Want to feel pretty old, or super young if you don’t know what we’re talking about? Well, then you oughta know that Alanis Morissette’s highly acclaimed debut album Jagged Little Pill is now twenty years old! The album that sparked female rock-angst all around the world is still to this day the highest selling debut album of any artist with an astonishing 30+ million copies sold. Morissette’s international debut sparked several big hits such as “You Oughta Know,” “You Learn,” “Ironic,” “Head Over Feet,” and “Hand in My Pocket” throughout 1995 and 1996. Her unique voice still gets stuck in all of our heads when we listen to one of her powerful songs twenty years later. After two dance-pop albums exclusively released in Morissette’s native Canada, the then 19 year old singer decided to make a change and start fresh with her career by moving to Los Angeles, California, in 1994. There she met highly acclaimed music producer Glen Ballard who helped Morissette write and record a new album she felt could express how she really felt. Finally, a year and a half later, the album, titled Jagged Little Pill after a lyric in the track “You Learn,” was released internationally by Maverick Records. Nobody expected the album to achieve much. Alanis’ hopes were for it to just sell enough for her to buy herself out of her contract with Maverick Records. However, after the record’s first single, “You Oughta Know,” hit the airwaves, there was no stopping what she had started. By the beginning of 1997, Jagged Little Pill had sold an astonishing 12 million copies, making it one of the best selling records of the 90s. By this point, however, Morissette had already started production on her follow-up album. On November 3, 1998, Alanis Morissette’s second international album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released. Well-received by critics as a healthy return, the album spawned a few minorly successful singles such as “Thank U,” “So Pure,” and “That I Would Be Good.” She would go on to release four more albums in 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2012 respectively. Although she hasn’t been focused on in mainstream music coverage much anymore, Alanis Morissette’s beloved debut album still has a special place in all of our hearts. According to recent interviews, Morissette’s next record is expected to be released sometime next year, and she is currently about to publish a self-help book. A 4-disc collector’s edition of Jagged Little Pill is now available in select stores and online. Written by Logan Sherrill