For this week's Ranked!, we decided to rank our twenty favorite albums released in 1991. Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments.
20. Gloria Estefan, Into The Light
I remember vaguely being a really big Gloria fan when I was younger. Now, while I can't necessarily remember all of her songs, I do remember consistently feeling happy whenever they came on. This particular album resonates even later on because of the emotion she managed to put into it. Her famous and tragic accident during the Get On Your Feet Tour prompted the theme of this album: coming back from the darkness of a disaster. "Coming Out Of The Dark" is the obvious big one from it, and throughout she still stays very proud and strong in her roots of Latin music. This is a strong woman, who of course has only managed to get more admirable with time.--J-Hawke
19. KLF, The White Room
The White Room is a pretty terrific album. It was a kind of the introduction to the '90s electronic music subculture. It's part new wave, part punk rock, and all kinds of electronic party rave. It was a crazy artistic political statement album and it's pure stadium anthem sound. We still listen to this album regularly at my house.--Archphoenix
18. Teenage Fanclub, Bandwagonesque
Back in '91, I was a DJ at a small college radio station. One of the albums that received heavy play from me that year was Bandwagonesque and, in particular, "What You Do To Me," a song so awesome and Big Starish you really expect to see Alex Chilton behind the mic in the video. I loved this album so much it eventually led to the CD receiving a big "CHRIS CAN NOT PLAY THIS" sticker on the jewel case from my tiny and bossy station manager.--Chris
17. Temple Of The Dog, Temple Of The Dog
How huge was grunge in '91? So huge that a tribute album, a genre generally sent directly to the used section of the CD store, became a massive hit. Temple Of the Dog definitely benefited from its pedigree, a supergroup stitched together from Soundgarden and Pearl Jam honoring a member of Mother Love Bone. But it also had a killer tracklist easily on par with any Soundgarden or Pearl Jam album. In some ways it holds up better than the early albums of those bands, having never suffered the degree of overexposure they did (with the possible exception of "Hunger Strike"). Listening to it today can conjure up nostalgia for the glory days of grunge while still delivering the energy and raw power those bands could unleash back in the day, and rests comfortably in the Seattle pantheon next to Nevermind, Ten, and Badmotorfinger.--CroutonBoy
