RSSThe 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
| 1. | Hole: Live Through This (DGC) | 1552 | (121) | |
| 2. | Pavement: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador) | 859 | (77) | |
| 3. | R.E.M.: Monster (Warner Bros.) | 634 | (66) | |
| 4. | Nirvana: MTV Unplugged in New York (DGC) | 552 | (50) | |
| 5. | Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Sleeps With Angels (Reprise) | 520 | (49) | |
| 6. | Liz Phair: Whip-Smart (Matador) | 499 | (44) | |
| 7. | Johnny Cash: American Recordings (American) | 482 | (47) | |
| 8. | Guided by Voices: Bee Thousand (Scat) | 464 | (41) | |
| 9. | Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral (Nothing/TVT/Interscope) | 460 | (43) | |
| 10. | Beck: Mellow Gold (DGC) | 450 | (44) | |
| 11. | Soundgarden: Superunknown (A&M) | 411 | (37) | |
| 12. | Green Day: Dookie (Reprise) | 368 | (35) | |
| 13. | Freedy Johnston: This Perfect World (Elektra) | 359 | (37) | |
| 14. | Portishead: Dummy (Go Discs/London) | 351 | (36) | |
| 15. | Beastie Boys: Ill Communication (Grand Royal) | 318 | (35) | |
| 16. | The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Orange (Matador) | 274 | (25) | |
| 17. | Victoria Williams: Loose (Mammoth) | 265 | (27) | |
| 18. | Iris DeMent: My Life (Warner Bros.) | 263 | (24) | |
| 19. | Sam Phillips: Martinis and Bikinis (Virgin) | 248 | (23) | |
| 20. | Sebadoh: Bakesale (Sub Pop) | 241 | (25) | |
| 21. | Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening (Rykodisc) | 229 | (21) | |
| 22. | Warren G: Regulate . . . G Funk Era (Violator/RAL) | 214 | (22) | |
| 23. | Jeff Buckley: Grace (Columbia) | 211 | (21) | |
| 24. | Kristin Hersh: Hips and Makers (Sire/Reprise) | 193 | (16) | |
| 25. | Pearl Jam: Vitalogy (Epic) | 192 | (19) | |
| 26. | Madonna: Bedtime Stories (Maverick/Sire) | 191 | (19) | |
| 27. | Latin Playboys: Latin Playboys (Slash/Warner Bros.) | 189 | (22) | |
| 28. | Lisa Germano: Geek the Girl (4AD) | 181 | (19) | |
| 29. | The Magnetic Fields: The Charm of the Highway Strip (Merge) | 177 | (16) | |
| 30. | Luscious Jackson: Natural Ingredients (Grand Royal) | 162 | (19) | |
| 31. | Elvis Costello: Brutal Youth (Warner Bros.) | 161 | (15) | |
| 32. | Grant Lee Buffalo: Mighty Joe Moon (Slash/Reprise) | 158 | (11) | |
| 33. | Nas: Illmatic (Columbia) | 149 | (15) | |
| 34. | Digable Planets: Blowout Comb (Pendulum/EMI) | 146 | (17) | |
| 35. | The Mavericks: What a Crying Shame (MCA) | 146 | (16) | |
| 36. | K. McCarty: Dead Dog's Eyeball (Bar/None) | 145 | (12) | |
| 37. | Soul Coughing: Ruby Vroom (Slash/Warner Bros.) | 129 | (13) | |
| 38. | Ted Hawkins: The Next Hundred Years (DGC) | 127 | (13) | |
| 39. | Shara Nelson: What Silence Knows (Chrysalis) | 126 | (14) | * |
| 40. | Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder: Talking Timbuktu (Hannibal) | 124 | (12) |
*Includes 1993 import votes: 23 (3).
This poll compiles ballots from 298 critics, who divided 100 points among 10 1994 albums. Points determined placement, with total mentions (indicated in parentheses) used for tie-breaking. Maximum per album: 30. Minimum: 5.
Singles
| 1. | Beck: "Loser" (DGC) | 89 | * |
| 2. | Veruca Salt: "Seether" (DGC) | 46 | |
| 3. | Coolio: "Fantastic Voyage" (Tommy Boy) | 42 | |
| 4. | Warren G: "Regulate" (Violator/RAL) | 40 | |
| 5. | Beastie Boys: "Sabotage" (Grand Royal) | 35 | |
| 6. | R.E.M.: "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (Warner Bros.) | 30 | |
| 7. | Pavement: "Cut Your Hair" (Matador) | 29 | |
| 8. | Hole: "Doll Parts" (DGC) | 28 | |
| Liz Phair: "Supernova" (Matador) | 28 | ||
| 10. | Offspring: "Come Out and Play" (Phantom) | 10 | |
| 11. | Sheryl Crow: "All I Want To Do" (A&M) | 25 | |
| 12. | Ini Kamoze: "Here Comes the Hotstepper (Heartical Mix)" (Columbia) | 24 | |
| Salt-n-Pepa: "Whatta Man" (Next Plateau) | 24 | * | |
| 14. | Craig Mack: "Flava in Ya Ear" (Bad Boy) | 21 | |
| Nine Inch Nails: "Closer" (Nothing/TVT/Interscope) | 21 | ||
| 16. | The Cranberries: "Zombie" (Island) | 20 | |
| Hole: "Miss World" (DGC) | 20 | ||
| 18. | Des'ree: "You Gotta Be" (Columbia) | 19 | |
| Madonna: "Secret" (Maverick/Sire) | 19 | ||
| Soundgarden: "Black Hole Sun" (A&M) | 19 | ||
| 21. | Blur: "Girls & Boys" (SBK/ERG) | 18 | |
| Freedy Johnston: "Bad Reputation" (Elektra) | 18 | ||
| Mary Lou Lord: "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" (Kill Rock Stars) | 18 | * | |
| Pretenders: "Night in My Veins" (Sire) | 18 | ||
| Snoop Doggy Dogg: "Gin and Juice" (Death Row/Interscope) | 18 | ||
| Bruce Springsteen: "Streets of Philadelphia" (Columbia) | 18 | * | |
| Crystal Waters: "100% Pure Love" (Mercury) | 18 |
*Includes 1993 votes: "Loser" 3, "Whatta Man" 7, "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" 11, "Streets of Philadelphia" 2.
EPs
| 1. | Pizzicato Five: Five by Five (Matador) | 15 | |
| 2. | Helium: Pirate Prude (Matador) | 13 | |
| 3. | The Afghan Whigs: What Jail Is Like (Elektra) | 12 | |
| Guided by Voices: Fast Japanese Spin Cycle (Engine) | 12 | ||
| Palace Songs: Hope (Drag City) | 12 | ||
| The Raincoats: Extended Play (Smells Like) | 12 | ||
| 7. | Matthew Sweet: Son of Altered Beast (Zoo) | 11 | |
| 8. | Suede: Stay Together (Nude import) | 9 | * |
| 9. | Archers of Loaf: Archers of Loaf Versus the Greatest of All Time (Alias) | 8 | |
| Bratmobile: The Real Janelle (Kill Rock Stars) | 8 | ||
| Elastica: Stutter (DGC) | 8 | ||
| Guided by Voices: I Am a Scientist (Scat) | 8 |
*Includes one vote for domestic version on Nude/Columbia by "the London Suede."
Videos
| 1. | Beastie Boys: "Sabotage" (Spike Jonze) | 66 |
| 2. | Nine Inch Nails: "Closer" (Mark Romantic) | 32 |
| 3. | Lucas: "Lucas With the Lid Off" (Michelle Gondry) | 28 |
| Weezer: "Buddy Holly" (Spike Jonze) | 28 | |
| 5. | Soundgarden: "Black Hole Sun" (Howard Greenhalgh) | 23 |
| 6. | Beck: "Loser" (Steve Hanft) | 19 |
| 7. | Hole: "Doll Parts" (Samuel Bayer) | 13 |
| 8. | Coolio: "Fantastic Voyage" (F. Gary Gray) | 10 |
| Pavement: "Cut Your Hair" (D. Koretzky & R. Murphy) | 10 | |
| 10. | Salt-n-Pepa/En Vogue: "Whatta Man" (Matthew Ralston) | 9 |
Reissues
| 1. | Louis Armstrong: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: 1923-34 (Columbia/Legacy) | 34 |
| 2. | The Sun Records Collection (Rhino) | 24 |
| 3. | Esquivel: Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music (Bar/None) | 21 |
| 4. | The Doo Wop Box (Rhino) | 20 |
| 5. | George Jones: The Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country (Legacy/Epic) | 19 |
| 6. | The Everly Brothers: Heartaches and Harmonies (Rhino) | 18 |
| Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear (Motown) | 18 | |
| 8. | Sam Cooke: Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story (Abkco) | 16 |
| 9. | Bootsy Collins: Back in the Day: The Best of Bootsy (Warner Archives) | 14 |
| The Temptations: Emperors of Soul (Motown) | 14 |
Village Voice, Feb. 28, 1995
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1993 | Essay | Dean's List | 1995 |  |