What Are Your Favorite Albums From 1996

Since it looks like the 1995 thread has slowed down considerably, let's move on.
1996:
Some excellent albums that year, starting with one of my top 10 favorites of all time:
1. Jason Falkner-Presents Author Unknown
2. They Might Be Giants-Factory Showroom
3. Sloan-One Chord To Another
4. Madelyn Peyroux-Dreamland
5. Stone Temple Pilots-Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop
6. Afghan Whigs-Black Love
7. Sublime-Sublime
8. Local H-As Good As Dead
9. Tracy Bonham-Burdens Of Being Upright
10. Kula Shaker-K
Honorable mention-Marshall Crenshaw-Miracle Of Science

 

Tori Amos Boys For Pele
Belle and Sebastian "Tigermilk"
Belle and Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister
Eels Beautiful Freak
Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne
Pearl Jam No Code
REM New Adventures in Hi-Fi
Savoy Mary Is Coming
Suede Coming Up
Wilco Being There

 

Tragically Hip - Trouble at the Henhouse
Cake - Fashion Nugget
Presidents of the United States of America - II
Fugees - The Score
Sloan - One Chord To Another
Metallica - Load
Soundgarden - Down on the Upside
Weezer - Pinkerton
Outkast - ATLiens
Tom Petty- She's the One soundtrack

Honourable mentions - DMB - Crash, Sublime S/T, 2Pac all eyez on me

 

Lou Reed - Set The Twilight Reeling
Steve Earle - I Feel Alright
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Broken Arrow
The Black Crowes - Three Snakes & One Charm
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Shes The One
Motorhead - Overnight Sensation
Johnny Cash - Unchained
Richard Thompson - You Me Us.
Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs
Slayer - Undisputed Attitude

 

Gin Blossoms - Congratulations I'm Sorry
Deep Purple - Purpendicular
Neil Young And Crazy Horse - Broken Arrow

 

Beck - Odelay
KISS - Unplugged
Johnny Cash - Unchained
Neil Young - Broken Arrow
Pearl Jam - No Code
Spice Girls - Spice
Fiona Apple - Tidal
Monkees - Justus
Yoko Ono - Rising

 

1. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing....
2. Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
3. Ghostface Killah - Ironman
4. Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die
5. Lambchop - How I Quit Smoking
6. Tricky - Pre-Millennium Tension
7. Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind
8. Suede - Coming Up
9. Alan Vega, Alex Chilton & Ben Vaughn - Cubist Blues
10. Bowery Electric - Beat

hm: Neil Young - Dead Man

 

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Broken Arrow
Lou Reed: Set The Twilight Reeling
Pearl Jam: No Code
R.E.M: New Adventures in Hi-Fi
Johnny Cash: Unchained

Some great stuff came out that year.

 

Favorite:
Deep Purple - Purpendicular

Acceptable:
The Monkees - Justus

Nadir:
Rush - Test for Echo

Reissue:
The Beatles - Anthology 3

 

Man, that was a great, great album; and I wasn't even an R.E.M fan.....only just didn't make my top 10 as there was some real big hitters that year.

 

Patti Smith - Gone Again
James Byrd Group - The Apocalypse Chime
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - Shady Grove
Tool - Aenima
Stratovarius - Episode
REM - New Adventures in High Fi
Bloodhound Gang - One Fierce Beer Coaster
Riot - The Bretheren of the Long House
King's X - Ear Candy
Gillian Welch - Revival

 

Kingpin Skinny Pimp King of da Playaz Ball
Ghostface Killah Ironman
Mobb Deep Hell on Earth
De La Soul Stakes Is High
A Tribe Called Quest Beats, Rhymes and Life
Jay-Z Reasonable Doubt
Outkast ATLiens
2Pac All Eyez on Me / Makaveli The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
UGK Ridin’ Dirty
Oval 94 Diskont
Tortoise Millions Now Living Will Never Die
DJ Shadow Endtroducing.....
Rage Against the Machine Evil Empire

 

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Murder Ballads
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers She's The One
The Rutles Archaeology
REM New Adventures In Hi-Fi
Lou Reed Set The Twilight Reeling
The Beatles Anthology 2
The Beatles Anthology 3
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Broken Arrow
Eels Beautiful Freak
Suede Coming Up

 

Def Leppard Slang

 

Screaming Trees - Dust

 

I'll do a quick 15 album list in alpha order grabbed from my computer player, some really nice records in 96 that still get a spin now and then, some more often than others, but all good, and a few that are really good ...

American Analog Set - The Fun of Watching Fireworks
Bowery Electric - Beat
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Take It From The Man!
Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman
Girls Against Boys - House of GVSB
Kreidler - Weekend
Mazzy Star - Among My Swan
Olivia Tremor Control - Dusk At Cubist Castle
Richard Davies - There's Never Been A Crowd Like This
Sixteen Horsepower - Sackcloth 'n' Ashes
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Steve Earle - I Feel Alright
Tricky - Pre-Millenium Tension
Walt Mink - El Producto
Wilco - Being There

 

Dodgy – Free Peace Sweet (a super consistent album)
3 strong albums from the BJM Take It from the Man!/Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request/Thank God for Mental Illness although I only bought these later.

 

1. The Black Crowes – Three Snakes and One Charm
2. Wilco – Being There
3. Phish – Billy Breathes
4. Gillian Welch – Revival
5. Fiona Apple – Tidal
6. Beck – Odelay
7. Zakk Wylde – Book of Shadows
8. Jamiroquai – Travelling Without Moving
9. Cardigans – First Band on the Moon
10. Willie Nelson – Spirit

 

Julian Cope - Interpreter
You Am I - Hourly, Daily
Sloan - One Chord To Another
Liquor Giants
Fountains Of Wayne
KISS - MTV Unplugged
Tom Petty - She's The One
Beck - Odelay
Johnny Cash - Unchained
Jack Logan - Mood Elevator

 

I can never remember what came out when without looking it up, but my favorite record that year was No Lunch by D Generation.

 

1. Los Straitjackets - Viva!
2. Lyle Lovett - The Road to Ensenada
3. Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions
4. Johnny Cash - Unchained
5. Wilco - Being There
6. Richmond Fontaine - Safety
7. Garcia/Grisman - Shady Grove
8. Pearl Jam - No Code
9. Phish - Billy Breathes
10. Steve Earle - I Feel Alright
Social Distortion - White Light, White Heat, White Trash
Weezer - Pinkerton
Beth Orton - Trailer Park
Cowboy Junkies - Lay it Down
BR5-49 - s/t
Cracker - The Golden Age
Porno for Pyros - Good God's Urge
Tragically Hip - Trouble at the Henhouse
Cake - Fashion Nugget
The Brian Jonestown albums

 

Three of them in 1996! And all pretty good too

 

01. 16 Horsepower - Sackloth 'n' Ashes
02. Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants
03. Bondage Fruit - II
04. Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die
05. Fugees - The Score
06. Dave Clarke - Archive One
07. Beck - Odelay
08. Dødheimsgard - Monumental Possession
09. Red Snapper - Prince Blimey
10. Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup


The rest:
11. Mobb Deep - Hell On Earth
12. Altai-Hangai - Gobin Ujanga
13. Guided By Voices - Under The Bushes Under The Stars
14. Bugge Wesseltoft - New Conception Of Jazz
15. John Zorn - Bar Kokhba
16. Ghostface Killah - Ironman
17. Tool - Aenima
18. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Now I Got Worry
19. Olivia Tremor Control - Music From The Unrealized Film Script, Dusk At Cubist Castle
20. Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album
21. Alec Empire - The Destroyer
22. Gallon Drunk - In The Long Still Night
23. Steve Earle - I Feel Alright
24. UGK - Ridin' Dirty
25. 12 Rounds - Jitter Juice
26. Luscious Jackson - Fever In Fever Out
27. The Oblivians - Popular Favorites
28. Sepultura - Roots
29. Rachel's - The Sea And The Bells
30. Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself
31. Eels - Beautiful Freak
32. Squarepusher - Feed Me Weird Things
33. Jawbox - Jawbox
34. Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
35. Mad Dog Loose - Material Sunset
36. Ginuwine - The Bachelor
37. Current 93 - All The Pretty Little Horses
38. Jeru The Damaja - Wrath Of The Math
39. Acid Bath - Pagaen Terrorism Tactics
40. The Tear Garden - To Be An Angel Blind, The Crippled Soul Divide
41. Wilco - Being There
42. Slam - Headstates
43. The Juggaknots - Juggaknots
44. R.E.M. - New Adventures In Hi-Fi
45. The Future Sound Of London - Dead Cities
46. Bile - Tekno Whore
47. Swans - Soundtracks For The Blind
48. Funky Green Dogs - Get Fired Up
49. Elend - Les Ténebres Du Dehors
50. Marylin Manson - Antichrist Superstar
51. Swirlies - They Spent Their Youthful Days In The Glittering World Of The Salons
52. Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst
53. Sacramentum - Far Away From The Sun
54. Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire
55. dEUS - In A Bar, Under The Sea
56. Today Is The Day - Today Is The Day
57. Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy logic
58. Hooverphonic - A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular
59. Ghost - Lama Rabi Rabi
60. John Parish & PJ Harvey - Dance Hall At Louse Point
61. The Walkabouts - Devil's Road
62. Cul De Sac - China Gate
63. Gillian Welch - Revival
64. Lamb - Lamb
65. Cradle Of Filth - Dusk...And Her Embrace
66. Motorpsycho - Blissard
67. Nas - It Was Written
68. Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman
69. Kreidler - Weekend
70. Tricky - Pre-Millenium Tension
71. Baader Meinhof - Baader Meinhof
72. Ash - 1977
73. Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
74. Fishmans - Long Season
75. Depressive Silence - II

 

One of my fave eras. I'm going from memory, but Valerie Carter's The Way It Is and Paul carrack' Blue Views and Richard Page's Shelter Me would be 96, no? I can't think of three records that more influenced me as a musician. If you also think about some record the few years previous--Amanda Marshall's debut, Joshua Kadison's swing for the fences that was Delilah Blue, Kevin Gilbert's Thud, Jude Cole's I don't Know Why I Do the Things I do....Jann Arden's Living Under June....Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling and Freedom Sessions (and I feel like there was the import with her Dear God cover?)....

It was a time in music where there were these muso types that the industry considered "over" but they still had deals with budgets so they basically got to make whatever they wanted. Between Nashvegas taking the Arena rock crowd...after grunge returned loud rock to amateurish hands....R&B kinda morphed into hip hop--certainly went all electronic...

 

In no particular order
STP-Tiny Music
RATM-Evil Empire
Weezer -Pinkerton
Cake-Fashion Nugget
Afghan Whigs -Black Love
PUSA -II
Nirvana-Muddy Banks
Marilyn Manson -Antichrist
Beatles -Anthology 2 & 3
Superdrag -Regretfully Yours
DMB-Crash
AIC -Unplugged
Kula Shaker -K
Pearl Jam-No Code
Blind Melon -Nico
Pumpkins -Aeroplane Flies High

A tremendous year for rock.