The Best Psychedelic Rock Bands of the ’90s

The ’90s were a great decade for psychedelic rock, with many bands innovating the genre and pushing it in new directions. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the best psychedelic rock bands of the ’90s, and what made them so special.

The Best Psychedelic Rock Bands of the ’90s

The ’90s was a great decade for music, and psychedelic rock was no exception. Some of the best psychedelic rock bands of the ’90s include The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and Nirvana. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock, then you’ll definitely enjoy this list.

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The group incorporates elements of pop, punk rock, alternative rock, psychedelia, and experimental music. They have had numerous line-up changes throughout their history; the current lineup consists of Wayne Coyne (lead vocals, guitar), Michael Ivins (bass), Steven Drozd (drums), and Derek Brown (keyboards).

The band is best known for their songs “She Don’t Use Jelly”, “Do You Realize??”, and “Brain Damage/Eclipse”. The Flaming Lips have released fifteen studio albums and won three Grammy Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre

The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group began as a collective of musicians recording and performing as a psychedelic rock band. The collective has seen many members come and go throughout its history, with Newcombe being the only continuous member of the band. AllMusic described the band as “the premier American psychedelic revival band of the ’90s.”

The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s sound mixes elements of 1960s psychedelic rock, garage rock, neo-psychedelia, country music, and folk music. Newcombe has been influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Roky Erickson and 13th Floor Elevators, The Sonics, Love and Pere Ubu.

Spacemen 3

Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember (alias “Sonic Boom”) and Jason Pierce (alias “J Spaceman”). The group’s musical and lyrical style was characterized by minimalism and drone elements, repetitive washed-out guitar melodies, and a droning dual bass sound.

After breakup, Kember and Pierce formed new bands: Spiritualized and Rocket Juice & the Moon, respectively.

The Worst Psychedelic Rock Bands of the ’90s

Although the ’90s were not the best decade for music overall, there were still some great psychedelic rock bands that came out of it. The worst psychedelic rock bands of the ’90s, on the other hand, were just a bunch of no-talent hacks who were riding on the coattails of the better bands of the genre.

The Verve

The Verve was an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in 1989. The band consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Richard Ashcroft, bassist Simon Jones, keyboardist and guitarist Nick McCabe, and drummer Peter Salisbury. The band’s commercial breakthrough came with the album A Storm in Heaven, which reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by a string of multi-platinum albums and hit singles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

The Verve’s final studio album was Urban Hymns (1997), one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and went on to sell over five million copies in the UK and over eight million copies worldwide. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” became their biggest hit single, while “The Drugs Don’t Work” was originally released as a promotional single for Urban Hymns but later became a chart success in its own right.

After a time of solo activity for Ashcroft following the departures of Jones and McCabe in 1998, The Verve reformed for a final time in 2007 for a one-off reunion concert before permanently disbanding again in 2009.

Oasis

Oasis was an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Developed from an earlier group, the Rain, the band originally consisted of Liam Gallagher (lead vocals, tambourine), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (guitar), Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan (bass guitar), and Tony McCarroll (drums, percussion). They were later joined by Liam’s older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar, vocals) as a fifth member, becoming the band’s fixed line-up until April 1995. During the course of their existence, they had various line-up changes.

The group mainly wrote their own material, although they did occasionally co-write songs with other artists including Brian May of Queen and Gaz Coombes of Supergrass. Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe in 1994, which marked the beginning of their rise to fame as part of the Britpop movement. Their next two records (Morning Glory? and Be Here Now) were also huge commercial successes, selling over 22 million copies combined. The final two studio albums standing at number one on the UK charts (Don’t Believe the Truth and Dig Out Your Soul), making Oasis one of only two British bands to have five consecutive UK number one albums.

The band also achieved seven consecutive UK number one singles between 1995 and 2005 – a feat that has yet to be bettered – with “Some Might Say”, “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, “Be Here Now”, “Go Let It Out”, “Who Feels Love?”, “Hindu Times” and “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”. By 2009, the band had sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide. They also holds the record for being the most searched items on Google in 2008 whenInputting ‘Britpop’. Noel left Oasis after an altercation with brother Liam prior to their scheduled American tour in 2009; he was replaced by former guitarist Gem Archer and drummer Chris Sharrock both formerly of The La’s. Oasis’ final studio album was Dig Out Your Soul Biritshsingle which contained elements of balladry that were not seen since former singer Holly Johnson’s work with Frankie Goes to Hollywood..

The Stone Roses

To say The Stone Roses were overrated would be an understatement. The fact that they only released one album, and that it was average at best, is a testament to how overhyped they were. They were hailed as the saviors of rock music, but in reality, they were just another mediocre band that benefited from hype.