And There Stands R.E.M.

With Michael Stipe's growling vocals, Mike Mills' smooth but active basslines, Peter Buck's jangly guitarwork, and Bill Berry's driving drums, it doesn't get much better than the sounds of the southern boys of R.E.M. — particularly their early output. We all know that Stark Attack was mining the Amoeba cassette section recently. But when FriedOreo told me that Stark could have purchased Lifes Rich Pageant but didn't, I was horrified. I decided that now would be as good a time as any to provide a quick guide, in chronological order, on what to do if you see R.E.M. on the shelf, so that you don't make the same mistake Stark did.

Others, like rpshyena, will surely have something to contribute to this discussion, even though he and I agree on most things R.E.M. I invite him, and everyone else, to post lots of comments in response. Click below for the full story.

Murmur: R.E.M.'s first full-length, and their tightest of all. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 3: Laughing, Talk About the Passion, Catapult.

Reckoning: Not as strong straight through as Murmur, but this one has some of their best moves to date. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 3: Harborcoat, 7 Chinese Brothers, Pretty Persuasion.

Fables of the Reconstruction: Underrated, and R.E.M.'s most consistently solid album. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 3: Driver 8, Maps and Legends, Green Grow the Rushes.

Lifes Rich Pageant: Some of their best songs. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 5: Hyena, These Days, I Believe, Cuyahoga

Document: Big, shiny production, but a big disappointment after the first four. Don't bother.

Dead Letter Office: B-sides and loose tracks from the early days, including Chronic Town, the first EP. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 5: Voice of Harold, Ages of You, Gardening at Night, Bandwagon, Wolves, Lower

Green: Band's first album on a major label. Don't bother. Mugshot's Top 1: World Leader Pretend.

Out of Time: A nice change — perfect pop, with lots of your favorites. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 5: Texarkana, New Wild Heaven, Shiny Happy People, Losing My Religion, Low.

Automatic For the People: Everyone's favorite, but not mine. I'm used to the more driving stuff. Buy it, if you have a few extra bucks. Mugshot's Top 3: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Monty Got a Raw Deal, Ignoreland.

Monster: Everyone's least favorite, but I don't mind it — that much. Buy it. That's right, buy it. Mugshot's Top 2: Star 69, Strange Currencies.

New Adventures in Hi-Fi: Spectacular stuff, with urgency and energy. Will please fans of the early work. Buy it. Mugshot's Top 3: New Test Leper, Be Mine, Bittersweet Me.

Up: First album without drummer Bill Berry. Band finding itself. Whacky, drum machines. Forget it — for now. Mugshot's Top 1: Sad Professor, and others, but I don't remember them.

Reveal: Band has found itself, but what they found isn't as great as it once was. Buy it, I guess.... Mugshot's Top 3: Imitation of Life, All the Way to Reno, Beat a Drum.

Around the Sun: Can't get through this whole thing yet. Buy it, and tell me if it's good.

One final note: it would behoove indie rock fans to check out "The Unseen Power of the Picket Fence," from the first disc of the 2-disc edition of Pavement's Crooked Rain. It's a better tribute to R.E.M. than the band's cover of "Camera."