard Thompson Rien - Faust Wildflowers - Tom Petty

25. Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes 24. Pantera - Far Beyond Driven 23. Pentagram - Be Forewarned 22. Helloween - Master of the Rings 21. The Cult 20. Vicious Rumors - Word of Mouth 19. Danzig 4 18. Virgin Steele - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell-Part One 17. Running Wild - Black Hand Inn 16. Dio - Strange Highways 15. The Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge 14. The Black Crowes - Amorica 13. Demolition 23 12. Megadeth - Youthanasia 11. Mercyful Fate - Time 10. Doctor Butcher 9. Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley 8. Bruce Dickinson - Balls to Picasso 7. Pride & Glory 6. The Wildhearts - Fishing for Luckies 5. Cinderella - Still Climbing 4. Tom Petty - Wildflowers 3. The Allman Brothers Band - Where It All Begins 2. Warrior Soul - The Space Age Playboys 1. Corrosion of Conformity - Deliverance

Joe seems like such a nice guy so it feels like quite a juxtaposition to see albums with creepy artwork (Holy Bible, Megadeth), dark goth vibes (N. Cave, NIN), Biggie's fairly explicit masterpiece, and a few radio friendly Alt-Metal classics (AiC, Soundgarden) that always felt a bit dark to me. But a great list overall. I'm glad to see STP and Live getting their flowers from both of you since these were some of the first CDs Pitchfork told us to place in the garbage when the Internet exploded and some of us let the hipsters rent space in our heads. I'm far from an audiophile but Definitely Maybe always sounded tough on my ears even though I think there is good music under that loudness wars mix. I need to spend more time with Grace as I never quite "got it" and it's reputation seems to increase with each passing year. Totally agree on 90s hip hop albums overdoing the skits that are at best, moderately funny on the first listen and annoying on subsequent listens. De La Soul needs to eat more crap for popularizing that terrible trend.

Wasn't able to deep dive 1994 but looks like 4-5 matches from what I know would be on my finished list. Glad to see Megadeth recognized for the last in a string of 3 great albums before they got a bit lost,,,

wow....great list. I would have The prodigy Music for the Jilted Generation, orbital Snivillisation and pulp his and hers in there somewhere.

Hey there, “Parklife” what a refreshing diversion from what dominated then. Girls Boys, the End to Jubilee. But it was Grace that knocked me out, what a haunting emotive lovely powerful voice, Mojo Pin, Lilac wine, of course Hallelujah, if you don’t feel this your dead. Cornell, is there a better Rock voice?

Great year , quite Brit Pop heavy for me , had a massive deep dive. Missed Nick Cave though will check that out. Nirvana would have made this top 25 but I didn't count it. Pearl Jam, STP, Tom Petty and LIve made by top 50. 1 Grace Jeff Buckley 2 Parklife Blur 3 Dookie Green Day 4 Definitely Maybe Oasis 5 Weezer [Blue Album] Weezer 6 Dog Man Star Suede 7 Dubnobasswithmyheadman Underworld 8 Monster R.E.M. 9 Superunknown Soundgarden 10 His 'n' Hers Pulp 11 The Holy Bible Manic Street Preachers 12 Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Pavement 13 Second Coming The Stone Roses 14 Tiger Bay Saint Etienne 15 Dummy Portishead 16 File Under: Easy Listening Sugar 17 Everyone's Got One Echobelly 18 Give Out But Don't Give Up Primal Scream 19 Mars Audiac Quintet Stereolab 20 Music for the Jilted Generation The Prodigy 21 Without a Sound Dinosaur Jr 22 Change Giver Shed Seven 23 Homegrown Dodgy 24 Panic On Madder Rose 25 Up to Our Hips The Charlatans

Overall 1994 was an average year with very few real classics. My slightly UK-centric top 25 is: 1: Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman; 2: Portishead - Dummy; 3: Nirvana - Unplugged in New York; 4: Bark Pychosis - Hex; 5: Blur - Parklife; 6: Pulp - His’n’Hers; 7: Massive Attack - Protection 8: Animals that Swim - Workshy; 9: The Auteurs - Now I’m a Cowboy; 10: Oasis - Definitely Maybe; 11: Jeff Buckley - Grace; 12: Velvet Crush - Teenage Symphonies from God; 13: Morrissey - Vauxhall & I; 14: Stina Nordenstam - & She Closed her Eyes; 15: Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley; 16: Pale Saints - Slow Buildings; 17: Seefeel - Polyfusia; 18: Jan Garbarek - Officium; 19: Ride - Carnival of Light; 20: Codeine - White Birch; 21: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Let Love In; 22: Mark Lanegan - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost; 23: REM - Monster; 24: Liz Phair - Whipsmart; 25: Kirsten Hersh - Hips & Shakers.

Plenty of love for the ranking of Dog Man Star. I remember listening it obsessively at the time, and actually preferring it to Parklife, which I don’t find as rich. Anderson/Butler: a songwriting partnership for the ages!

What a fantastic year for music, it was the year that grunge officially passed the baton to Britpop, with great albums on both sides. We also witnessed the birth of pop punk (perhaps not such a great thing) with Green Day’s Dookie and trip-hop reached maturity with Portishead’s brilliant debut, Dummy. Oh, and we also got Jeff Buckley’s Grace, Nas’ Illmatic and Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral. Amazing.

Cool list! Although I think there is a Monster omission there (ho, ho). Also, are OSTs allowed? The Crow soundtrack! I'm glad to see you included Tori Amos. The Holy Bible is a masterpiece imo, a 5 star album. I have a blind spot with Alice In Chains. I need to check them out! Thanks, Stuart

Great show Joe, thanks. I really, really liked '94, in my top 10 years all time.

I guess we'll see what Jason has on his list, but the biggest omission I suppose is not seeing Pink Floyd's The Division Bell. I have Live and Jeff Buckley of course on my list which I went over last week in my 1994 AOTY video on my Channel. It's a great record, although as I mentioned in that video, I have felt the follow-up record he would have made, would have been better (and we got in a way with the demos on "Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk)" But here's my list. 1994 to me is Super Top Heavy with the Top 5 being my favorite records in those artists catalogs. 1. Marillion - Brave 2. Dream Theater - Awake 3. Savatage - Handful of Rain 4. Queensryche - Promised Land 5. Jeff Buckley - Grace 6. King's X - Dogman 7. Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 8. Fates Warning - Inside Out 9. Atomic Opera - For Madmen Only 10. Tiles - Tiles 11, Boston - Walk On 12. Kansas - Kansas [Boxed Set] 13. Cirque Du Soleil - Alegria 14. Dean Magraw - Broken Silence 15, Live - Throwing Copper 16. Pushmonkey - Maize 17 The Grays - Ro Sham Bo 18. Cairo - Cairo 19. Paquito D'Rivera - A Taste of Paquito 20. Yes- Talk 21 Orphaned Land - Sahara 22 Doctor Butcher - Doctor Butcher 23 3rd Matinee - Meanwhile 24 Edwin Dare - Can't Break Me 25 Roine Stolt - The Flower King

25 Hoist -Phish 24 Everyone's Got One -Echobelly 23 Moodswing -Joshua Redman 22 There's Nothing Wrong With Love -Built to Spill 21 Time -Mercyful Fate 20 Under the Table And Dreaming -Dave Matthews Band 19 Dummy -Portishead 18 Sleeps With Angels -Neil Young & Crazy Horse 17 Arborescence -Ozric Tentacles 16 Ill Communication -Beastie Boys 15 Youthanasia -Megadeth 14 The Holy Bible -Manic Street Preachers 13 Bakesale -Sebadoh 12 Jar of Flies -Alice in Chains 11 Monster -R.E.M. 10 s/t -Electric Wizard 9 Where It All Begins -Allman Brothers 8 Purple -Stone Temple Pilots 7 Welcome To Sky Valley -Kyuss 6 Sixteen Stone -Bush 5 Mellow Gold -Beck 4 Vitalogy -Pearl Jam 3 Crooked Rain Crooked Rain -Pavement 2 Live Through This -Hole 1 Superunknown -Soundgarden

Top 9: 9) Dookie - Green Day 8) Wildflowers - Tom Petty 7) Hot Boxing - Magnapop 6) MTV Unplugged: Live in New York City - Nirvana 5) Jar of Flies - Alice In Chains 4) Bee Thousand - Guided By Voices 3) Blues - Jimi Hendrix 2) Live At The BBC - Beatles 1) Whip-Smart - Liz Phair Honorable Mention: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement Bewitched - Luna Brutal Youth - Elvis Costello Superunknown - Soundgarden Throwing Copper - Live Natural Ingredients - Luscious Jackson File Under: Easy Listening - Sugar Vitalogy - Pearl Jam My Iron Lung (EP) - Radiohead

I've got 7 albums in-common with Joe, including his Number 1.

Such a great list! Built to Spill made me turn my head, but not as much as Teenage Symphonies to God. Excellent record. Atmosphere is a perfect tune.

Loved everything you had to say about ‘Dog Man Star’ and you just need to move ‘The Holy Bible’ up 15 places 😉 👏

Joe, amazing choices!! Those top 3 are honestly my top 3!!! My top 2:albums all time are Purple Rain and Physical Graffiti which might be yours I think you mentioned once!! Great video!!

My favorite 1994 albums not on Joe’s Top 25 list: Frank Black - Teenager of the Year (My No. 1 of this year) Beastie Boys - Ill Communication (an all time great stoner album) Nas - Illmatic (stone cold rap classic) Pavement - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain Breeders - Last Splash PS I think Buzzcocks’ Spiral Scratch is the best EP ever

Nice list Joe! We have the same top 2. For me it’s probably: Parklife > Superunknown > Weezer > Definitely Maybe > Grace

Not Jason looking away from the camera nearly the entire time Joe was lovin’ on Suede 🤣

Nice to see Bad Religion show up on the channel! Hopefully a deep dive is on the horizon.

This is a great list, so glad to see Freedy Johnston in here too. Probably my favorite year of music from the 90s.. maybe ‘97.

Great video guys. You ever think you would do a list of the best album covers of all time ? Seeing the Jar of Flies cover made me wonder what mine would be.

Blues Traveler - Fou,r and Black Crowes- Amorica

Glad that Nirvana Unplugged In NY is on there. Def Maybe is overated. Love that Under the Pink is there - great album. Love that Dog Man Star is so high.

I disagree with a lot of your list, but I'm with you on #1

1. Nirvana - MTV Unplugged 5 stars (10) 2. Live - Throwing Copper 5 stars (10) 3. Alice In Chains - Jar of Flies 5 stars (10) 4. Weezer - Blue 5 stars (10) 5. Jeff Buckley - Grace 5 stars (9.9) 6. Green Day - Dookie 5 stars (9.8) 7. Tori Amos - Under the Pink 5 stars (9.7) 8. Queensryche - Promised Land 5 stars (9.6) 9. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy 4.5 stars (9) 10. Ride - Carnival of Light 4.5 stars (9) 11. Dream Theater - Awake 4.5 stars (9) 12. Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 4.5 stars (8.9) 13. Blur - Parklife 4.5 stars (8.8) 14. Tom Petty - Wildflowers 4.5 stars (8.7) 15. Stone Temple Pilots - Purple 4.5 stars (8.6) 16. Mark Lanagen - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost 4.5 stars (8.6) 17. Suede - Dog Man Star 4.5 stars (8.6) 18. Soundgarden - Superunknown 4 stars (8.4) 19. Ween - Chocolate and Cheese 4 stars (8.3) 20. The Offspring - Smash 4 stars (8.3) 21. Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary 4 stars (8.2) 22. Nas - Illmatic 4 stars (8.2) 23. Toad the Wet Sprocket- Dulcinea 4 stars (8.1) 24. Korn - Korn 4 stars (8) 25. Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral 4 stars (8)

Great list, my #1 is Teenager of the Year

I would have included “Experimental Jet Set Trash & No Star” by Sonic Youth

Seal is somewhere crying right now because you left his self titled masterpiece off your list Joe!

Maybe a few things here that was a bit surprising but overall I think this is a pretty Joecore list. In this era I tend to lean more to the slacker rock than the brit pop so we have less in common than we often do (8) but at least we always have Tori. This year was interesting, I did find a few new things that were cool but a lot of my list is stuff I knew before or artists I already like. There is some great stuff but I found that doing the dive there was a lot of albums that just didn't resonate with me. So it was also pretty light on new discoveries for me for full albums. I found there were many albums that just had too much filler. On the plus side I didn't have tons of really low ratings either but a much higher percentage than usual of ok albums. My top 25: 25) Smoking Popes - Born to Quit 24) Nas - Illmatic 23) The Blow Pops - American Beauties 22) Hole - Live Through This 21) Iris DeMent - My Life 20) Elliott Smith - Roman Candle 19) Pink Floyd - The Division Bell 18) Stone Temple Pilots - Purple 17) The Mavericks - What a Crying Shame 16) Mark Lanegan - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost 15) Freedy Johnston - This Perfect World 14) Nick Lowe - The Impossible Bird 13) Dinosaur Jr. - Without a Sound 12) Portishead - Dummy 11) Sebadoh - Bakesale 10) They Might Be Giants - John Henry 9) Meat Puppets - Too High to Die 8) Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 7) Tom Petty - Wildflowers 6) Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York 5) Tori Amos - Under the Pink 4) Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand 3) Pearl Jam - Vitalogy 2) Weezer - Weezer 1) Jeff Buckley - Grace

I'm usually on board with Joe's picks, but how can 1994's lone successful progressive rock album not be on this list? Pink Floyd's THE DIVISION BELL sold over 3 million copies in the United States, it sold more worldwide copies than A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON, and it was the 2nd highest grossing tour in 1994-1995. IMO, there is not a bad song on the album and HIGH HOPES is one of the Top 5 songs in Pink Floyd's catalogue. This was also the first album since ANIMALS that included Gilmour/Wright/Mason in the creative process and the first vocal performance by Wright since DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. Gilmour was at the peak of his guitar powers and the Gilmour/Wright combo produced melodic soundscapes that most of the 25 artists on this list could only dream about.

My Top 25 Albums of 1994: CK One, Nag Champa, & Teen Spirit 🎶 🖤 ♾️ 🌞🌛✨🌻 1. Suede - Dog Man Star (“I think there’s always a place for Suede because we occupy a space that no one else occupies.” - Brett Anderson) 2. Morrissey - Vauxhall and I 3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Let Love In 4. Portishead - Dummy 5. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral 6. Lords Of Acid - Voodoo-U 7. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication 8. Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York 9. The Crow Soundtrack 10. Edwyn Collins - Gorgeous George 11. Grant Lee Buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon 12. Dead Can Dance - Toward The Within 13. Pulp - His ‘N’ Hers 14. The Auteurs - Now I’m A Cowboy 15. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Stoned and Dethroned 16. Luna - Bewitched 17. The Stone Roses - Second Coming 18. Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies 19. Digable Planets - Blowout Comb 20. Mark Lanegan - Whiskey For The Holy Ghost 21. Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible 22. Madonna - Bedtime Stories 23. Melvins - Stoner Witch 24. Hole - Live Through This 25. Helmet - Betty

people are all over the place. Is this year the height of fraction among the sub genres of rock?

Love going back to albums though much better years than this one. I haven't heard but a couple of albums from 1994 but know some songs. These are my best conjectures based my historical personal preferences: Bee Thousand - Guided by Voices MTV Unplugged - Nirvana Sleeps with Angels Neil Young Definitely Maybe - Oasis Mellow Gold - Beck I will like some of Beck's later albums more than this. Under the Pink - Tori Amos Without a Sound - Dinosaur Jr Purple - Stone Temple Pilots Jar of Flies -Alice in Chains Superunknown - Soundgarden Vauxhall and I -Morrissey Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain -Pavement Parklife - Blur I remember not liking Dookie but for 'Welcome to Paradise' and 'Long View' but they are No Replacements. Not liking the songs I heard from Tom Petty album. Oh forgot Freddie Johnson whom i like some.

No Voodoo Lounge?

Parklife is a great album but I've always felt the flow/balance of the album isn't quite right. Remove from the track list 'Far Out' and 'The Debt Collector', which sound like b-side material and to me it is a much better listening experience.

please do a list of best songs for 4th of july

Music ( not literally, but spiritually ) died in the neoliberal 90s unfortunately, but there are some sparkles nevertheless: Nick Cave's Let Love In, The Fall's Middle Class Revolt, Stereolab's Mars Audiac Quintet, Portishead's Dummy, David Byrne's David Byrne and Elliott Smith's Roman Candle. Worthy of mention in 1994 is The Notorious BIG, The Muppets, Laibach, Lush, Neil Young, Jonathan Richman, as well as Hole and Veruca Salt, in one genre, and Aphex Twin and Autechre in another. Disappointing that year were REM and Jesus and Mary Chain. Please have a listen to Adrian Belew's Here, which starts with 'May 1, 1990,' as good as any britpop tune certainly. Odd contributions include Rick Wakeman's Light Up the Sky and René Lussier's Le corps de l'ouvrage, as well as neo-prog works by Dream Theater and Big Big Train, which are too polished for me but interesting as propositions. Best album of the year is likely Nirvana's MTV Unplugged and in that regard you might appreciate The Residents' song Gingerbread Man on Gingerbread Man.

Delighted to see Superunknown over Grace, and then crushed to see Parklife beat it. Parklife!?

"I love God - the song." lmao