I used to bag on REM a lot because all of the songs sounded like Stand or Losing My Religion. But Life's Rich Pageant and Green and some others have a lot of good songs. The more rockin' songs go down a lot easier than the melancholy or bubblegum tunes that they are very famous for.

Replying to Eric Thurm:
I get where you're coming from. I listen to a shit-ton of hip-hop but it is almost always ten years old or older. Also, black people do not currently listen to the stuff that I do. Is it my white perspective that makes me gravitate to Native Tongues and away from Cash Money?

Sunshine is so fuuukkin good. De La always ends their albums like champs.

I hadn't heard this song before. I listened to it and the beat is a classic Native Tongues beat. The lyrics are a disgrace. I love Grand Puba's flow, but he really should stick to rapping about hitting skins rather than judgementalism.

Buhloone gets short shrift. I was a latecomer to De La. That was the album that convinced me. Also AOI Bionix is slept on.