#105 Definitely Maybe by Oasis

The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time

2025 Album Rank

105

2011 Album Rank

73

Total Points

624

Year Released

1994

Billboard 200 Chart Peak

58

Weeks at #1

N/A

RIAA Sales Certification

1,000,000 (Platinum)

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Definitely Maybe Album Details

Released on August 29, 1994, Definitely Maybe is the debut album by Oasis and a defining document of the Britpop movement. It exploded onto the UK music scene with a bold swagger, raw energy, and unapologetic attitude, pairing Beatlesque melodies with punkish guitar crunch. Led by Liam Gallagher's snarling vocals and Noel Gallagher's towering songwriting, the album helped reestablish guitar-based rock in the mainstream.

With tracks like "Live Forever", "Supersonic", and "Slide Away", the album encapsulated youthful ambition and working-class escapism. The songs celebrated confidence and emotional catharsis, blending wall-of-sound production with infectious hooks. Definitely Maybe became the fastest-selling debut in British history at the time and laid the groundwork for Oasis's domination of UK music in the mid '90s.

Other Oasis albums on the chart: (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

Interesting Facts about Definitely Maybe

• The album was recorded multiple times. Initial sessions with producer Dave Batchelor were scrapped because the band thought they sounded too flat. The final version was produced by Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher, who used heavy compression and distortion to create a louder, more urgent sound.
• Early versions of "Columbia" and "Bring It On Down" were circulated in white label DJ promos in late 1993, months before the band signed with Creation Records.
• "Live Forever" was inspired by Nirvana's "I Hate Myself and Want to Die". Noel Gallagher wanted to write a song with the opposite message, something affirming and timeless.
• The album's original cover was a photograph taken in guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs's living room in Manchester. It includes references to Burt Bacharach, football, and the Beatles, visual clues to the band's influences.
• "Slide Away" was considered by Noel Gallagher to be the best song he'd ever written up to that point. Though never released as a single, it became a fan favorite and a setlist staple.
• Several key B-sides recorded during the sessions including "Fade Away", "Listen Up", and "Sad Song" and are often regarded as strong as the album cuts. "Sad Song" appeared on the vinyl version as a bonus track with Noel on vocals.
• Many of the songs were first played live before being recorded. In fact, the band's May 1993 King Tut's Wah Wah Hut gig in Glasgow featured early versions of "Bring It On Down" and "Rock 'n' Roll Star".
• Noel Gallagher claimed he wrote "Supersonic" in under 15 minutes while the band waited for their Indian takeout in the studio. It was recorded the same night and became their debut single.
• The demo for "Shakermaker" originally used the melody of the Coca-Cola jingle "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," which led to a lawsuit and a financial settlement, though the song remained largely unchanged on the album.
• The band's raucous 1994 performances of the album, particularly at Glastonbury and on the UK tour that fall, helped solidify their legend, with fans chanting along to every word in football stadium fashion.
• Creation Records founder Alan McGee initially intended to remix the album before release, but upon hearing the final master from Morris and Gallagher, declared it perfect and left it untouched.
• A 20th anniversary deluxe edition in 2014 included a treasure trove of outtakes and alternate mixes, including unreleased early takes of "Rock 'n' Roll Star" and demo versions of "Up in the Sky" and "Digsy's Dinner".

Definitely Maybe Track List

1. Rock 'n Roll Star
2. Shakermaker
3. Live Forever
4. Up in the Sky
5. Columbia
6. Supersonic
7. Bring It on Down
8. Cigarettes & Alcohol
9. Digsy's Dinner
10. Slide Away
11. Married with Children

Supersonic Music Video