Ten

Recorded in the early spring of 1991 and released at the end of summer, Pearl Jam's debut album Ten was a predictable success, however, as Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" began climbing the charts, it became obvious that new bands had a chance. The Pacific Northwest connection didn't hurt and seemingly overnight the airwaves became saturated with the contents of his now classic album. Three hit singles set the tone, with "Alive," "Even Flow" and "Jeremy" all speaking of raw emotions and abuse in no uncertain terms by a singer, Eddie Vedder, who personified the lyrics. While those singles well indicate what the remaining album sounds like, they don't tell the whole story. Songs such as "Once," "Deep," "Release" and especially "Black" all prove the band were less about "singles" and more an album-oriented group who took every minute of the record seriously. ("Release" contains the "hidden track" "Master/ Slave" at 5:20, a common surprise on albums from the early 1990s.)