 | Without You I'm Nothing by Placebo
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $3.18 The best Placebo album. Incredible sound, grasping lyrics, and just good rock all-around.
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 | Fallen by Evanescence
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $1.66 A one-album (not one hit) wonder that will be remembered for its beautiful, haunting lyrics more than its frankly a tad too mainstream music. Lee's texts are pure poetry.
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 | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
Buy used from: $1.37 "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" would be enough--but don't stop there! The whole album's is a masterpiece of Brit Pop/Rock that (almost) makes the Beatles pale.
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 | No Need to Argue by The Cranberries
Buy used from: $0.01 Their best work, but others are just as good. Dolores' great voice and good instruments all-around. "Zombie" is perhaps the best rock song of the 90s.
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 | Pop by U2
Buy new: $9.97 / Used from: $0.25 Not quite "pop" and not quite "rock"... just U2 at their best.
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 | Out of Time by R.E.M.
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $0.01 The album that more than any other influenced popular opinion of Stipe's band. "Losing My Religion" shines, but it's not the only one.
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 | Ultra by Depeche Mode
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $0.34 The best-kept secret of Gage's band is how they can reinvent themselves so many times. Groovy poetry with incredible post-modern sound.
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 | Nevermind by Nirvana
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $1.99 Cobain was legend even before he died. But apart from that, there is quite simply no band that can equal the sound of Nirvana and the tormented feel of their music. Totally 90s, more than any other single artist or band.
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 | Butterfly by Mariah Carey
Buy new: $7.97 / Used from: $0.01 This album and "Daydream" hit the sweet spot in her music: mature love ballads with a hint of classy R&B before the conversion to more commercial gangsta stuff that ruined her career.
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 | Like a Prayer by Madonna
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $0.95 Technically 80's (released in 1989), but it beautifully combines the highlights of both 80s and 90s music. The title song alone is worth the price.
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 | Something to Remember by Madonna
Buy new: $9.97 / Used from: $0.03 This is why Madonna is one of the most versatile artists to ever hit the music scene. Tons of class and talent in this collection of her best ballads.
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 | So Far So Good by Bryan Adams
Buy new: $10.97 / Used from: $0.01 Is there any artist who can combine love ballads and classic North American rock better than B.A.? I don't think so. "Summer of '69", "Please Forgive Me", "Everything I Do"... and on and on.
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 | I'm Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston
Buy used from: $0.01 80s influences, but mostly all-around good 90s music, with one of the best voices ever. I'm not too fond of this one, but no serious music fan can miss out on Whitney.
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 | Seal by Seal
Buy new: $9.97 / Used from: $0.01 His music is poetry, and so is his image (I've been told the scar just adds to the overall "sex" of the man). "Kiss from a Rose" and "Prayer for the Dying" rule over all.
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 | Falling into You by Celine Dion
Buy new: $11.49 / Used from: $0.01 Great romance for the best female voice in the 90s. By far the best album by the pre-Titanic Dion (after 1997, don't even bother).
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 | The Fat of the Land by The Prodigy
Buy new: $12.99 / Used from: $2.00 "Oh my god it's the funky s***!" Angry and criminal, with great sound to boot. A must for fans of slightly mainstream techno.
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 | Pieces of You by Jewel
Buy new: $9.97 / Used from: $0.01 Hate country music? Nevermind. This isn't really country--it's... I'm not sure, but you must listen to Jewel Kilcher once before you die. The best poetry in mainstream music, and good music, too. You'll fall in love with this album. Especially "Painters" and "Foolish Games".
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 | Savage Garden by Savage Garden
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 These Aussies have made some of the best pop before disappearing. "Truly Madly Deeply" is among the most romantic songs you'll find from this period.
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 | Nine Lives by Aerosmith
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $0.03 Tyler, Perry & Co. enter their 30th year with one of the most creative albums to date. "Hole in Your Soul" is a once-in-a-lifetime song that almost rivals "Crazy" and "Crying."
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 | Around the World-Hit Singles-Journey So by East 17
Buy used from: $12.40 The only boy-band that's worth a listen, and more than one for that matter. "If You Ever" with Gabrielle is a great song, and others shine too, especially "Thunder" and "Deep".
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 | Jeremy by Pearl Jam
Buy new: $4.98 / Used from: $0.01 It's "Jeremy"... what else do you need? Creepiest song of the 1990s, and perhaps ever. A sad premonition of the Columbine shooting. Great lyrics.
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 | S&M by Metallica
Buy new: $17.99 / Used from: $8.02 Metallica and the SF Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen... enough said. Just beautiful.
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 | Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $0.01 Alanis never disappoints... well, she kinda did after the second one. Here is where she's at her very best.
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 | Sheryl Crow by Sheryl Crow
Buy new: $10.97 / Used from: $0.01 By far her best album. Sophisticated but never pretentious. Very good lyrics and a few masterful performances. "Home" and "Ordinary Morning" steal the show.
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