Gearhead's Top 100 Records Of The 90s

Since I never get asked to contribute to anyone's Top 10 list, I decided to just do my own, and gearheadmagazine.com was the perfect place to debut it. But why stop at 10? The 90's were when Gearhead magazine was conceived (in 1991 actually) first published (1993) and thrived through right until the end, with the release of #10 in September 1999. So I figured a look back over the greatest 100 records of the decade was appropriate. While the decisions made here were often sentimental ones, no records were picked out of any sense of obligation or loyalties to musician friends or record labels. This list is all about the music. It's my hope that if you see a record on this list that you have already dismissed as "crap", you'll still read my reasons for choosing it. You never know, it just may change (or open!) your mind a bit. Likewise, if I bring to light a few records that were teetering on the edge of wallowing in obscurity during this process, that's great too. It should be noted that this list covers the years 1990-1999 only. Too bad in a way, because 2000 proved to be an amazing year musically, but you'll just have to wait until 2009 to see the list of which records are considered classics by then.

Enjoy,
Mike Lavella
1/03/01

GEARHEAD'S TOP 100 RECORDS OF THE 90s!

BACKYARD BABIES Knock Outs! (MVG 1997)

BAD RELIGION Against The Grain (Epitaph 1990)

BEASTIE BOYS Ill Communication (Grand Royal/ Capitol 1994)

THE BEVIS FROND New River Head (Reckless 1991)

BLUES EXPLOSION Extra Width (Matador 1993)

THE BREEDERS Last Splash (4 AD/Elektra 1993)

NEKO CASE AND HER BOYFRIENDS The Virginian (Mint 1997)

JOHNNY CASH American Recordings (American 1994)

CHOKEBORE Anything Near Water (Am/Rep 1995)

CLAWHAMMER Pablum (Epitaph 1993)

COSMIC PSYCHOS Oh What A Lovely Pie (Am/Rep 1997)

COUNTDOWNS Right On Sound (Scooch Pooch 1997)

THE CYNICS Rock And Roll (Skyclad/Get Hip 1990)

DAVE AND DEKE COMBO Hollywood Barn Dance (Heyday 1996)

DELTA 72 The Soul Of A New Machine (Touch & Go 1998)

DEMONICS Formaldehyde Injection (Man's Ruin 1998)

DETROIT COBRAS Mink Rat Or Rabbit (Sympathy 1998)

DEVIL DOGS Saturday Night Fever (Crypt/Sympathy 1993)

DIDJITS Full Nelson Reilly (Touch & Go 1991)

THE DONNAS American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine (Lookout! 1998)

DRAGONS Pain Killer (Scam-O-Rama 1996)

THE EURO BOYS Jet Age (Sympathy 1998)

EXPLODING WHITE MICE We Walk Alone (Au-Go-Go/Lucky 1995)

FALLOUTS S/T (Super-Electro 1992)

FASTBACKS Answer The Phone, Dummy (Sub Pop 1994)

THE FINKS Fill' Er Up and Go! (Dionysus 1995)

FITZ OF DEPRESSION Swing (K Records 1996)

FLOP & The Fall Of The Mopsqueezer (Frontier 1992)

FLOP Whenever You're Ready (Epic 1993)

FLOP World Of Today (Frontier 1995)

FLUF The Classic Years (Headhunter/Cargo 1995)

FUGAZI Repeater (Dischord 1990)

GAS HUFFER Janitors Of Tomorrow (Empty 1991)

GAZA STRIPPERS Laced Candy (Man's Ruin 1999)

GIRL TROUBLE New American Shame (Empty 1993)

GREEN DAY Dookie (Reprise 1994)

GREEN DAY Nimrod (Reprise 1997)

HALO OF FLIES Music For Insect Minds (Am/Rep 1991)

HELLACOPTERS Payin' The Dues (White Jazz 1998)

THE HIVES Barely Legal (Burning Heart 1998)

HYPNOMEN Watusi 99 (Stupido Twins 1999)

JAWBREAKER Bivouac (Communion/Tupelo 1992)

THE JESUS LIZARD Goat (Touch & Go 1991)

THE KAISERS Beat It Up! (No Hit 1995)

KYUSS ...And The Circus Leaves Town (Elektra 1995)

THE LEATHER UPPERS O.K., Don't Say Hi (Past It 1994)

LEMONHEADS It's A Shame About Ray (Atlantic 1992)

LES THUGS As Happy As Possible (Sub Pop 1993)

THE MAKERS S/T (Estrus 1995)

MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? 1000X (Touch & Go 1997)

THE MEANIES 10% Weird (Au-Go-Go 1995)

ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES Have A Ball (Fat Wreck 1997)

ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES Are A Drag (Fat Wreck 1999)

MEICES Greatest Bible Stories Ever Told (Empty 1993)

THE MELVINS Houdini (Atlantic 1993)

MONO MEN Have A Nice Day Motherfucker (Estrus 1997)

THE MUFFS S/T (Warner Brothers 1993)

MUDHONEY My Brother The Cow (Reprise 1995)

NAKED CITY S/T (Elektra/Nonesuch 1990)

NEW BOMB TURKS Destroy-Oh-Boy (Crypt 1993)

NINE POUND HAMMER Hayseed Timebomb (Crypt 1995)

NIRVANA Nevermind (DGC/Sub Pop 1991)

NOMADS Powerstrip (Munster/Sympathy 1994)

THE ODD NUMBERS Retrofitted For Today (Eight One Nine 1994)

PEECHEES Do The Math (Kill Rock Stars 1996)

PIXIES Bossa Nova (Elektra 1990)

THE POSIES Frosting On The Beater (DGC 1993)

PRONG Prove You Wrong (Epic 1991)

QUADRAJETS Pay The Deuce (Estrus 1998)

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE S/T (Loosegroove 1998)

RED AUNTS Saltbox (Epitaph 1996)

THE REVELATORS We Told You Not To Cross Us... (Crypt 1997)

THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT Smoke 'em if You Got 'em (Sub Pop 1990)

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT Circa: Now! (Cargo 1992)

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT Scream, Dracula Scream (Interscope 1995)

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT RFTC (Interscope/Sympathy 1998)

SATOR Barbie-Q-Killers (WEA 1994)

SERVOTRON No Room For Humans (Am/Rep 1996)

SHADOWY MEN ON A SHADOWY PLANET Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham (Cargo 1991)

SMOKING POPES Born To Quit (Johanns Face 1994)

THE SMUGGLERS Selling The Sizzle! (Mint/Lookout! 1995)

SONIC YOUTH Goo (DGC 1990)

SPACESHITS Winter Dance Party (Sympathy 1997)

SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS Dirt Track Date (DGC 1995)

STEEL POLE BATH TUB The Miracle Of Sound In Motion (Boner 199?)

STIFFS, INC. Nix Naught Nothing (American 1995)

SUGAR SHACK Five Weeks Ahead Of My Time (Estrus 1997)

SUPERSUCKERS La Mano Cornuda (Sub Pop 1994)

SUPERSUCKERS Sacrilicious (Sub Pop 1995)

SURGERY Trim, 9th Ward High Roller (Am/Rep 1993)

SUPERGRASS I Should Coco (Capitol 1995)

TEENAGE FANCLUB Bandwagonesque (DGC 1991)

TURBONEGRO Ass Cobra (Boomba/Sympathy 1996)

TURBONEGRO Apocalypse Dudes (Sympathy/Man's Ruin 1998)

UNCLE JOES BIG OL' DRIVER Chick Rock (Headhunter/Cargo 1995)

UNTAMED YOUTH Are The Sophisticated International Playboys (Norton 1992)

URGE OVERKILL The Supersonic Storybook (Touch & Go 1991)

WAX 13 Unlucky Numbers (Interscope 1995)

WEEZER S/T (DGC 1994)

ANDRE WILLIAMS Silky (In The Red 1998)

ZZ TOP Rhythmeen (RCA 1996)

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