Dave Short

Chumbawamba — A Singsong and a Scrap

There's so much more to this band than "Tubthumping." This may well be a perfect folk record

5/5

Ramones — s/t

Rock 'n roll reinvented when it was needed most. The album that launched a million punk bands, and rightly so.

5/5

Rise Against — The Sufferer and the Witness

A perfect mixture of power, passion, and politics.

5/5

Bad Religion — Generator

The immediacy of punk rock, coupled with deep introspection. Bad Religion's finest. Not one dull song.

5/5

Tracy Chapman — s/t

These songs from a nobody about being a nobody but not liking it made her a somebody. Urgent, tender, real.

5/5

Nirvana — In Utero

Sonic Nirvana, as if the seraphim had guitars slung over their shoulders. Perfect mix of pop and sludge.

5/5

The Gaslight Anthem — The '59 Sound

Punk finally has some soul.

5/5

R.E.M — Up

Evokes a dream world, buried in drum machines and synths. Some may find the soporific quality off-putting. Not me.

5/5

Bruce Springsteen — Born to Run

Pulls you up, then brings you down, wanting to dance the whole time.

5/5

R.E.M — Automatic for the People

An immortal meditation on mortality, melancholy but not brooding. Stirs nostalgia, pensiveness.

5/5