Which 1990s Recordings Are in the Grammy Hall of Fame? See All 17
Of the 17 recordings from the 1990s that have been inducted so far, hip-hop and alternative rock are the genres with the most representation – five recordings each.
2/13/2026
Jay-Z at Cipriani's in New York City on November 4, 1998. Steve Eichner/Penske Media via Getty Images
Some recordings take years or even decades to acquire classic status. Others are classics right off the bat. Seventeen records from the 1990s have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which means they went in as soon as they became eligible, or soon after. Records become eligible 25 years after their release. Counting this year’s 14 additions to the Grammy Hall of Fame that were announced on Wednesday (Feb. 11), the Hall now includes 1,179 recordings.
Of the 17 recordings from the 1990s that have been inducted so far, hip-hop and alternative rock are the genres with the most representation – five recordings each. Lauryn Hill, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest and 2Pac represent rap and hip-hop. Nirvana (with both an album and a single), Pearl Jam, Radiohead and R.E.M. are the acts associated with alternative that have been acknowledged.
The 17 inducted recordings include 13 albums and four singles. Two of the inducted singles were written by the bands (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”), but the other two were cover versions that were so definitive that they instantly seemed like more than ordinary cover versions – Whitney Houston’s power ballad rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” and Bonnie Raitt’s tender reading of Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
Three of the inducted recordings were debut albums (Buena Vista Social Club’s Buena Vista Social Club, Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Pearl Jam’s Ten). Two others were solo debut albums (Dre’s The Chronic and Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill). At the other extreme, two of the inducted recordings were those artists’ 18th studio albums – Santana’s Supernatural and Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball.
The Grammy Hall of Fame was established by the Recording Academy’s national trustees in 1973. The original idea was to honor recordings that were released before the Grammys were first presented in 1959. It is now open to any recording that is at least 25 years old. The inducted recordings are selected annually by a committee, with final ratification by the Recording Academy’s national board of trustees. Selected recordings must demonstrate “qualitative or historical significance.” Eligible recipients receive a certificate from the Recording Academy.
Recordings released in 2000 and 2001 are now eligible, though none have been selected yet.
Here’s the complete list of recordings from the 1990s that have been selected for the Grammy Hall of Fame, listed alphabetically by artist.
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Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club
Release Date: June 23, 1997
Label: Nonesuch
Producer: Ry Cooder
Billboard 200 peak: No. 80
Grammy Award: Best tropical Latin performance
Notes: Buena Vista Social Club was an ensemble of Cuban musicians directed by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder. Their debut album’s release was followed by a short concert tour in 1998, which included a stop at Carnegie Hall in New York. Footage from those dates, as well as from the recording sessions in Havana, was included in the 1999 documentary Buena Vista Social Club, which received an Oscar nod for documentary (feature). A stage musical based on the group’s story received 10 Tony nominations in 2025 and won four awards.
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Dr. Dre, The Chronic
Release Date: Dec. 15, 1992
Label: Death Row/Interscope/Priority
Producer: Dr. Dre
Billboard 200 peak: No. 3
Grammy Award: best rap solo performance, “Let Me Ride”
Other Grammy nominations: best rap performance by a duo or group, “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” (Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg)
Notes: The Chronic was Dr. Dre’s first solo album following two albums as a member of N.W.A. Dre left that group and its label Ruthless Records over a financial dispute. The Chronic features then-emerging rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dre’s production popularized the G-funk subgenre within gangsta rap. Dre received the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award in 2023, which was simultaneously renamed in his honor. He received a lifetime achievement award from the academy in 2024 as a member of N.W.A.
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Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball
Release date: Sept. 26, 1995
Original label: Elektra
Billboard 200 peak: No. 94
Producer: Daniel Lanois
Grammy Award: best contemporary folk album
Notes: Moving away from her traditional acoustic sound, Harris collaborated with producer Daniel Lanois on this, her 18th studio album. The album featured guest performances by Steve Earle, Larry Mullen Jr., Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Lucinda Williams and Neil Young, who wrote (and previously recorded) the title song and sang harmony vocals on Harris’ rendition. Harris received a lifetime achievement award from the academy in 2018.
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Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Release Date: Aug. 19, 1998
Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia
Producers: Lauryn Hill, Che Pope, Vada Nobles
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Grammy Awards: album of the year and best R&B album; best rhythm & blues song and best female R&B vocal performance, both for “Doo Wop (That Thing”); best new artist.
Other Grammy nominations: producer of the year, non-classical; best rap solo performance for “Lost Ones”; best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal for “Nothing Even Matters” (featuring D’Angelo); best female pop vocal performance for “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”
Notes: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill made Grammy history in 1999, becoming the first hip-hop album to win album of the year. Hill also became the first female artist to win five Grammys at one ceremony. Miseducation was Hill’s first solo album following two albums with Fugees. The album blends neo soul, R&B, hip-hop and reggae, and features guest appearances from Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and D’Angelo. The album, one of the most widely acclaimed releases of the 1990s, has proved to be a hard act to follow: Hill, now 50, has yet to release a follow-up studio album. But her appearance on the 2026 Grammy telecast, performing in tribute to both Roberta Flack and D’Angelo, proved that she retains her star power.
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Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
Release Date: Nov. 2, 1992
Label: Arista
Producer: David Foster
Songwriter: Dolly Parton
Hot 100 peak: No. 1 (14 weeks)
Grammy Awards: record of the year, best pop vocal performance, female
Notes: Houston and producer David Foster took a gentle country ballad by Dolly Parton and turned it into a power ballad for the ages. Houston’s recording topped the Hot 100 for a then-record 14 weeks and made The Bodyguard soundtrack one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s. The original plan was to have Houston record the 1966 Jimmy Ruffin hit “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” for her film debut in The Bodyguard. But Paul Young recorded that oldie for the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes, and had a hit with it, which forced a change in plans. Houston received a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the academy in 2026.
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Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt
Release date: June 25, 1996
Original label: Roc-A-Fella, distributed by Priority Records
Billboard 200 peak: No. 23
Producers: Damon Dash, Big Jaz, Clark Kent, DJ Irv, DJ Premier, Knobody, Peter Panic, Ski, K-Rob
Grammy nominations: none
Notes: Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z’s acclaimed debut studio album, features guest appearances by Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige, Jaz-O and the Notorious B.I.G., among others. It spawned four singles, “Dead Presidents,” “Ain’t No N—a,” “Can’t Knock the Hustle” and “Feelin’ It.” While this album received no Grammy nominations, Jay has since made up for that, securing 89 career nominations, a total topped only by his wife, Beyoncé, with 99.
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Nirvana, Nevermind
Release Date: Sept. 24, 1991
Label: DGC/Sub Pop
Producers: Butch Vig, Nirvana
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (two weeks)
Grammy nomination: best alternative music album; also see nominations below for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Notes: Nevermind was Nirvana’s second studio album; its first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Though the album is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, it is also noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads and punk-influenced hard rock. Nevermind shocked the music industry in January 1992 when it bumped Michael Jackson’s Dangerous out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. Nevermind propelled Nirvana to superstardom, with Cobain being hailed as the voice of his generation. That kind of pressure can be awfully hard on an artist, especially one who was so young (just 24) when the album came out. Less than three years after Nevermind was released, Cobain took his own life.
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Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Release Date: Sept. 10, 1991
Label: DGC
Producers: Butch Vig, Nirvana
Songwriters: Nirvana
Hot 100 peak: No. 6
Grammy nominations: best rock song, best hard rock performance with vocal
Notes: “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the opening track and lead single from Nevermind, may be the quintessential Gen X anthem. Kurt Cobain described “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as an attempt to write “the ultimate pop song,” inspired by the soft-and-loud dynamics of the Pixies. The music video, which depicts a high school pep rally which ends in chaos, won two MTV Video Music Awards at the 1992 ceremony – best alternative video and best new artist in a video. Nirvana received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2023.
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Pearl Jam, Ten
Release Date: Aug. 27, 1991
Label: Epic
Producers: Rick Parashar, Pearl Jam
Billboard 200 peak: No. 2
Grammy nomination: best hard rock performance with vocals for “Jeremy”
Notes: Ten, Pearl Jam’s debut studio album, displayed a stronger classic rock influence than other contemporary grunge releases. Ten was a sleeper hit, taking 22 weeks to break into the top 10 on the Billboard 200 (in May 1992). It ultimately peaked at No. 2 for four nonconsecutive weeks. The album produced three hit singles: “Alive”, “Even Flow” and “Jeremy.” The video for “Jeremy” received four awards at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards – video of the year, best group video, best metal/hard rock video and best direction in a video.
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Radiohead, OK Computer
Release Date: May 21, 1997
Label: Parlophone/Capitol
Producers: Nigel Godrich, Radiohead
Billboard 200 peak: No. 21
Grammy Award: best alternative music performance
Other Grammy nomination: album of the year
Notes: OK Computer was the English rock band’s third studio album. The album’s abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead’s later work. OK Computer spawned the singles “Paranoid Android,” “Karma Police” and “No Surprises.” OK Computer brought Radiohead the first of their three Grammys for best alternative music album. They are tied for the lead for most wins in that category with Beck, The White Stripes and St. Vincent.
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Bonnie Raitt, “I Can’t Make You Love Me”
Release Date: 1991
Label: Capitol
Producers: Bonnie Raitt, Don Was
Songwriters: Mike Reid, Allen Shamblin
Hot 100 peak: No. 18
Grammy nominations: none.
Notes: “I Can’t Make You Love Me” was featured on Raitt’s 11th studio album, Luck of the Draw. It was released as the album’s second single, following “Something to Talk About.” Both songs were entered in the Grammy process for record of the year, song of the year and best pop vocal performance, female in the run-up to the 1992 Grammy ceremony.
“Something to Talk About” was nominated instead of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” for record of the year and best pop vocal performance, female. That’s understandable – it was a bigger hit and had had more time to make an impression – though it’s safe to say that “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is seen as the more important song and record today. Both songs could have been nominated for song of the year, since they had different writers, but neither landed a song of the year nod. Raitt received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2022.
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R.E.M., “Losing My Religion”
Release Date: Feb. 19, 1991
Label: Warner Bros.
Producers: Scott Litt, R.E.M.
Songwriters: R.E.M.
Hot 100 peak: No. 4
Grammy Awards: best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal; best music video – short form
Other Grammy nominations: record of the year, song of the year
Notes: “Losing My Religion” was the first single from R.E.M.’s seventh album, Out of Time (1991). It originated with a mandolin riff improvised by guitarist Peter Buck. Its music video, directed by Tarsem Singh, won six awards at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards – video of the year, best group video, breakthrough video, best art direction, best direction and best editing. At the Grammys, it was up for record and song of the year but lost both awards to “Unforgettable,” Natalie Cole’s duet with her late father, Nat “King” Cole. That song, which dates to 1951, was already a standard at that point, and probably shouldn’t have been eligible, which would have cleared a path for R.E.M.’s masterwork.
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Santana, Supernatural
Release date: June 15, 1999
Original label: Arista
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (12 weeks)
Producer: Carlos Santana, Clive Davis, Jerry ‘Wonder’ Duplessis, The Dust Brothers, Alex González, Charles Goodan, Lauryn Hill, Art Hodge, Wyclef Jean, Fher Olvera, K.C. Porter, Dante Ross, Matt Serletic, Stephen Harris
Grammy Awards: album of the year and best pop vocal album; record of the year and best pop collaboration with vocals, both for “Smooth” (feat. Rob Thomas); best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal for “Maria Maria” (feat. The Product G&B); best rock instrumental performance for “The Calling” (feat. Eric Clapton); best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal for “Put Your Lights On” (feat. Everlast); best pop instrumental performance for “El Farol”
Other Grammy nominations: best instrumental composition for “El Farol”; best pop collaboration with vocals for ‘Love of My Life” (feat. Dave Matthews and Carter Beauford)
Notes: Talk about comebacks: Santana didn’t even have a record deal in the mid-1990s. In 1999, it released Supernatural, which shattered sales and Grammy records_. Supernatural_, the band’s 18th studio album, reunited the band with Clive Davis, who had signed the group to Columbia Records in 1969. Supernatural featured numerous contemporary guest artists, including Rob Thomas, Eric Clapton, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Maná, and CeeLo Green. At the 2000 Grammys, the band won eight awards, matching Michael Jackson’s 1984 record for most Grammys won in one night. Santana also won three awards at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards, which were held later that year. Carlos Santana received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2026.
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Selena, Amor Prohibido
Release Date: March 22, 1994
Label: EMI Latin
Producers: A.B. Quintanilla (Selena’s brother)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 29
Grammy nomination: best Mexican-American performance
Notes: Amor Prohibido was Selena’s fourth studio album. The album is credited with catapulting Tejano music to mainstream success. It also blends diverse musical styles from ranchera to hip-hop. It spawned the singles “Amor Prohibido,” “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “No Me Queda Más” and “Fotos y Recuerdos.” On March 31, 1995, one year after the album’s release, Selena was shot to death by Yolanda Saldívar, former manager of her Selena Etc. boutiques. She was just 23. Selena received a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2021.
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A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory
Release Date: Sept. 24, 1991
Label: Jive
Producers: A Tribe Called Quest, Skeff Anselm
Billboard 200 peak: No. 45
Grammy nominations: none
Notes: The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest’s second studio album, is regarded as a milestone in alternative hip-hop. The album was primarily produced by group member Q-Tip, with a minimalist sound that combines bass, drum breaks and jazz samples. The album features social commentary, wordplay, humor and interplay between Q-Tip and fellow member Phife Dawg. While the album didn’t receive any Grammy nods, the group has since been nominated four times, landing best rap album nods for both Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996) and The Love Movement (1998).
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2Pac, All Eyez on Me
Release Date: Feb. 13, 1996
Label: Death Row/Interscope
Producers: 2Pac, Bobcat, Dat Nigga Daz, DeVante Swing, DJ Pooh, DJ Quik, Doug Rasheed, Dr. Dre, Johnny “J,” Mike Mosley, QDIII, Rick Rock
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (two weeks)
Grammy nominations: best rap album; best rap performance by a duo or group for both “California Love” (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) and “How Do U Want It” (featuring KC and Jo-Jo).
Notes: All Eyez on Me was 2Pac’s fourth studio album and the last one to be released during his lifetime. The album featured guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Redman, Method Man, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, E-40, K-Ci & JoJo, and the Outlawz, among others. Two singles from the album were both top 10 Hot 100 hits and Grammy winners (see above). Just seven months after the album’s release, 2Pac was killed in a drive-by shooting. He was just 25.
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Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Release Date: June 30, 1998
Label: Mercury
Producers: Roy Bittan, Steve Earle, Ray Kennedy, Lucinda Williams
Billboard 200 peak: No. 65
Grammy Award: best contemporary folk album
Other Grammy nominations: best female rock vocal performance, “Can’t Let Go”
Notes: This was Williams’ fifth studio album. The album was recorded and co-produced by Williams in Nashville and Canoga Park, California. It features guest appearances by Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris (whose 1995 album Wrecking Ball is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame). Williams’ album spawned the singles “Right in Time” and “Can’t Let Go.”
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