13 Albums Turning 30 In 2025: LPs By Foo Fighters, Shakira, D’Angelo & Others

Even four years before Napster started a digital music revolution, the midpoint of the 1990s left behind many music and tech touchstones.

E-retail giants Amazon and eBay — which would each find their way into the musical ecosystem over time — both launched in 1995, as did the first widely-used Web browser (Netscape). It is no surprise that World Wide Web was the co-word of the year. In 1995, Bill Clinton was in the middle of serving his second term as U.S. President and a Seattle alternative-rock band called the Presidents of the United States of America found their way onto the Billboard charts and even garnered a GRAMMY nomination for the silly, yet catchy song "Peaches."

Britpop peaked in 1995 with Oasis and Blur battling for the top spot on the charts (even releasing singles on the same day); fellow countrymen Pulp also released a record with staying power (Different Class). Joan Osborne asked us to ponder: "What If God Was One of Us?" and Alanis Morissette gave us a lesson in irony. Women rockers reigned with No Doubt, Garbage, PJ Harvey & Björk all releasing notable records. Montell Jordan hit the bigtime with an anthemic debut single "This is How We Do It"; and, unknowingly, Dave Grohl started the post-grunge movement.

From hip-hop to pop and reggae, to chart-topping debuts, R&B masterworks, and alt-country records that battled for supremacy, 1995 offered an eclectic mixed-tape. Not all the records written about here were the year’s best-selling (though several were); nor is this a definitive curation. These albums were picked based on their lasting pop-cultural impact and their influence on other artists. Read on to revisit — or to discover for the first time — a baker’s dozen of records celebrating 30 years in 2025.

The Roots - Do you Want More?!!!??!

Released on Jan. 17, Do you Want More?!!!??! set the bar for the year and, 30 years on, remains a touchstone of jazz-rap. The Roots' major-label debut set the Philly group apart from many of their contemporaries in the hip-hop genre in terms of lyricism, sound and use of live instrumentation.

Do you Want More?!!!??! was a showcase of the group's diverse talents and inventiveness. Drummer, co-founder and bandleader Questlove took the production reins on this experimental and unpredictable musical ride. The storytelling and character sketches in these rhymes — commenting on the life and times in Philly, circa the mid-1990s — are layered and require repeated listens to fully grasp the rich narratives filled with keen observations delivered by MC and Roots’ co-founder Black Thought (Tariq Trotter).

Jewel - Pieces of You

Alaskan singer/songwriter Jewel was just 19 years old when this debut dropped in February, and wrote many of these songs while busking. Some critics panned the record; others lauded the work for its "simple lyrics and catchy sweet melodies." Regardless, it was clear that the young woman was laying bare her soul.

Ben Keith, longtime band member and Neil Young collaborator, produced the record mostly at Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch in California, highlighting Jewel's tender voice with minimal production. Pieces of You is one of the best-selling debuts of all-time (having sold 12 million copies in the U.S. alone) driven by the singles: "Who Will Save Your Soul," and "You Were Meant for Me."

Jewel would go on to receive a Best New Artist nomination at the 39th GRAMMY Awards as well as a nod in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Category for "Who Will Save Your Soul."

Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill

In this Billboard feature, the writer posits that 1995 was the decade’s best year for music largely because of the personal impact of the emotional juggernaut that was Jagged Little Pill. Isn’t it ironic that nearly every major record label passed on this record, yet it sold 10 million copies in its first year alone?

Watch: Revisit Alanis Morissette's 'Jagged Little Pill' | For The Record

Yet Maverick Records — the label co-founded by Madonna — saw something in these songs and signed the Canadian. Released on June 13, the angst-filled international debut was era-defining and struck a chord with the masses. Besides "Ironic," which Morissette co-wrote with producer Glen Ballard, the rest of the lyrics for the other hit singles like "You Oughta Know," "Hand in My Pocket," "Head Over Feet" and "You Learn," came directly from the songwriter’s diary.

Jagged LIttle Pill went to No.1 in 13 countries and with sales of more than 30 million, it remains one of the best-selling records of all-time. The record was nominated for nine GRAMMY Awards and won four, including Best Rock Album. At the time, the 21-year-old was the youngest artist to win Album Of The Year. At the same Ceremony, Morissette performed "You Oughta Know" for her GRAMMY stage debut.

When Jagged Little Pill celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2015, Morissette penned this essay, reflecting on the making of the record.

Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters

This self-titled record from Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl is considered the first release of the post-grunge era. Following the death of Kurt Cobain, Grohl turned to music in search of solace and as a means to deal with his heavy grief.

The resulting album is an unpolished gem marked by fuzzed-out guitars, punk-pop anthems and nonsensical lyrics — a passion project with a DIY approach. Grohl wrote and recorded the entire album in a week — playing all the instruments himself — but the artist did not want to release it under his name. Foo Fighters came from the drummer’s sci-fi fixation; the term, coined by U.S. Air Force pilots in World War II, refers to strange phenomena sighted in the sky.

What started as a cathartic exercise for the 25-year-old ended up being a commercial success. Foo Fighters debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200, sold more than 40,000 units in its first week and went on to notch more than 1.5 million in sales, according to the RIAA; it was also nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Alternative Music Album category.

Radiohead - The Bends

This sophomore studio release from the British indie rockers arrived with high expectations. Following their debut Pablo Honey, which featured the global hit "Creep," the quintet entered the studio facing pressure to repeat this success from their label, EMI.

Lead singer Thom Yorke admitted that he felt anxious following the band's rapid trajectory — a feeling captured by the title ("the bends" has historically referred to decompression sickness). EMI gave Radiohead nine weeks to record the album, and initially planned for an October 1994 release.

Guided by producer John Leckie, the twenty-somethings took their time to get the record right. The result featured a trio of singles ("Fake Plastic Trees," "High and Dry," and "Just") and showcased the experimental and sonic explorations that have marked Radiohead’s musical journey since.

Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory

"C’mon, show your appreciation!" This oft-uttered phrase from Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher during concerts — proclaiming these Brits were the best rock ‘n’ roll band on the planet — was warranted following the release of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory. The record was a huge commercial success, selling a record-breaking 345,000 copies in the first week alone (the second fastest selling record in British history next to Michael Jackson’s Bad). The band’s second studio effort entered the U.K. charts at No. 1 and became the rockers’ U.S. breakthrough, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 200. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory eventually eclipsed 22 million in worldwide sales.

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory was recorded in just 15 days, and more than half the songs penned in the studio. Released in October, just a few weeks following Blur’s chart-topping album The Great Escape, Oasis' contribution made 1995 a watershed moment in Britpop. Smash singles included: "Wonderwall," which spent 30 weeks on the U.S. charts, and "Champagne Supernova." The band will embark on a highly publicized and anticipated reunion in 2025, which begins in the U.K. in July — anyone lucky enough to get tickets will be sure to hear many of the earworms from this seminal record.

Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith

Clocking in at just 37 minutes, the dozen compositions captured on this self-titled record are some of Elliott Smith’s most intimate. They are confessionals that make you truly feel.

When released in July 1995, this eponymous album was drowned out by a dearth of alt-rock records; in retrospect, this lo-fi record and sonic masterpiece deserves a deep listen. Opening track "Needle in the Hay" is a haunting and beautiful song that evokes so many emotions: from loneliness, escapism and empathy to drug addiction. It was given a bump — and spread Smith’s name wider — when, in 2001, Wes Anderson included it in The Royal Tenenbaums.

All Smith needs to accompany his lonely lyrics are double tracked guitars and masterfully written chord progressions.

Like many artists who leave this world too soon, the tortured singer/songwriter’s legacy has grown since his death at age 33 in 2003 as more people discover this melancholic masterpiece.

Shakira - Pies Descalzos

Many North Americans are probably not aware, but Shakira released her debut (Magia!) in her native Colombia in 1991 when she was just 13 years old. While Pies Descalzos (bare feet) was actually her third release, the album became Shakira's international breakthrough.

Pies Descalzos opens with the power-pop danceable lead single "Estoy Aqui" (I'm here, a statement of arrival on the global stage if there ever was). And while the lyrics pine for a lost love, the phrase is apropos since Shakira is also announcing herself to the English-speaking world. Based on the strength of six singles that all charted, the album has now surpassed sales of 580,000 stateside — making it one of the Top 25 best-selling Latin Albums ever in the United States. And, showing its resonance with new generations, in July, 2024, the record eclipsed 1 billion streams on Spotify. The 18-year-old had arrived and was here to stay.

Son Volt - Trace

Following the breakup of alt-country darlings Uncle Tupelo (who defined the genre), the band’s principal songwriters went their separate ways to form a pair of new bands with equal success: Jeff Tweedy created Wilco (releasing its debut A.M. earlier in 1995); Jay Farrar created Son Volt. Farrar released his debut on Sept. 19 via Warner Bros. Records, but it barely cracked the Billboard 200.

Yet Trace was a ubiquitous choice on critic’s year-end best-of lists, and for good reason. Trace is packed with moody melodies and long-lingering lyrics such as "I want to see your smile through a payphone," from "Live Free." Fromc country-rock barnburners like the opener "Windfall," "Route" and "Drown," to weepy ballads like "Tear Stained Eye," this record just keeps getting better as the years roll on.

Shaggy - Boombastic

The third studio release from the GRAMMY- winning Jamaican reggae star Shaggy arrived in mid July, a perfect soundtrack for lazy summer days and wicked nights. The record included five singles with the most popular being the title track. "Boombastic" was a No. 1 hit globally, thanks partly from its appearance in a Levi’s ad — topping the charts in Australia, El Salvador, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and the U.K.

Defined, "boombastic" refers to a person that is pretentious with an inflated ego and while acts with overblown confidence are not given much attention. This song alone made sure people paid attention to Shaggy’s music. To wit, the artist earned his first golden gramophone for Best Reggae Album at the 38th GRAMMY Awards.

Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball

At 48 years old, Emmylou Harris had already released 16 solo albums and was a bonafide mentor and inspiration to artists like Gillian Welch and the Chicks. For Wrecking Ball, GRAMMY-winning producer Daniel Lanois opted for a new approach, capturing the beauty of Harris’ angelic voice and replacing her usual twang with a broader palette of musical colors.

In an essay in the liner notes to celebrate the record’s 20th anniversary, Welch beautifully captures the album’s legacy: "Perhaps there are hungers that only Art and Nature and Spirit can fill. On the day that Wrecking Ball came out we all had a feast."

This feast opens with a cover of Lanois’ "Where Will I Be" with the sonic genius providing whispered harmony throughout the chorus. The title track is a wispy and colorful cover of a Neil Young song that appeared on 1989s Freedom; here, Young harmonizes and U2's Larry Mullen Jr. provides the backbeat. Harris reinterpreted a bevy of songs with aplomb and several originators appear on the album, amongst them: Welch ("Orphan Girl"), Lucinda Williams ("Sweet Old World") and Steve Earle ("Goodbye").

These lush soundscapes and meticulously-crafted arrangements translated into a critical success. The record won a GRAMMY in the Best Contemporary Folk Album Category and was lauded by the music press.

D’Angelo - Brown Sugar

1995 also saw the debut studio effort from R&B icon D’Angelo, whose Brown Sugar is a delectable R&B treat that gets better the more it is savored. The record sold well right out of the gate and sparked the neo-soul movement in the mainstream. "What made Brown Sugar so unconventional was that D’Angelo combined Southern church music on top of jazzy hip-hop," Gary Harris, the former EMI Records A&R man who signed D’Angelo, told Wax Poetics.

Most of the compositions that ended up on Brown Sugar were originally written and recorded over a two-year period at D'Angelo's mother’s house. By the time he entered various New York recording studios in 1994 and early 1995, D’Angelo was confident in his art. Inspired by Prince, he handled significant production duties and also played the bulk of the instruments.

Brown Sugar spent 65 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and received multiple nominations at the 38th GRAMMY Awards, including a pair for the title track and a Best R&B Album nod.

Just listen to D’Angelo’s gospel and soul-infused voice, crooning about love, and try not to feel something.

Coolio - Gangsta’s Paradise

The West Coast American rapper’s second studio album is the one that hit the hardest thanks, in part, to the title track. "Gangsta's Paradise" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, featuring lead vocals of L.V., also won a GRAMMY the following year for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Almost overnight, thanks to the boost from the accompanying MTV video, Coolio became a global star. "Gangsta’s Paradise" was included in the movie Dangerous Minds and Weird Al Yankovic later penned the hilarious parody: "Amish Paradise." Speaking to GRAMMY.com, Coolio recalled "My first thought when I listened back to the demo of ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ was ‘Man, the hood’s gonna love this s—.... I was so excited about sharing it with everybody."

The rest of the record saw the hip-hop preacher offer lyrics that reflect the trials and tribulations of street life in Compton and tell honest truths of this Los Angeles urban landscape. This music with a hopeful message of resilience resonated far beyond the rapper’s community then and still hits just as hard in 2025.