Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Most Dynamic Debut Albums Ever Made, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album or view the full album index here.
OASIS | Definitely Maybe
Creation (1994) | Listen Below
Selected by Justin Chadwick
Though the combative Gallagher brothers’ irascible egos and tabloid-fodder shenanigans ultimately doomed the band as evidenced by their dissolution in 2009, any discussion of Oasis always comes back to what’s most important: the music. And it all started with the Manchester-bred band’s critical and commercial (at least in the UK) beast of an inaugural album, 1994’s Definitely Maybe, unequivocally one of the finest British debut LPs ever made.
Inspired by the Gallaghers’ Beatles and Sex Pistols worship, Definitely Maybe not only announced the arrival of the dynamic duo, it helped redefine British rock for a new generation. Propelled by the brothers’ infectious energy, Liam’s rugged vocal flare, Noel’s penchant for crafting melodies that stick, and a flawlessly sequenced tracklist that includes a bevy of anthemic songs including “Supersonic,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” “Live Forever,” “Cigarettes & Alcohol,” “Shakermaker,” and “Slide Away,” Definitely Maybe is a bona fide modern masterpiece.
Indeed, the breakthrough success and ubiquity of Definitely Maybe and 1995’s follow-up (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?—the latter of which earned them accolades in the U.S., as the wave of so-called Cool Britannia traveled across the Atlantic—proved instrumental in galvanizing the so-called Britpop zeitgeist, an admittedly short-lived musical phenomenon that would be all but over by the time Oasis’ divisive third LP Be Here Now arrived in the summer of 1997.
LISTEN:
WATCH: