10 Perfect Rock Albums Of The 1990s

Looking back on the early sounds of '90s alt rock, there's a part of it that is super dated in some respects. Even though there are some gems to be sure, you can look at some of the early grunge songs and pretty much pinpoint the exact year that they were released. That might apply to Green Day's Dookie as well, but the youthful aggression has not diminished in the slightest over the years.

Along with being the soundtrack to most punk kids lives in the '90s, the power behind these songs still hits like a battering ram today. Part of the reason why it hasn't gone away though is that the new school hasn't forgotten this record, with Basket Case and Longview being the reason why acts like Sum 41 and Blink 182 came into existence. The songwriting is also terrific, almost like Billie Joe Armstrong was trying to write an all time classic pop song with every single track.

Above all else, this was the album that made us get over ourselves a little bit. Since the rest of the alternative kids were moping all day, we needed something that would take the edge off, and this is exactly the kind of album that did the trick. While it might be fun to be brooding every now and again, there's no shame in not taking yourself all that seriously. Hell, that's the entire reason why this album works so well. There's no fluff...it's just a damn good time.