Automatic For The People

Widely considered to be one of the best albums of the '90s, 1992's Automatic for the People followed R.E.M.'s breakthrough album, Out of Time, and did not disappoint. Beloved by critics, the band's eighth studio album topped charts worldwide, and was certified 4x platinum in the US. Features iconic hit singles "Nightswimming," "Man on the Moon" and '90s anthem "Everybody Hurts."

Continuing to specialize in the art of curve-throwing, R.E.M. followed up its 1991 smash, Out of Time, with this fragile album of soft melodies and string arrangements. The sympathetic ballad "Everybody Hurts" must have prevented countless suicide attempts, while the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon" (with Michael Stipe affecting an Elvis Presley imitation) and the rock-into-oblivion "Drive" are among the quartet's strongest hits. (The opening line, "Hey, kids, rock and roll," isn't so much a rallying cry as an expression of anxiety.) It takes a few listens for its charms to unfold, but Automatic is the gem between bigger hits Out of Time and Monster. --Steve Knopper