Top 10 Metal Albums of the 1990s

The 1980’s gave the Heavy Metal genre recognition after a full decade of being looked as a despised “noise” that started with Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath. I can honestly say that even with the pure metal and cheesy hair metal, the 1980s was best decade for the genre. After Iron Maiden & Judas Priest started the metal boom in the beginning of the decade, metal in general started expanding into new diversity around the world to trash metal, progressive metal, black metal, speed metal, hair metal, and so many more. So many bands that came out this decade are still remembered as one of the best. Unfortunately the 1990s metal isn’t as powerful or as recognized as the 1980s. At this time around, metal was facing a new genre of music called Grunge and Alternative Rock that took the musical spotlight from everyone. Plus the evolution of the genre throughout the 1990s went sour when they reached the awfulness of Nu Metal and big names like Metallica sold out with different, tasteless musical directions. But that’s not to say that metal in the 1990s were at all bad because we had new bands that went into the positive direction of metal when transforming into folk metal, sludge metal, technical metal, and other metal that sounds and feels as impacting as metal in the 1980s. If you don’t believe me, check out past Top 10 Albums list for each year of the the 1990s.

• Top 10 Albums of 1990
• Top 10 Albums of 1991
• Top 10 Albums of 1992
• Top 10 Albums of 1993
• Top 10 Albums of 1994
• Top 10 Albums of 1995
• Top 10 Albums of 1996
• Top 10 Albums of 1997
• Top 10 Albums of 1998
• Top 10 Albums of 1999

With that being said, I certainly enjoyed the good side of heavy metal in the 1990s. Not to mention that I got into Heavy Metal in this decade so I can’t overlook at this decade’s metal and stick in the past in the 1980s. Here’s the best Heavy Metal albums of the 1990s! 

Top 10 Albums of 2001

Number 10.  –  The Blueprint – Jay Z

Back in the 90s there were many albums that set the trend for years to come, those influential albums that changed the game and that other hip hop artists would use as a template to follow. In the 2000s however, there isn’t quite many of those albums. The Blueprint however is one of them, and it can easily be classified as the most influential hip hop album of that decade. Actually for 4-5 years to come people would follow the production standard set on this album. It was the emergence of the Kanye West and Just Blaze sound, sometimes called chipmunk soul, with clap drums and a catchy soul sample that is often sped up. Both producers would work on that sound for years to come, but this is really where it became a staple. The Blueprint is also a Jay-Z album, in the sense that there aren’t any guests artists outside of a lone Eminem appearance. Especially after The Dynasty, Jay-Z wanted to show his skills without putting his crew on. That’s good because he’s easily the best in Roc-A-Fella records, as much as I like Beanie Sigel and Freeway, they can’t really compete with Jay-Z that’s one of the all-time greatest. So with groundbreaking productions and Jay-Z rapping solo, this is bound to be a classic? Well hell yeah it is. There are a little inconsistencies on the album, but there’s just so many moments of genius that it’s a pretty hard one to deny. There’s one thing that people rarely say about Jay-Z’s performance here, is that it’s he’s not quite as good as he was in 96 to 99. Yes even if his albums in the late 90s aren’t really as well acclaimed, he did rap at his best on those. Not to say that he doesn’t offer a great performance here (he’s still easily one of the top rappers of 2001), it’s just a little less than Jay-Z can do. But still that doesn’t stop The Blueprint from much, it’s still a cornerstone of 2000s hip hop and easily one of the best in his discography. 

Top 10 Albums of 1996

Number 10.  – ATLiens – Outcast

ATLiens is an album that has always kind of had a dark cloud hanging over it for me personally. I first heard it at a time when I was just beginning to get into the “Hip-Hop Classics”. One of those albums that really got me into the genre was Aquemini, which to this day remains one of my favorite and most played albums of all-time. So just weeks after soaking in the incredible experience that was Aquemini, I naturally headed straight for an album that others said was at least as good as Outkast’s third effort. Now looking back on it without that perspective, I can see ATLiens for the great album that it is. It never will reach Aquemini in my eyes, but it’s not a fair comparison for me to make. The materials for another masterpiece are all here. Some of the greatest beats, verses, and hooks can be heard on this album. The major problem that holds ATLiens back is that Kast never seems to be able to get all the elements together at the same time. Many of the songs have one key element missing. Usually on the end of a beat that isn’t an attention grabber, or a hook that really misses the mark (“Babylon”). Rarely is it that Big Boi or Andre 3000 are off the mark lyrically, but there are less memorable moments here than on some of the other Outkast offerings.