Best Album of 1996

[Shellhead]

I'm tired of these discussions about ancient history. Let's discuss a year that more people in this forum can remember clearly. What was the best album of 1996? I couldn't even begin to get a handle on the choices, so I'm just going to throw down some possibilities, including ones that I don't even like. Feel free to nominate any other album that came out in 1996, if you think it's the best.

Odelay / Beck
Endtroducing.. / DJ Shadow
Sheryl Crow / Sheryl Crow
The Score / The Fugees
Bringing Down The Horse / The Wallflowers
Tidal / Fiona Apple
Duncan Sheik / Duncan Sheik
Call The Doctor / Sleater-Kinney
Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop / Stone Temple Pilots
Sublime / Sublime
No Code / Pearl Jam
All Eyez On Me / Tupac Shakur
First Band on the Moon / The Cardigans
Crash / Dave Matthews Band
New Adventures in Hi-Fi / R.E.M.
Kiss From a Rose / Seal

Of all the ones listed above, I was impressed with Tragic Kingdom, but my absolute favorite is Entroducing. That one still gets regular play on my CD player.

EDIT: Core pointed out that Jagged Little Pill and Tragic Kingdom were both released in 1995, so I took them off my list. I have now added a few more that came to my attention...

Fashion Nugget / Cake
El Subliminoso / dada
Who Can You Trust? / Morcheeba

And while I still love DJ Shadow's Entroducing, and I'm a serious dada fan, my pick for best album of 1996 is Who Can You Trust?, by Morcheeba.

[Karl J. Barnes]

Beck's Odelay and Sheryl Crow's self titled albums though to be honest, I've only heard like a third of those listed.

[zombie]

Some real good stuff was released that year...but my favourite is probably Super Furry Animals' Fuzzy Logic.

God! Show me magic!

[leonaozaki]

Winner: Lisa Germano, EXCERPTS FROM A LOVE CIRCUS

Runners-up:

Beck, ODELAY
Wallflowers, BRINGING DOWN THE HORSE
No Doubt, TRAGIC KINGDOM
Elvis Costello and the Attractions, ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY
Johnny Cash, UNCHAINED
Metallica, LOAD
Lou Reed, SET THE TWILIGHT REELING
Suzanne Vega, NINE OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers, SHE'S THE ONE
Too Much Joy, ...FINALLY
Dash Rip Rock, GET YOU SOME OF ME

rob

[zombie]

Metallica, LOAD

Huh, I don't know if I'd ever seen someone admit to liking Load before.

[Karl J. Barnes]

Huh, I don't know if I'd ever seen someone admit to liking Load before.

Me too. I actually stopped buying Metallica's stuff with Enter The Sandman album.

[Core]

Odelay / Beck
Endtroducing.. / DJ Shadow
Sheryl Crow / Sheryl Crow
The Score / The Fugees
Bringing Down The Horse / The Wallflowers
Tidal / Fiona Apple
Duncan Sheik / Duncan Sheik
Call The Doctor / Sleater-Kinney
Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop / Stone Temple Pilots
Tragic Kingdom / No Doubt
Sublime / Sublime
No Code / Pearl Jam
All Eyez On Me / Tupac Shakur
First Band on the Moon / The Cardigans
Crash / Dave Matthews Band
New Adventures in Hi-Fi / R.E.M.
Kiss From a Rose / Seal
Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morrisette

At least two of those albums, Jagged Little Pill and Tragic Kingdom, were released in 1995.

My pick for best album of 1996 would be The Beatles Anthology 3.

[Shellhead]

Winner: Lisa Germano, EXCERPTS FROM A LOVE CIRCUS

Runners-up:

...
Lou Reed, SET THE TWILIGHT REELING
Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers, SHE'S THE ONE...


Did that Lisa Germano album include the song Stars? I love that song.

About a couple of your runners-up... I don't know anybody who would argue that those two albums were top works by either Lou Reed or Tom Petty. Did you feel that these later, unpopular albums were still better than most albums that came out in '96?

[Jonathan Bogart]

Endtroducing... is my choice of the ones that Shellhead listed.

At the time, my pick would have been Strip Cycle by Mike Knott. He's a Christian (sorta) singer-songwriter who let his young daughter detune his guitar and then performed a bunch of songs in those non-keys. It's seriously cool music, sounds more or less like rock & roll performed by street bums, and is completely agnostic-safe, more Lou Reed than Creed.

I wasn't into music in a huge way back then -- I graduated high school that year -- so I just picked up on what my friends were listening to, and what was on Guatemalan radio. The Cranberries' To the Faithful Departed, Counting Crows' Recovering the Satellites, Gin Blossoms' Congratulations...I'm Sorry, and the Newsboys' Take Me to Your Leader (not agnostic-safe; good, though) were pretty popular in my circle.

Here are a few more good records from '96 I found by trawling my collection and wanna-get lists:

Wilco's Being There
Weezer's Pinkerton
The Pet Shop Boys' Bilingual
Tortoise's Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister

What would I pick now?

Probably Strip Cycle. That's a damn good album.

[howyadoin]

Huh, I don't know if I'd ever seen someone admit to liking Load before.I love that album.




Of the ones Shellhead listed, though, I'd probably go with Sublime.

[clayholio]

The Sublime album is pretty good, but I cringe when I hear it now simply from years of overexposure on the radio. When I lived in LA, you could pretty much count on hearing Sublime hourly on KROQ.

I'd like to give an honorable mention to the last Soundgarden album, "Down on the Upside."

"Pinkerton" is really good, as is the Cake album. And the STP album has aged pretty well, I have to say. I like it more now than I did when it came out. It's hard to pick among those, but I'm going to have to go with "Pinkerton," but only because I'm too lazy to go digging through my collection to see what else came out that year.

[Reptisaurus!]

Tricky's "Pre-Millenium Tension" was '96. That's definitely my pick, although it kinda turns to suck in the last half.

I only listened to it a couple of times, but I was impressed with "Millions Now Living Will Never Die," too. That's probably second.

Oh, and I loved the *hell* outta Tori Amos weirdly oblique "Boys for Pele."

[Ilash]

All This Useless Beauty.

Though it's probably worth mentioning that the only other album I own from that year is She's The One by Tom Petty. Yup, I remember 1996 where much like the rest of the decade I was listing to the Beatles and the solo-Beatles pretty exclusively.

[MicBK]

my favorite? Millions Now Living Will Never Die by Tortoise

[Hiromi]

Huh, I don't know if I'd ever seen someone admit to liking Load before.

I readily admit to liking it. It also happens to be the only album I know of that I own that was released in 96.

[leonaozaki]

Did that Lisa Germano album include the song Stars? I love that song.

About a couple of your runners-up... I don't know anybody who would argue that those two albums were top works by either Lou Reed or Tom Petty. Did you feel that these later, unpopular albums were still better than most albums that came out in '96?

No, "Stars" was on GEEK THE GIRL, from 1994. LOVE CIRCUS has "I love a snot" and "Small heads," among many other great songs.

About Tom Petty and Lou Reed...those people you know (or don't know) are silly. Both SHE'S THE ONE and SET THE TWILIGHT REELING are great, mature rock records and each feature great songs I would stack up against their earlier works. How can you argue about the quality of song such as "Walls," "Hope you Never," "Sex with your parents," and "Adventurer?"

Just because they're unpopular doesn't mean they weren't any good.

rob

[jessecuster]

Kula Shaker - K
K's Choice - Paradise in Me
Pulp - Different Class


I much prefer 1995 and 1997 tho thats when all teh best stuff came out... 1996 was kind of bleak on the britpop scene.

[Jonathan Bogart]

Kula Shaker - K
K's Choice - Paradise in Me
Pulp - Different Class


I much prefer 1995 and 1997 tho thats when all teh best stuff came out... 1996 was kind of bleak on the britpop scene.
Different Class was '95. (I dunno, maybe it was released Stateside in '96?)

[Slam_Bradley]

Runners-up:

Johnny Cash, UNCHAINED



I love Johnny Cash, but Unchained wasn't even the best country album of 1996. Merle Haggard's 1996 was simply an outstanding album.

I'm still working on a best album. But Hagg might take it.

[Huh?]

My favorites from that list are Endtroducing, Sublime and Crash. But, I would have to give Sheryl Crow pretty strong consideration because that was a really good and really important album. I am just not as much of a crow fan as the others.

Also, I think the Counting Crows "Recovering the Satellites" album came out in 1996.

[Lone Ranger]

Of all of the ones listed, I'd say I listen to Fashion Nugget the most today, followed by Pinkerton

[Punchy]

Found some other interesting albums released that year:
Sting "Mercury Falling"
DMB "Crash"
Vitor Wooten "A Show of Hands"
Chick Corea "Rememering Bud Powell"
Joe Henderson "Big Band"

But my two favorite released that year:
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones "Live Art"
Counting Crows "Recovering the Satellites"--what a great album this is

[Core]

Also, I think the Counting Crows "Recovering the Satellites" album came out in 1996.

Oooo! Yeah, that did come out in '96, didn't it? I'll still stick with my Anthology 3 choice for best album release that year, but Recovering the Satellites really was, and continues to be, dynamite.

[Reptisaurus!]

Different Class was '95. (I dunno, maybe it was released Stateside in '96?)

That's what I thought, too.

Or it would have made my short list.

('Course, I didn't hear anything off it over here 'till '97.)

[leonaozaki]

Oops! I forgot about RECOVERING THE SATELLITES. It's the only Counting Crows album I still own, and I do love it. So that would be on my list as well.

rob

[leonaozaki]

I love Johnny Cash, but Unchained wasn't even the best country album of 1996. Merle Haggard's 1996 was simply an outstanding album.

I'm still working on a best album. But Hagg might take it.

I dunno. UNCHAINED has "Rowboat," "Rusty Cage," and "Southern Accents," so it's no lightweight. Plus, great playing by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, so it gets lots of points.

rob

[Voncaster]

I like No Code as my favorite '96 album. Antichrist Superstar gets an honnorable mention.

[Reptisaurus!]

I dunno. UNCHAINED has "Rowboat," "Rusty Cage," and "Southern Accents," so it's no lightweight. Plus, great playing by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, so it gets lots of points.

rob

Oh yeah. "Unhchained" makes my short-list too. It wasn't a particularly cohesive album, but it had a bunch of stand-out individual tracks. "I've Been Everywhere" is kind of a theme-song, and "Mean Eyed Cat" (both versions) might well be my favorite Johnny Cash song ever.

Plus, HE COVERS BECK! Hee hee hee hee hee.

[Pepsigirl]

Am I all alone in choosing Belle & Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister?

[zombie]

Am I all alone in choosing Belle & Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister?

Probably. I'm alone in my love of Super Furry Animals too.

[Cash Lone]

Killing Joke - Democracy

Pulp - Different Class. I think it was released in the states in early 96.

[Eliot Johnson]

1996 was a banner year for Memphis Rap.

Without a doubt, the best album was Real Dealizm by Young Lo, which is the most underrated album of all time in my book. It's my favorite rap album every not by Playa Fly. Lo comes with some incredible wisdom and reality behind the mic, while his laid-back flow and unique production click perfectly to create a true Memphis classic that has been slept-on for far too long. Lo also creates some songs that are just flat-out fun (i.e. "Greata Later") and he also shows off his considerable storytelling abilities (i.e. "Da Game"). First Degree and Winky D come extra hard in their guest spots, while Al Kapone, Project Playaz, Taylor Boyz, C9, GK, and Da Villain join Young Lo for the classic Memphis Posse track "Da South." Real Dealizm is virtually impossible to find and may end up costing you upwards of $150, but, believe me, it's worth it.

It's rare that Playa Fly releases an album that's not the best of its year in rap, but this was one such year. Still, Fly Shit was no slouch. It contains virtually all classic tracks, but one filler cut ("Work To Do") and one cut which barely features Fly ("Let's Get It Crunk" ft. ELG) bring the album a notch below Real Dealizm. Other than those tracks (which aren't really that bad), Fly really begins warming up towards his career highlight Movin' On that will come in 1998. His depth and lyrical ability are allowed to shine over Blackout's icy beats (Fly Shit is the first album where Fly did not produce for himself and it did help the album's quality). Such songs as "Nappy Hair & Gold Teeth," "Triple Bitch Mafia Pt. 2," "Da Show," "Got Ya Hot," "Havin Thangs," and the epic "Blow My Mind" show us Fly at just about his best. The standout track, however, "Crownin' Me" is one of the most popular underground songs of all-time, still getting play at clubs to this day.

Alkatraz Productions is most known for the work of the album's CEO, the legendary Memphis rapper Al Kapone. The best album from that label, however, came from the Taylor Boyz, 28 Gramz: Pure Dope. This album is nowhere near those first too I mentioned, but it's a great album to just chill too, and it contains three of the greatest Memphis rap tracks ever ("Catraggly," "Visions of Poverty," and "Tha Main Event"). The Taylor Boyz (along with guests Young Lo & Tom Skeemask) show some true skill with this album and Alkatraz and Squeeky lay the beats down right.

Also in 1996, Memphis legend Tommy Wright III finally broke away from the local scene to release the controversial On The Run, which stands as his best album to date. The entire Street Smart crew, bolstered by several guest appearances from Playa Fly and spots from Lil' Blunt and the Playa Posse, show some incredible vocal talent. If you want some real hardcore rap, this is what you want. Forget all the stuff you here from the mainstream. This album has a pure Memphis sound and contains what most underground rap listeners consider to be the greatest diss song ever, "Thuggish Ruggish Bustaz," where Tommy Wright III lyrically rips the Bone Thugz to pieces.

I must say, though, "Entroducing..." and "All Eyez on Me" were very solid albums, even though I'd rather listen to any of the above four albums.

[ZombieHavoc]

there's a reason that the "best album of.." threads are all from the 60s through the 80s. the 90s sucked as a whole for music. good older artists were putting out sub-par albums, and new artists were generally sucking.

i think GZA's liquid swords came out in 96, so if so i'll go with that.

[CaptMagellan]

While I agree with ZombieHavoc's statement about the music of the 90s sucking I give the caveat that it was US music (and most of the Brit stuff that was played in the US) that sucked.

But I do agree that..
"Tricky's "Pre-Millenium Tension" was '96. That's definitely my pick"

That was a great album that didn't sound like anything else out there at the time.

[Metal-Demon]

Just a few of my personal favourite Heavy Metal releases from 1996:

OPETH - Morningrise
HYPOCRISY - Abducted
DIMMU BORGIR - Stormblast
EDGE OF SANITY - Crimson
NEUROSIS - Through Silver And Blood
DARK TRANQUILLITY - The Gallery
IN FLAMES - The Jester Race
CANNIBAL CORPSE - Vile
SEPULTURA - Roots
STRAPPING YOUNG LAD - City
AMORPHIS - Elegy
CRYPTOPSY - None So Vile
TOOL - Aenima
NAPALM DEATH - Diatribes
THERION - Theli
STRATOVARIUS - Episode

[Punchy]

Aenima was released in 96 too? That's another one of my favorites from the year then.

[CaptMagellan]

"TOOL - Aenima
THERION - Theli"

I'll agree with those.

[Reptisaurus!]

SEPULTURA - Roots


Didn't think of this, but it definitely makes my top five.

Heavy Metal improves exponentially when it has tribal drumming.

Oh. Heya. Punchy says Victor Wooten's "A Show of Hands" was '96, too.

So, the short list currently looks like:

1) Tricky -- Pre-Millenium Tension (By a lot. My favorite Tricky album, and probably his most cohesive work. Downright scary in some places.)

2) Johnny Cash -- Unchained

(The single coolest musician to ever live. Heck. He'd score top five for "Mean Eyed Cat" alone.)

3) Tori Amos -- Boys for Pele

(Not her best singles, there isn't a "Spark" or a "Winter" here, but a really well put together album. Plus she gets twenty bonus points for breast feeding a pig on the cover while holding a shotgun.)

4) Tortise -- Millions Now Living Will Never Die

(Whoo! The only-sort-of-ambient album that I can stand in the whole world.)

5) Scepultura -- Roots

(What an awesome idea! Plus I had track four on repeat for twenty minutes while I was in the shower this morning.)

6) Pulp -- Different Class

(Buncha crap, two decent singles... And two of the greatest pop songs ever written, in "Disco 2000" and "Different Class." The only album I've ever been completely happy to buy just for two songs.)

7) Victor Wooten -- A Show of Hands

(I've only heard this one once at a friend's house. Not a great album, mebbe, but it's certainly 1000% more listenable than I thought a Solo Bass album could possibly be.)

8) Sublime -- Sublime

(Yeah. Overexposed. But still a really good album. So glad I saw 'em live before dude died.)

9) DJ Shadow -- ...Entroducing

(I kind of respect it in theory more than I actually want to listen to it. Still, there's a handful of really cool moments.)

10)Lisa Germano -- Excerpts from a Love Circus

(Liked the album before this better, but I have to respect anyone who sings songs called "snot.")

With Stone Temple Pilots -- Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop getting an honorable mention for being vastly better than the faux-grunge buchwa they got famous for churning out.

[Metal-Demon]

Heavy Metal improves exponentially when it has tribal drumming.

You must have a very poor opinion of Metal ... either that or you haven't been exposed to very much good Metal.

[cactusmaac]

Gotta go with Roots.

[Slam_Bradley]

I dunno. UNCHAINED has "Rowboat," "Rusty Cage," and "Southern Accents," so it's no lightweight. Plus, great playing by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, so it gets lots of points.


Oh yeah. "Unhchained" makes my short-list too. It wasn't a particularly cohesive album, but it had a bunch of stand-out individual tracks. "I've Been Everywhere" is kind of a theme-song, and "Mean Eyed Cat" (both versions) might well be my favorite Johnny Cash song ever.

Plus, HE COVERS BECK! Hee hee hee hee hee.


Guys I'm not saying that I don't like "Unchained" because I do. But Haggard's album "1996" should have done for him what "American Recordings" did for Cash. It IS that good. I'm not trying to take anything away from Cash or "Unchained" but with "1996" Hagg started a four record run (If I Could Only Fly, Roots, Vol. 1 and Like Never Before) that rivals Cash's American Recordings. I cannot recommend them enough.

[Grant]

I think Sleater-Kinney's Call the Doctor came out in 96. Not my favorite Sleater-Kinney album though. But I like Belle & Sebastians If You are Feeling Sinister and Odelay.

I don't know 1995 and 1997 had more albums I liked.

[Reptisaurus!]

You must have a very poor opinion of Metal ... either that or you haven't been exposed to very much good Metal.

Some of the second one.

But I'm always a fan of juxtaposition of musical styles, *especially* the use of tribal music in the context of popular music.

A bunch of John Coletrane's sixties work, especially "Africa/Brass" used African tribal rhythms, and those are some of my favorite Jazz albums.

Paul Simon used African rhythms and musicians on "Graceland" and "Rhythm of the Saints" had a lot of South American influence, and those are probably my first and second favorite pop albums, ever.

So it's unsrprising that "Roots" is my favorite Metal Album.

[Core]

A bunch of John Coletrane's sixties work, especially "Africa/Brass" used African tribal rhythms, and those are some of my favorite Jazz albums.

Yes!

Paul Simon used African rhythms and musicians on "Graceland" and "Rhythm of the Saints" had a lot of South American influence, and those are probably my first and second favorite pop albums, ever.


Yes! Yes! Preach on, brother Mark!

I guess I'm gonna have to check out this Roots album now...

[Punchy]

7) Victor Wooten -- A Show of Hands

(I've only heard this one once at a friend's house. Not a great album, mebbe, but it's certainly 1000% more listenable than I thought a Solo Bass album could possibly be.)


It deserves another listening from you. It really is great. The best part about it is there's no overdubs. It's all just Victor and his bass.

[iwarrior]

Carcass' Swansong would have to be my fave of 1996.

I liked Sep's Roots too. Not a big fan of early Sep. A lot of metal fans hate it because it helped give birth to nu-metal. Imo,you might as well hate FNM's The Real Thing,or the first Van Halen album for creating hair metal.

[ZombieHavoc]

oh yeah, i did like the cardigans first band on the moon. it's not my favorite record of theirs, but i still dig it.

i thought roots was ok, but it was the last speultura record that was any good, and it is, in my opinion, the worst of the good records.

swansong, yes. i fully agree with that one.

i've been racking my brain trying to think of good albums from 96, but i just cant.

[elheffe]

For me, it's either The Afghan Whig's Black Love or Beck's Odelay