1990, 1990 in music
- American Music Club - United Kingdom 18
- Ani DiFranco - Ani DiFranco 2
- Cop Shoot Cop - Consumer Revolt 18
- Daniel Johnston - 1990 18
- Ed Hall - Love Poke Here 18
- Fugazi - 13 Songs 13, 15
- Fugazi - Repeater 18
- Godflesh - Streetcleaner 18
- Helmet - Born Annoying 11
- Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual 18
- King's X - Faith Hope Love CCM magazine's 20 greatest rock albums
- The La's - The La's 2
- Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend 2
- Nick Cave - The Good Son 18
- Ozric Tentacles - Erpland 18
- Ozric Tentacles - Pungent Effulgent 18
- Pixies - Bossanova 3
- Primus - Suck on This 18
- Robin Holcomb - Robin Holcomb 18
- Royal Trux - Twin Infinitives 18, 19
- Sinead O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got 2, Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Sun City Girls - Torch of the Mystics 18
- Third Ear Band - Third Ear Band 18
- Ashley Cleveland - Big Town CCM magazine's 20 greatest rock albums
- Bryan Adams - Waking Up the Neighbours 23
- Dogbowl - Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain 18
- The Jesus Lizard - Goat 18
- Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam 18
- Metallica - Metallica 15
- My Bloody Valentine - Loveless NME 100 greatest albums of all time1, 13, 14, 16, 18
- Nirvana - Nevermind 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17, 18, VH1's 100 greatest albums
- Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted 1, 13, 15
- Pearl Jam - Ten 14, 17, VH1's 100 greatest albums
- Pegboy - Strong Reaction 18
- Primal Scream - Screamadelica NME 100 greatest albums of all time 14
- Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese 18
- Ryan Adams - Gold 2
- Slint - Spiderland 18
- The Swans - White Light from the Mouth of Infinity 18
- Talk Talk - Laughing Stock 14
- Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque 1, 5
- Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes 2
- U2 - Achtung Baby 5, 8, 17, 23, VH1's 100 greatest albums
- Unsane - Unsane 18
- Babes in Toyland - Fontanelle 18
- The Connels - Boylan Heights 1
- Dadamah - This Is Not a Dream 18
- Henry Rollins - The End of Silence 18
- Indigo Girls - Rites of Passage 2
- Jarboe - Thirteen Masks 18
- The Jesus Lizard - Head/Pure 11
- The Jesus Lizard - Liar 11
- Juliana Hatfield - Hey Babe 18
- Kingston Wall - I 22
- Kramer - The Guilt Trip 18
- Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun 18
- Lyle Lovett - Joshua, Judges and Ruth 2
- Morphine - Good 18
- Nation of Ulysses - Plays Pretty for Baby 18
- The Orb - U.F.Orb 18
- Orbital - Orbital 2 18
- Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power 15
- Patty Griffith - Living With Ghosts 2
- Paul Schutze - New Maps of Hell 18
- Phish - A Picture of Nectar 18
- Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine 2, 11
- Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill 18
- R.E.M - Automatic for the People 8, 23
- R.E.M - Out of Time 2
- Roger Waters - Amused to Death 16
- Shinjuku Thief - Bloody Tourist 18
- Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies 14
- Steve Roach - World's Edge 18
- Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Mother of All Saints 18
- Tom Waits - Bone Machine 14
- The Verve - The Verve 14
- Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 25
- Auetchre - Incunabula 18
- Belly - Star 18
- Bettie Serveert - Palomine 1
- The Breeders - Last Splash 18, Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Counting Crows - August and Everything After 2
- The Cows - Sexy Pee Story 18
- Johnboy - Pistol Swing 18
- Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville 1, 18, Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See 18
- Motherhead Bug - Zambodia 18
- New Bomb Turks - Destroy Oh Boy 18
- Nirvana - In Utero NME 100 greatest albums of all time 14, 15, 16, 17
- Pain Teens - Destroy Me Lover 18
- Pearl Jam - Vs 2
- P. J. Harvey - Exile in Guyville VH1's 100 greatest albums
- Radiohead - Pablo Honey 16
- Rosanne Cash - The Wheel Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Sebadoh - Bubble and Scrape 1
- Six Finger Sattelite - The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird 18
- Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream 3, 8
- Stereolab - Transient Random Noise Burst With Announcements 18
- Sugarsmack - Top Loader 18
- Suspended Memories - Forgotten Gods 18
- Tindersticks - Tindersticks 18
- TransGlobal Underground - Dream of 100 Nations 18
- Unwound - Fake Train 18
- Vampire Rodents - Lullaby Land 18
- The Verve - A Storm in Heaven 16
- Weird Al Yankovic - Alapalooza 25
- Air Liquide - The Increased Difficulty of Concentration 18
- Ani DiFranco - Dilate 2
- Aurora - Dimension Gate 18
- Bark Psychosis - Hex 18
- Cobra Verde - Viva La Muerte 18
- The Cranberries - No Need to Argue 2
- The Didjits - Hey Judester 18
- Girls Against Boys - Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby 18
- Green Day - Dookie 2
- Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand 1
- Helmet - Betty 11
- Hole - Live Through This 1, Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Jeff Buckley - Grace VH1's 100 greatest albums
- Jesus & Mary Chain - Stoned and Dethroned 1
- The Jesus Lizard - Down 11
- The Jesus Lizard - Show 11
- John Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange 18
- Kenneth Newby - Ecology of Souls 18
- Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl 18
- Magnetic Fields - The Charm of the Highway Strip 18
- Mark Lanegan - Whiskey for the Holy Ghost 18
- Mary J. Blige - My Life Rolling Stone's 50 greatest albums by women
- Nas - Illmatic 14
- Neil Young - Sleeps With Angels 24
- Newsboys - Going Public CCM magazine's 20 greatest rock albums
- Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral 18
- Oasis - Definitely Maybe NME 100 greatest albums of all time 16, 23
- Pavement - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain 14, 18
- PFR - Great Lengths CCM magazine's 20 greatest rock albums
- Portishead - Dummy 14, 18
- Pram - Helium 18
- Saccharine Trust - Surviving You, Always 18
- Sinead O'Connor - Universal Mother 2
- Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom 18
- Today Is the Day - Supernova 18
- Velo-Deluxe - Superelastic 18
- Vidna Obmana - The Spiritual Bonding 18
- Von Lmo - Cosmic Interception 18