Guess who got #1?

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/26/the_10_most_overrated_albums_of_the_90s

I agree with some of these choices (including the number one pick), but disagree big time with others. (Achtung Baby is easily my favorite U2 album.) I'd have to unpack the notion of overrated a bit, too. But I like a writer with strong opinions, and this dude's got 'em. I'm sure you'll be offended by at least something on here, which was probably the point (click bait). But it's an interesting question: What are the most overrated albums of the 1990s and why? I'm gonna think on this one for a bit. How 'about you?

As far as I'm concerned every album that is likely to show up on a list of best albums would qualify.

OK Computer? Seriously?

I like that the author overrates Nirvana on his Most Overrated albums list.

i hate when people, even moreso so-called music journalists put more thought in the shock value of their statements rather than in the actual arguments behind them. of course, it's far easier to gain traffic on your page when you write nonsense like this than when you have something intelligent to say.

Pretty much this.

I hate how everything in this goddamn world is either overrated or underrated. Attention media and bloggers alike! SOME THINGS ARE JUST RATED

Goddamn.

I hate how everything in this goddamn world is either overrated or underrated. Attention media and bloggers alike! SOME THINGS ARE JUST RATED

Goddamn.

Pure click bait article

you can say that again.

Maybe it wasn't an interesting question after all.

Well then you'll hate the article the same dude wrote a couple weeks ago: The 20 most underrated albums of all time. Vindication for all of those Bangles and Journey fans out there. Can't say I agree with any of these picks, although there are some good tunes here and there.

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/19/the_20_most_underrated_albums_of_all_time/

I have the same issue here I had with the other one, which is how the term is defined. There were lots of bands in the 1990s who were overrated at the time (Alanis Morrissette, Live, Hootie) but who didn't really stand the test of time. Were they overrated? Yeah, for a minute, but not anymore. An overrated album from the 1990s would have to be overrated today, methinks. And I'd have to give that one some thought.

As for underrated, I'm not sure obscurities like Kitty Wells really count. For me, the best example he has here is the Sly and the Family Stone album -- a big-time and still well-regarded artist who has a maligned album that's actually pretty great. I'd say R.E.M.'s Monster may belong in that category. I love that album, but it's often written about as a misstep. Heck, Binaural, No Code, and Riot Act may qualify, too, for that matter. I'd call the Counting Crows a pretty underrated band, at least the three albums that followed their debut. I'll have to give this one some more thought.

Exactly. A lot of people confuse overrated / underrated with saturation. As in, I hear this too much - it's overrated! Nobody's heard of this! It must be underrated.

I wish I had a job like this. I could churn out articles like this forever.

YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH

Classic Alanis.

Speaking to your earlier point, and all joking aside, Jagged Little Pill has certainly stood the test of time. 20 years later and it's still one of my all time favorite albums. The songwriting and performances are stellar.

I'd also put SFIJ and Under Rug Swept up there with some of the best of their respective years. They've endured and aged well, I think.

I would never call JLP overrated.

I've never heard of DJ Shadow.

Haha. Nicely done.

I doubt it--I've read your writing and suspect eventually your conscience would get the best of you. Your general point is right, though, that any idiot can sit down and make a list of albums he thinks are rubbish, especially when (as they are in this article) the blurbs accompanying the selections are just rote bitching void of any real insight. This is an entry-level type piece that all music writers seem to have to work out of their system at some point. To be ignored.