Rocktology! Top CDs of the ’90s tournament results
It’s Rocktology! Our Top CDs of the ’90s tournament. And Metallica’s eponymous 1991 disc, popularly referred to as the Black Album is the winner of our annual full-field event. But this tournament was as much about the audio format as it was about the artists who released these albums.
The 1990s and the compact disc (CD) will be forever linked in pop culture history. Record companies were able to make more of these discs faster and cheaper than vinyl records, and could sell them at a premium. The rise of video and the global mega star in the ’80s, amplified by this new digital technology, set the stage for a blockbuster bonanza throughout the ’90s.
Additionally, the development of Soundscan technology, which tracks record sales by bar code, was also a boon to the music industry. With the accurate data generated by tracking actual sales, record companies realized that there was a huge demand for styles of music previously viewed as niche. “Urban” styles, country, Christian, latin and what came to be known as “alternative” rock. Marketing and development dollars flooded into these splintering genres and redefined the music industry.
The ’90s were also a golden age for creativity. These and many other records sold well because they were created by great artists at the top of their game. Of equal importance, each of these projects was carefully produced. Producers like Rick Rubin and production teams like Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis became superstars in their own right.
In another new wrinkle for this year, you could enter to win a handsome 360 Sound t-shirt by sendingus your prediction for the Final Four and the ultimate champion. We’ll get those shirts right out to our lucky winners!
Thanks to everyone who voted on our site and on Twitter. You helped us crown the champion of one of the wildest, most-overheated decades in music history.
Click here to check out our Selection show on IG Live
Click here to check out our Round 1 Update show on IG Live
Click here to check out our Final Four Preview show on IG Live
Final Four
- Metallica (black album) - Metallica
Group A
- No Fences - Garth Brooks 49.9
- Come on Over - Shania Twain 50.1
- Illmatic - Nas 30
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan 70
- Grace - Jeff Buckley 58
- Exile in Guyville - Liz Phair 42
- Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet 66
- Surfacing - Sarah McLachlan 34
- Superunknown - Soundgarden 72
- Rust in Peace - Megadeth 28
- Achtung Baby - U2 51
- Supernatural - Santana 49
- Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morrisette 50.1
- Weezer (blue album) - Weezer 49.9
- All Eyez on Me - 2 Pac 43
- Ready to Die - Notorious B.I.G. 57
- Come on Over - Shania Twain 64
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan 36
- Grace - Jeff Buckley 68
- Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet 32
- Superunknown - Soundgarden 59
- Achtung Baby - U2 41
- Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morrisette 38
- Ready to Die - Notorious B.I.G. 62
Group B
- Dig Your Own Hole - Chemical Bros 50.1
- The Fat of the Land - The Prodigy 49.9
- Baduizm - Erykah Badu 56
- My Life - Mary J Blige 44
- The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails 58
- OK Computer - Radiohead 42
- Aenima - Tool 26
- Metallica (black album) - Metallica 74
- Odelay - Beck 67
- Aquemini - Outkast 33
- Relish - Joan Osborne 40
- II - Seal 60
- Dirt - Alice in Chains 73
- Purple - Stone Temple Pilots 27
- The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest 28
- Ill Communication - Beastie Boys 72
- Dig Your Own Hole - Chemical Bros 36
- Baduizm - Erykah Badu 64
- The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails 43
- Metallica (black album) - Metallica 57
- Odelay - Beck 83
- II - Seal 17
- Dirt - Alice in Chains 77
- Ill Communication - Beastie Boys 23
Group C
- Dummy - Portishead 50.1
- Blue Lines - Massive Attack 49.9
- Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill 63
- The Score - The Fugees 37
- Nevermind - Nirvana 82
- The Colour and the Shape - Foo Fighters 18
- (What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis 42
- Out of Time - REM 58
- Homework - Daft Punk 58
- Different Class - Pulp 42
- Cracked Rear View - Hootie and the Blowfish 49
- Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow 51
- Under the Table and Dreaming - Dave Matthews Band 45
- August and Everything After - Counting Crows 55
- II - Boyz 2 Men 40
- janet. - Janet Jackson 60
- Dummy - Portishead 35
- Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill 65
- Nevermind - Nirvana 82
- Out of Time - REM 18
- Homework - Daft Punk 45
- Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow 55
- August and Everything After - Counting Crows 69
- janet. - Janet Jackson 31
Group D
- Play - Moby 48
- You've Come a Long Way Baby - Fat Boy Slim 52
- Brown Sugar - D'Angelo 47
- CrazySexyCool - TLC 53
- Dookie - Green Day 66
- Smash - The Offspring 34
- Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins 61
- Crooked Crooked Rain - Pavement 39
- Ten - Pearl Jam 67
- Being There - Wilco 33
- Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine 72
- BloodSugarSexMagik - Red Hot Chili Peppers 28
- Violator - Depeche Mode 46
- Ritual de lo Habitual - Jane's Addiction 54
- The Chronic - Dr Dre 68
- Doggy Style - Snoop Doggy Dog 32
- You've Come a Long Way Baby - Fat Boy Slim 30
- CrazySexyCool - TLC 70
- Dookie - Green Day 54
- Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins 46
- Ten - Pearl Jam 66
- Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine 34
- Ritual de lo Habitual - Jane's Addiction 51
- The Chronic - Dr Dre 49
