10. Pavement - Slanted And Enchanted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkPBt3fDQKU Pavement's glorious debut album Slanted and Enchanted is full of Stephen Malkmus' slacker musings, mumbled and screamed over fuzzed, stoner guitar and machine-gun drumming. Slanted may have been rough around the edges, the sound of a loose band discovering their style and technique, but it was this roughness that endeared to so many. A treasured album, Slanted has inspired a generation of indie rockers from Modest Mouse to Parquet Courts. 9. Radiohead - The Bends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXyrCRd1ikw The Bends was the sound of a band about to take off, one foot on the ground and the other foot halfway to the moon. It was the stopgap between the emotive art punk of "Pablo Honey" and the experimentalism of "OK Computer." A brilliant blend of firey rockers and depressing folk ballads all painted over by the psychedelic brushes of Radiohead's brilliant guitar tandem of Johnny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien. Noises echo and swirl around Thom Yorke's distinct voice as he sings with burning passion, all backed by as creative a rhythm section as you may ever hear. 8. Nirvana - In Utero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb71GyLkGYc On the follow up to the massively popular Nevermind, Cobain attempted to distance himself from his newfound stardom with dissonance and discordance, yet failed miserably. Considered a huge success both commercially and critically, In Utero succeeded despite his efforts. Grating noises rip through half the songs, sometimes even rambling with no obvious direction, yet Kurt's songs are as brilliant as ever. From the furious noise of "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" to the string laden hum of "Dumb" this album is fantastically artistic. Nirvana's finest moments come when the band falls back on their dynamic tensions, the loud/quiet/loud styling that made them so popular in the first place, on tracks like "Rape Me" and the brilliant if not disturbing, "Pennyroyal Tea." 7. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVj-fc1M_D0 Built around cascading guitars, Loveless combines post punk and experimental shoegaze into a beautifully aggressive sonic assault. Bilinda Butcher's angelic voice floats in and out of the storm, at times almost unnoticeable, buried beneath waves of feedback. Almost indistinguishable are the words she utters, making her voice more of an instrument than anything else, and it blends brilliantly with Kevin Shields thunder-and-lightning wall of sound. 6. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GqGNmcjWDY On Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Pavement take the stoner fuzz of Slanted and Enchanted and paint over it with a glossy shine. The noise of their debut is still their, but the band branches out in new directions. Tracks like "Fillmore Jive," which quickly bounces from whispered vocals to squealing guitars wouldn't have sounded out of place on their first CD, where some new styles like the country folk of "Range Life" and the pop rock of "Cut Your Hair" are a brilliant addition to Pavement's sound.