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Albums From Two Decades Ago That Still Sound Fresh, Exciting & Vital Today

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I'm always taken aback when I'm reminded that this came out in '96. I'm convinced that it was supposed to come out a few years ago but fell through a time hole.
 

Turns exactly 20 years old this year as well. Bloody good reworking of 90s trip hop and electronica fused with a kind of 70s rock attitude. When they're good, Primal Scream are *really* good (their XTRMNTR album sounds even more timeless, vital, and prophetic today, but that one isn't 20 years old yet) Unfortunately, they tend to release frustratingly lazy and stupid albums in between these shots of brilliance.
 

Hedrush

Member
From 3 decades ago but I still think it falls into this category.

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Probably one of the most iconic U2 albums and one which I still listen to at least once a week.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
PHM is amazing, but let's be real: it sounds 80s as fuck. It just happens that some 80s elements have made their way into modern music.

Yeah, but there's a ton of 80s-inspired synths in all sorts of music these days. That doesn't make it really sound like it's from the 80s, though. It's actually interesting, I'm not sure how I would explain the difference. I guess it's that nowadays the synths aren't usually the sole instrumentation, or they're paired with much more natural-sounding instruments or effects (no stadium rock-esque fake reverb, etc.) I mean, I can tell "Cave" by Future Islands is a 2000s track very quickly, despite in isolations its synths coming off as cheestastic 80s.
 
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-actually closer to 30 years now.



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Excellent production and a style that still feels crisp and new today. Came out in 1998.

I'm always taken aback when I'm reminded that this came out in '96. I'm convinced that it was supposed to come out a few years ago but fell through a time hole.


Dummy and Mezzanine are good.

Also, almost exactly 20 years ago:



Björk - Homogenic

slay. all really good picks.

I'd also like to throw out:

Sigur Rós: Agaetis Byrjun
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Garbage: Version 2.0
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Spiritualized: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
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marrec

Banned
Fiona Apples Tidal always sounded real fresh to me.

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A couple tunes off that album that could easily fit in on "The Idler Wheel..." and of course a few would still be pop hits if they were released today.

Percussion heavy piano pop is pretty easy to keep timeless though.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
I'm gonna be one of the only weirdos with this opinion but I still absolutely love "Melody A.M." from beginning to end. It's one of the dozen or so albums that personifys my college years and because of that it'll always hold a special place in my heart.

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It's on my shortlist of albums to track down if or when I ever decide to dip my toe into the vinyl pool.

Edit: The album is from 2001 so it's not quite two decades (a little under 16 years) old but dammit it's important to me so I'm using it anyway.
 
Not 20 yet but Tim Hecker's first album from 2001 is fresh af. It was only a few years ago that glitchy sounds/music/imagery became popular while musicians like Hecker and other visual artists were exploring these ideas in the 2000s.

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Not an album but the track theme for great cities by simple minds is something way ahead of 81

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pJDx-1L3V9U
 

le-seb

Member
Great picks already.

I'd add those for some more diversity:

Jeff Buckley - Grace
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This first album was (and still is) so good.
Can't believe we didn't have a chance to experiment another one...

Ben Harper - The Will To Live
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Back to when Ben Harper still played the kind of music I like.
 
What.


That stuff is the most 90ish 90's pap that I can think of!

It's really not.

William Orbit did a phenomenal job blending different genres, specifically electronic, house and trip-hop. The production style is very similar to the sound of a lot of electropop and mainstream artists currently. Heck, even Madonna's last album pulled heavily in inspiration from Ray of Light, almost serving as a spiritual successor, even though multiple producers worked on that album instead of the one with Ray of Light.

Ray of Light is a triumph in her catalog and is easily one of her most influential albums. I could think of a good dozen or two pop albums that sound way more dated than Ray of Light.
 
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Man time flies, remember picking this up in a Virgin megastore at release.[/QUOTE]

How long were we waiting for this to come out?
Can you imagine how [I]Smack My Bitch Up[/I] would go down today?

This is 20 years old this year. Changed my life.

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Orbital - In Sides, 21 years old but I'd still listen the hell out of it.

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A lot of their work is pretty timeless. The Green Album is nearly 30 years old and still sounds amazing.

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CrocoDuck

Member
Café Tacuba--"Re" (1994)

20 songs in 59 minutes. Plays like The Beatles White album. The album spans a wide variety of Latin American music genres that is fun, frenetic, catchy, ambitious, and youthful. You do not need to understand a speck of Spanish to like this album!

Here's a sample ;)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zJvMwTgWcP0
 
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Trail of dead: Source tags and code

Came out in 2000 or 2001, I think. Still sounds as energetic, raw, and powerful as anything modern.
 
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Cruelty and the Beast gets my vote. Some of the best symphonic black metal/extreme metal out there.

The lyrics, vocals, everything. It was the perfect album and the best followup to an equally amazing album, Dusk and Her Embrace.

I personally recommend Thirteen Autumns and a Widow or Beneath the Howling Stars.
 

bebop242

Member
But the issues are relevant today.

While true, it sounds dated as fuck.

Shout out to OPs PJ Harvey mention. Didn't care for it when it came out but now its the only one of her albums (and some Is This Desire) I can listen to.

Oh shit Orbital In Sides!! Good call.
 
What.


That stuff is the most 90ish 90's pap that I can think of!

What the...

Have you heard any modern electro pop music? Ray of Light still fits right in with them.

And all of this:

It's really not.

William Orbit did a phenomenal job blending different genres, specifically electronic, house and trip-hop. The production style is very similar to the sound of a lot of electropop and mainstream artists currently. Heck, even Madonna's last album pulled heavily in inspiration from Ray of Light, almost serving as a spiritual successor, even though multiple producers worked on that album instead of the one with Ray of Light.

Ray of Light is a triumph in her catalog and is easily one of her most influential albums. I could think of a good dozen or two pop albums that sound way more dated than Ray of Light.

+ how can you say it's the most 90ish 90s pop when these were the kinds of pop songs it was competing on the charts against?
 
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