H

ot on the heels of 501 Essential
Albums of the ’80s comes
its grungier, pop-obsessed
younger cousin — 501 Essential
Albums of the ’90s: The Music Fan’s
Definitive Guide.
Edited by award-winning veteran
music journalist Gary Graff, the expan-
sive 448-page volume
features 501 hand-selected
and carefully curated
albums that defined ’90s
music.
With more than 600
images and contributions
from music’s leading names, includ-
ing journalists, historians, musicians
and radio personalities, 501 Essential
Albums of the ’90s spans multiple
genres, subgenres and everything
in-between — from the top-sellers to
little-known hidden gems.
It’s a book Graff, an Adat Shalom
member, says is designed to start argu-
ments. In fact, he’
d be disappointed
if readers agreed with every album
included in the sprawling music book.
“It’s a subject of exercise, with the
exception that I’m right,
” he jokes.
“These stories are great attention-get-
ters because everybody wants to com-
pare other people’s opinions against
theirs.
”

EVERYONE’S FAVORITE DECADE
In an era defined by Britpop, indus-
trial rock, electronic music, rap and
R&B, many agree the ’90s was one of
the finest decades in music history.
Out of the ’90s rose the Spice Girls,
Nirvana, Britney Spears, Blink 182,
Tupac Shakur and The Smashing
Pumpkins.
Yet with the ’90s also came thou-
sands of albums — that somehow had
to be whittled down to just 501. It was
an enormous task, Graff says, but one
that came together quickly.

Graff hopes to do follow-up books
exploring the music of the ’60s, ’70s
and even the 2000s.
The pages read as a discussion
between friends — a favorite album
here, another there. Contributors
include Ann Delisi, Adam Graham,
Ron Wade, Clark Warner and more.
“One of the main reasons I wanted
to work on this project was the oppor-
tunity to collaborate with my old, dear
friend Gary,
” says Cleveland-based
contributor and former Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame curator Howard Kramer.
“It’s also a chance to shed more light on

some records that might not be as well
remembered as they should.
”
Those include Mule Variations by
Tom Waits, Apartment Life by Ivy and
Blue Sky by Midnight Oil — all hidden
classics Kramer says he hopes readers
will take time to rediscover.
“So much music, so little time,
” adds
contributor Howard Handler, pres-
ident of 313 Presents. “It was a blast
to revisit the ’90s canon of essential
albums. I especially enjoyed writing
about Lucinda and The Mavericks,
two important artists still making great
music today.
”

FROM BESTSELLERS
TO HIDDEN GEMS
Graff, like Kramer, hopes people will
fall back in love with old favorites, but
also discover artists and albums previ-
ously unknown to them.
“It’s a tricky balance,
” Graff says.
“Besides including what we feel rep-
resents the decade, we balanced the
obvious and the big names and the
multi-platinum sellers with some dis-
coveries for people. There’s great music
they may not have heard because it
didn’t have a big record company bud-
get behind it, or it didn’t have MTV
support at the time.
”
501 Essential Albums of the ’90s: The
Music Fan’s Definitive Guide debuted
this month and is available anywhere
books are sold, including Barnes &
Noble and Amazon.
“Hopefully, anybody who reads the
book will find an album or two that
they hadn’t heard of before,
” Graff says.
“They’ll read the entry, and they’ll say,
‘You know what, I’m going to go check
this out.
’”

Gary Graff

48 | DECEMBER 12 • 2024
J
N

Gary Graff with
Shirley Manson
of Garbage

ARTS&LIFE
BOOKS

501 Essential Albums of the ’90s takes readers on a trip down memory lane.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER