Best album of the Nineties?

The Afghan Whigs are, perhaps, the most underrated band out there. Combining great guitar rock with soulful lyrics and amazing song structure, they simply put out songs unlike any other band. Why they've never quite hit the mass public, I'm not sure.

Gentlemen, released in 1993, was their breakout album, at least critically. It is shocking in how powerfully beautiful it is -- most of the songs here, like most Whigs' tunes, deal with problems with women. Greg Dulli sings with as much passion as any singer out there -- and his talent is amazing enough that he can both scream and croon at the same time. The title track is the kind of song that you overhear on someone's stereo and it makes you stop to say, WHO IS THAT? The incredible guitar complements the absolutely brilliant lyrics. In the fifth song, When We Two Parted, Dulli sings to a former lover:
Every night I spent in that bed with you facing the wall
If I could have only once heard you scream, to feel you were alive
Instead of watching you abandoning yourself

Perhaps the hallmark of this album is that there is no song that feels like filler -- each song truly is perfect, and completes the overall package. My Curse is actually sung by Marcy Mays from Scrawl, and it's incredibly touching and beautiful.

The Afghan Whigs deserve to be noticed, and this album will eventually be recognized as one of the hidden gems of the 90's. I did recently read a review on nadamucho.com that ranked this as the second best album of the decade -- while I was thrilled to see it mentioned, I'd go it one better, and perhaps rank it as the best.