The 1991 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
| 1. | Nirvana: Nevermind (DGC) | 1699 | (134) | |
| 2. | Public Enemy: Apocalypse '91: The Empire Strikes Black (Def Jam/Columbia) | 923 | (86) | |
| 3. | R.E.M.: Out of Time (Warner Bros.) | 879 | (80) | |
| 4. | U2: Achtung Baby (Island) | 651 | (58) | |
| 5. | P.M. Dawn: Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (Gee Street) | 637 | (56) | |
| 6. | Richard Thompson: Rumour and Sigh (Capitol) | 466 | (42) | |
| 7. | Matthew Sweet: Girlfriend (Zoo) | 383 | (34) | |
| 8. | Metallica: Metallica (Elektra) | 374 | (39) | |
| 9. | Chris Whitley: Living With the Law (Columbia) | 344 | (31) | |
| 10. | Mekons: Curse of the Mekons (Blast First import) | 344 | (29) | |
| 11. | Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion II (Geffen) | 339 | (27) | |
| 12. | Ice-T: O.G.: Original Gangster (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 337 | (33) | |
| 13. | Jimmie Dale Gilmore: After Awhile (Nonesuch) | 335 | (36) | |
| 14. | My Bloody Valentine: Loveless (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 327 | (30) | |
| 15. | Sonny Sharrock: Ask the Ages (Axiom) | 322 | (28) | |
| 16. | Ice Cube: Death Certificate (Priority) | 315 | (22) | |
| 17. | Neil Young: Arc/Weld (Reprise) | 311 | (29) | |
| 18. | Pixies: Trompe le Monde (Elektra) | 308 | (26) | |
| 19. | Seal: Seal (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 275 | (25) | |
| 20. | Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I (Geffen) | 264 | (26) | |
| 21. | Van Morrison: Hymns to the Silence (Polydor) | 243 | (24) | |
| 22. | Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3: [Rare and Unreleased] 1961-1991 (Columbia) | 242 | (20) | * |
| 23. | John Prine: The Missing Years (Oh Boy) | 241 | (29) | |
| 24. | Bonnie Raitt: Luck of the Draw (Capitol) | 232 | (27) | |
| 25. | Massive Attack: Blue Lines (Virgin) | 231 | (22) | |
| 26. | Robbie Robertson: Storyville (Geffen) | 219 | (22) | |
| 27. | American Music Club: Everclear (Alias) | 219 | (21) | |
| Cypress Hill: Cypress Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia) | 219 | (21) | ||
| 29. | Billy Bragg: Don't Try This at Home (Elektra) | 216 | (22) | |
| 30. | De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead (Tommy Boy) | 204 | (20) | |
| 31. | Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque (DGC) | 194 | (22) | |
| 32. | A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory (Jive) | 186 | (19) | |
| 33. | Linton Kwesi Johnson: Tings an' Times (Shanachie) | 179 | (14) | |
| 34. | Sam Phillips: Cruel Inventions (Virgin) | 178 | (17) | |
| 35. | Dave Alvin: Blue Blvd (HighTone) | 171 | (16) | |
| 36. | Prince and the New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls (Paisley Park/Warner Bros.) | 168 | (18) | |
| 37. | Dinosaur Jr.: Green Mind (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 166 | (15) | |
| 38. | Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians: Perspex Island (A&M) | 149 | (14) | |
| 39. | Marshall Crenshaw: Life's Too Short (Paradox/MCA) | 134 | (15) | |
| 40. | Kirsty MacColl: Electric Landlady (Charisma) | 134 | (11) |
This poll compiles ballots from 300 critics, who divided 100 points among 10 1991 albums. Points determined placement, with total mentions (indicated in parentheses) used for tie-breaking. Maximum per album: 30. Minimum: 5.
*The Dylan box also received 22 votes as a reissue, but since none of its 58 tracks had ever been officially released, it didn't qualify as such. Had its supporters treated it as a new album, it probably would have finished sixth.
Singles
| 1. | Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (DGC) | 116 | |
| 2. | R.E.M.: "Losing My Religion" (Warner Bros.) | 86 | |
| 3. | Naughty by Nature: "O.P.P." (Tommy Boy) | 74 | |
| 4. | Geto Boys: "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" (Rap-a-Lot) | 60 | |
| 5. | Metallica: "Enter Sandman" (Elektra) | 40 | |
| 6. | P.M. Dawn: "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (Gee Street) | 39 | |
| Crystal Waters: "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" (Mercury) | 39 | ||
| 8. | Public Enemy: "Can't Truss It" (Def Jam/Columbia) | 36 | |
| Seal: "Crazy" (Sire/Reprise) | 36 | ||
| 10. | EMF: "Unbelievable" (EMI) | 33 | |
| 11. | L.L. Cool J: "Mama Said Knock You Out" (Def Jam/Columbia) | 31 | |
| 12. | C + C Music Factory Featuring Freedom Williams: "Gonna Make You Sweat" (Columbia) | 30 | * |
| 13. | Prince and the New Power Generation: "Gett Off" (Paisley Park/Warner Bros.) | 24 | |
| 14. | Negativland: "U2" (SST) | 23 | ** |
| Prince and the New Power Generation: "Cream"/"Horny Pony" (Paisley Park/Warner Bros.) | 23 | ||
| 16. | Jesus Jones: "Right Here Right Now" (SBK) | 20 | |
| 17. | Dream Warriors: "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style"/"Wash Your Face in My Sink" (4th & B'way) | 19 | |
| The La's: "There She Goes" (London) | 19 | ||
| 19. | Michael Jackson: "Black or White" (Epic) | 17 | |
| 20. | Anthrax/Public Enemy: "Bring Tha Noize" (Megaforce/Island) | 16 | |
| 3rd Bass: "Pop Goes the Weasel" (Def Jam/Columbia) | 16 | ||
| 22. | Cypress Hill: "How I Could Just Kill a Man"/"The Phuncky Feel One" (Ruffhouse/Columbia) | 15 | |
| Unrest: "Yes She Is My Skinhead Girl" (K) | 15 | ||
| Divinyls: "I Touch Myself" (Virgin) | 15 | ||
| 25. | Billy Bragg: "Sexuality" (Elektra) | 14 | |
| Color Me Badd: "I Wanna Sex You Up" (Giant) | 14 | ||
| Londonbeat: "I've Been Thinking About You" (Radioactive) | 14 | ||
| Pavement: "Summer Babe (Exact Wording of Threat)" (Drag City) | 14 | ||
| U2: "Mysterious Ways" (Island) | 14 |
*Includes 1990 votes: 15. **Includes two EP votes.
EPs
| 1. | Pavement: Perfect Sound Forever (Drag City) | 26 |
| 2. | Blake Babies: Rosy Jack World (Mammoth) | 15 |
| 3. | Living Colour: Biscuits (Epic) | 13 |
| 4. | Digital Underground: This Is an EP Release (Tommy Boy) | 12 |
| 5. | I Hear the Devil Calling Me (Drag City) | 11 |
| Yo La Tengo: That Is Yo La Tengo (City Slang import) | 11 | |
| 7. | Babes in Toyland: To Mother (Twin/Tone) | 9 |
| My Bloody Valentine: Tremolo (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 9 | |
| 9. | Dinosaur Jr.: Whatever's Cool With Me (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 8 |
| Prisonshake: Della Street (Scat) | 8 | |
| Scrawl: Bloodsucker (Feels Good All Over) | 8 |
Reissues
| 1. | James Brown: Star Time (Polydor) | 84 |
| 2. | The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1958-1968 (Atlantic Group) | 61 |
| 3. | Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul (Atlantic) | 38 |
| 4. | Phil Spector: Back to Mono (1958-1969) (Abkco) | 36 |
| 5. | Patsy Cline: The Patsy Cline Collection (MCA) | 31 |
| 6. | Howlin' Wolf: The Chess Box (Chess) | 28 |
| 7. | The Clash: Clash on Broadway (Epic) | 22 |
| 8. | Antoine "Fats" Domino: They Call Me the Fat Man . . . (Imperial) | 16 |
| 9. | Didn't It Blow Your Mind: Soul Hits of the '70s (Rhino) | 15 |
| 10. | MC5: Kick Out the Jams (Elektra) | 12 |
Videos
| 1. | Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Samuel Bayer) | 59 | |
| 2. | R.E.M.: "Losing My Religion" (Tarsem) | 58 | |
| 3. | Michael Jackson: "Black or White" (John Landis) | 16 | * |
| 4. | L.L. Cool J: "Mama Said Knock You Out" (Paris Barcley) | 15 | |
| 5. | Geto Boys: "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" (Richard Hunt) | 12 | |
| Metallica: "Enter Sandman" (Wayne Isham) | 12 | ||
| Public Enemy: "Can't Truss It" (Eric Meza) | 12 | ||
| 8. | Billy Bragg: "Sexuality" (Jeff Baines) | 11 | |
| Metallica: "The Unforgiven" (Matt Mahurin) | 11 | ||
| 10. | Naughty by Nature: "O.P.P." (Rodd Houston and Marcus Raboy) | 8 |
*Eight voters specified the uncensored version. A ninth, whose vote was disallowed, stipulated the withdrawn sequence only.
Village Voice, Mar. 3, 1992
| 1990 | Essay | Dean's List | 1992 |