Rolling Stone ranks best rock albums of 1994: Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Neil Young, more

Rolling Stone argues that 1994 was "mainstream alternative's greatest year." We suppose this is a significant compliment, but the more adjectives you add to an accolade, the more watered down it becomes. We're quite the children of the '90s at Music Times, so we might go as far as to say 1994 was the greatest year for rock music, period. Rolling Stone celebrated the monumental 365 that went down 20 years ago, and we've got to hand it to them: They did a pretty solid job. We frequently feel that Stone gives certain legendary acts an unfair advantage when any list is made, but the 40 albums listed here demonstrate a fine balance between musicianship and hipness (hipness tends to overshadow musicianship on any music publication list). Check out the full list below:

40) Throwing Copper by Live

39) Sixteen Stone by Bush

38) No Need To Argue by The Cranberries

37) The Crow Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

36) Under The Pink by Tori Amos

35) Rubberneck by The Toadies

34) Sleeps With Angels by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

33) Ruby Vroom by Soul Coughing

32) Without A Sound by Dinosaur Jr.

31) Deliverance by Corrosion of Conformity

30) Reality Bites Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

29) Pisces Iscariot by The Smashing Pumpkins

28) Stranger Than Fiction by Bad Religion

27) File Under Easy Listening by Sugar

26) Teenager of The Year by Frank Black

25) Weight by The Rollins Band

24) Let's Go by Rancid

23) Korn by Korn

22) Purple by Stone Temple Pilots

21) American Thighs by Veruca Salt

20) Betty by Helmet

19) Definitely Maybe by Oasis

18) Whip-Smart by Liz Phair

17) Smash by The Offspring

16) Parklife by Blur

15) Monster by R.E.M.

14) Youth by Sonic Youth

13) Too High To Die by The Meat Puppets

12) Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains

11) Mellow Gold by Beck

10) Ill Communication by The Beastie Boys

09) Vitalogy by Pearl Jam

08) Live Through This by Hole

07) American Recordings by Johnny Cash

06) Superunknown by Soundgarden

05) MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana

04) Grace by Jeff Buckley

03) Weezer by Weezer

02) The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails

01) Dookie by Green Day

Tags
Nirvana, Weezer, Green Day, Jeff Buckley, Soundgarden, Johnny Cash, Hole, Pearl Jam, Beck
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