For the last two 12-Inch Polls, I’ve flashed back to 1993 and 1983. This time around, I’m asking: what’s the greatest rock album from 1998?
I have the ’90s on the brain today, as it’s the 8th of March. And on this day in 1994, two of the most important rock albums of the ’90s dropped: The Downward Spiral from Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden‘s Superunknown. I wrote about that magical day in rock history here. And while it would be tempting to toss those into a poll with a bunch of other releases from the Class of ’94, I’ll hold off on that until the big 30th anniversary next year.
Instead, we’ll just move a few years forward in time, while still moving back in time, to 1998. 1998 is now 25 years ago. Which means that all these albums right here turn 25 this year. And that means all those milestones and memories those songs soundtracked for you? Those are all 25, too.
For me, 1998 was my third year at Northeastern University. And it was my first full year as a part-time DJ at the late, legendary Boston alternative station WFNX. So while I’m a fan of a lot of the songs and albums in this week’s Poll, I also played a lot of them on the radio. Which is wild, right? You might have even heard me play them!
What’s the Greatest Rock Album from 1998?
That list I shared above is 22 albums long, so I whittled it down to what I believe to be the best xx rock albums to release in 1998. Refresh your memory with a track from each below, then vote for your favorite. As always, you can hit the ROCK 92.9 Facebook page or yell at me on Twitter to call me a bastard for leaving your favorite album off the list of 1998’s greats.
Beastie Boys ‘Hello Nasty’
Released on July 14, 1998
Beck ‘Mutations’
Released on November 3, 1998
Dropkick Murphys ‘Do Or Die’
Released on January 27, 1998
Garbage ‘Version 2.0’
Released on May 11, 1998
Hole 'Celebrity Skin'
Released on September 8, 1998
Korn ‘Follow The Leader’
Released on August 18, 1998
Lenny Kravitz ‘5’
Released on May 12, 1998
The Offspring ‘Americana’
Released on November 17, 1998
Pearl Jam 'Yield'
Released on February 3, 1998
Queens Of The Stone Age ‘Queens Of The Stone Age’
Released on September 22, 1998
Rob Zombie ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’
Released on August 25, 1998
Smashing Pumpkins ‘Adore’
Released on June 2, 1998
System Of A Down ‘System Of A Down’
Released on June 30, 1998
