The greatest female musicians of the 1990s
Featuring Björk, PJ Harvey, Lauryn Hill and more
Last updated 8th Mar 2022
To celebrate International Women's Day, Absolute Radio taken a look at some of the most inspirational female musicians of the 1990s.
Featuring a diverse array of artists from the worlds of Britpop, rock, grunge, hip-hop, pop, trip-hop and, in the case of Björk, the genuinely uncategorizable, these female icons helped shape the musical landscape of the 1990s and beyond.
Check them out below!
The most inspirational female musicians of the 1990s:
Alanis Morissette
After releasing two dance-pop albums (1991's 'Alanis' and 1992's 'Now Is The Time') to muted response in her native Canada, little-known singer Alanis Morissette, learnt the guitar, joined forces with producer Glen Ballard and embraced the grunge and alt-rock sounds of the day. The result was the intensely personal, highly angsty 1995 musical tour-de-force 'Jagged Little Pill', which topped the charts in 13 countries and is still one of the best-selling albums ever. The blockbuster record made Alanis, who was still just 21 at the time, an instant global superstar and paved the way for superb 1998 follow-up 'Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.'
Skin (Skunk Anansie)
With rousing anthems like 'Weak', 'Charlie Big Potato' and 'All I Want' in their formidable musical arsenal, Skunk Anansie were at the forefront of British rock music in the late nineties. With her shaved head, astonishingly powerful voice and prowess performing live, Skin - aka Deborah Anne Dyer – is very much the consummate frontwoman and a true rock n' roll icon. Seeing the decade out in style, Skunk Anansie were the final band of the 20th Century to close The Pyramid Stage, and Skin was also the first British black woman to headline the Worthy Farm extravaganza.
Björk
Inimitable Icelandic icon Björk Guðmundsdóttir is one of the greatest female artists of all time – not just the 1990s. After her band The Sugarcubes broke up in the early nineties, Björk broke to the fore in 1993 with her seminal masterpiece 'Debut' and she went on to release two further critically lauded albums 'Post' (1995) and 'Homogenic' (1997) before the decade was up. Truly unique, Björk constantly evolved her look and hyper-eclectic musical styles in the nineties, and with the Spike Jones directed 'It's Oh So Quiet', she released one of the best videos too.
Justine Frischmann (Elastica)
Having co-founded Suede alongside her then boyfriend Brett Anderson in the late eighties, Justine Frischmann exited the band when their relationship hit the rocks. Alongside fellow ex-Suede member Justin Welch, Justine formed Elastica in 1992 with bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews later joining their ranks. Although they only released one record that decade – March 1995's outstanding 'Elastica' – they became one of the standout bands of the Britpop era thanks to colossal tunes like 'Stutter', 'Waking Up' and, of course, 'Connection'. As their singer and leader, Justine Frischmann exuded cool and was a true idol of the era. Oh, and Justine's breakup with Damon Albarn also inspired one of the most poignant songs of the decade too; Blur's gorgeous 'Tender'.
Lauryn Hill
She may have grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons in more recent years including late shows at gigs and brushes with the law, but Lauryn Hill's monumental impact on the music world in the 1990s and beyond shouldn't be underestimated. Often cited as one the greatest rappers of all time, as the effortlessly cool co-singer with The Fugees Lauryn Hill obliterated barriers for other female hip-hop musicians and, fusing rap with soul music, helped further popularise the genre in the mainstream. Incredibly, her seminal debut album 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' (still Lauryn's only solo album to this date) in 1998 propelled her to even bigger superstardom thanks to towering anthems 'Doo Wop (That Thing)', 'Ex-Factor' and 'Everything is Everything'.
Courtney Love (Hole)
Her turbulent marriage to Kurt Cobain dominated many tabloid headlines, but it shouldn't detract away from the fact that Courtney Love is a 90s cultural and musical iconoclast in her own right. Rising to prominence with her alternative rock band Hole, Courtney Love's attitude, gloriously abrasive music, hard-hitting lyricism and engaging presence in the live arena marked her out as a potent force in the music world. It's little wonder that Brody Dalle, Lana Del Rey and Avril Lavigne are among the many female musicians to cite Courtney Love as a major influence.
Beth Gibbons (Portishead)
Just like their kindred spirits and fellow South West natives Massive Attack, Portishead were very much the antithesis of the Britpop scene that dominated the mid-nineties musical landscape. While it was Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley who cooked up the pioneering trip-hop music, Beth Gibbons' emotionally wrought and astonishing beautiful voice is truly integral to Portishead's sound. In fact, when you listen back to sublime songs like 'Sour Times', 'Glory Box' and 'All Mine', it's quite clear that Beth Gibbons' is one of the standout vocalists of the entire decade.
Louise Wener (Sleeper)
Alongside Elastica's Justine Frischmann, Sleeper singer Louise Wener was one of Britpop music's biggest female stars. With Sleeper, Louise scored three consecutive Top 10 albums over a two-year period from 1995 to 1997 ('Smart', 'The It Girl' and 'Pleased To Meet You'), and a series of chart-denting singles including 'Sale of the Century' and 'Nice Guy Eddie'. Effortlessly and nonchalantly cool, Louise was a true Britpop star and graced the cover of NME Magazine, guest presented Top of the Pops and was a regular guest and performer on 90s institution TFI Friday.
Kim Deal (Pixies/The Breeders)
As a pivotal member of the Pixies and founder of the Breeders, very few people had such a seismic impact on the alternative rock scene in the early nineties than Kim Deal. In the first three years of the decade alone, she performed on Pixies' final two albums before their reunion in the noughties – 'Bossanova' and 'Trompe Le Monde' – and formed the Breeders, releasing two critically lauded albums 'Pod' and 'Last Splash', featuring their seminal smash hit 'Cannonball'. Kurt Cobain was such a fan of 'Pod' in particular, he listed it as his third favourite album of all time and expressed his desire for Kim to write more songs for the Pixies.
Shirley Manson (Garbage)
Formerly a member of Scottish band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, Shirley Manson formed the offshoot band Angelfish in 1991 and it was when Garbage co-founder Steve Marker spotted their song 'Suffocate Me' on MTV, Manson was invited to audition for the band. The rest, they say, is history. Flanked by Marker (guitar), Duke Erikson (bass) and legendary 'Nevermind' producer Butch Vig (drums), as singer of Garbage, Shirley Manson was undoubtedly one of the greatest frontwomen of the late nineties. Scoring huge hits like 'Stupid Girl' and 'I Think I'm Paranoid', Garbage unleashed two four-million selling albums 'Garbage' (1995) and 'Version 2.0' and even recorded the eponymous theme song for James Bond movie 'The World Is Not Enough.'
Gwen Stefani (No Doubt)
No Doubt had already been going for a decade when they made their big breakthrough with third studio album 'Tragic Little Kingdom' in 1995, which propelled the band and Gwen Stefani in particular into international superstardom. A music and style icon, Gwen was very much the face and attitude of No Doubt as they dented the charts with songs 'Don't Speak', 'Spiderwebs' and 'Just A Girl'. It seemed only natural then that Gwen launched a hugely successful solo career in the early noughties.
Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries)
Late-great Irish singer Dolores O'Riordan, who tragically died in 2018, came to prominence in the 1990s with The Cranberries. Dolores' ethereal, beautiful voice was arguably one the most distinctive in pop history and gorgeous chart-denting songs like 'Linger' and 'Dreams' were the perfect showcase of her talents. Dolores was also a humanitarian and The Cranberries' urgent, politically potent song 'Zombie', which saw the band delve into hard rock territory, was written by Dolores about the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington and in memory of two young victims, Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry. Following Delores' death, Tim Parry's dad Colin Parry praised Dolores for the "majestic and also very real lyrics".
PJ Harvey
One of the most revered female artists of all time (and rightfully so), singer and proficient multi-instrumentalist Polly Jean Harvey initially fronted the eponymous band named PJ Harvey for two critically-lauded studio albums 'Dry' (1992) and 'Rid of Me' (1993), before going solo under the moniker with 'To Bring You My Love' (1995) and 'Is This Desire?' (1998). A truly unique talent, PJ Harvey's four albums in the nineties showcased her vibrant musical eclecticism, clever (and oft brutally honest) lyricism and beguiling vocal style. They also paved the way for more 21st Century success including two Mercury Prize wins, an Outstanding Contribution To Music NME award and an MBE from The Queen for services to music in 2013.
Madonna
Admittedly, if you were to pick a decade that defined Madonna's career it would probably be the 1980s, however the nineties was also a very important era for the Queen of Pop. Madge kicked off the decade with the notorious Blonde Ambition World Tour and the 31 million selling greatest hits compilation 'The Immaculate Collection', before grabbing more headlines with fifth album 'Erotica' (1992) and the accompanying, highly racy coffee table book 'Sex'. However, her standout moment of the decade was undoubtedly the William Orbit produced and musically adventurous opus 'Ray of Light' (1998) that spawned the hits 'Frozen', 'Ray of Light' and 'Drowned World/Substitute for Love'. Alongside 'Like a Virgin' 14 years earlier, 'Ray of Light' is nothing short of a tour-de-force.
Madonna in 1998
Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)
Although Sonic Youth had been making groundbreaking music since the early 1980s, it was in the 90s that they truly broke to the fore as alternative rock bastions. Co-vocalist, co-founding member, co-songwriter and bassist Kim Gordon was at the centre of their seminal sound as they unleashed a series of influential albums from 1990s 'Goo' through to 1998's 'A Thousand Leaves'. American singer Kathleen Hanna said of Kim Gordon in 2013: "She was a forerunner, musically. Just knowing a woman was in a band trading lead vocals, playing bass, and being a visual artist at the same time made me feel less alone."