Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is a big album: it’s more than two hours long, and it encompasses a wide range of genres, although most of the songs lean into grunge and alternative rock. Entering the album, we hear the titular “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” a beautiful melancholic piano tune–it’s melodies reappear as the album closes, as well. I think, while I grew up with singles like “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight,” and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” is actually my favorite song here.

The shift from the initial song to the meat of the album can be a bit jarring, but it’s necessary to hearing what the album is all about.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, in my view, is one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, and it’s required listening for anyone who likes rock, grunge, or wants a sense of the scene as it existed back then. I also take some Chicago pride, knowing that the Smashing Pumpkins are from the same city as me.