This is the fiftieth (50!) thread in the HGWTY series, which means there’s only ten more to go - we can do this! Although at times in the last thread it seemed I definitely couldn’t, which is why the 1966 edition ran for several months and finally ended with a solid score of 8.44 and a place in the top 10.
Now we come to 1993.
A reminder of the premise of the thread
After a period of posting and reminiscing, Polls will be posted to rate the music of the year out of ten (based on the albums, singles, gigs, whatever that stand out for you that year) and voting for your favourite of the nominated albums and songs.
Everyone can nominate one album and one song from the year which will then be collated into side-polls which will be open for a few days - please make it clear when you post a nomination for the poll (as opposed to when just posting about songs and albums you like, which are very welcome).
Leaderboard
| Rank | Year | Rating | Top Album | Top Song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994 | 9.46 | Portishead - Dummy | Beastie Boys - Sabotage |
| 2 | 1991 | 8.98 | Slint - Spiderland | Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy |
| 3 | 1988 | 8.93 | Pixies - Surfer Rosa | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Street |
| 4 | 1980 | 8.83 | Joy Division - Closer | The Cure - A Forest |
| 5 | 2000 | 8.69 | Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven | PJ Harvey - Good Fortune / At The Drive In - One Armed Scissor |
| 6 | 1968 | 8.67 | Van Morrison - Astral Weeks | Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman |
| 7 | 1997 | 8.6 | Radiohead - OK Computer | The Beta Band - Dry The Rain |
| 8 | 1967 | 8.48 | Love - Forever Changes | Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Some Velvet Morning |
| 9 | 1995 | 8.45 | Radiohead - The Bends | The Smashing Pumpkins - 1975 |
| 10 | 1966 | 8.44 | Beach Boys - Pet Sounds | The Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black |
| 11 | 1977 | 8.41 | Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express | Donna Summer - I Feel Love |
| 12 | 1969 | 8.35 | The Velvet Underground | The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog |
| 13 | 1998 | 8.3 | Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children | Massive Attack – Teardrop |
| 14 | 2013 | 8.29 | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street |
| 14 | 1992 | 8.29 | Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted | Pulp - Babies |
| 16 | 2019 | 8.14 | Self Esteem - Compliments Please | Big Thief - Not |
| 17 | 2007 | 8.13 | LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver / Radiohead - In Rainbows | LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends / M.I.A. - Paper Planes |
| 17 | 1975 | 8.13 | Neil Young - Tonight’s the Night / Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks | Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Cortez the Killer |
| 19 | 2004 | 8.1 | Madvillain - Madvillainy / Arcade Fire - Funeral | The Walkmen - The Rat |
| 19 | 2001 | 8.1 | The Strokes - Is This It | Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope) / Mogwai - My Father My King |
| 21 | 2002 | 8.06 | Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights | LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge |
| 21 | 1981 | 8.06 | The Cure - Faith | New Order - Ceremony |
| 23 | 1979 | 7.96 | Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures | Joy Division - Transmission |
| 24 | 1982 | 7.76 | The Cure - Pornography / Kate Bush - The Dreaming | The Associates - Party Fears Two |
| 25 | 2014 | 7.69 | FKA Twigs - LP1 | FKA Twigs - Two Weeks |
| 26 | 2010 | 7.66 | Kanye West - MBDTF / Joanna Newsom - Have One One Me / Beach House - Teen Dream | Robyn - Dancing On My Own |
| 27 | 1973 | 7.63 | Stevie Wonder - Innervisions | Iggy & The Stooges - Search & Destroy |
| 28 | 1970 | 7.61 | Neil Young - After the Goldrush | Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up |
| 29 | 1972 | 7.53 | Can - Ebe Gamyasi | Stevie Wonder - Superstition |
| 30 | 1976 | 7.47 | David Bowie - Station to Station | Bob Dylan - Hurricane |
| 30 | 1990 | 7.47 | Sonic Youth - Goo | The Cure - Pictures of You |
| 32 | 2015 | 7.44 | Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell | Sufjan Stevens - No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross |
| 33 | 1986 | 7.42 | Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring | New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle |
| 34 | 2005 | 7.39 | Sufjan Stevens - Illinois | Amerie - 1 Thing |
| 35 | 1965 | 7.38 | The Beatles - Rubber Soul | Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) |
| 36 | 2017 | 7.36 | Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent | Kendrick Lamar - Humble |
| 37 | 1987 | 7.32 | Sonic Youth - Sister | The Cure - Just Like Heaven |
| 38 | 1999 | 7.3 | Mogwai - Come On Die Young | Björk - All Is Full Of Love |
| 39 | 2006 | 7.28 | J Dilla - Donuts | TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me |
| 40 | 1983 | 7.26 | REM - Murmur | Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding |
| 41 | 2016 | 7.13 | Frank Ocean - Blonde | Frank Ocean - Nikes |
| 42 | 2009 | 7.1 | Fever Ray - Fever Ray | Animal Collective - My Girls |
| 43 | 1974 | 6.95 | Neil Young - On The Beach | Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - The Bottle |
| 44 | 2011 | 6.88 | PJ Harvey - Let England Shake | Low - Especially Me |
| 45 | 1963 | 6.57 | Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan | The Ronettes -Be My Baby |
| 46 | 1985 | 6.53 | Tom Waits - Rain Dogs | Prince and the Revolution - Raspberry Beret |
| 47 | 1962 | 6 | Howlin’ Wolf - Howlin’ Wolf | Dick Dale - Misirlou |
| 48 | 1961 | 5.16 | John Coltrane - My Favourite Things | Roy Orbison - Crying |
| 49 | 1960 | 4.93 | John Coltrane - Giant Steps | The Shirelles - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? |
In 1993 Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the “Velvet Divorce”, sprinter Ben Johnson failed a second doping test to receive a lifetime ban from the International Amateur Athletics Federation, world number one Monica Seles was literally stabbed in the back during a match at Hamburg, a terrorist bomb exploded underneath the World Trade Center killing 6 and injuring hundreds, and an IRA bomb exploded in Bishopsgate, London.
We said goodbye to Audrey Hepburn, River Phoenix, Andre the Giant, Brandon Lee, Bobby Moore and Frank Zappa, and hello to Ariana Grande, Harry Kane, Jodie Comer and Zayn Malik.
But how good was the music?
There will be a week or two to nominate one album and/or one song which will then go into polls along with a number rating poll for year overall out of 10, which will close a few days later. Please state when something you share is a nomination so I can catch it for the poll, but feel free to share as much as you wish during the thread!
Some lists for inspiration:
Best Albums of 1993 | 60k+ Charts, Updated Daily | Best Ever Albums
https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1993/
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/ratings/6-highest-rated/1993/1
https://www.acclaimedmusic.net/year/1993a.htm
Nominations will be tallied here as the week goes on:
Album Nominations
Song Nominations
