Mudhoney- "Superfuzz Bigmuff"
Out of the plethora of bands coming out of the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s, Mudhoney distinguished themselves with their gritty, honest, dirty sound that perfectly blended punk, rock, blues, beauty, and ugliness. "Superfuzz Bigmuff" set the bar for every record of its kind that came after it, helped make Seattle the music capitol of the 90s, and set rock n' roll on a path, momentarily, toward salvation.
Sonic Youth- "Dirty"
"What? No Goo?" "Why not Daydream Nation?" Listen, those are undeniably classic records, but "Dirty" by Sonic Youth is certainly the band's most enjoyable record in my opinion. While it retains Thurston Moore's trademark "noisy ambience," the songs contain less fatty tissue which makes the album far more listenable in many ways without diverging from what fans love most about Sonic Youth.
Hum- "You'd Prefer an Astronaut"
Heavy, dark, serene, and well-produced, "You'd Prefer an Astronaut" was Hum's shining moment and one of the best albums of its era. It's really a shame that this band was never truly able to transcend genre tags in the way that their sound did.
Pixies- "Doolittle"
Perfection.
Vaselines- "Dying for It" E.P.
Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee shared their lives with their audience and made some of the loveliest and most honest songs ever recorded. Relatively unknown until Kurt Cobain paid homage to them, The Vaselines were, as he described them, "the Captain and Tennille of the underground."
Fugazi- "13 Songs"
Few bands contain a fraction of the integrity that Fugazi possessed. A musical powerhouse comprised of veterans of the D.C. punk scene which included bands such as Minor Threat, Teen Idles, Faith, and Void, Fugazi released this album during the apex of the "post-hardcore" movement. With the ethics of their past in tact (although better understood), Fugazi refused to succumb to the musical limitations and narrow-mindedness of "punk rock," an action that continues to inspire bands to this day.
- Joe