 No Depression is cited by RealNetworks as one of the most important albums in the alternative country genre . This was partly due to the success of the alternative country periodical No Depression , which took its name partly from the album . Due the impact of the album on alternative country , " No Depression " is sometimes used as a synonym for the genre . Allmusic critic Jason Ankeny noted that the album helped the band " kick @-@ start a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground " . In 1999 , Spin listed the album as one of the " Top 90 Albums of the 90s " . 
