Rickenbacker

Can't knock Document either. Easily their most polished and developed album at the time.

But more importantly, R.E.M. is worth mentioning for their ability to make fantastic albums years after their "prime". Look at Automatic for the People, Monster, or the unbelievably underrated New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Very few artists make songs the quality of which is comparable to something like "Leave" or "E-Bow the Letter" 15 years after their debut single.

__________________

last.fm
rym
Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.'s Discography Reviewed

Janszoon

Monster is pretty awful but I agree with you about Automatic for the People, it's one of my favorites by them.

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

storymilo

Automatic For The People is my favorite album by them, though it kind of switches between that and Murmur. And I haven't heard New Adventures, In High-Fi, Document, or Accelerate.

Rickenbacker

Have you heard Up and Around the Sun? Up is awesome, and the songwriting on Around the Sun is pretty good but it suffers a lot because of the arrangements and boring instrumentation. The live versions of Around the Sun songs are awesome though. They add a much more rough feel to it.



That said, I also think Reveal is perhaps their best since New Adventures. Imitation of Life is one of my favorite songs of the decade.

__________________

last.fm
rym
Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.'s Discography Reviewed