1. Depeche Mode - Ultra (1997)

Depeche Mode matured gradually and progressively from their early 80’s teenage pop beginnings before paving the way for their best period of songwriting which included the popular ‘Violator’, the more menacing ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’ and the stylish ‘Ultra’. There is something more mature, varied and interesting about ‘Ultra’, with a greater use of guitar rifts and even an uplifting orchestral arrangement. The singles ‘Barrel Of A Gun’ and ‘Its No Good’ are elaborate, edgy and almost gothic in style, but alongside this are the orchestral strings of ‘Home’, the softer sung ‘Sister Of Night’ and the almost country style of ‘Freestate’.

2. Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith & Devotion (1993)

‘Songs of Faith & Devotion’ was the follow up to the critically acclaimed ‘Violator’, and a is a powerful album as ‘I Feel You’ and ‘Walking In My Shoes’ blast out a dramatic opening. Martin Gore not only upped the aggression here using Gahan’s vocals, but he also added more use of variable sounds and effects to increase the depth of tracks. The track ’Judas’ is an amazing piece of work where the track lingers on after the vocals into a further two minutes of music with an Indian undercurrent that carries you away. Lyrically this is one of their best, offering spiritual insight and questions about faith and religion.

3. Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)

Depeche Mode became a worldwide sensation with the release of ‘Violator’ in 1990, a significant step above anything else they had produced before, and acknowledged in the industry as an all time great electronic album. With strong baselines, a more dance orientated feel underlines much of this album. ‘World in my Eyes’, ‘Halo’ and ‘Policy of Truth’ are very upbeat, but in between these are slower and more intricate laid back tracks of ‘Sweetest Perfection’ and ‘Waiting for the Night’. The two most recognisable singles are ‘Personal Jesus’ and the immense ‘Enjoy the Silence’ with the orchestral ‘Clean’ an outstanding end to the composition.

4. Simple Minds - Good News From The Next World (1995)

Simple Minds were, alongside U2, one of the great stadium rock bands to produce excellent albums during the 80’s and then continue on into the 90’s. The best albums from Simple Minds include the 80’s releases ‘New Gold Dream’, ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’, plus this album as their return to top form a decade later in 1995. Fronted by Jim Kerr, this is a distinctive up tempo rock album throughout its 9 great tracks, and is musically strong with deep driving basslines, overlaid guitars and synth keyboards. Despite a few releases since, this was their last great album release and is indeed one of their best ever.

5. Jeff Buckley - Grace (1991)

Jeff Buckley was blessed with one of the most beautiful voices ever heard in the world of music, blending melancholy and sadness with uplifting spirituality. The album ‘Grace’ is also enriched by the wonderful songs and arrangements that Jeff used to showcase his unique voice, songs full of love and regret, loss and salvation. It is hard to put into words the deep emotional connection this album can bring to the listener. Musically this is such a treat with superb guitars and vocals from the angelic ‘Hallelujah’ to the outright rocker ‘Eternal Life’. Every track here is simply superb.

6. Air - Moon Safari (1998)

Air is the debut album from the french duo who have produced a number of downtempo ambient albums over the years, but this one still stands out as their best one. This is one of the ultimate chill-out albums, sit back and relax and enjoy the musical ride which contains recognisable tracks such as ‘La Femme D’Argent’, ‘Sexy Boy’, and ‘Kelly Watch The Stars’ and has become a classic album of its genre. This was a great return to the electronic moog sound but is also blended with themes of Jazz and orchestral strings. They never quite matched this album again although the 2007 ‘Pocket Symphony’ is worth a listen.  

7. Erasure - Chorus (1991)

Whilst adding Erasure to the top lists comes with a slight concern, this release has a much more mature and dance synth sound to it than their former more mainstream outright pop albums. These tracks blend together well and have a slightly darker feel overall to them which works to their benefit, just as Depeche Mode created their best material once they became more menacing. This album moved away from a pop singles mentality into using Vince Clarke’s songwriting talents to create layered electronic landscapes but still containing great melodies. This is a great electronic album.

8. Pet Shop Boys - Behaviour (1991)

This was the 4th album release from the Pet Shop Boys following up the more pop orientated ‘Actually’ and ‘Please’ with a more mature and atmospheric laid back sound in ‘Behaviour’. This album is much more rhythimical and melodic, with orchestral styles and synth chords backdropping the softer tracks in excellent fashion. It was their most musical and their best release, albeit less of a singles orientated move as a composition it works so well. Stand out tracks include ‘Being Boring’, and ‘Nervously’, but this is best listened through from start to finish.

9. George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice (1990)

At the turn of the decade the pop meastro turned away from his chart pop style to create a much more adult and ultimately smooth album. This is a more laid back affair, with great vocals full of emotion and with super musical songwriting. The upbeat track ‘Freedom 90’ was a clear solid single release, but the rest of the album is much more sombre from ‘Waiting For The Day’, ‘Mothers Pride’ to the excellent 7 minutes of ‘Cowboys And Angels’. This has a mix of soul and smooth jazz edge to it and represents his best period of songwriting although due to contractual issues his next release came another 6 years later.

10. Everything But The Girl - Amplified Heart (1994)

This album was made famous by the dance remix of the hit single ‘Missing’ but in fact this is a very acoustic and band orientated set of tracks, mixing a touch of a jazz feel with synths, double bass and strings. The effect is to create a fabulous chill out album with emotionally charged lyrics. There is a lovely atmosphere created which makes it stand out and Tracey Thorn’s vocals are beautiful and switch between warm and melancholy in their approach. I returned to this album following the release of Tracey’s solo album ‘Out Of The Woods’ which is also certainly worth a listen.

11. Orchestral Manoevers In The Dark - Sugar Tax (1991)

Orchestral Manoevers In The Dark returned to the charts with the album ‘Sugar Tax’ which was opened by the single ‘ Sailing On The Seven Seas’ and followed up by the release of ‘Pandora’s Box’. By this time Paul Humphreys had left the band and so Andy McCluskey recruited some new musicians to the group to help him. This album features a host of great pop songs alongside the singles including the more melancholy ‘Then You Turn Away’ and the bouncey ‘Walking On Air’. A tribute to Kraftwerk features via a nice cover of ‘Neon Lights’. All in all this was a great comback and remains one of their stronger albums. 

12. Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow (1996)

Her follow up album to her debut release ‘Tuesday Night Music Club’ was a huge success chock full of hits from ‘Every Day Is A Winding Road’, to ‘A Change Would Do You Good’, ‘If It Makes You Happy’ and the more acoustic ‘Home’. This is a rock album with layered vocals, great music and moody lyrics. There are 14 songs on this album, which is generally mid tempo in its approach and with no tracks here coming across as fillers. It is a bit of a grower and needs a few listens to make it a favourite, but it is one i tend to return to and stands up well with familirity. I feel it was her best release.

13. Madonna - Ray Of Light (1998)

The lady who keeps re-inventing herself scored a massive hit, amongst many, with ‘Ray Of Light’. A departure from her more more sexual period in ‘Erotica’ she teamed up with ‘William Orbit’ to blend a more dance electronic beat bringing the cracks and bleeps effects alongside some very melodic tunes. The star of the album is the orchestral ‘Frozen’ which remains one of her best songs, but there are many great tracks here that are sensual, laid back and smooth alongside the uptempo title track. This is my favourite Madonna album beating ‘Erotica’, ‘Music’ and ‘Like A Prayer’.

14. U2 - Achtung Baby (1991)

A great U2 album, and whilst my own favourite releases lie in the 80’s from ‘War’ through to ‘Rattle And Hum’, this album contains a host of great tracks from ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’, through the softer build up track ‘One’ and ‘Until The End Of The World’ and the faster tempo of ‘The Fly’ that it matched up to their earlier releases as one of the better albums from this decade. Despite some decent attempts, sadly no subsequent album releases from the band have come close to the earlier golden era for U2 but this album contains a host of great songs to keep you happy.

15. Alanis Morisette - Jagged Little Pill (1995)

One of the biggest selling and standout albums of the 90’s, ‘Jagged Little Pill’ was the third and breakthrough album for this Canadian singer songwriter. It contained 5 massive hits ‘You Oughta Know’, ‘Ironic’, ‘You Learn’, ‘Hand In My Pocket’ and ‘Head Over Feet’ and was a massive commercial success. Alanis Morissette creates pictures and stories through her lyrics and brings hard emotion into play, seemingly angry a lot of the time. You will often feel drawn into the songs, which move from hard rock to more acoustic styles. In 2005 an acoustic version of ‘Jagged Little Pill’ was also released.