Revolver
London Calling
Straight Outta Compton
Ready to Die
Kid A

inb4 frownland mentions albums nobody knows of and considers them to define the genre.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I'm willing to bet it's been done before. Trying to find an album that incorporates the major elements of its decade seems more engaging.

But it's also genuinely impossible. There's no one artist/album/song that carries an entire decade under its hood.

So far this thread seems to mostly be "which rock artist was big during each decade".

That's what I thought this thread was about, and I was ready to make a post, but apparently that's not what it's about so I decided against it.

Albums that define the spirit of their decade.

I don't understand the question, I guess. Are we supposed to choose albums we feel defined the decade in our own opinion, or based on popular opinion? Or albums that actually defined the decade based on sales?

OK, let me give an example. Nevermind was high quality in the realm of alternative and took a little bit from punk and pop, and it was a huge influence on alternative and indie in the future. Obviosuly, it's essential to the 90's in so many ways. Not to mention, the music itself was very much like something from the 90's, mostly because it influenced it. That's why I believe Nevermind is the embodiment of the 90's.

So its not based on our opinion then? you can just look up album sales and see which one defines the decade.