The best albums of 1999

WE'VE done 1969, 1979 and 1989, so any guesses for what's next?Looking back at the music of 1999 is a little depressing. Good albums were released but, for a decade that started with such a bang, the '90s ended with whimper.The rise of alternative music in the early part of the '90s had a major impact on the music world as it suddenly broadened the palette of what was acceptable on commercial radio and television.It also opened the door for independent acts, as well as handing more control back to the bands from the major labels.But by the end of the '90s, the labels were back on top and manufactured music had returned to the fore.Some of the biggest selling albums of the year included Backstreet Boys' Millennium, Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time, Shania Twain's Come On Over, 'N Sync's *NSYNC and self-titled albums from Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera.Here are best albums of 1999 that weren't written by a record company committee.Californication - Red Hot Chili PeppersWHEN fame and drugs got the better of guitarist John Frusciante, RHCP recruited Jane's Addiction axeman Dave Navarro and recorded One Hot Minute - an under-rated and adventurous album that failed to inspire the public or the critics like their previous album Blood Sugar Sex Magik had. After looking like things could be over for the Peppers, Frusciante returned, breathing new life and a fresher, poppier sound into the punk-funk heroes on Californication. While it lacks the raw edge and lusty power of Blood Sugar..., Californication is the band's brilliant pop moment in the mainstream. A spacious, melodic album, Californication finds Anthony Kiedis singing better than ever as the sounds of bassist Flea and guitarist Frusciante dance around each other beautifully like never before. The six singles are all pop-rock-funk winners (Around The World, Scar Tissue, the title track, Otherside, Parallel Universe and Road Trippin') but the album tracks hold forgotten gems such as the subtle Porcelain, the driving Emit Remmus and wah-guitar rocker Get On Top.Play - MobyASIDE from being a tour de force of sampling, Moby's mega-selling Play was a landmark album in many different ways. For one, it was the first record to have all its songs licensed for commercial use, which was either an act of artistic prostitution or the most brilliant marketing ploy ever. Play is also unique sound-wise, to the point that record label types thought it was unsellable. Not only had Moby sold few albums previously, despite critical acclaim, but Play was predominantly a dance record fronted by vocal samples from field recordings of unknown gospel songs of the '30s and '40s. Licensing the songs - prostitution or not - got the music into people's ears and, after a slow release, Play amassed more than 10 million sales worldwide. In Australia, it spent two stints on top of the charts, four months apart. Amazingly the album yielded nine singles. They ranged from the sweetly atmospheric Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? and Porcelain to the upbeat new-meets-old dancers Honey and Run On, to the more modern rockers South Side and Bodyrock. On top of the commercial success, Play is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the '90s - not bad for a record Moby mostly put together in his bedroom.Neon Ballroom - SilverchairPART-TIME Silverchair member Paul Mac called this the band's "depressed'' album and, while it's riddled with the same angst that punctuated their first two records (Frogstomp and Freakshow) it boasts a far more mature sound. Troubled by depression and anorexia, frontman Daniel Johns poured his bile into singles Emotion Sickness (which featured equally troubled pianist David Helfgott), the youth war-song Anthem For The Year 2000, and the pained eating-disorder ballad Ana's Song (Open Fire), which was recorded on the last day in the studio, having been written the night before by Johns. One of the more ambitious rock albums to come out of Australia, Neon Ballroom is all the more remarkable for being made by a trio of 19 year olds. String sections and Mac's blips and samples added new depth to the Silverchair sound but the album also boasted their harshest, most industrial moment (Spawn Again), their most passionate ballad (Miss You Love), and the under-rated Do You Feel The Same? - all signs the little boys from Newcastle were growing up. Neon Ballroom was their third number one on the trot in Australia and even cracked the top 50 in the US.The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming LipsFEW albums had the critics drooling in 1999 like The Soft Bulletin. The Oklahoma group had persevered on the psychedelic fringes for eight albums before this one but finally got the cred and acclaim they deserved by simmering their eccentricities into pop-sized soundscapes layered with catchy melodies and lush arrangements. Some critics labelled it the Pet Sounds of the '90s, which frontman Wayne Coyne put down to the many harmonies and the types of keyboards they used. Still, it's a decent comparison. Like Pet Sounds, The Soft Bulletin is sweet and sour but always beautiful and charmingly odd. Highlights include the orchestral-backed Race For The Prize, in which "two scientists are racing for the good of all mankind'', the pleasantly soporific Feeling Yourself Disintegrate, the insanely catchy Buggin' and the strangely upbeat head-wound ode The Gash. The Slim Shady LP - EminemMARSHALL Mathers' breakthrough album is the sound of a rapper not only finding his feet but using them to kick hard at anyone and everyone. The Slim Shady LP was angry, witty, clever and deeply disturbing (most notably in the unnerving '97 Bonnie & Clyde), but it was also original. Mathers was the skinny white kid who took on the big-hitters of the hip-hop world and won because he had an inventive and winning style no one else had. Having attracted brickbats and accusations of plagiarism on his debut Infinite, Eminem unleashed a flow and rhythm all his own on The Slim Shady LP. He even out-raps his idol, producer Dr Dre, on Guilty Conscience but it's My Name Is that proved to be a calling card for the freshest rapper since Dre was in N.W.A.