Welcome to 1993 in my 30-year retrospective. 1993 was the year in which Bill Clinton became the 42nd President of the United States, but it was also the year of two tragic events. The first of those events took place days after Mr. Clinton took office, the bombing of the World Trade Center by some Middle Eastern radicals. At the time, the buildings escaped major damage with the blast contained to the parking garage area. The other tragic event was the whole Waco debacle surrounding David Koresh’s burning alive of his members of the cult known as the Branch Davidians.
As far as the music world was concerned, rap and alternative music were firmly entrenched as the leading sounds in popular music. But, the rock world innocence was once again lost when the world’s premiere entertainer and musician Michael Jackson was accused by a thirteen-year-old of being fondled by the King of Pop. These dour events, along with the pessimistic lyrics in the popular music of the time led one to believe that the world was in a moral decay. Little did we know that this craziness would be exponentially raised in another 25 or 30 years.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the UK was experiencing their very own and unique musical revolution that came to be known as Britpop. The movement was spearheaded by the one-two punch of Oasis and Blur, followed by Pulp, Supergrass, Suede, Elastica and a host of others. The sound of Britpop had its beginnings of The Beatles’ “Penny Lane,” the 60s British-oriented narratives of The Kinks and the mod/punk sound of The Jam. If I were to liken Britpop to something similar here in the States, it would be as if power pop took over the charts more thoroughly than it ever did in 1972, 1979 or 1982, the last years of the genre making inroads on the US charts.
Personally, I honestly discovered Britpop a good decade after it all ended, so I’ve been playing catch up with the bands of that era. However, if the genre had just dented the charts with more than Oasis, I too might have been a huge Britpop fan at the time as I continue to unearth gems from the era.
As Wall Street and Main Street continued to co-opt the style of the alternative and hip hop worlds, the market was becoming saturated with crap, much like what happened to disco. And when that happens, you can tell that a movement is running out of steam. In two years, gangsta rap and alternative rock will have become passé.
Yet, today, I have frozen the year of 1993. So, let’s peruse my countdown of my Top 50 Favorite Albums from that year.
50. Salt-n-Pepa – Very Necessary
49. Candlebox – Candlebox
48. Toni Braxton – Toni Braxton
47. Pet Shop Boys – Very
46. Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne
45. Dinosaur Jr. – Where You Been
44. Cypress Hill – Black Sunday
43. Radiohead – Pablo Honey
42. Tool – Undertow
41. Björk – Debut
40. Melissa Etheridge – Yes I Am
39. Rush – Counterparts
38. Mazzy Star – So Tonight I Might See
37. R. Kelly – 12 Play
36. Tony! Toni! Tone! – Sons of Soul
35. Aimee Mann – Whatever
34. Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell 2: Back Into Hell
33. Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet
32. Billy Joel – River of Dreams
31. The Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen
30. Urge Overkill – Saturation
29. Cracker – Kerosene Hat
28. 2pac – Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
27. Duran Duran – Duran Duran [a.k.a. The Wedding Album]
26. PM Dawn – The Bliss Album…?
25. Aerosmith – Get a Grip
24. Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales
23. Mariah Carey – Music Box
22. The Posies – Frosting on the Beater
21. Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish
20. New Order – Republic
19. The Breeders – Last Splash
18. Suede [a.k.a. The London Suede] – Suede [a.k.a. The London Suede]
17. The Cranberries – Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We
16. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
15. Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way
14. Depeche Mode – Songs of Faith and Devotion
13. Janet Jackson – janet.
12. PJ Harvey – Rid of Me
11. Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
10. Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle
9. A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders
8. Counting Crows – August & Everything After
7. Pearl Jam – Vs.
6. Sheryl Crow – Tuesday Night Music Club
5. U2 – Zooropa
4. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dreams
3. Nirvana – In Utero
2. Paul Weller – Wild Wood
1. Jellyfish – Spilt Milk
If My Records Could Talk 