31. Debut - Bjork 1993
It could be said that there probably isn't an artist in this entire list that polarizes opinion more than Icelandic songstress, Bjork. Whilst some see her innovative, quirky and hugely emotionally connected to her music, others, see her as annoying, nonsensical and, just downright weird! One thing is for sure though, and that is that she created some of the most memorable tracks of the 90's, a good few of these were on her revered album, 'Debut'. After growing up singing in Punk bands in her native, Iceland, she then joined oddballs, The Sugacubes, enjoying some cult success in Indie circles before striking out in her own right. Like so much that was going on at the time, the songs on 'Debut', were not all of one style, but, for the most part, fall under House music category, with elements of Trip-Hop and Jazz blended in for more originality. A large percentage of the songs were written years before they were recorded, but she shelved them due to her being involved in projects that weren't musically compatible. When the Sugacubes called it a day, she moved to London, to be with boyfriend, Dominic Thrupp, about whom, many of these songs were written. Thrupp introduced her to producer, Nellee Hooper, whose resume included Soul II Soul, Sinead O' Connor and Massive Attack, and the two struck a partnership that made 'Debut' take shape. The songs range from creepy ('Human Behavior') to delicate ('Venus as a Boy') and, even euphoric ('Big Time Sensuality'). A more Trip - Hop styled number, similar sounding to the likes of The Sneaker Pimps, Morcheeba or Portishead, 'Come to Me', showcases the singers voice at it's most conventional, yet incredibly gorgeous. The album definitely left listeners wanting more and it is seen by many as one of those albums you listen to again, straight afterwards. Funnily enough, Bjork herself, quite quickly afterwards, said that she felt the album was more of a rehearsal and that she 'can do a lot better.' She added that it is 'really not that good.' In the years following, she feels her later work is of a much higher quality. Perhaps the success of 'Debut', which spawned 5 singles, three of which all broke into the UK top 20, was down to the fact that it was "right place, right time." Whatever it was, Bjork attracted a varied fan base of both males and females and has gone on to shift over 4 and a half million copies. It even went platinum in the US, which meant that she had officially, "broken America", which so many other artists from overseas had never managed to achieve. Lets face it, even if the album itself wasn't any good, the album cover photo itself, of the singer, is an iconic image from the 90's.