1991 in music


List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1991.

Specific locations

Summary

Although the year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough, heavy metal was still the dominant form of rock music for the year. So, Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", was not the most popular U.S. album of the year. That award goes to heavy metal band Metallica and their self-titled 'black' album. Nirvana's success was eventually followed by other grunge bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, in 1992 by Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots, grunge climbed the U.S. charts for the next few years. Its success eventually ended the reign of the glam metal and other hard rock groups that enjoyed massive success in the 1980s like Mötley Crüe, Poison, Warrant, Cinderella, and Ratt whose sales were still going strong by 1991. Also during the year, the rock band Guns N' Roses's popularity flourished with the release of their albums Use Your Illusion I & Use Your Illusion II, both selling over 15 million copies total. Def Leppard's next album Adrenalize, released in March 1992, would go on to reach multi-platinum status and prove to be the last major commercial success for 1980s hair metal. A Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory is released this year; it would go on to be considered one of the best hip hop albums of the 1990s. A Tribe Called Quest, along with De La Soul, Dream Warriors, Gang Starr and the Poor Righteous Teachers, help define what comes to be known as alternative rap with important releases this year.
On 24 November, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died. Mercury was at home in London on 24 November, due to AIDS complications. Rumors had been circulating that Mercury had AIDS and he confirmed it to the press a day before his death, but the death comes as a shock to millions of fans and the music industry. The remaining members of Queen form the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the following year, a tribute concert is staged in Wembley Stadium. A sell-out crowd in attendance witness the three surviving members reuniting to play along with performances by the likes of David Bowie, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Metallica, Annie Lennox, and George Michael.
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" goes to number one for the second time in the U.K., which is one of the few times a single has gone to number one in the same version more than once. It is also the only time a single has gone to number one more than once on the UK Christmas charts. It has now spent a total of 14 weeks on top of the UK charts.
During the year, Billboard Magazine started using Nielsen Soundscan for its sales source for the music charts. Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on 1 March 1991. The 25 May issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Album charts based on SoundScan "piece count data," and the first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on 30 November 1991. Previously, Billboard tracked sales by calling stores across the U.S. and asking about sales – a method that was inherently error-prone and open to outright fraud. Indeed, while transitioning from the calling to tracking methods, the airplay and sales charts and the Hot 100 often did not match. Although most record company executives conceded that the new method was far more accurate than the old, the chart's volatility and its geographical balance initially caused deep concern, before the change and the market shifts it brought about were accepted across the industry. Tower Records, the country's second-largest retail chain, was originally not included in the sample because its stores are equipped with different technology to measure sales. At first, some industry executives complained that the new system — which relied on high-tech sales measurement rather than store employee estimates — was based on an inadequate sample, one that favored established and mainstream acts over newcomers.
1991 is also the year CCM, or contemporary Christian music, reaches a new peak. Amy Grant, who had already crossed back and forth between CCM and Contemporary Pop in the mid-80s, achieves her first solo No. 1 hit on the pop charts with the hit single "Baby Baby," becoming the first single by a CCM artist to reach No. 1. Another single, "That's What Love Is For," would also top the charts, this time in the Adult Contemporary field. Meanwhile, Grant's album Heart In Motion reaches No. 11 on the pop chart and No. 1 on the Christian chart despite its non-religious objective, and quickly becomes a best-seller. Another CCM crossover artist in 1991 is Michael W. Smith, who achieves a Top Ten pop hit with his single "Place In This World." The subsequent album, Go West Young Man, is also a hit. Jon Gibson's hit "Jesus Loves Ya" still holds the record as the longest playing hit single in Christian music history. The track spent eleven weeks at No. 1 and became the top selling CCM single of 1991. Only three artists received more airplay on Christian radio stations in that year other than Gibson; Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and BeBe & CeCe Winans.
The massive success of Garth Brooks in this year sets the stage for the mid-1990s influx of pop-oriented country musicians. In addition, several soon-to-be pivotal bands form or release debuts, including Dave Matthews Band, Live, Phish, Spin Doctors and stoner metal. Massive Attack's Blue Lines, while unique at the time, pioneers the sound that would eventually become known as trip hop. Entombed's Clandestine and Dismember's Like an Ever Flowing Stream are early releases from the Scandinavian metal scene. On the other side of the Atlantic, New York death metal band Suffocation release their debut full-length Effigy of the Forgotten, often considered one of the most influential extreme metal albums ever recorded. Trance music rises to prominence in the underground dance scene of Frankfurt, Germany, pioneered by such producers as Dance 2 Trance and Resistance D. U2 release their seventh album Achtung Baby, considered by many of their fans to be their best album. Metallica also release their most commercially successful self-titled album, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers break through to the mainstream with their critically and commercially acclaimed Blood Sugar Sex Magik. R.E.M. release their massive commercial breakthrough album Out of Time. 1991 also brought us the revolutionary Sailing the Seas of Cheese, the first release of a Primus album on a major label. When it came to music, 1991 was one of the most successful years of the 1990s.

January–March

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Release date unknown

The following songs achieved the highest
in the charts of 1991.
#ArtistTitleYearCountryChart Entries
1Bryan Adams I Do it For You1991UK 1 – Jun 1991, US BB 1 of 1991, US CashBox 1 of 1991, Holland 1 – Jul 1991, Sweden 1 – Aug 1991, Austria 1 – Aug 1991, Switzerland 1 – Jul 1991, Norway 1 – Jul 1991, Poland 1 – Jul 1991, Germany 1 – Jan 1992, Republic of Ireland 1 – Jul 1991, New Zealand 1 for 8 weeks Aug 1991, Australia 1 for 11 weeks Oct 1991, US BB 3 of 1991, Australia 3 of 1991, POP 3 of 1991, Europe 5 of the 1990s, TOTP 6, Global 7 – 1991, Italy 9 of 1991, Germany 9 of the 1990s, Scrobulate 30 of ballad, Virgin 60, Party 70 of 2007, RYM 73 of 1991, Poland 96 of all time, OzNet 121, Belgium 150 of all time
2Michael JacksonBlack or White1991UK 1 – Nov 1991, US BB 1 of 1991, Sweden 1 – Nov 1991, Switzerland 1 – Nov 1991, Norway 1 – Nov 1991, Poland 1 – Nov 1991, Republic of Ireland 1 – Nov 1991, New Zealand 1 for 8 weeks Nov 1991, Australia 1 for 8 weeks Feb 1992, Austria 2 – Nov 1991, Germany 2 – Jan 1992, Holland 3 – Nov 1991, Italy 3 of 1991, US BB 19 of 1991, POP 19 of 1991, Australia 24 of 1992, US CashBox 29 of 1992, RYM 96 of 1991, Germany 115 of the 1990s
3RoxetteJoyride1991US BB 1 of 1991, Holland 1 – Mar 1991, Sweden 1 – Mar 1991, Austria 1 – Mar 1991, Switzerland 1 – Mar 1991, Norway 1 – Mar 1991, Germany 1 – Mar 1991, Australia 1 for 3 weeks Jul 1991, Poland 3 – Apr 1991, UK 4 – Mar 1991, France 7 – Apr 1991, Australia 13 of 1991, Italy 24 of 1991, Germany 24 of the 1990s, US CashBox 33 of 1991, US BB 35 of 1991, POP 37 of 1991
4ScorpionsWind of Change1990Holland 1 – Apr 1991, Sweden 1 – Mar 1991, Austria 1 – Jun 1991, Switzerland 1 – Feb 1991, Norway 1 – Apr 1991, Poland 1 – Mar 1991, Germany 1 of the 1990s, Germany 1 – Apr 1991, UK 2 – Sep 1991, US BB 4 of 1991, Scrobulate 9 of ballad, France 10 – Dec 1990, US BB 24 of 1991, Europe 26 of the 1990s, POP 26 of 1991, RYM 142 of 1990
5R.E.M.Losing My Religion1991Holland 1 – Mar 1991, Poland 1 – Apr 1991, Europe 1 of the 1990s, US BB 4 of 1991, Norway 4 – Jun 1991, Sweden 5 – Mar 1991, RYM 5 of 1991, Austria 7 – Aug 1991, Switzerland 11 – Oct 1991, Belgium 12 of all time, UK 19 – Mar 1991, US BB 28 of 1991, Virgin 30, US CashBox 39 of 1991, 39 in 2FM list, Poland 44 of all time, Acclaimed 44, POP 61 of 1991, Scrobulate 69 of rock, Italy 70 of 1991, OzNet 90, WXPN 106, RIAA 143, Rolling Stone 169

Top hits

Top best albums of the year

All albums have been named albums of the year for their hits in the charts.
  1. Nirvana – Nevermind
  2. Pearl Jam – Ten
  3. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
  4. U2 – Achtung Baby
  5. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
  6. Metallica – Metallica
  7. Primal Scream – Screamadelica
  8. Slint – Spiderland
  9. A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
  10. Massive Attack – Blue Lines
  11. Talk Talk – Laughing Stock

    Published popular music

Musical theater