Alanis Morissette — Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette's international debut detonated on alternative radio with "You Oughta Know" and never let up. At 21, she won the 1996 Grammy for Album of the Year, becoming the youngest recipient of that award at the time and selling over 33 million copies worldwide.
Released on June 13, 1995, under Maverick Records, Jagged Little Pill was produced and co-written with Glen Ballard, who helped her shed the dance-pop sound of her two Canada-only teen albums and channel raw emotion instead. The result was explosive: "You Oughta Know" became the album's lead single, an angry kiss-off that dominated alternative radio and MTV, followed by "Hand in My Pocket," "Ironic" (lyrically misunderstood but irresistible), "You Learn," and "Head Over Feet".
The album won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1996, making Alanis the youngest winner of that award at the time—a milestone that cemented her as the voice of 90s women's rage and introspection. With over 33 million copies sold worldwide, it ranks among the best-selling albums in history and single-handedly proved that alternative rock could be both critically respected and commercially unstoppable.
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