𓇳 my top 15 90s rnb albums of all time

part 1: the 90s 📀

rnb has always held a really special place for me. i grew up listening to pretty much everything because of my dad, but growing up in southeast LA, rnb and hip hop were everywhere. my siblings loved it, it was constantly playing around me, and so many of these songs and albums became part of my earliest memories with music.

there was no way i could make just one rnb ranking, so i’m splitting this into three parts: the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s. starting with the 90s, one of the greatest decades for the genre.

one of my favorite things about 90s rnb is just how much ground it covered. hip hop soul, neo-soul, new jack swing, contemporary rnb… i wanted this list to represent different sides of the decade while still choosing records with their own distinct pov. so many of these albums sound completely different from one another, but they all expanded my idea of what rnb could be.

some classics didn’t make it, and some personal favorites probably landed higher than other people would have ranked them, but that’s what makes these lists fun. i’d rather make a ranking that reflects my relationship with the music.

swipe through for my top 15 + honorable mentions, full playlists on spotify + apple music. more in-depth thoughts on each album will be posted on my substack ↺ link in bio.

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