Pop punk, slacker rock, hip hop, brit pop – 1994 did it all and did it well.
Boyz II Men, Nas, Beastie Boys and Notorious B.I.G. release heavyweight hip hop albums; the pop punk era is ushered into the mainstream via Green Day’s Dookie (surrounded by fellow punks The Offspring and Rancid); Weezer release their most beloved effort (and debut) The Blue Album; Pavement achieve perfection with Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; Beck breaks through with “Loser” off of Mellow Gold; Oasis and Blur get Brit-pop started; TLC release career highlight CrazySexyCool and Aaliyah dropped her double platinum debut Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.
Closer to home, Bucks County’s Ween sharpen their “brown” sound with Chocolate and Cheese, while G Love and Special Sauce release their self-titled debut.
Heavy metal, grunge and industrial rock were all having a banner year, with strong releases from Pantera, Alice in Chains, Bush and Nine Inch Nails.
Johnny Cash makes a comeback with his 81st (!) album American Recordings, and Jeff Buckley releases his only studio effort Grace.
1994 has already been getting a lot of nods on Facebook as the greatest year in music for its roster of diverse and influential releases. Do you agree?
Albums
Hips and Makers – Kristin Hersh
Jar of Flies – Alice in Chains
Under the Pink – Tori Amos
Dookie – Green Day
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain – Pavement
Bewitched – Luna
Mellow Gold – Beck
The Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails
Superunknown – Soundgarden
Far Beyond Driven – Pantera
Vauxhall and I – Morrissey
Hoist – Phish
The Division Bell – Pink Floyd
Smash – The Offspring
Live Through This – Hole
Illmatic – Nas
Let Love In – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Parklife – Blur
American Recordings – Johnny Cash
Throwing Copper – Live
Diary – Sunny Day Real Estate
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star – Sonic Youth
G Love and Special Sauce – G Love and Special Sauce
Swamp Ophelia – Indigo Girls
The Blue Album – Weezer
New Times – Violent Femmes
Ill Communication – Beastie Boys
Teenager of the Year – Frank Black
Purple – Stone Temple Pilots
Split – Lush
Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number – Aalyiah
Bee Thousand – Guided By Voices
Betty – Helmet
One Foot In the Grave – Beck
Music for the Jilted Generation – The Prodigy
Roman Candle – Elliot Smith
Whaler – Sophie B. Hawkins
Out of Range – Ani Di Franco
Dummy – Portishead
Grace – Jeff Buckley
Natural Ingredients – Luscious Jackson
Definitely Maybe – Oasis
II – Boyz II Men
File Under: Easy Listening – Sugar
Four – Blues Traveler
John Henry – They Might Be Giants
Ready to Die – Notorious B.I.G.
Whip-Smart – Liz Phair
Protection – Massive Attack
American Thighs – Veruca Salt
Chocolate and Cheese – Ween
Monster – REM
Under the Table and Dreaming – Dave Matthews Band
No Need to Argue – The Cranberries
Pisces Iscariot – Smashing Pumpkins
Geek the Girl – Lisa Germano
MTV Unplugged in New York – Nirvana
CrazySexyCool – TLC
Tical – Method Man
Vitalogy – Pearl Jam
Sixteen Stone – Bush
