Fossils
Artist: Dinosaur Jr.
Community Score: 8.50

A brief, eight-song compilation of the group's SST singles, Fossils effectively sums up the power and vision of Dinosaur Jr.'s early work. Not only does it contain the two masterpieces from You're Living All Over Me and Bug -- "Little Fury Things" and "Freak Scene," respectively -- but it also gathers several excellent B-sides, including... Read More

Organ Fan
Artist: Silverfish

This is where L7 jugular ripping meets the subterranean scuzz rock of Throbbing Gristle and Motörhead with exceptionally disastrous results. Made up of ex-members of Rover Girls and In-Stinks and future Ruby frontwoman Lesley Rankine, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was another laborious exercise constructed by industrialized noise... Read More

It's a Shame About Ray
Artist: The Lemonheads
Community Score: 8.18

If Lovey captured Evan Dando as he found his signature blend of punk-pop, jangle pop, and folk-rock, It's a Shame About Ray is where he perfected that style. Breezing by in under half an hour, the album is a simple collection of sunny melodies and hooks, delivered with typical nonchalance by Dando. None of the songs are about anything major, nor... Read More

Cracker
Artist: Cracker
Community Score: 5.33

Apart from David Lowery's tendency to slip in some smug, self-serving lyrics, Cracker's debut is a terrific rock & roll record, full of energetic three-chord bashers and surprisingly moving ballads. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read More

Seven
Artist: James
Community Score: 7.10

Following the breakthrough success of their previous outing, James released Seven, a record that married the ambitious scope of the lyrics with a grand, anthemic feel. Horns give songs like the lead-off "Born of Frustration" and the surging "Sound" a certain majestic grandeur, sweeping without being overblown. Lead singer Tim Booth is in fine... Read More

Copper Blue
Artist: Sugar
Community Score: 7.00

How ironic that after years fronting the hugely influential but desperately overlooked Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould's first project with new band Sugar, 1992's Copper Blue, would become the most commercially successful project of his career. Of course, it was released just as the seeds sown by his former band were bearing bountiful fruits in the... Read More

Bricks Are Heavy
Artist: L7
Community Score: 7.70

Though they hailed from sunny L.A., L7 became the poster girls for grunge, and more specifically the "riot grrrl" movement in 1992, with the meteoric success of their third album, Bricks Are Heavy. While their previous efforts had sounded sloppy and uneven, Nevermind producer Butch Vig helped the girls obtain a tight, compact sound on Bricks,... Read More

Little Magnets Versus the Bubble of Babble
Artist: Transvision Vamp

One 1991 release that certainly didn't deserve to be neglected was Transvision Vamp's \Little Magnets Vs. The Bubble of Babble, an eccentric and quirky effort drawing on both early-'80s new wave and '60s rock. Though the group sometimes inspires comparisons to outfits like the Divinyls and Siousxie & the Banshees, this obscure band has a sound... Read More

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
Artist: The Sundays
Community Score: 9.20

The Sundays' debut album builds on the layered, ringing guitar hooks and unconventional pop melodies of the Smiths, adding more ethereal vocals and a stronger backbeat. As evidenced by the lilting, melancholy single "Here's Where the Story Ends," it's a winning combination, making Reading, Writing and Arithmetic a thoroughly engaging debut. ~... Read More

Lovegod
Artist: The Soup Dragons
Community Score: 7.50

The Soup Dragons' Lovegod is packed with contradictions; the synthesizers and breakbeats don't match the psychedelic cover art, and the guitars seem out of place within the slick production. If Lovegod is where the Soup Dragons supposedly found their sound -- and it is -- they still hadn't fine-tuned it to the level it would reach in a few short... Read More

What Hits!?
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Community Score: 7.06

After the Red Hot Chili Peppers left EMI for Warner Bros. and hit the big time with "Under the Bridge," their former label gathered most of the best tracks from the group's first four albums for the compilation What Hits!? Since Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the Peppers' most popular album, was recorded for Warner, none of its songs are present -- with... Read More

Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Community Score: 8.19

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' best album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik benefits immensely from Rick Rubin's production -- John Frusciante's guitar is less overpoweringly noisy, leaving room for differing textures and clearer lines, while the band overall is more focused and less indulgent, even if some of the grooves drag on too long. Lyrically, Anthony... Read More

Devils Night Out
Artist: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Community Score: 5.50

The Bosstones' debut is an energetic, skankin' party album fusing ska with punk and hard rock, with more of an emphasis on ska than the band would show on later records. The band shifts freely between styles, making Devils Night Out their most spirited, freewheeling collection of ska-core. Highlights include the humorous "Hope I Never Lose My... Read More

Gold Mother
Artist: James
Community Score: 7.50

James completely revamped their lineup for Gold Mother, adding a violinist, a keyboardist, and a trumpeter to the band and attempting to write grand, ambitious arena-rock that recalled U2 and the Waterboys. Although a few of the tracks captured the sprawling, epic splendor that James wished to achieve, they have difficulty writing convincing... Read More

Push
Artist: Gruntruck
Community Score: 10.00

On Push, Gruntruck's second album, the band discards some of its excessive Soundgarden influences and finds its own musical identity. Because of their vicious, sometimes atonal guitar riffage and sparing use of melody, the album only starts sinking in after numerous plays, but as is often the case in such situations, the listeners are ultimately... Read More