1991: Greatest Year In Music History (?)

I'm starting to think that 1991 was one of the greatest years in music history. Here's the evidence, your honor:

"Alive" Pearl Jam from the album Ten...which inevitably spawned the song "My Baby's In Love With Eddie Vedder."






"Steady Mobbin'" Ice Cube from the album Death Certificate...featuring the phrase some men live by to this day: "Life ain't nuthin' but Money & Fuck-a-Bitch"






"Remember The Time" Michael Jackson from Dangerous. Do you remember the time...when this video had the best special effects ever? I can do that stuff on my home PC now. For me, this was MJ's last really truly great song. Thank you Teddy Riley.






"Shut 'Em Down" Public Enemy from Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Back. Youth around the world continue to use this song, and other PE classics, as their rallying cry.






"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana from Nevermind. I think it was my art classmate Spencer who incredulously asked me "You haven't HEARD it yet?!" I think it was Spencer. I have to find him and thank him. That first chord hit me like a Macho Man diving elbow drop. Had to sneak that in there (R.I.P. Randy Mario Poffo).






"The Choice Is Yours" Black Sheep from A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. You might think that being the first rap group to appear on Tonight Show with Jay Leno would this be duos greatest TV moment. Nope. It's having this song featured in a commercial for the 2010 Kia Soul. Nothing says South Korean Compact Car quality like a hip-hop song by 2 dudes from Queens.






"Give It Away" Red Hot Chili Peppers from BloodSugarSexMagik. P-FunkPunkRock at it's highest form. I figure if I practice really hard, I can be group member number 15.






"Mysterious Ways" U2 from Achtung Baby. There are many who insist this is U2's best album to date. I have a fondness for Rattle & Hum. Still, the song One continues to get played to this day, inexplicably, at weddings. Great example of people not paying attention to lyrics.






"Enter Sandman" Metallica from Metallica (The Black Album). I'm seeing a theme here: So far 1991 is featuring the best of all of these groups albums. None more so than Metallica. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks any of their albums after Black were even remotely close in quality...and given how subjective musical opinion is, that's impressive. Or not so impressive.






"Brenda's Got a Baby" 2Pac from 2Pacalypse Now. 2Pac's debut album alone would make a good argument for this being a good year. Dan Quayle was quoted as saying "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." There's no better endorsement than that.






"Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" Primus from Sailing the Seas of Cheese. This performance is from '94 but the song is from '91. And they rocked the crowd better than almost anyone at Woodstock. Seriously, if you're not buying into the '91 concept by now, you just aren't a music fan. Or you're a 12-year-old Bieberite.






"How I Could Just Kill A Man" Cypress Hill from Cypress Hill. Holy. Shite. The debut album of Cypress Hill and 2Pac. In one year. Righteous.







"Losing My Religion" REM from Out Of Time. AANnnnnddd the clincher!





Unfortunately this was also the year we lost Eric Carr and Freddie Mercury. On the same day. Another tragedy included Amy Grant's Baby Baby reaching #1 on the charts.