Half the fun of this type of book is arguing with the selections, but I found myself agreeing with the author more often than not; I don't always like the albums selected, but they definitely typify the '90s.

Two final thoughts:

1. There was a lot of really bad music that was really popular in the '90s.

2. Although I think the decade only produced a few truly great albums, it produced tons of truly great singles.

In my opinion, the 90s are the best and most diverse music decade. I loved this book. It brought back so many memories. I owned a huge portion of these albums (thanks Columbia House. 10cds for a Penny 🤣) and i spent a good majority of time looking up songs to reminisce while reading this book!

This was a fun walk down memory lane through a decade where, as a teen and 20-something, I became forever enthralled with some albums and forever annoyed by others. As with any book of this type there will be some omissions and/or inclusions that readers disagree with, but overall this was a pretty well-rounded collection. And it reminded me how lucky I am to have been young during this incredible era.

Gary Graff’s engrossing book focuses on the albums that defined the 1990s, and the artwork that accompanied them.

This was the decade where long-playing vinyl finally ceded prominence to the flash new compact disc, leading to the decline of the great album covers.

Regardless, the selection presented here showcases the work of some prominent and lesser-known artists while considering the relationship between the cover and the content.

However, if you want a deep dive into the complexities of album artwork, this is not the place to start, as this is really a rundown of the music you should seek out to discover what drove this final decade of the 20th century.

Graff’s choices are a mix of old and new, so Neil Young and Garth Brooks rub shoulders with Pearl Jam and Spice Girls. This was the decade in which George Michael changed his image, Frank Sinatra did a duet album by electronic trickery, and we first heard the Buena Vista Social Club.

I was certainly counting how many of these albums I had heard, and making a list to seek out others on Spotify, as the humble compact disc has now been superseded by the online streaming services.

There is a light in the tunnel for those who value the artistic side of promoting popular music, as vinyl has now made a comeback, albeit at a very high retail price.

So, what is the number one album of the 1990s? Well, this book doesn't try and tell us – it's in year-by-year chapters, and is probably randomised on top, too. But it does start with the imperious "Violator", so there is that. But then after just one other spread of album cover artwork and basic details in micro-essay form, we get a recommendation for – wait for it – an MC Hammer album. Yes, even when the writing declares "there was nothing artistically remarkable" here, we get the MC Hammer debut set. Evidence, then, that this is for those with no taste, or at the best for those with an American-only taste, and that yes, it is as the introduction declares, up for a fight – this is a book that is cruisin' for a bruisin'.

Don't get me wrong, this ticks the right boxes – as far as I can remember what I was listening to and when in the 1990s, at least. It seems to be a touch too friendly towards shoegaze, oddly, but the grunge smashes, the Portisheads, the Britpop, the Titanic soundtracks – all are here. With the scope of all those seeming thousands of specialist Billboard charts to cover, there are no end of acts I'd never heard of – Drivin' n' Cryin' or Neutral Milk Hotel, anyone? – and a lot of country and religious artists I could skip by, alongside all the to-my-ears interchangeable R&B/rap people.

This is very much an American book, showing the tastes that side of the pond – specialist charts regardless. Nowhere in Britain would a Hanson album have the respect of a page to itself, and if the naff cover to Fatboy Slim's album didn't tell you this was American, the talk in the text of all bands being an "it" as opposed to a "them" sure does. But this does as well as any such book can – it brings back memories, it may well inspire (re-)discoveries, and it causes no end of potential pub arguments. Mission accomplished.

501 Essential Albums of the the '90s is a collection of albums that define the decade. It highlights key songs that have been cemented in history, along with other key points.

*501 Essential Albums of the ’90s* is a deep dive into the heart of the ’90s music scene, offering a nostalgic look at everything from grunge to pop and hip-hop. With over 600 images, detailed album rundowns, and year-by-year organization, this book is the ultimate guide to the sounds that defined the decade. Whether you were headbanging to Nirvana or dancing to Britney, this book captures it all with insights into the albums’ impact on music and culture. A must-have for ’90s music lovers!

This is an excellent walk down memory lane and nostalgia! Music has a way of unlocking memories and feelings associated with it. Thank you for this wonderful book and advanced copy! It's time to update my music playlists with some songs I'd forgotten about.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Motorbooks and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book was so much fun! There are many albums that have been the soundtrack to my life on this list as a person growing up in the 90's.

This book is fabulous and would make a fantastic gift for someone.

The Nineties witnessed the final great last hurrah of the album. It was the last decade where large numbers of people regularly bought pop, rock, dance albums on CD or cassette.
.The album sleeves would often have the lyrics of each individual song printed on them, alongside a cover picture, sometimes a memorable one, perhaps of some greyhounds racing round the track or of a baby in a swimming pool, seemingly in pursuit of some money floating in front of him.
Given that I am British and this book is American, it's not surprising I don't entirely agree with all the albums selected in this enjoyable book. There is nothing in here by Suede, for example. Or Pulp. This is nevertheless a fine selection with a discussion of many of the great records of the final decade of the second millennium and more, including offerings from Oasis, Radiohead, Nirvana, Beck, Massive Attack, Lauren Hill, Madonna, Buena Vista Social Club and iconic movie soundtrack albums like Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting and more.

A book such as this is always going to ruffle some feathers because someone's favourite will be inevitably missed. I understand this completely. But.. to not have Bon Jovi!?

I understand Slippery When Wet is their most successful album of all time and it had already come and gone but, absolutely nothing? Keep The Faith wasn't THAT bad, was it? And for argument's sake, Cross Roads was in the mid-90s! It is a greatest hits but it featured "Always" which is still their most successful ballad of all time and one of their top, TOP hits.

Anywho.. so far as constructive criticism goes, I would have very much appreciated if all the albums were in chronological order within their decade! There I was thinking I'd been wrong all along and Christina released her album before Britney, but no, they aren't in order.

I also have to agree regarding the limited information for each album. It's understandable given the 501 of them, but if you're going to tackle something that huge, you may as well go all in.

On a highly positive note, I did very much love the inclusion of The Lion King soundtrack 💛🦁

This book included so many albums and artist that i had forgotten about and ones that made me very nostalgic, lots of songs for me to relistened to.

I think this book suffered from a case of quantity over quality. There wasn't much new or interesting information written about each album and I think I would have enjoyed the book a little more if fewer albums had been covered in greater depth. I did like the range of genres that were represented though!

As I grew up in this era, I loved the music and it was fun seeing some of my favorite albums and some of the history bits for the albums featured. It also reminded me of albums I had forgotten about! Overall a fun read.
Thank you to the author and publisher for this arc.

This is an absolutely wonderful, rich, nostalgic and collective item.
If you lived the '90s or like the era's music, you will cherish this book.
The design, the contents, the information and the diversity of the albums included are all awesome.

Ahhh. What a magical trip down memory lane. I loved every bit of this… What surprised me was how much I enjoyed seeing the album covers again. Brought me back to my middle school, high school, and college years…
This read is a must for Gen X and Millennials… or in my case, Xennial.
I liked the format where the albums themselves were not ranked….
The fact soundtracks were included was super cool. Of course I’m thinking of albums I would have included, but this is not an easy list to create
Thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely love this! Reading and looking through this book brought back so many memories. I would definitely like to pick this up when it releases and I highly recommend!

This is an interesting collection of music from the 90s. The music covers wide genres and lots of fun albums. There is lots of good information and lots of pictures. I viewed a digital version but I could see that this would be an amazing coffee table book to revisit over time.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title.

“This is a book that’s designed to start arguments.”

Right off the bat, this book acknowledges that music lists are just someone’s opinion, and this ranking aims to showcase the diversity of the music that defined the 90s, while also giving attention to each year (I particularly liked how it covered many genres, including film soundtracks). It’s no small feat and this is an insightful read that hopefully inspires people to try out some music they have not listened to before.

Although this was a digital copy, I can imagine that this will be a wonderful conversation starter on someone’s coffee table. The artwork is both nostalgic and eye catching, without being tacky.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great coffee table book for any pop culture fan imo. I enjoyed flipping through all the pages of these iconic albums. Some I’ve forgot and will listen to now. Love the visuals.