He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (1992–2024), and engineered acclaimed albums like the Pixies' Surfer Rosa (1988), PJ Harvey's Rid of Me and Nirvana's In Utero (both 1993).

Noted for his outspoken and blunt opinions, Albini was critical of local punk scenes and the music industry, which he viewed as exploitative of artists.

He was also infamous for authoring transgressive art as a reaction to people taking artistic compromises; Albini expressed regret for this past mindset in his final years.

[6][7][8][9] In his youth, Albini's family moved often as a result of their father's profession,[10] before settling in the college town of Missoula, Montana, in 1974.

[6][11][12] He said, "I was baffled and thrilled by music like the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Pere Ubu, Devo, and all those contemporaneous, inspirational punk bands without wanting to try to mimic them.

[16] In the Chicago area, Albini was active as a writer in local zines including Matter, and later Boston's Forced Exposure, covering the then-nascent punk rock scene, and gained a reputation for the iconoclastic nature of his articles.

[14] Jeff Pezzati and Santiago Durango, of Chicago band Naked Raygun,[20] and live drummer Pat Byrne joined shortly after, and the band—along with a Roland TR-606 drum machine — released the 1984 EP Racer-X after touring and signing a contract with the Homestead Records business.

[10] Albini formed Shellac in 1992[23] with Bob Weston (formerly of Volcano Suns) and Todd Trainer (of Rifle Sport, Breaking Circus and Brick Layer Cake).

They released six studio albums in his lifetime: At Action Park (1994), The Futurist (1997), Terraform (1998), 1000 Hurts (2000), Excellent Italian Greyhound (2007) and Dude Incredible (2014).

[25] According to the Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield, Albini gave the album a "raw room-tone live crunch, especially the heavy drums and slashing guitars".

[25] The journalist Michael Azerrad wrote: "The recordings were both very basic and very exacting: Albini used few special effects; got an aggressive, often violent guitar sound; and made sure the rhythm section slammed as one.

"[27] In The Vinyl District, Joseph Neff wrote: "When enlisted by the big leagues, Albini took his job just as seriously as when he was assisting on the debut recording from a bunch of aspiring unknowns.

Black Emperor,[34] Mogwai, the Jesus Lizard, Don Caballero, PJ Harvey, the Wedding Present, Joanna Newsom, Superchunk, Low, Dirty Three, Jawbreaker, Neurosis,[34] Cloud Nothings, Bush,[30] Chevelle,[35] Page and Plant,[36] Helmet,[37] Fred Schneider,[31] the Stooges,[38] Nina Nastasia,[39] Cheap Trick,[40] Motorpsycho,[41] Slint,[42] mclusky,[43] Labradford,[44] Veruca Salt,[45] and the Auteurs.

He wrote that producers and engineers who raise the vocals in the mix to make the music "sound more like the Beatles" were pandering to commercial interests.

[27] Albini said his opinion on the quality of a song or an arrangement was irrelevant, and that it would be inappropriate to tell a musician they were wrong about their music: "It's like saying, 'Here, let me show you how to fuck your wife.

Musician Robbie Fulks recalls the hassle of "running up two flights of stairs all the time from the tracking room" to communicate with Albini.

[18] Following this arrangement, Albini created recording space in the house he shared with his partner, but this eventually took over almost all the rooms, with the exception of the bedroom.

[27][52] During his first several years at Electrical Audio, Albini's unpopularity with the major labels in the wake of engineering Nirvana's In Utero (1993) made it difficult to secure consistent work from them.

[53] Albini's fortunes later changed when he engineered Page and Plant's 1998 album Walking into Clarksdale, winning his clients a Grammy Award and returning him to the major labels' good graces.

"[54] He praised guitarists including Andy Gill of Gang of Four, Rowland S. Howard of the Birthday Party, John McKay of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Keith Levene of Public Image Ltd, Steve Diggle and Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks, Ron Asheton of the Stooges, Paul Fox of the Ruts, Greg Ginn of Black Flag, Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, John McGeoch of Magazine and the Banshees, and Tom Verlaine of Television.

[25] Albini argued that record companies exploit artists and illustrated how bands can remain in debt even after selling hundreds of thousands of albums.

He contrasted it with the independent scene, which encouraged resourcefulness and established an alternative network of clubs, promoters, fanzines, DJs and labels, and whose greater efficiency allowed musicians to make a reasonable income.

[55] As part of the Face the Music speech, Albini noted that both the corporate and independent industry models had been damaged by filesharing.

[61] Albini was noted for his abrasive views throughout his career,[10] especially during the 1980s, when his bluntness was regarded in the alternative rock scene as a sign of authenticity.

[10] Albini also originally named Big Black's EP Bulldozer as Hey Nigger in 1983 because "anyone stupid enough to be offended by that title is part of the problem...

[64][65] In the letter, Albini described Phair as "a fucking chore to listen to", the Smashing Pumpkins as "ultimately insignificant" and Urge Overkill as "weiners in suits playing frat party rock".

[65] In the independent music magazine Forced Exposure, Albini criticized bands he had worked with; he called the Pixies "blandly entertaining college rock", adding, "never have I seen four cows more anxious to be led around by their nose rings.

[10] Wyman wrote that Albini's fanzine contributions "display a remarkably clear expository style and a vituperative flair that I wish more mainstream writers possessed".

In 2021, he wrote in a widely shared thread on Twitter that he was "overdue for a conversation about my role in inspiring 'edgelord' shit",[67] saying "a lot of things I said and did from an ignorant position of comfort and privilege are clearly awful and I regret them".

[10] He added he had falsely assumed that many social problems, such as misogyny and homophobia, were already solved, especially as the underground musical communities he moved in were "broadly inclusive".