Spin's Greatest Albums of the Last 20 Years

Classified under:music,lists
Last month's issue featured a top 100 list of the greatest CDs of the last 20 years. I, being a list whore, had no choice but to pick it up. Since Spin
isn't on par with Blender or Rolling Stone, there's a lot of suspect choices on the list. That said, I figured that I'd save you all some money and give you

the top 20 albums of the last 20 years.

Note, the albums bolded are ones that I own, bootlegged or otherwise. Gasp in shock and horror as we see the horrible holes in my musical library. My commentary will be in brackets. Without further ado...

1)Radiohead-OK Computer
2)Public Enemy-It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
3)Nirvana-Nevermind
4)Pavement-Slanted and Enchanted
5)the Smiths-the Queen is Dead
6)Pixies-Surfer Rosa (I listened to this CD over and over again while I was planting at Blue River. It took a while to get into, but now I *really* love their sound. Frank Black's scratchy guitar bat screeches are phenomenal)
7)De La Soul-3 Fee High and Rising
8)Prince-Sign 'o' the Times
9)PJ Harvey-Rid of Me (Anyone ever listen to PJ Harvey? There was a lot of buzz on her new album but I've seemed to have completely missed out. Last summer, the CBC decried that Alanis Morriset had fucked her career over and had killed the riot grrl movement that she started. Note: this might be bull)
10)N.W.A.-Straight Outta Compton (I get merciless ribbing from Anson for liking this album)
11)U2-Achtung Baby
12)Beastie Boys-Paul's Boutique (This is the only Beastie Boys album that I own)
13)Husker Du-New Day Rising (Husker Du always sounded like a wannabe hippie icecream company)
14)Sonic Youth-Daydream Nation'
15)Liz Phair-Exile in Guyville
16)Beck-Odelay (Shame alert! I never heard this album until I started planting trees this summer. Very impressive. You could hear the Dust Brother's fingerprints all over it)
17)Nas-Illmatic
18)Guns 'N' Roses-Appetite for Destruction (I've been meaning to buy this for ages. Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child o' Mine are both very ace)
19)Hole-Live Through This (When my friend from Ireland, Denis, say this, he called the whole list a load of bollocks. He doesn't dig Hole)
20)Wu-tang Clan-Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
21)Public Enemy-Fear of a Black Planet
22)My Bloody Valentine-Loveless (The WEF used to rave about My Bloody Valentine. Am I missing out?)
23)Outkast-Skankonia (I should pick this one up to, as it has Ms Jackson and Gasoline Dreams. Great songs, those)
24)Sleater-Kinney-Dig Me Out ( I have it on good authority that Sleater Kinney is pretty good too)
25)Nine Inch Nails-The Downward Spiral
26)Bjork-Post (Bjork has a huge queer following. Why? This is something that I don't understand, as I am a straight man)
27)the Cure-The Head on the Door (I have a copy of the Cure's set from Coachella 2004 that I've probably listened to twice now. I wasn't that impressed.)
28)Oasis-Definatelu Maybe
29)Fugazi-13 Songs
30)the Notorious B.I.G.-Ready to Die (I had a chance to listen to this album this summer. Halfway through, I said "Fuck this", and switched to Dre 2001.)
31)Dinosaur Jr.-You're Living All Over Me
32)the Replacements-Tim (I bought this when I bought DJ Shadow's Pre-emptive strike for my love of Can't Hardly Wait and Alex Chilton, which aren't on this album. Since it's on the list, I guess it's time to re-examine.
33)Ice Cube-AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (I still say that Ice Cube is our generation's Bill Cosby)
34)Elliot SMith-Either/Or
35)Dr. Dre-the Chronic (Thanks to San Andreas, I'd probably pick this up for Dre Day and Nothin' But a G Thang)
36)Pixies-Doolite
37)Guided By Voices-Bee Thousand
38)A Tribe Called Quest-The Low End Theory
39)Lucinda Williams-Lucinda Williams
40)Run-D.M.C.-Raising Hell
41)Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dreams
42)Jane's Addiction-Nothing's Shocking (And yes, I am aware that I'm missing out hardcore by not having picked up the Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction.
Truth be told, I didn't start picking up CD's until the late 90s. FACT!)
43)Boogie Down Productions-Criminal Minded
44)Green Day-Dookie
45)Kanye West-College Dropout (I probably wouldn't have picked this up if I didn't hear Lyndsey glorify Kanye almost every fucking day on the block. It's an excellent rap album that takes the piss out of most of the rap that you hear on the radio. Great lyrics and fantastic beats. I picked it up for 10 bucks at CD Plus. You can't go wrong with that.
46)The Fall-This Nation's Saving Grace
47)Eric B & Rakim-Paid in Full
48)Radiohead-Kid A (Has one of my favourite opening tracks of all time. I was so impressed with their sound on this, I picked up Hail to the Thief. I thought Kid A was better)
49)Lauryn Hill-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
50)New Order-Low-Life
51)Nirvana-In Utero
52)Beastie Boys-Licensed to Ill
53)Rage Against the Machine-The Battle of Los Angeles (Both this and Licensed to Ill, my brother Simon owns and loves)
54)the Breeders-Last Splash
55)The Chemical Brothers-Dig Your Own Hole
56)PJ Harvey=To Bring You My Love
57)White Stripes-White Blood Cells (Yeah, I know, I should own this album. Blah, blah, blah)
58)Metalica-Master of Puppets
59)Modest Mouse-The Lonesome Crowded West
60)De La Soul-De La Soul Is Dead
61)Weezer-Pinkerton (I have a feeling that hard-core Weezer fans, Mike, I'm talking to you, will dispute this being on the list)
62)Missy Elliot-Supa Dupa Fly
63)Pavement-Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
64)Eminem-The Marshal Matthers LP
65)Basement Jaxx-Remedy
66)Outkast-Aquemini
67)Slayer-Reign in Blood
68)Tricky-Maxiquaye
69)DJ Shadow-Entroducing (Being a huge Shadow fan, I'm glad to see him on the list. Entroducing is an awesome album)
70)Jay-Z-the Blueprint
71)The Jesus and Mary Chain-Psychocandy
72)Raekwon-Onlu Built 4 Cuban Linx
73)Pulp-Different Class (The coolest girl that I worked with this summer, Angela, was a huge Pulp fan. She, Denis and I would spend our evenings in the truck listening to this CD belting out Common People almost every night. Besides staring at the ass of Candance, IMO, the cutest girl at camp, this was my favourite part of my downtime)
74)Portishead-Dummy
75)Le Tigre-Le Tigre
76)Belle and Sebastian-If You're Feeling Sinister
77)Wilco-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (I have the feeling that Mike will sell me on this one)
78)the Stone Roses-the Stone Roses
79)Moby-Everything is Wrong
80)D'Angelo-Voodoo
81)Beck-Mellow Gold
82)Jeff Buckley-Grace
83)At the Drive-In-Relationship of Command
84)Soundgarden-Superunknown
85)R.E.M.-Automatic for the People
86)Meat Puppers-Up on the Sun
87)Blur Parklife
88)Stereolab-Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Didn't Stereolab do that infectious song for that Voltzwagon commercial?)
89)Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Fever to Tell
90)Sonic Youth-Sister
91)XTC-Skylarking
92)Big Black-Atomizer
93)Pearl Jam-Ten
94)Slint-Spiderland
95)Elastica-Elastica
96)the Pogues-Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
97)Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
98)Cornershop-When I was Born for the 7th Time
99)Afgan Wings-Gentlemen
100)the Strokes-Is This It (More like This is shit. After listening to this album treeplanting, for the love of me, I couldn't figure out what all the fuss
was about)