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1992 Images
Following the historic rock year of 1991, the following year of 1992 may have been a bit of a letdown. Still, there were some solid albums released this year, among which some were quite original and interesting. Despite “grunge” reaching its absolute zenith of popularity, we chose Neil Young‘s retro-sounding Harvest Moon as our album of the year.

We featured albums from the year 1988 during July and August 2013. During this 25th anniversary celebration of this music, we have originally reviewed these albums:

*1992 Album of the Year

Below are further descriptions of each album, in the order that we reviewed them.

May 5, 2012
Core by Stone Temple Pilots When Core was released in September of 1992, this debut by Stone Temple Pilots received mixed to negative reviews. But the very fact that so many of the songs on this album have held up over the past two decades is testament to the quality of its material.

Review of Core

May 9, 2012
Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos Tori Amos released her debut album Little Earthquakes in 1992. The album shattered many long-held conventions in the popular music industry, with its raw honesty, experimental motifs, and several unique arrangements, and launched a career for Amos where she would sell millions of albums.

Review of Little Earthquakes

May 16, 2012
Automatic For the People by REMAlthough R.E.M. set out with the original intent to record a more “upbeat” album, they soon turned further away from the lighter, sweeter pop of previous albums with Automatic For the People. The result is a very much musically subdued effort which deals with issues of mortality.

Review of Automatic For the People

May 21, 2012
Amused to Death by Roger Waters For his most recent studio album Amused to Death in 1992, former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters composed yet another musically superb and complex concept album, albeit a bit confused and dated lyrically.

Review of Amused to Death

May 26, 2012
Southern Harmony and Musical Companion by The Black CrowesWith the follow-up to their blockbuster 1990 debut, The Black Crowes took a more rootsy and soulful approach with The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. While not quite as strong as their first album, the band showed signs of forging a definitive sound on this album.

Review of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion

May 31, 2012
New Miserable Experience by Gin BlossomsAs the band’s major label debut consisting of lean and jangly pop music, New Miserable Experience was released during the heyday of the grunge music movement and was the peak of Gin Blossoms‘s short-lived fame in the 1990s.

Review of New Miserable Experience

June 4, 2012
Images and Words by Dream TheaterThe second studio album by Dream Theater, was the first in a series of top-notch releases that continue to this day. Images and Words is considered one of the most influential albums ever for the genre of progessive metal.

Review of Images and Words

June 13, 2012
Blind Melon 1992 debutLike many rock band’s Blind Melon‘s turn at fame was meteoric and cut short tragically. Their 1992 debut album Blind Melon brought them international fame and infinate promise, which was cut short three years later when lead singer Shannon Hoon died of a drug overdose.

Review of Blind Melon

June 17, 2012
Grave Dancer's Union by Soul AsylumOne of the hardest working bands of the late 1980s, Soul Asylum finally broke though in 1992 with Grave Dancers Union, their sixth overall album. Made up of well-composed three and four minute songs, the album would go on to the masterpiece of the band’s three decade career.

Review of Grave Dancer’s Union

June 21, 2012
Dirt by Alice In ChainsAlice In Chains bridged the gap between the “traditional” heavy metal and the new, alternative inspired “fusion” metals which began to proliferate in the 1990s. With their second album, Dirt, they really came of age artistically but the bleak subject matter was a dark omen for the band.

Review of Dirt

June 25, 2012
Harvest Moon by Neil Young, 1992 Album of the Year
Harvest Moon by Neil Young may have sounded like something that should have been made 20 years earlier, but 20 years later, it holds up as well as anything from 1992. So it is that we chose this restrained, Nashville-produced, Americana classic over anything that came out of Seattle that year.

Review of Harvest Moon

March 31, 2022
Bruce Springsteen 1992 albumsAfter nearly half and without his full backing band for the first time in his storied career, Bruce Springsteen released two distinct albums, on the same day in 1992. Human Touch & Lucky Town were recorded sequentially and each had differing musical approaches and production styles.

Review of Human Touch & Lucky Town

November 20, 2022
Diamonds In the Coal by The BadleesAt a time when many in the rock world were in the process of re-imaging from the slick 80’s hair band to the grungy 90s alternative, a young Pennsylvania band called The Badlees was forging their own path with a sound called “roots rock” with their first full length album, Diamonds In the Coal.

Review of Diamonds In the Coal

Final 1992 Poll Results
Q: What is the best album of 1992?

1 Harvest Moon by Neil Young 51.6%
2 Dirt by Alice In Chains 16.1%
3 Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos 12.9%
4 Diamonds In the Coal by The Badlees 9.7%
4 Core by Stone Temple Pilots 9.7%

Conducted on our site, May-June, 2012

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