The year that, in my opinion, defined the 1990s. Music albums may have taken a bit of a backseat compared to prior years, but aside from that everything else was epic. Films were an overall improvement compared to last year (take that with a grain of salt however; this had some major misses to go along with the major hits, but at least the hits offset the misses).
The games managed to step up their game (couldn’t help it), to the point where 1993 is considered to be the year that started the golden age of gaming that lasted until 2011, when overall average game quality began to go downhill from there. But that was nearly 20 years away, so until then we lived in a time where numerous masterpieces were released yearly, as opposed to being lucky to get one mainstream masterpiece in just a single year. The point being games were released more frequently in 1993 that players still come back to playing today (and considering what came out in the years leading up to 1993, that’s saying a lot). How many games will have that going for them 20+ years later?
As for shows, well, what they lacked in quantity they made up for in quality, if only for the one that I labeled as show of the year. In fact, it’s likely that the show of the decade came out this year, with some contenders to go along with it.
Plenty of all-time greats that stuck around with people for the rest of the decade (and afterwards), including the “OF THE YEAR” in each category.
Music
Top 30 albums of the month. Many of these choices are based on most outstanding single rather than the overall album itself.
Brand Nubian: In God We Trust (February)
Radiohead: Pablo Honey (February)
Naughty by Nature: 19 Naughty III (February)
The God Machine: Scenes from the Second Storey (February)
Green Jelly: Cereal Killer Soundtrack (March)
Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way (March)
Cop Shoot Cop: Ask Questions Later (March)
Savatage: Edge of Thorns (April)
Monster Magnet: Superjudge (April)
Tool: Undertow (April)
Aerosmith: Get a Grip (April)
Primus: Pork Soda (April)
Funkdoobiest: Which Doobie U B? (May)
Haddaway: The Album (May)
NoMeansNo: Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (May)
Anthrax: Sound of White Noise (May)
Tears for Fears: Elemental (June)
Manic Street Preachers: Gold Against the Soul (June)
Cypress Hill: Black Sunday (July)
Tag Team: Whoomp! (There It Is) (July)
Deep Purple: The Battle Rages On… (July)
Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream (July)
Nirvana: In Utero (September); ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Coroner: Grin (September)
KRS-One: Return of the Boom Bap (September)
Shotgun Messiah: Violent New Breed (September)
Salt-N-Pepa: Very Necessary (October)
Pearl Jam: Vs. (October)
INXS: Full Moon, Dirty Hearts (November)
Angra: Angel’s Cry (November)
Movies
Top 30 films of the year, determined by a combination of personal taste and cultural impact. I regrettably couldn’t include Hard Boiled, and Dead Alive, among those listed simply because, when push came to shove, I opted for American-made films rather than foreign films.
Groundhog Day (February)
The Crying Game (February)
Army of Darkness (February)
Falling Down (February)
Fire in the Sky (March)
The Sandlot (April)
Hot Shots! Part Deux (May)
Menace II Society (May)
Jurassic Park (June); FILM OF THE YEAR
Last Action Hero (June)
Dennis the Menace (June)
The Firm (June)
In the Line of Fire (July)
Free Willy (July)
Hocus Pocus (July)
Coneheads (July)
The Fugitive (August)
Hard Target (August)
True Romance (September)
Dazed and Confused (September)
Demolition Man (October)
Gettysburg (October)
Rudy (October)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (October)
Fearless (November)
Mrs. Doubtfire (November)
Schindler’s List (December; limited)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (December)
Tombstone (December)
In the Name of the Father (December)
Games
Top 40 video games of the year. I couldn’t bring myself to lower it down to 30.
Thunder Force IV, aka Lightening Force (January; Sega Genesis)
NBA Jam (February; Arcade)
Flashback: The Quest for Identity (February; Sega Genesis, Sega CD, PC)
Star Wars: X-Wing (February; PC)
Star Fox (March; SNES)
The Lost Vikings (April; SNES, Sega Genesis, PC)
The 7th Guest (April; PC)
Kirby’s Adventure (May; NES)
Shadowrun (May; SNES)
Mortal Kombat II (June; Arcade)
Mutant League Football (June; Sega Genesis)
Ecco the Dolphin (June; Sega Genesis [December 1992], Sega CD)
Syndicate (June; PC)
Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (June; PC)
Samurai Shodown (July; Arcade)
Shining Force (July; Sega Genesis)
E.V.O.: Search for Eden (July)
SimCity 2000 (July; PC)
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (July; PC, Mac)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (August; Game Boy)
Rocket Knight Adventures (August; Sega Genesis)
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (August; Sega Genesis)
Ridge Racer (September; Arcade)
Gunstar Heroes (September; Sega Genesis)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (September; Sega Genesis [November], SNES)
Master of Orion (September; PC)
Wing Commander: Privateer (September; PC)
Myst (September; PC [1994], Mac)
Virtua Fighter (October; Arcade)
Virtua Racing (October; Arcade)
Secret of Mana (October; SNES)
Frontier: Elite II (October; PC)
Disney’s Aladdin (November; Sega Genesis)
Sonic CD (November; Sega CD)
Tecmo Super Bowl (SNES; Sega Genesis)
Sam & Max: Hit the Road (November; PC)
ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (December; Sega Genesis)
Lunar: The Silver Star (December; Sega CD)
DOOM (December; PC); GAME OF THE YEAR
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (December; PC)
Shows
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (January)
WWF’s Monday Night Raw (January)
Homicide: Life on the Street (January)
Babylon 5 (February)
Beavis and Butt-Head (March)
Walker Texas Ranger (April)
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (August)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (August)
The X-Files (September); SHOW OF THE YEAR
Bill Nye the Science Guy (September)
Legends of the Hidden Temple (September)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (September)
Animaniacs (September)
Frasier (September)
Rocko’s Modern Life (September)
Sonic the Hedgehog (September)
NYPD Blue (September)
Boy Meets World (September)
Diagnosis: Murder (October)
The Adventures of Pete & Pete (November)
The Anomalous Host 