Top 10 Best R.E.M. Albums

The Top Ten

  1. Automatic for the People

    Best album they've done, but I think Reveal is a close second in my opinion. Up is also a great album, and I actually can't believe neither of those two are in here. I'm very surprised.

    So far my favorite... I haven't listened to them all yet!

    Awesome record. It should be on top of every R.E.M. list.

  2. Murmur

    My favorite. To me, their best era was the IRS years (1982-1987), and Murmur is the brightest spot of this era. Not a single even moderately weak song on here. Every song is a gem.

    The album that (more or less) invented alternative rock.

  3. Document

  4. Life's Rich Pageant

    Brilliant album! Quintessential old-school R.E.M. I haven't found a better album to give me space for my own surreal deconstruction. Put it on, zone out, and let your artistic mind play.

  5. Reckoning

  6. Fables of the Reconstruction

    Highly underrated R.E.M. album.

  7. Green

    There are just so many great songs on this one, particularly Pop Song 89, Stand, and Orange Crush.

  8. New Adventures in Hi-Fi

    The most well-rounded of their albums. They didn't have the maturity to pull off something like this during their Murmur years and have been mostly terrible since Berry left. I don't have a problem with AFTP being rated #1, though.

  9. Monster

  10. Out of Time

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Around the Sun

  12. ?

    Collapse Into Now

    13. The Contenders

  13. Accelerate

  14. Up

  15. Reveal

    Underrated gem. The song structures are simple, yes, but the bright, glacial effects on many of Buck's lead guitars, as well as some of Mills' synths, bring every song alive and create warm, bubbly feelings. This is best captured, I feel, on tracks such as All the Way to Reno, The Lifting, and Summer Turns to High.

    Reveal is a perfect prequel to the horrors of 9/11, capturing a brighter and more hopeful time that contrasts sharply with the necessary, harsh political approach of Around the Sun. The melodic chimes, along with Stipe's playful lyrics, signify the security in their newly found sound, drawing on their inspirations and past glories for the best results!

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