Flexing My ’90s Musical Knowledge With Some Old Friends

Weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., my '90s musical knowledge is on display here at ROCK 92.9. Recently, I took my talents down the hall.

It was Sunday night, and my phone was ringing. An incoming call from Fred Toucher, morning host at our sister station 98.5 the Sports Hub. His new co-host, Hardy, had come up with a bit for Monday's mornings show, and they wanted me to join them in studio to play along. And who am I to say no? We three are old coworkers and have stayed good friends over the years.

The common thread, of course, is WBCN. I debuted on the Rock of Boston in 2003 to host middays. Two years later, Hardy joined the station as afternoon host. And in 2006, Fred came to BCN as part of the Toucher & Rich Show. And there are other tie-ins: Toucher & Hardy Producer Dan O'Brien was WBCN's Music Director and night host. And Nick Gemelli from the show got his start on BCN, too.

So here we all were together (with Jon Wallach in the mix, too), a bunch of BCN expats. Hardy had seen my piece on alt rock albums from 1994 that turn 30 this year and decided to put a twist on it. He gave Dan O'Brien Billboard's Alternative Rock Top 100 from 1994 and had Dan pull a bunch of songs from it. The catch? These weren't the big Green Day, Soundgarden, and Beck hits from that year.

These were the songs that you either had to be working in alt rock radio at the time--or listening to alt rock radio--to know. Hardy was working at 92.1 The Edge in Lansing. I was still in high school, listening to WFNX and WBCN on the regular. And Fred? Well, let's just say he was the underdog for this bit. Listen here to hear how many alt rock "hits" from 1994 we were able to name. Clip starts around 30:00.

We're looking back at the best rock albums from 1994, as they all celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2024.

My apologies in advance to those of you of a certain age who now have to come to terms with the fact that, yes, 1994 was 30 years ago. I am with you in your anger. As I was compiling this list of albums, I was reflecting on the fact that they all released when I was a junior and senior in high school. Yikes. I guess that means my 30th high school reunion is happening next year. I absolutely will not attend.

This does, however, put me in a position of authority to speak on this particular slate of releases. By sheer dumb luck of birth, I came of age during the musical maelstrom that was the '90s. These were the soundtrack to some of the most memorable of my formative years. I lived these albums and lived with these albums. And I can safely say that they were all touchstones in the popular culture of the time.

A bit on language first. We're talking "rock" here, which is a vague term, but also specific. "Rock" in 1994 was mostly alternative rock, and that's what you'll find on the list below. Without that adjective, we'd be combing through a list of 100+ releases from '94 spanning rock, hip hop, dance, pop, and a variety of other genres. The year was musically fertile, as was the decade. But let's stick to rock.

Inevitably, I will have left some of your favorite releases off my list. Apologies; I can't catch them all. Just vote for your favorite from my list and hit up the ROCK 92.9 Facebook or Instagram and pop off in the comments with the albums that I missed. Maybe I'll make another list. Oh, and thanks to Erica Banas for this list, which I used as a jumping off point. Now, it's back to '94 we go...

Released on January 25, 1994. Alice In Chains builds an acoustic masterpiece on the foundation of their Sap EP.

Released on May 31, 1994. To think that the Beasties followed up Check Your Head with an album of equal massiveness makes the head spin.

Released on March 1, 1994. "Loser" might be a better '90s alt rock anthem than "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Released on February 1, 1994. The album that made Green Day a household name.

Released on April 12, 1994. The band's sophomore album and Courtney Love's musical coming-out moment.

Released on March 8, 1994. Contains the famous cover of the Johnny Cash song "Hurt" (kidding).

Released on November 1, 1994. Recorded on November 18, 1993. Legendary.

Released on August 29, 1994. The first Oasis album; the best Oasis album.

Released on April 8, 1994. Not their debut, but the band's third studio album. This is the one that broke 'em.

Released on November 22, 1994. Pearl Jam's third album in just over three years.

Released on March 8, 1994. Soundgarden's breakthrough album.

Released on June 7, 1994. No sophomore slump here; STP proved they were here to stay with their Core follow up.

Released on November 1, 1994. It took Petty a few years to follow up his solo debut, but it was worth the wait.

Released on May 10, 1994. Yes, it's their self-titled debut. But it's the Blue Album. And we love it.