1991 – my year in music
What could be more ridiculous than trying to rank the thousands of singles and albums you’ve bought and heard over a lifetime? Here we go …
I did actually rank my singles and albums in December 1991, but I did it again in December 2024 to see how things changed.
| Top albums of 1991 | ||
| 1 | Senseless Things | The First Of Too Many |
| 2 | Carter USM | 30 Something |
| 3 | Billy Bragg | Don't Try This At Home |
| 4 | A House | I Am The Greatest |
| 5 | Runrig | The Big Wheel |
| 6 | Blur | Leisure |
| 7 | Nirvana | Nevermind |
| 8 | Saint Etienne | Foxbase Alpha |
| 9 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | God Fodder |
| 10 | Genesis | We Can't Dance |
| 11 | Throwing Muses | The Real Ramona |
| 12 | Real People | The Real People |
| 13 | Smashing Pumpkins | Gish |
| 14 | Marc Almond | Tenement Symphony |
| 15 | Queen | Innuendo |
| 16 | Resque | Life's A Bonus |
| 17 | Thousand Yard Stare | Fair To Middling |
| 18 | Marillion | Holidays In Eden |
| 19 | Fish | Internal Exile |
| 20 | Schroeder | Schroeder |
| 21 | Blue Aeroplanes | Beatsongs |
| 22 | KLF | The White Room |
| 23 | Blab Happy | Boat |
| 24 | New Fast Automatic Daffodils | Big |
| 25 | Yes | Union |
| 26 | Five Thirty | Bed |
| 27 | Elvis Costello | Mighty Like A Rose |
| 28 | World Of Twist | Quality Street |
| 29 | EMF | Schubert Dip |
| 30 | Milltown Brothers | Slinky |
| 31 | Dylans | The Dylans |
| 32 | Jesus Loves You | The Martyr Mantras |
| 33 | Apples | People |
| 34 | Intastella | Intastella And The Family Of People |
The albums I played to death:
| These aren’t necessarily the same as my favourite albums now, but the ones I remember buying on release and playing over and over and over again. | ||
| 30/01/91 | Queen | Innuendo |
| 18/02/91 | Carter USM | 30 Something |
| 13/06/91 | Runrig | The Big Wheel |
| 24/06/91 | Marillion | Holidays In Eden |
| 16/09/91 | Billy Bragg | Don't Try This At Home |
| 16/09/91 | Saint Etienne | Foxbase Alpha |
| 14/10/91 | Senseless Things | The First Of Too Many |
| 11/11/91 | Genesis | We Can't Dance |
| 19/11/91 | A House | I Am The Greatest |
| 30/11/91 | Various Artists | Bend It! 91 |
| Original chart - top albums of 1991 | ||
| 1 | Carter USM | 30 Something |
| 2 | Jellyfish | Bellybutton |
| 3 | Runrig | The Big Wheel |
| 4 | Fish | Internal Exile |
| 5 | Yes | Union |
| 6 | Marillion | Holidays In Eden |
| 7 | Elvis Costello | Mighty Like A Rose |
| 8 | Senseless Things | The First Of Too Many |
| 9 | Billy Bragg | Don't Try This At Home |
| 10 | Queen | Innuendo |
- Jellyfish - Bellybutton was actually released in 1990, so it’s not in my new 1991 chart
| Top tracks of 1991 | ||
| 1 | Blur | There's No Other Way |
| 2 | Mega City Four | Words That Say |
| 3 | Carter USM | After The Watershed (Early Learning The Hard Way) |
| 4 | Wonder Stuff | The Size of A Cow |
| 5 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Happy |
| 6 | Carter USM | Bloodsport For All |
| 7 | Frank and Walters | Michael |
| 8 | Thousand Yard Stare | No Score After Extra Time |
| 9 | Frank and Walters | Walter's Trip |
| 10 | Nirvana | Lithium |
| 11 | Thousand Yard Stare | Buttermouth |
| 12 | Real People | The Truth |
| 13 | Wonder Stuff | Dizzy |
| 14 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Trust |
| 15 | Cola Boy | 7 Ways To Love |
| 16 | A House | Endless Art |
| 17 | Blab Happy | Down |
| 18 | Saint Etienne | Nothing Can Stop Us |
| 19 | Nirvana | In Bloom |
| 20 | Blur | Bang |
| 21 | Shamen | Move Any Mountain (Beat Edit) |
| 22 | Five Thirty | You |
| 23 | U2 | The Fly |
| 24 | Carter USM | Shoppers' Paradise |
| 25 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Kill Your Television |
| 26 | Saint Etienne | Only Love Can Break Your Heart |
| 27 | Billy Bragg | Sexuality |
| 28 | Thousand Yard Stare | Wonderment |
| 29 | Levellers | One Way |
| 30 | Throwing Muses | Counting Backwards |
| 31 | Blur | She's So High |
| 32 | Stare | Stare |
| 33 | Nirvana | Smells Like Teen Spirit |
| 34 | Kingmaker | Really Scrape The Sky |
| 35 | Senseless Things | Everybody's Gone |
| 36 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Grey Cell Green |
| 37 | Blur | Bad Day |
| 38 | Marc Almond | Jacky (7 Version) |
| 39 | Julian Cope | Beautiful Love |
| 40 | Nirvana | Come As You Are |
| 41 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Throwing Things |
| 42 | Julian Cope | Port of Saints |
| 43 | Senseless Things | Best Friend |
| 44 | Genesis | Jesus He Knows Me |
| 45 | Billy Bragg | Accident Waiting To Happen |
| 46 | Mexico 70 | Wonderful Lie |
| 47 | Genesis | No Son Of Mine |
| 48 | Real People | Window Pane |
| 49 | Smashing Pumpkins | Rhinoceros |
| 50 | New Fast Automatic Daffodils | All Over My Face |
| 51 | Kirsty MacColl | My Affair |
| 52 | Billy Bragg | Everywhere |
| 53 | Intastella | Century (7 Version) |
| 54 | Throwing Muses | Not Too Soon |
| 55 | Milltown Brothers | Which Way Should I Jump |
| 56 | Kingmaker | When Lucy's Down |
| 57 | Airhead | Funny How |
| 58 | Senseless Things | Got It At The Delmar |
| 59 | Airhead | Counting Sheep |
| 60 | A House | I Am Afraid |
| 61 | KLF | Last Train To Trancentral |
| 62 | A House | Take It Easy On Me |
| 63 | KLF | 3 A.M. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) |
| 64 | REM | Losing My Religion |
| 65 | KLF | America: What Time Is Love? |
| 66 | Billy Bragg | God's Footballer |
| 67 | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | Until You Find Out |
| 68 | Jesus Jones | International Bright Young Thing |
| 69 | Carter USM | Bedsitter |
| 70 | Billy Bragg | You Woke Up My Neighbourhood |
| 71 | Queen | Innuendo |
| 72 | Marc Almond | The Days Of Pearly Spencer |
| 73 | Billy Bragg | Body Of Water |
| 74 | Oceanic | Insanity |
| 75 | KLF | Justified And Ancient |
| 76 | Nomad | (I Wanna Give You) Devotion |
| 77 | Jesus Jones | Real, Real, Real |
| 78 | Marillion | Dry Land |
| 79 | Schroeder | Alice, Falling |
| 80 | Teenage Fanclub | What You Do To Me |
| 81 | Barenaked Ladies | Fight The Power |
| 82 | Kate Bush | Rocket Man |
| 83 | A House | Creatures Of Craze |
| 84 | New Fast Automatic Daffodils | Big (Edit) |
| 85 | Paris Angels | Perfume |
| 86 | Crowded House | Fall At Your Feet |
| Original chart - top tracks of 1991 | ||
| 1 | Carter USM | Bloodsport For All |
| 2 | Carter USM | After The Watershed (Early Learning The Hard Way) |
| 3 | Jellyfish | The King Is Half-Undressed |
| 4 | Shamen | Move Any Mountain (Beat Edit) |
| 5 | Nine Inch Nails | Sing |
| 6 | Mega City Four | Words That Say |
| 7 | Kate Bush | Rocket Man |
| 8 | Wonder Stuff | The Size of A Cow |
| 9 | A House | Endless Art |
| 10 | Billy Bragg | Sexuality |
| 11 | Jellyfish | Scary Go Round EP |
| 12 | Thousand Yard Stare | No Score After Extra Time |
| 13 | Crowded House | Fall At Your Feet |
| 14 | KLF | Last Train To Trancentral |
| 15 | Marillion | Dry Land |
| 16 | Nirvana | Smells Like Teen Spirit |
| 17 | REM | Losing My Religion |
| 18 | Genesis | No Son Of Mine |
| 19 | Saint Etienne | Only Love Can Break Your Heart |
| 20 | Queen | Innuendo |
| 21 | Kirsty MacColl | My Affair |
- Nine Inch Nails – Sin was actually released in 1989, so it’s not in my new 1991 chart
- Jellyfish - The King Is Half-Undressed was actually released in 1990, so it’s not in my new 1991 chart
- Weirdly I haven’t heard Kirsty MacColl - My Affair, in decades, and then TODAY (22 Dec 2024) I heard it while I was having lunch at Caffi’r Hen Siop in Dinas Mawddwy, Powys
| My favourite cover versions of 1991 | ||
| 1 | Wonder Stuff | Dizzy |
| 2 | Saint Etienne | Only Love Can Break Your Heart |
| 3 | Billy Bragg | Everywhere |
| 4 | Marc Almond | The Days Of Pearly Spencer |
| 5 | Carter USM | Alternate Title |
| 6 | Carter USM | Bedsitter |
| 7 | Barenaked Ladies | Fight The Power |
Tuesday 31 December 1991, 166 views
Next post: 1992 – my year in music Previous post: 1990 – my year in music
Blog index
- Josef Lada – A Fight In A Tavern (1943)
- ChatGPT not quite as indie as me
- Tjernobyl Dödar – Titta Bort
- The bands I’ve seen the most
- Got any grapes?
- Love Is All – The Beatles song that never was
- Dagelijkse Misère – new self-titled album
- As far as melon scratchers go, this is a honey doodle
- Like Father, Like Son
- Awst – Afallon
- Swearing in Welsh
- It’s the little details that count
- The Popes Of Chillitown – Crashmat
- Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish
- Ceefax – bringing rugger news to Orcney in 1972
- Frogpond – Talk To Me
- Catch – Bingo
- Is this a piece of your brain?
- Worker & Parasite – The Silent Majority
- Wunderhorse – Girl Behind The Glass
- dEUS – Must Have Been New
- Rogue Jones – Triongl Dyfed
- Parrot steals reporter’s earphone live on air
- Whatever happened to …?
- Vero – Heather
- Best of Twitter – September
- Thousand Yard Stare – Espirit du Corps
- Adwaith – Eto (live at Maes B)
- Jesus Jones: master criminals
- Snow Coats – Anyway
- Salad – Plank
- Sink – Drainpipe Jane
- Looks legit
- Iskaa and the Red Cars – Desire
- The cost of electric living
- Okay, this made me laugh
- Beabadoobee – Here’s Where The Story Ends
- The Tudors, Football Manager and 25% for moving a chair
- Three wishes
- Is this burning an eternal flame?
- New Gorillaz, New Beck
- On the scoresheet at last
- The Otford Solar System
- Steve Davis’s Spitting Image Puppet
- The Machiguenga Experiment
- 2015 – my year in music
- 2014 – my year in music
- 2013 – my year in music
- The amazing paper drop …
- 2012 – my year in music
- Barcelona v Getafe
- Greensted church
- 2011 – my year in music
- My day out at Nene Park
- 2010 – my year in music
- XFM’s “greatest” 100 songs ever
- 2009 – my year in music
- The most played songs of the noughties …
- 2008 – my year in music
- RIP Nick Sanderson
- 2007 – my year in music
- 2006 – my year in music
- Sultans of Ping FC – 2006 interview
- 2005 – my year in music
- The Others – 2005 interview
- 2004 – my year in music
- 2003 – my year in music
- 2002 – my year in music
- 2001 – my year in music
- 2000 – my year in music
- 1999 – my year in music
- Abdoujaparov – 1999 interview
- 1998 – my year in music
- 1997 – my year in music
- 1996 – my year in music
- Frank and Walters – 1996 interview
- 1995 – my year in music
- 1994 – my year in music
- 1993 – my year in music
- 1992 – my year in music
- 1991 – my year in music
- 1990 – my year in music
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