To celebrate our 30th anniversary and all the great music that made the past three decades special, MAGNET contributors past and present chose their 30 favorite albums released between 1993 and 2022. The only rules were that each record has to be a full-length and that no artist could be represented more than once in the same incarnation. We’re posting these lists throughout the rest of the year.
Jacob Paul Nielsen, contributing writer
1) Tom Waits Mule Variations (Anti-), 1999
2) Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Clean Slate/Epic), 2020
3) Modest Mouse The Lonesome Crowded West (Up), 1997
4) Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (Virgin), 1993
5) Parquet Courts Wide Awake! (Rough Trade), 2018
6) Godspeed You Black Emperor! F# A# ∞ (Constellation/Kranky), 1997
7) Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool (XL), 2016
8) Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop), 2008
9) Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires Of The City (XL), 2013
10) Angel Olsen My Woman (Jagjaguwar), 2016
11) Guided By Voices Alien Lanes (Matador), 1995
12) Melvins Houdini (Atlantic), 1993
13) Soundgarden Superunknown (A&M), 1994
14) Madvillain Madvillainy (Stones Throw), 2004
15) The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Warner Bros.), 2002
16) Metallica Load (Elektra), 1996
17) Wilco A Ghost Is Born (Nonesuch), 2004
18) Interpol Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador), 2002
19) Broken Social Scene You Forgot It In People (Arts & Crafts), 2002
20) The Black Keys The Big Come Up (Alive), 2002
21) Explosions In The Sky The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (Temporary Residence), 2003
22) Arcade Fire Funeral (Merge), 2004
23) Wolf Parade Apologies To The Queen Mary (Sub Pop), 2005
24) LCD Soundsystem American Dream (DFA/Columbia), 2017
25) The White Stripes Elephant (Third Man/V2), 2003
26) Animal Collective Feels (FatCat), 2005
27) System Of A Down Toxicity (American), 2001
28) Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats Blood Lust (Rise Above), 2011
29) Beach House Bloom (Sub Pop), 2012
30) Kevin Morby Oh My God (Dead Oceans), 2019
