7 Rock Albums That Changed Music Forever — All Released 35 Years Ago

A tremendous musical shift hit pop culture from the '80s to the '90s. New wave, synth-pop, and glam metal gave way to grunge, g-funk, nu metal, and more. And in 1991, right at the beginning of the decade and in the middle of a year of songs that sound even cooler today, seven rock albums changed music forever. Furthermore, all of them came out within a span of about six weeks.

Yep, folks who were alive in 1991 and into popular music were eating good once August rolled around. Starting with Metallica's self-titled album (aka "The Black Album") on August 12, and ending on September 24 with Nirvana's landmark "Nevermind," the space in between saw albums from Pearl Jam, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Ozzy Osbourne. This is a nuts collection of albums from artists regarded as classic and game-changing in some way — each and every one. And we're not talking garbage albums, either (well, maybe "Use Your Illusion II"), but top-tier work from musicians at a critical juncture in music history.

The seven albums in question paved the way for the '90s and heralded music's popular face from then on out, at least in its rockier realms. The old was out and the new was in, whether it was Metallica shedding their more complex arrangements for lean songs suitable for mass appeal, or Ozzy doffing his lunatic persona for something far more personal.

Metallica fans got more Hetfield "Yeahs!" than ever with the band's self-titled album, commonly called "The Black Album," released on August 12, 1991. To the annoyance of some of the band's thrash-loving fanbase, but to the delight of the wider public, Metallica cut their songwriting to the chunky, heavy, lower-tempo bone. The result was a surfeit of bangers that still comprises the best-selling album of the past 35 years from a U.S. band. We all know the hits, and can likely sing the songs in our sleep. So close your eyes and hush little baby, don't say a word. And never mind that noise you heard.

With one song from one album — "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from "Nevermind," the latter released on September 24, 1991 — Nirvana snapped their fingers and wiped the musical board clean. "Nevermind" detonated over the pop cultural landscape in a way that's hard to overstate to those who didn't live through it, right down to the sudden abundance of flannel. Post-punk was back, again, but in a grungier and ragged form from the Pacific Northwest. Their time in the sun was ultimately extremely brief (1991 to 1994), and the loss of Nirvana was something we'll never get over, making "Nevermind" the quintessential early '90s time capsule.    

As far as album ratings go, Pearl Jam's "Ten" is a perfect ... Yeah. But really, "Ten" is a bonkers-good debut from one of the Seattle scene's greatest bands, released on August 27, 1991, less than a year after Pearl Jam officially formed (following a mailed-in cassette demo named "Momma-Son" from a random San Diego surfer named Eddie Vedder). You can hear the band's energy and fire across every track, from hits like "Alive," "Even Flow," and "Jeremy," to a revered non-single like "Black" and its inspiration that's clear from the lyrics. Truly a masterpiece.

Long before the Red Hot Chili Peppers nabbed an undeserved 2007 Grammy for best rock song with "Dani California," they were still a bunch of shirtless, funky oddballs from Los Angeles. They were also highly preoccupied with sex, as evidenced by what is arguably their best album, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik," released on September 24, 1991. Adding some needed weirdness and levity to our musical offerings that year, including big hits like "Give It Away" and "Under the Bridge," this is a strangely timeless album that cinched RHCP's career, slap bass and all. 

There's only one way to go from the top, aka Guns N' Roses' 1987 debut that stands above the rest, "Appetite for Destruction." By the time GNR released "Use Your Illusion I," the first of their two 1991 albums released on September 17, they were already locking into their experimental phase. Even so, they still had room for an absolute monster of cinema and drama like "November Rain," Slash guitar solo in the windblown sand and all. The album sold 12.5 million copies and helped cement GNR's place in rock history, as well as 1991's. 

"Use Your Illusioner: The Gunnening." Too bad that GNR didn't go with that title for round two of their 1991 illusion-based albums, released on September 17. It'd make as much sense as anything else on "Use Your Illusion II's" scattered, hit-or-miss affair. We've got a decent Bob Dylan cover on one hand, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (one of the easiest guitar songs for beginners to learn), and a godawful ear-bleeder like "My World" on the other hand — a bizarre dumpster fire of a song that's easily the band's worst song. This album made history, but not necessarily in a good way.

Hey, even the Prince of Darkness has to cry sometimes — until it's time for no more tears, that is. Such was Ozzy Osbourne's conclusion when he released the most personal and heartfelt album of his career, "No More Tears," on September 17, 1991. The album more or less tracked with Ozzy's attempts at rehab that had started in 1984 and would continue across his entire life, until his death in 2025 at the age of 76. "No More Tears" is a mellow, often restrained affair that remains a landmark record for the depth it revealed in a rock and metal icon.