Albums of the Year 1992

 The Top Ten for the Best Ever Albums site as Grunge and the like became serious propositions:

1. R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

2. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine

3. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted

4. Alice in Chains - Dirt

5. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92

6. Dr. Dre - The Chronic

7. Faith No More - Angel Dust

8. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

9. Dream Theater - Images & Words

10. Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill

At this point in proceedings, I'm giving myself a bit of leeway, as I made the switch from vinyl to CDs at round about this time. I was mostly living abroad and it was no longer practical to keep buying vinyl, though I did carry on doing so for a couple more years. Therefore, numbers 9 and 10 on this list, I only own as CDs, though I'd be more than happy to have vinyl versions. I saw P.J. Harvey and Buffalo Tom, both in Cologne in the following couple of years and they were both highly memorable occasions.

R.E.M's last truly great album, Automatic For The People, came out in 1992 and was always going to top this particular list. Michael's record The return of Television too, and they did a good job, and the Sugar and Lemonheads albums are both my favourites of theirs.I don't own Angel Dust, but it would be on this list if I did.

1. R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

2. Sugar - Copper Blue

3. The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray

4. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted

5. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine

6. Ride - Going Blank Again

7. The Charlatans - Between 10th & 11th

8. Television - Television

9. P.J. Harvey - Dry

10. Buffalo Tom - Let Me Come Over

And me? I went to New York for the first time. Then to Dortmund, Germany and made some of the best friends I ever made in my life. Also had a very nice girlfriend from Singapore for a while just before that. Here's a photo of a couple of very good friends who I met in Germany, late that year.