Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette

You oughta know by now that Alanis Morissette’s third release Jagged Little Pill is one of the defining albums of the nineties. This powerhouse record has sold a whopping 33 million copies and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jagged Little Pill went on to cement Morissette and her tortured vocals as one of the decade’s most influential artists. 

The songs on Jagged Little Pill are most clearly characterized by Alanis’ full-throated vocals as well as its confessional and sometimes confrontational lyrics. Morissette worked with the producer and songwriter Glen Ballard to co-write and record the album, and it was eventually picked up and released by Maverick Records – cofounded by Madonna. 

Jagged Little Pill was released on June 13, 1995 to almost immediate and widespread acclaim. The lead single “You Oughta Know” featured guitarwork from Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and bass lines from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Other singles included “Hand in My Pocket”, “Ironic”, “You Learn”, and “All I Really Want”. 

At the 1996 Grammy Awards, Jagged Little Pill was nominated for nine Grammys and went on to win five, including Best Rock Album and Album of the Year. At that time Alanis was the youngest musical artist to ever win this particular award. The juggernaut album also earned her the Billboard Music Award for Top Artist and Top Female Artist in 1996, as well as an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album. In 2003 Rolling Stone ranked Jagged Little Pill on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all-time, where it came in at number 327. Morissette was also recognized by the magazine in 2002 on its list of Women in Rock – The 50 Essential Albums list. 

Jagged Little Pill has been re-recorded as an acoustic album, and also adapted into a Broadway musical which opened in December 2019 in New York City. 

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