The 60 best records of 1996, according to Consequence

Masterpieces turning thirty. The magazine Consequence has published a ranking of what it considers the 60 best albums of 1996. Recalling the state of the music industry at the time, which "was going through one of its most vital moments, buoyed by the creative explosions of indie rock, hip-hop and heavy metal, and by the growth of an independent label circuit now capable of steadily reaching a mass audience. There were more major-label deals for artists trying to push past the boundaries of their genres, more independent scenes able to carve out their own space, and, above all, an enormous amount of choice for listeners. For one brief moment, the record industry even seemed to be in rude health". It was a year in which, Consequence notes, wildly different worlds could coexist: "The metal of Tool, Rage Against The Machine and Opeth; a hip-hop scene by then broad enough to include 2Pac, The Roots, Kool Keith, DJ Shadow and newcomer Jay-Z; the new indie wave of Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel and Sleater-Kinney; britpop; and the explosion of electronic music".
Thirty years on, what's most striking is just how many 1996 albums have stood the test of time: records now celebrating their thirtieth anniversary that have, in many cases, become classics, genre touchstones or genuine cult favorites.

So here is the ranking of the 60 best albums of 1996, according to Consequence (full feature here).

60. Mazzy Star – Among My Swan
59. Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill
58. Gillian Welch – Revival
57. Underworld – Second Toughest in the Infants
56. Polvo – Exploded Drawing
55. Opeth – Morningrise
54. Heatmiser – Mic City Sons
53. Dirty Three – Horse Stories
52. Eyehategod – Dopesick
51. Texas Is the Reason – Do You Know Who You Are?
50. The Cardigans – First Band on the Moon
49. Current 93 – All the Pretty Little Horses
48. Foxy Brown – Ill Na Na
47. Stone Temple Pilots – Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
46. Tori Amos – Boys for Pele
45. Cake – Fashion Nugget
44. Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
43. Failure – Fantastic Planet
42. Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die
41. Converge – Petitioning the Empty Sky
40. Wilco – Being There
39. Unwound – Repetition
38. Maxwell – Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite
37. Neurosis – Through Silver in Blood
36. Brainiac – Hissing Prigs in Static Couture
35. The Roots – Illadelph Halflife
34. Acid Bath – Paegan Terrorism Tactics
33. R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi-Fi
32. Nas – It Was Written
31. Cat Power – What Would The Community Think
30. Low – The Curtain Hits the Cast
29. Alice in Chains – Unplugged
28. Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup
27. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads
26. Sleater-Kinney – Call the Doctor
25. Aphex Twin – Richard D. James Album
24. Sepultura – Roots
23. Ghostface Killah – Ironman
22. Modest Mouse – This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
21. Lush – Lovelife
20. Sublime – Sublime
19. Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island
18. Silver Jews – The Natural Bridge
17. Weezer – Pinkerton
16. Aaliyah – One in a Million
15. Kool Keith – Dr. Octagonecologyst
14. Fishmans – Long Season
13. 2Pac – All Eyez on Me
12. The Olivia Tremor Control – Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle
11. Misfits – Static Age
10. Swans – Soundtracks for the Blind
9. “Weird Al” Yankovic – Bad Hair Day
8. Fiona Apple – Tidal
7. Fugees – The Score
6. Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire
5. Beck – Odelay
4. Tool – Ænima
3. OutKast – ATLiens
2. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing…..
1. JAY-Z – Reasonable Doubt

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